Ford sells a ton of Explorer SUVs, but almost half a million of them will soon be returning to dealers’ service bays for a recall. The action impacts 492,145 Explorers from the 2016 and 2017 model year, due to an issue that could cause exterior trim pieces to fly off while driving.
The recall covers a problem that could cause trim pieces to detach from the B-pillar. Ford’s production records show that the impacted production set ran from June 2015 until April 2017, when a revised component fixed the issue. Interestingly, the recall population covers most of the Explorers sold during those two years, including the Police Interceptor models.
This recall follows another action from early 2024, which covered the SUV’s A-pillar trim, which could also detach. That recall impacted almost two million vehicles from the 2011 through 2019 model years, so some of the Explorers in this action could have already been through one recall for a related issue.
The problem relates to a foam ring used to secure the B-pillar during production. Over time, that ring could detach, allowing the trim pieces to fly free into the wind. Ford said it is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem, but it noted that a fix is still in development. Owners will be notified by mail by mid-June, and the automaker will fix the impacted vehicles free of charge.
[Images: Ford]
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