TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THE RADIATOR AND THERMOSTAT FAILED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO REPLACED THE RADIATOR AND. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED WHO STATED THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR EITHER FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000.
2006 Ford Explorer
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2006 Ford Explorer do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 609.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Explorer years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
547 reports with mileage · 83 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 296 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 164 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 58 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
630 reportsI HAVE A 2006 FORD EXPLORER AND RECENTLY HAD WORK DONE. AFTER THAT WORK I NOTICED THAT COLLING FAN WAS COMING ON CONSTANTLY AND THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY LOUD AND SOUNDED LIKE ENGINE WAS ROARING. THEY DETERMINED THAT RADIATOR WAS LEAKING SO THEY REPLACED ENTIRE COLLING SYSTEM. PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS AND VEHICLE ONLY HAS 60000 MILES …
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I HAVE A 2006 FORD EXPLORER AND RECENTLY HAD WORK DONE. AFTER THAT WORK I NOTICED THAT COLLING FAN WAS COMING ON CONSTANTLY AND THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY LOUD AND SOUNDED LIKE ENGINE WAS ROARING. THEY DETERMINED THAT RADIATOR WAS LEAKING SO THEY REPLACED ENTIRE COLLING SYSTEM. PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS AND VEHICLE ONLY HAS 60000 MILES ON IT. I AM SO UPSET AND THINK THEY DONT KNOW WHAT WRONG. THEY HAD CAR FFOR 5 DAYS AND THEY CANT FIX IT. NOW I READ ALL THIS BAD INFO AND ASK WHT IS THERE NO RECALLS AND HOW DOES FORD HAVE THE ORDASISTY TO CHARGE ALL THESE PEOPLE FOR A KNOWN DEFECT... THIS NEEDS TO STOP AND SHAME ON FORD... *TR
DEVELOPING COOLANT LEAK BELOW FORD EXPLORER 2006 RADIATOR. MY MECHANIC HAS DECLARED THE RADIATOR DEFECTIVE AND IS FAILING. THIS IS THE SECOND FAILED RADIATOR. THE FIRST FAIL WAS IN OCT 2009, APROX 48K MILEAGE, AND WAS CONSIDERED A PROBLEM KNOWN BY FORD. NOW I FACE A SECOND REPLACEMENT OF EXCESS $800 ESTIMATE MARCH 24TH 2011. MY …
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DEVELOPING COOLANT LEAK BELOW FORD EXPLORER 2006 RADIATOR. MY MECHANIC HAS DECLARED THE RADIATOR DEFECTIVE AND IS FAILING. THIS IS THE SECOND FAILED RADIATOR. THE FIRST FAIL WAS IN OCT 2009, APROX 48K MILEAGE, AND WAS CONSIDERED A PROBLEM KNOWN BY FORD. NOW I FACE A SECOND REPLACEMENT OF EXCESS $800 ESTIMATE MARCH 24TH 2011. MY ESTIMATED MILEAGE WAS 24K BETWEEN REPAIRS. THIS NEEDS TO BE SOLVED OR OUR FUTURE CARS WILL NEVER BE FORD! *TR
ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO, WHILE RETURNING FROM THE PARK WITH MY DOG, MY WARNING LIGHT FOR TEMPERATURE ILLUMINATED RED AND I SAW THAT THE TEMP. GAUGE HAD SPIKED TO HOT. I PULLED OVER AND AS I WAS GOING TO SHIFT INTO PARK, THE TEMP. GAUGE FELL BACK INTO THE NORMAL OPERATING RANGE VERY QUICKLY. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AN ANOMALY. ABOUT 3…
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ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO, WHILE RETURNING FROM THE PARK WITH MY DOG, MY WARNING LIGHT FOR TEMPERATURE ILLUMINATED RED AND I SAW THAT THE TEMP. GAUGE HAD SPIKED TO HOT. I PULLED OVER AND AS I WAS GOING TO SHIFT INTO PARK, THE TEMP. GAUGE FELL BACK INTO THE NORMAL OPERATING RANGE VERY QUICKLY. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AN ANOMALY. ABOUT 3 WEEKS LATER, I NOTICED THAT THE FAN WAS RUNNING LOUDLY AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE TEMP SPIKED AGAIN. I DID SO RESEARCH ON-LINE AND FOUND OUT THAT THIS MODEL EXPLORER HAS BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH RADIATORS FAILING. I BROUGHT MY TRUCK IN TO MY MECHANIC WHO FOUND THAT MY RADIATOR WAS INDEED COMPROMISED AND WAS LEAKING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE UNIT. A NEW RADIATOR, THERMOSTAT AD WATER PUMP WERE INSTALLED COSTING ME CLOSE TO $1000. *TR
VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCEPT FUEL WHEN FILLING UP AT PUMP. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF A DIRTY EMISSION CANISTER. THE CANISTER WAS REPLACED 03/18/2011 AND THE PROBLEM HAS RETURNED 03/19/2011. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A FORD PROBLEM AND NOT MINE. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT IT GOT DIRTY BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY S…
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VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCEPT FUEL WHEN FILLING UP AT PUMP. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF A DIRTY EMISSION CANISTER. THE CANISTER WAS REPLACED 03/18/2011 AND THE PROBLEM HAS RETURNED 03/19/2011. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A FORD PROBLEM AND NOT MINE. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT IT GOT DIRTY BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY SNOW WE RECEIVED THIS PAST WINTER. I'M CURIOUS, DON'T THEY SELL THESE CARS UP NORTH WHERE IT SNOWS HEAVY EVERY YEAR? HOPEFULLY THIS ISSUE WILL BE LOOKED INTO SOON.
