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2018 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1495646

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NHTSA Complaint about SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:HYDRAULIC:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS filed August 30, 2018

NHTSA complaint #1495646 (ODI reference 11123513) concerns a 2018 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on August 30, 2018. The owner reports the failure occurred on August 2, 2018. The vehicle had 982 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Michigan based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as service brakes, hydraulic:power assist:hydraulic:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.

The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.

Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD EXPLORER cohort independently describe similar service brakes, hydraulic:power assist:hydraulic:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2018 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.

Vehicle
2018 FORD EXPLORER
Component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:HYDRAULIC:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Fire
Yes
State
Michigan
Mileage
982 mi

Complaint Description

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, SHE WAS INFORMED BY A PASSING MOTORIST THAT HER VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE SAFELY BEFORE IT BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A FIRE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED. STATE FARM AUTO INSURANCE COMPLETED A FIRE ASSESSMENT AND STATED THAT THE FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A FAILURE WITH THE BRAKE LINES. HINES PARK FORD INC (LOCATED AT 56558 PONTIAC TRAIL, NEW HUDSON, MI 48165, (888) 482-7660) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 982.

Complaint Details

NHTSA Complaint ID 1495646
ODI Number 11123513
Date Filed August 30, 2018
Failure Date August 2, 2018
VIN 1FM5K8D89JG

Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.