VehicleVerdict

2001 Ford Explorer engine problems

The 2001 Ford Explorer has 47 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 9% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

47

Engine complaints

9%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Explorer engine complaints by model year494 complaints1990: 2 complaints1991: 66 complaints1992: 84 complaints1993: 68 complaints1994: 89 complaints1995: 55 complaints1996: 96 complaints1997: 227 complaints1998: 212 complaints1999: 112 complaints2000: 102 complaints2001: 47 complaints2002: 214 complaints2003: 91 complaints2004: 116 complaints2005: 47 complaints2006: 227 complaints2007: 38 complaints2008: 25 complaints2009: 5 complaints2010: 17 complaints2011: 104 complaints2012: 93 complaints2013: 292 complaints2014: 263 complaints2015: 292 complaints2016: 494 complaints2017: 311 complaints2018: 120 complaints2019: 24 complaints2020: 131 complaints2021: 55 complaints2022: 26 complaints2023: 11 complaints2024: 1 complaints2025: 7 complaints2026: 4 complaints
Explorer engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“AFTER HAVING MY 2001 LMTD EDITION EXPLORER PARKED FOR OVER 45 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND WAS CONSUMED. IT WAS A TOTAL LOSS, MELTED DOWN TO THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE. THE FIRE MARSHAL WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE AS THE DAMAGE WAS SO SEVERE, BUT I WAS REFERRED TO SEVERAL…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · December 4, 2005 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2001 Ford Explorer have?

NHTSA has 47 complaints about the 2001 Ford Explorer engine — 9% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.