2015 Ford Explorer

kevhed72
kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
in The Clubhouse
We need another vehicle and have an opportunity to purchase one from a family member. It has around 125k on it and has been maintained. Any experience or opinions as far as reliability? Not a huge fan of domestic vehicles but this one may be a good fit for what we need, and I know there is a lot of car knowledge within the forum....
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,738
    I'm extremely biased but after owning Toyota, I would never own a Ford as a daily driver ever again.

    My Dad had an explorer for a few years and it quickly became nicknamed the exploder for its myriad of problems.
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,015
    I’ve had plenty of Fords over the years and they’ve been extremely reliable. I have a 2010 Focus SES now that has 210,000 and never had a problem. I’ve had many Crown Vic’s that I’d buy with 125-140,000 from salesmen and run them to 300,000 routinely. Why do you think cab companies and cops loved them so much? I’ve had several F150’s that were great. If you know the history, it’s been well-maintained, and the price is right I wouldn’t be adverse to 125k miles although some things may need repairs from time to time as with any older vehicle with some mileage. Fords are less expensive to repair and parts are way less. This bias against domestic vehicles paints with too broad a brush, like most biases. My girlfriend purchased a Subaru with 99,000 miles and she’s had nonstop problems. Yet, everyone says Subaru’s are so reliable. Plus, even my Crown Vic’s got way better gas mileage. Then when she pays the repair bill the parts are double.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm extremely biased but after owning Toyota, I would never own a Ford as a daily driver ever again.

    My Dad had an explorer for a few years and it quickly became nicknamed the exploder for its myriad of problems.

    I have heard the older explorers were terrible. However, this is an over generalization about fords. I owned a Toyota sequoia for years and loved it. It got totaled and I needed a bigger replacement for my quiver of offspring so I read a bunch of reviews, talked to my mechanic, and bought a used 2014 ford expedition extra long (basically a suburban - but do not buy a Chevy truck lol). Love it, super reliable, zero problems. Ford trucks tend to be very reliable, but the explorer might be built on a sedan chassis?!?
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,602
    Had a 2002 Moutaineer. Same as the Explorer. Junk.
    Computer at 25k, ac at 35k. It ate front wheel bearings,
    Two transmissions. Got rid of it at 100k. Nothing like my
    F150. That was a pretty good vehicle. Like many vehicles,
    you have to look at it specifically by year and drive train.
    A 2014 is old enough to get a pretty good idea from the
    internet if it was reliable or not.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,842
    The current Ford Explorer sits on Ford's CD6 platform which was new in 2019 and underpins only the Explorer and it's Lincoln sibling, the Aviator. It was a complete redesign from the ground up for 2020.

    The 2015 Explorer was built on the Ford D4 platform. The D4 was a revised D3 platform from 2008 that was redesigned in 2011 to support larger vehicles on the same overall platform. Ford built the following on the D3 platform from 2008 to 2019:
    - Ford Explorer
    - Ford Five Hundred
    - Ford Taurus
    - Ford Freestyle
    - Ford Taurus X
    - Mercury Montego
    - Mercury Sable
    - Lincoln MKS

    Built on the revised D4 platform from 2008-2019
    - Ford Explorer 2010-2019
    - Ford Flex 2008-2019
    - Lincoln MKT 2009-2019

    The D4 platform made the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT possible. The only issues I heard of from any D4 platform vehicle was Ford Flex transmissions being lunched or overheating issues and the majority seemed to come from people overloading them with cargo or towing capacity.

    Expeditions are built on Ford's T1 from about 2007 to 2019 and then Ford's T3 platform from 2019 to now. The T platforms are obviously for trucks and the are basically your standard ladder frame construction with the passenger compartment built as a unibody and mounted to the frame and the rest of the truck placed in modular sections on that frame as well. This construction method gives Ford's trucks top marks in safety and keeps them lighter for better fuel economy and payload capacity. However, it also hurts the ability to just check off options on an option sheet which is why you're stuck with package groups now.


    As far as what to buy?

    You?

    The only thing that fits your personal constraints on origin and eco-responsibility is an Audi e-tron so you should get that.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,738
    I sold cars for two years for Carmax, we had 45 tech bays that worked 24/7 and sold on average 800 cars a month.

