2007 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC — Complaint #1815170
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:NON-POWERED AXLE ASSEMBLY filed May 27, 2022
NHTSA complaint #1815170 (ODI reference 11466453) concerns a 2007 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC and was filed on May 27, 2022. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 1, 2022. The vehicle had 160,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to South Carolina based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly, 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: yes, fire: no, injuries: 2, 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 SPORT TRAC cohort independently describe similar suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly 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 2007 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owned a 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound, and the driver's side rear tire had seized due to a fractured rear axle and bolt. Another vehicle then crashed into the contact's driver's side rear tire causing the vehicle to spin and the front windshield cracked upon impact. No air bags were deployed upon impact. The contact and her wife were transported to the hospital. The contact had a fractured sternum, neck pain, and a fractured vertebra. The contact's wife had bruises on her chest from the seat belt. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 07V181000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1815170 |
| ODI Number | 11466453 |
| Date Filed | May 27, 2022 |
| Failure Date | February 1, 2022 |
| VIN | 1FMEU31K27U |
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.