2013 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1877131
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD:CRITICAL FASTENERS filed March 1, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1877131 (ODI reference 11509781) concerns a 2013 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on March 1, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 27, 2023. The report was geocoded to Missouri based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:windshield:critical fasteners, 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 visibility:windshield:critical fasteners 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 2013 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The windshield pillar trim flew off the vehicle traveling 60mph down a highway. It was sudden and loud which was extremely distracting. The windshield pillar trim caused the vehicle behind to swerve. Part of the weather stripping which was attached to windshield pillar trim remained halfway on the vehicle flapping in the wind, scratching the vehicle. Driver had to pull over and remove the flapping piece. The problem has not been reproduced nor inspected. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the failure.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1877131 |
| ODI Number | 11509781 |
| Date Filed | March 1, 2023 |
| Failure Date | February 27, 2023 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8F86DG |
Similar VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD:CRITICAL FASTENERS Complaints for 2013 FORD EXPLORER
While I was driving the passenger side panel started to fly off. I pulled over to the side of the road and secured it. My husband placed black tape on it to hold it down until it gets repaired.
Windshield trim falling apart and separating from windshield. Noticed this happening approx 2 years ago and has become extremely bad now. I have called local dealership and glass company for replacem
The windshield cover on the driver side flew off while I was driving down the interstate.
On July 12, 2021 on I-20 about 25 miles from Atlanta, the front windshield driver's side molding flew off without previous warning. This is on a 2013 Ford Explorer. This was a piece about 3" wide a
Rubber weatherstripping around windshield glass is coming off and hitting the windshield. I had the car inspected by Safelite Auto Glass and they said the windshield needs to come out so they can repl
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.