2017 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #2036456
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE filed October 29, 2024
NHTSA complaint #2036456 (ODI reference 11622602) concerns a 2017 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on October 29, 2024. The owner reports the failure occurred on August 19, 2024. The vehicle had 60,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to New Jersey based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette, 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 air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette 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 2017 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the passengerâs side the A-pillar applique trim had a split in the middle causing rainwater and dirt to enter the vehicle. As a result of the failure, the sunroof motor was damaged and then failed to operate. The local dealer was called, and the contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (STRUCTURE); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. On another occasion, while driving at various speeds, while making a left or right turn there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the steering. The contact stated that the failure progressively worsened when turning to the right. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where it was diagnosed that the A-pillar applique trim was not likely the reason for the failure of the sunroof motor and that a 2-hour diagnostic test needed to be completed to determine the cause of the failure; however, the repair would be paid out of pocket. The contac
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2036456 |
| ODI Number | 11622602 |
| Date Filed | October 29, 2024 |
| Failure Date | August 19, 2024 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8D8XHG |
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.