    Honda and Toyota have their reputation for a reason, as does Ford. Good or bad.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,842
    Yeah, well, I worked at a local shop for 3 years and the vehicles we saw the most were Hyundais and Kias for blown transmissions and Toyotas for blown, sludged up engines. Fords and GMs came in for oil changes, brakes and other maintenance.

    Anecdotal evidence is fun, isn't it?

    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    Great info here folks. I would be giving up a VW GLI for a Ford Explorer but....I am getting older and the VW does burn some oil. I think I am going to test drive an Explorer this weekend to get a better idea.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Jstas wrote: »
    Anecdotal evidence is fun, isn't it?

    Anecdotes are like excuses and bumholes…we all got them and sometimes it’s the best we got😂
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,738
    3olyg9lmidkx.jpg
    5myv8l4b0xmb.jpg
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,446
    ^^^The Subaru Outback comes in at 29k....
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,738
    Every manufacture will have a lemon.

    My problem with Ford isn't the motor... It was the 3rd brake light leaking and getting water in the electrical track... Windows falling in the doors... Interior falling apart...

    Who cares about the engine if the entire vehicle falls apart around you

    My piece of junk 2005 scion xb ran to 366k miles and I sold it for 1k less than I paid for it. A true work horse. I only sold it because a prius had twice the gas mileage and I drive 50k a year.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    VR3 wrote: »
    3olyg9lmidkx.jpg
    5myv8l4b0xmb.jpg

    Interesting info Trey, and probably better than anecdotes 👍. It does, however, change the calculation considerably if one buys used…
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,738
    They break down below on the site how that cost was incurred.

    Another example that extended warranties were twice the price for domestics than honda or Toyota... List goes on

    Just like Carmax won't sell a Mercedes or BMW past 75k or won't buy a jaguar thats out of manufacture warranty.

    They have been doing this for a long long time have an army of people who mine this data to make these decisions.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,124
    Fix
    Or
    Repair
    Daily

    Ford

    F150s seem to be reliable have several buddies that own one other than rusting out they all seem to run. Dont know anyone that had much if any luck with an Explorer:

    But what would I know, I currently own A Toyota truck a Nissan Truck. Kia SUV and have owned a couple of Hondas all reliable, the last domestic vehicle I owned was a Buick Century ran like a champ problem free and the only reason I got rid of it was due to it rusting out to the point of it not being repairable had the Body held up I'm pretty sure it would still be running. today
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,015
    Yeah, the Ford Explorer is so bad that’s why the police buy them now. Some guys have a bias against Polk too, some of them are on this forum.
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  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,547
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    ^^^The Subaru Outback comes in at 29k....

    But don't you have to be, shall we say, of a different lifestyle to drive a Subaru?
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    daddyjt wrote: »
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    ^^^The Subaru Outback comes in at 29k....

    But don't you have to be, shall we say, of a different lifestyle to drive a Subaru?

    What does this mean?
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,895
    dromunds wrote: »
    Yeah, the Ford Explorer is so bad that’s why the police buy them now. Some guys have a bias against Polk too, some of them are on this forum.

    That explains those cops with the bad attitudes!

    B);):#
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  • charley96
    charley96 Posts: 322
    daddyjt wrote: »
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    ^^^The Subaru Outback comes in at 29k....

    But don't you have to be, shall we say, of a different lifestyle to drive a Subaru?

    Ugliest car on the road.
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,300
    kevhed72 wrote: »
    daddyjt wrote: »
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    ^^^The Subaru Outback comes in at 29k....

    But don't you have to be, shall we say, of a different lifestyle to drive a Subaru?

    What does this mean?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTS-in5YSpw


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  • mrbigbluelight
    mrbigbluelight Posts: 9,786
    Subaru Outback.

    .....nope, just gonna step away from the keyboard 😇
    Sal Palooza
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    Seems rather counterproductive to focus on such a tiny percentage of the market share. That does help to explain their dismal 1.2% financial share though.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • charley96
    charley96 Posts: 322
    Neighbor got a new dysentery brown Subaru awhile back and I couldn't bring myself to tell him nice car.
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,059
    Well the Explorer has been sold to Carmax....perhaps the best in the grand scheme of things. You snooze...
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