2018 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1766505
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS filed September 3, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1766505 (ODI reference 11431606) concerns a 2018 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on September 3, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on September 3, 2021. The vehicle had 55,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to New York 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 2018 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, she became aware that the front passengerâs side windshield rubber trim and the weather protector plastic piece were flapping back and forth on the windshield and then flew off the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and placed the rubber trim piece back in the molding of the windshield and drove back to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1766505 |
| ODI Number | 11431606 |
| Date Filed | September 3, 2021 |
| Failure Date | September 3, 2021 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8GT5JG |
Similar STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS Complaints for 2018 FORD EXPLORER
See attached document for complaint
The NHTSA has opened an investigation into 2011-2019 models experiencing an issue with the windshield trim panel. The trim panels are cracked and disintegrating and pieces are missing posing a hazard
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon inspection it was discovered that approximately three quarters of the driverâs side roof rail covers had fractured and dislodged f
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 70 MPH on a windy day, the driver's side windshield A-Pillar trim bracket fractured inadvertently and continually struck the
The failed component is the Roof Rail Caps. One of mine came off on the car wash. The other Roof Rail Cap keeps coming loose just driving around, I have to check the second Roof Rail Cap so it too doe
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.