IllustrationMY 2006 FORD EXPLORER FREQUENTLY LURCHES/LUNGES WHEN COMING TO A STOP AND STARTING UP FROM A STOP. IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS BEING REAR-ENDED. *TW
2006 Ford Explorer
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2006 Ford Explorer do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 609.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Explorer years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
960–25K
13925–50K
13950–75K
8575–100K
67100–150K
21150K+
547 reports with mileage · 83 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 296 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 164 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 58 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
13 crash reports7 fire reports10 injury reports
What owners actually said
630 reportsAT 45,000 MY RADIATOR FAILED AND FORD NEEDED TO REPLACE IT. I DO NOT TAKE THE CAR OFF ROAD, AND KEEP ALL REQUIRED MAINTENANCE. THIS IS VERY EARLY FOR A FAILURE, AND A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR THIS VEHICLE. *TR
RADIATOR STARTED LEAKING FOR NO REASON IN 2006 FORD EXPLORER HAVE BEEN TOLD BY REPAIR SHOP AND OTHER OWNERS THAT THIS IS A COMMON THING THE REPAIR SHOP SAID THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW TO EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN IN A YEAR I DO NOT HAVE 600. DOLLARS TO PUT OUT EVERY YEAR ON A VEHICLE THAT IS NOT PAID FOR SHOULD I LET IT …
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RADIATOR STARTED LEAKING FOR NO REASON IN 2006 FORD EXPLORER HAVE BEEN TOLD BY REPAIR SHOP AND OTHER OWNERS THAT THIS IS A COMMON THING THE REPAIR SHOP SAID THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW TO EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN IN A YEAR I DO NOT HAVE 600. DOLLARS TO PUT OUT EVERY YEAR ON A VEHICLE THAT IS NOT PAID FOR SHOULD I LET IT GO BACK. *TR
2006 FORD EXPLORER HAS COOLING SYSTEMS PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE LIGHT AND GAUGE WOULD SUDDENLY RISE. THE ENGINE WOULD REV AND THE HEAT WOULD BLOW COLD AIR. IN JULY 2009 I HAD THE RADIATOR REPLACED AND WAS TOLD BY A FORD DEALER THAT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. SEVEN MONTHS LATER THE SAME PROBLEMS HAVE STARTED AGAIN. ENGINE SUDDENLY O…
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2006 FORD EXPLORER HAS COOLING SYSTEMS PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE LIGHT AND GAUGE WOULD SUDDENLY RISE. THE ENGINE WOULD REV AND THE HEAT WOULD BLOW COLD AIR. IN JULY 2009 I HAD THE RADIATOR REPLACED AND WAS TOLD BY A FORD DEALER THAT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. SEVEN MONTHS LATER THE SAME PROBLEMS HAVE STARTED AGAIN. ENGINE SUDDENLY OVERHEATS, THEN SUDDENLY DROPS, COLD AIR FROM THE HEATING SYSTEM. I AM TAKING THE TRUCK BACK TO THE DEALER. DEALER SAYS THEY WILL NOT WARRANTY THE RADIATORS, FANS, ETC., BECAUSE OF THE STEADY PROBLEMS THEY ARE HAVING WITH THEM. *TR
2006 FORD EXPLORER HARD OR SLOW TRANSMISSION SHIFTING. *TR
I BOUGHT A 2006 FORD XLT EXPLORER WITH APX. 17,000 MILES. I HAD IT FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS IT HAD ABOUT 19,000 MILES. I DRIVE IT ABOUT 100 MILES TO A CONVENTION AND BY THE TIME I GOT THERE AND PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT THE VEHICLE STARTED SHIFTING HARD, JERKING AND LUNGING. IT WAS MAKING A LOUD BANGING SOUND AND FELT LIKE THE TRANSMI…
