2019 Ford EXPLORER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2019 Ford Explorer receives a top safety rating of 5 stars overall. It excels in various crash scenarios, including front and side crashes, earning high marks across the board. The vehicle comes equipped with electronic stability control as a standard feature, which enhances its ability to maintain traction on the road. In addition, it offers the option for forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems, providing added safety features for drivers.

However, it is worth noting that there have been 99 complaints reported for this model, along with 2 recalls. While the safety features and high ratings are reassuring, it is important for Ford to address these reported issues to ensure the continued safety and satisfaction of its customers.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

99

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2019 Ford Explorer 4 DR SUV AWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2019 Ford Explorer 4 DR SUV AWD

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.

Optional
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.

Optional

2019 Ford Explorer 4 DR SUV AWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2019 Ford Explorer 4 DR SUV AWD 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 2019 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 5 Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 4 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 2019 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 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 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2019 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2019 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:
"the a-pillar passenger side flank flew off while driving."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2026-03-01

Complaint:
"the trim that is on either side of the front windshield has come loose. the one on the driver side came loose while i was on the interstate and struck the vehicle behind me. it caused the driver to lose control and spin out. fortunately, it did not cause a collision, but it could have caused a loss of life, we were travelling at highway speeds. the trim on the passenger side was still on the vehicle, but it had popped loose and was sticking up at an odd angle. i removed it to prevent the same thing from happening."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2024-08-12

Complaint:
"the driver's side exterior windshield moulding detached from the vehicle traveling at interstate speed (75 mph) and struck the driver's door above the window. the apparent cause of detachment was failure of the retaining clips and adhesive that holds the external piece to the internal rubber moulding."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2025-06-09

Complaint:
"driver side pillar molding next to the windshield flew off unexpectedly while driving on the highway."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2024-12-09

Complaint:
"windshield trim piece (passenger side) detached from vehicle while travelling at 40 mph."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2024-07-07

Complaint:
"passenger side window trim blew off at highway speed without warning. have not had it to the dealer yet as this appears to be a problem for the explorer. i am not sure where the piece ended up. there was not a vehicle immediately behind the car so i don’t believe it struck anyone."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2024-05-06

Complaint:
"we were traveling on i90 west of sioux falls, sd. 06-01-2023. there is a 14 mile stretch that is under construction and the traffic is head to head in that stretch. we met a semi that created a gust of wind that blew the front window trim off the passenger side of the vehicle. i do not know where the trim went once it exited the vehicle. it was in an area where construction workers were working along side of the road and there was a line of cars behind us."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2023-01-06

Complaint:
"while driving on highway i-20 at 80 miles per hour, the trim panel around the windshield detached. the panel detached on the drive side but the passenger side is already detaching from the bottom part."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2025-06-04

Complaint:
"windshield trim panels flying off vehicle while driving down the road"
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2023-05-12

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2019 ford explorer. the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the side trim on the passenger’s side windshield detached from the vehicle. the dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the nhtsa hotline for assistance. the failure mileage was 76,000."
Components Involved: STRUCTURE
Date of incident: 2025-05-01

Recalls for the 2019 Ford EXPLORER

Component Recalls

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

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 explorer vehicles. the retention pins could loosen and allow the roof rail covers to detach from the vehicle."
Consequence:
A detached roof rail cover can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Dealers will install push-pins and replace any damaged rail clips and roof rail covers, as necessary, free of charge. The interim owner notification letter was mailed on June 22, 2021. Owner notification letters (remedy available) were mailed on October 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S22.

Component(s) Involved: STRUCTURE > BODY
Date of incident: 2021-05-05

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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