FORD 2006 EDDIE BAUER EXPLORER. DRIVING VEHICLE AND AT A STOP AT A STOP LIGHT THE ABS LIGHT TURNED ON WITH ROUGH LEFT TO RIGHT SHIFTING OF THE VEHICLE AS IF IT WAS BEING SHAKEN IN AN EARTHQUAKE. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR IT WOULD NOT GO. NUMEROUS LOUD CLICKING WAS HEARD AND THE SHAKING CONTINUE…
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FORD 2006 EDDIE BAUER EXPLORER. DRIVING VEHICLE AND AT A STOP AT A STOP LIGHT THE ABS LIGHT TURNED ON WITH ROUGH LEFT TO RIGHT SHIFTING OF THE VEHICLE AS IF IT WAS BEING SHAKEN IN AN EARTHQUAKE. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR IT WOULD NOT GO. NUMEROUS LOUD CLICKING WAS HEARD AND THE SHAKING CONTINUED. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO MOVE SLOW AND I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF FOR ABOUT 7 MINUTES. I RESTARTED VEHICLE AND ABS LIGHT, CLICKING ANG VIOLENT LEFT TO RIGHT SHAKING CONTINUED. THE FORD DEALERSHIP WAS A BLOCK AWAY AND I PROCEEDED TO DEALERSHIP AT ABOUT15-20 MILES PER HOUR. AS I PROCEEDED THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON FOLLOWED BY THE RSC LIGHT. IT WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AS I WAS IN TRAFFIC. THE DEALERSHIP REPORTED THAT IT WAS AN ABS TONE RING THAT CAUSED THE MALFUNCTION AND THAT FOR SOME REASON THE CLUSTER AND COMPASS HAD MALFUNCTIONED CAUSING THE OTHER LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE. THE TOTAL COST IS$1300.00 FOR REPAIR AND THIS WAS OVER TWO WEEKS AGO STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED VEHICLE. I HIGHLY SUSPECT THAT THE RELATED CLUSTER MALFUNCTION IS RELATED TO SUPPOSED TOE RING MALFUNCTION AS DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN VERY IFFY ABOUT THE REPAIR AND HAVE AVOIDED MY PHONE CALLS REQUESTING UPDATE. VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 46000 MILES AND IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, BUT DEALER STATES ALL MALFUNCTIONS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RADIATOR WAS LEAKING ABNORMALLY. THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED YET THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT SHE WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR A SECOND TIME. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND A…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RADIATOR WAS LEAKING ABNORMALLY. THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED YET THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT SHE WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR A SECOND TIME. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND ADVISED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE SOMEONE CONTACT HER WITHIN FOUR BUSINESS DAYS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 63,133 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 91,500.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED JUNE OF 2008, BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE VEHICLES COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH DETERMINED THAT THE FAILURE WAS LOCATED IN THE RADIATOR SEAL AND CAUSED THE ENG…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED JUNE OF 2008, BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE VEHICLES COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH DETERMINED THAT THE FAILURE WAS LOCATED IN THE RADIATOR SEAL AND CAUSED THE ENGINE COOLANT TO LEAK. REPORT 1320050701 WAS FILED WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY WILL NOT ASSIST WITH THE REPAIRS, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000. UPDATED 07/20/11*LJ UPDATED 08/01/11
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER EDDIE BAUER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10-60 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO OVERHEAT SPORADICALLY AND THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST WHERE THEY REBUILT THE TRANSMISSION AND ATTEMP…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER EDDIE BAUER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10-60 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO OVERHEAT SPORADICALLY AND THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST WHERE THEY REBUILT THE TRANSMISSION AND ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPERS BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE FAILURE PERSISTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR THE FAILURES. THE DEALER MADE REPAIRS TO THE COOLING SYSTEM BUT WAS UNABLE TO DISABLE THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPERS TO MAKE REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000. UPDATED 04/25/11 *BF UPDATED 1/13/2012 *LN *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK AND WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE, THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN UNUSUAL DROPPING NOISE AND BEGAN TO JERK VIOLENTLY. IN ADDITION, WHEN STARTING THE ENGINE THE VEHICLE WOULD OFTEN LUNGE FORWARD ABNORMALLY. WHEN BRAKING, THE VEHICLE WOULD…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK AND WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE, THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN UNUSUAL DROPPING NOISE AND BEGAN TO JERK VIOLENTLY. IN ADDITION, WHEN STARTING THE ENGINE THE VEHICLE WOULD OFTEN LUNGE FORWARD ABNORMALLY. WHEN BRAKING, THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO JERK VIOLENTLY AS IF SOMEONE HAD CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT SHE WAS UNABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE PASSENGER REARVIEW MIRROR WHEN THE SECOND ROW SEAT WAS UPRIGHT BECAUSE THE HEADREST WAS OBSTRUCTING HER VIEW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER SEVERAL TIMES WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 109,000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 38,000.
Official recalls
105V520000 · Visibility:windshield Wiper/washer:motor
Nov 9, 2005
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, PASSENGER CARS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR MAY HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WITHOUT GREASE BEING APPLIED TO THE OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: AFTER A PERIOD OF CONTINUOUS USE ON THE HIGH SPEED SETTING, LACK OF GREASE ON THE OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR MAY CAUSE THE GEAR TO DISTORT OR FRACTURE DURING OPERATION RESULTING IN A LOSS OF WIPER FUNCTION. INOPERATIVE WIPERS UNDER INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD CAUSE A CRASH DUE TO IMPAIRED VISIBILITY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WIPER MOTOR FOR THE PRESENCE OF GREASE AND GREASE THE WIPER MOTOR GEARS IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 22, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673 OR LINCOLN/MERCURY AT 1-800-521-4140.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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