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I BOUGHT A 2006 FORD XLT EXPLORER WITH APX. 17,000 MILES. I HAD IT FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS IT HAD ABOUT 19,000 MILES. I DRIVE IT ABOUT 100 MILES TO A CONVENTION AND BY THE TIME I GOT THERE AND PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT THE VEHICLE STARTED SHIFTING HARD, JERKING AND LUNGING. IT WAS MAKING A LOUD BANGING SOUND AND FELT LIKE THE TRANSMISSION WAS GOING TO FALL OUT. I TOOK IT TO FORD, THEY DID SOME WORK ON THE TRANSFER CASE AND REPLACED A MODULE. ABOUT A MONTH AND A THOUSAND MILES LATER, IT STARTED DOING IT AGAIN. TOOK IT BACK TO FORD AND THEY DID SOME MORE WORK. THE SHIFTER LEVER WAS REPLACED. LATER IT STARTED DOING IT AGAIN. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK SEVERAL TIMES AND THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO HAVE THE PROBLEM. IT DOESN'T DO IT EVERY DAY BUT DOES DO IT SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK, SOME DAYS ARE WORSE THAN OTHERS. AS TIME GOES BY IT SEEMS TO GET WORSE AND HAPPEN MORE OFTEN. SOMETIME WHEN I PUT THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE THERE IS A DELAY TO ENGAGE AND ONE MORNING IT CAUSE ME TO BACK INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. IT ALSO HAS A CRACKED RUNNING BOARD. *TR
NOTICED A 6 INCH PUDDLE UNDER MY 2006 EDDIE BAUER. HAD IT TESTED AND THE TUBES AT THE BOTTOM WERE LEAKING. BOUGHT A REPLACEMENT RADIATOR FOR 220.00. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING A TIRE BLEW-OUT. WHEN CHANGING THE TIRE, THE JACK FAILED. A TECHNICIAN FROM THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY ARE GOING TO SELL HIM ANOTHER JACK. HE WAS THEN ADVISED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON FAILURE FOR HIS MODEL TYPE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 83137.
LAST NIGHT THE CAR WAS IN DRIVE BUT WOULD KEEP KICKING OUT OF GEAR... I WOULD PUSH THE GAS, THE ENGINE WOULD REV, BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T GO ANYWHERE. I EVEN ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN A HILL ON A HIGHWAY AND ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR! I HAD TO SHUT THE CAR OFF, AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO GET IT TO BACK IN GEAR. THIS HAPPENED 10-15 TIM…
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LAST NIGHT THE CAR WAS IN DRIVE BUT WOULD KEEP KICKING OUT OF GEAR... I WOULD PUSH THE GAS, THE ENGINE WOULD REV, BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T GO ANYWHERE. I EVEN ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN A HILL ON A HIGHWAY AND ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR! I HAD TO SHUT THE CAR OFF, AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO GET IT TO BACK IN GEAR. THIS HAPPENED 10-15 TIMES IN A 20 MINUTE DRIVE! I WAS NERVOUS TO EVEN DRIVE IT HOME! IT IS AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP NOW... I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED... WILL NEVER BUY AN AMERICAN CAR AGAIN! IT IS COMPLETELY UNSAFE TO DRIVE! *TR
MY 2006 FORD EXPLORER FREQUENTLY LURCHES/LUNGES WHEN COMING TO A STOP AND STARTING UP FROM A STOP. IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS BEING REAR-ENDED. I HAVE TAKEN IT IN TO BE REPAIRED AND IT SEEMED TO WORK OK FOR A SHORT TIME, BUT IT HAS STARTED DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN. IT MAKES ME WONDER IF IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR
Official recalls
105V520000 · Visibility:windshield Wiper/washer:motor
Nov 9, 2005
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, PASSENGER CARS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR MAY HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WITHOUT GREASE BEING APPLIED TO THE OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: AFTER A PERIOD OF CONTINUOUS USE ON THE HIGH SPEED SETTING, LACK OF GREASE ON THE OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR MAY CAUSE THE GEAR TO DISTORT OR FRACTURE DURING OPERATION RESULTING IN A LOSS OF WIPER FUNCTION. INOPERATIVE WIPERS UNDER INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD CAUSE A CRASH DUE TO IMPAIRED VISIBILITY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WIPER MOTOR FOR THE PRESENCE OF GREASE AND GREASE THE WIPER MOTOR GEARS IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 22, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673 OR LINCOLN/MERCURY AT 1-800-521-4140.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.