2016 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1765955
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS filed August 31, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1765955 (ODI reference 11431197) concerns a 2016 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on August 31, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on August 28, 2021. The report was geocoded to Connecticut based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as structure:body:roof and pillars, 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: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. 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 structure:body:roof and pillars 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 2016 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The front pillar cover has blown off my 2016 Explorer 3 times in the 4 years Iâve owned the vehicle. Two of the 3 times this occurred, I was traveling in heavy traffic on a limited access highway causing a hazard for the other drivers. I donât know where the piece landed or if it hit other vehicles. I have complained about the flawed design to Ford, calling their Customer Service number and the tech told me he didnât see any other complaints related to this from other Ford Explorer owners. What will it take for Ford to fix this design flaw to prevent repeat occurrences? Or at least acknowledge it in their database? The only risk to me is the distraction caused by the sudden noise which drew my attention from the road while I triaged the cause. I hope no motorcycle or convertibles were hit by the debris. I wouldnât replace the trim but now the windshield is probably impacted. The windshield gasket is exposed and flapped in the wind for the entire trip home after this last t
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1765955 |
| ODI Number | 11431197 |
| Date Filed | August 31, 2021 |
| Failure Date | August 28, 2021 |
| VIN | 1FM5K7F88GG |
Similar STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS Complaints for 2016 FORD EXPLORER
See attached document for complaint
See attached document for complaint
The recall has been put out and the dealership is claiming that the fix of gluing the roof rack covers back on is not sufficient and that a new fix needs to be made. The fix is not available to me and
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ROOF RACK RAIL CLIPS FAILED. THE CLIPS CONSTANTLY DETACHED FROM THE RAILS WHEN DRIVING OR WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS AT A CAR WASH. THE
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.