2006 Ford EXPLORER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2006 Ford Explorer 4-DR. with a side airbag has received high ratings in several crash tests including a 5-star rating for both the driver and passenger side in front crashes, and a 5-star rating for both the driver and passenger side in side crashes. While the overall safety rating is not provided, the vehicle does come equipped with standard electronic stability control which can greatly enhance driver control in emergency situations. Unfortunately, it does not have either forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems. The rollover rating for this vehicle is 3 out of 5, indicating a moderate risk of rollovers. Despite its good crash test ratings, it is important to note that there have been 633 complaints and 4 recalls associated with this model, which potential buyers should take into consideration when evaluating the overall safety and reliability of the 2006 Ford Explorer.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

633

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2006 Ford Explorer 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2006 Ford Explorer 4-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2006 Ford Explorer 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2006 Ford Explorer 4-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 5 Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 3 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2006 Ford EXPLORER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"this transmission should be recalled!!!! the reverse band breaks and is a known issue for this transmission!! no warning just went to reverse and nothing! upon research this has been a known issue since day one!!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-04-07

Complaint:
"the transmissions have a problem and have had a problem for years. they can fail without notice and cause a vehicle to lose momentum while going down the road. yes this is an older vehicle but if you look up older comments on this vehicle on other reporting sites there are many reports of transmissions causing serious problems. why has this never been dealt with in any manner? i was driving down the highway and my vehicle began to slow down and would not move forward. i was able to get the vehicle in gear and get it to the shop. i paid to replace the transmission and it did it again in the new transmission. i almost did not make it up the hill near my home and have been forced to park the vehicle as it is not safe to drive."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-12-06

Complaint:
"i was turning from turning lane into wal-mart and when i gave it gas the transmission slipped and wouldn't move. luckily no cars were coming and it finally kicked in and let me pull into the parking lot. i just bought this and was looking up the issue and found out this is a problem with ford explorer 2002 - 2006. why isn't there a recall on these transmissions? this is very dangerous!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-03-10

Complaint:
"i purchased a 2006 ford explorer, eddie bauer. i needed the transmission rebuilt and paid aamco almost $4,000. not even a year later the transmission failed and had to be re-built again but it was under warranty. back in march 2019, i took it back to aamco and was told nothing wrong with the transmission. august 2019, i went back to aamco and they replaced the solenoid pack is what i was told. now, not even a month later the transmission has failed again. the suv jerks when placed into gear and it feels as though someone rear ended me. the transmission is faulty by the manufacturer, ford! there are hundreds of complaints regarding the transmission of this year explorer with the same issues and ford will not take responsibility! it's not right that consumers have to shell out thousands of dollars on this piece of junk they manufactured which can cause accidents! something has to be done."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-01-05

Complaint:
"when the car is put in reverse and you give it gas, it shifts really hard and jerks and slips. i think that something is wrong with the transmission. this happened while i was leaving work and put the car into reverse to leave the parking lot."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-01-09

Complaint:
"transmission been slipping on 2nd or 3rd gear i believe i never towed or carry heavy loads at all it's been doing this since the first month i purchase it and it's been getting worst since"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-08-03

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. while reversing out of the driveway, the vehicle made a loud abnormal noise. suddenly, the vehicle would not shift into reverse or drive. the vehicle was towed to an independent transmission shop. the mechanic diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was contacted and was unable to provide assistance. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 114,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-04-01

Complaint:
"my explorer's transmission is starting to exhibit hard shifts that rattle the entire car. i know this is not a new problem as a family member had to replace the transmission in their 2006 explorer and cyber community is full of examples. this is a major safety issue as the transmission hesitates while excelerating through intersections and shifts hard enough to jolt the entire car while slowing down."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-03-07

Complaint:
"the automatic transmission is banging into gear. it jolts the vehicle back and forth as it shifts. tried replacing transmission fluid but continues to do it. feels like i've been rear-ended at times. its a consistent occurrence."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-01-06

Complaint:
"overdrive has a hard jolt " hard shift" when normal driving. i see this is a big issue with all ford explorers, too bad i didn't do some research before buying a ford."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-02-06

Recalls for the 2006 Ford EXPLORER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"certain ck motorsports combination headlights, clear corner, bumper, and side marker lights sold as replacement lamps for use on the passenger vehicles listed above. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Consequence:
WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
Remedy:

CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.

Component(s) Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2006-05-24

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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