VehicleVerdict

2006 Ford Explorer transmission problems

The 2006 Ford Explorer has 301 transmission complaints filed with NHTSA — 38% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

301

Transmission complaints

38%

Share of year

6

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Transmission complaints by year

Explorer transmission complaints by model year1,584 complaints1990: 2 complaints1991: 75 complaints1992: 91 complaints1993: 78 complaints1994: 91 complaints1995: 130 complaints1996: 134 complaints1997: 119 complaints1998: 108 complaints1999: 120 complaints2000: 143 complaints2001: 44 complaints2002: 1,584 complaints2003: 357 complaints2004: 473 complaints2005: 100 complaints2006: 301 complaints2007: 58 complaints2008: 35 complaints2009: 3 complaints2010: 29 complaints2011: 64 complaints2012: 56 complaints2013: 119 complaints2014: 79 complaints2015: 83 complaints2016: 214 complaints2017: 123 complaints2018: 45 complaints2019: 35 complaints2020: 446 complaints2021: 106 complaints2022: 59 complaints2023: 11 complaints2024: 1 complaints2025: 15 complaints2026: 2 complaints
Explorer transmission complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“CEL LIGHT CAME ON, CODE READ 02 SENSOR WHICH WAS REPLACED AND CEL LIGHT OFF NOW. TRANSMISSION JERKING HARD INTO REVERSE AND DRIVE AND HANGS UP BETWEEN GEARS, SUDDENLY LUNGING FORWARD. IN STOP AND START OR DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC, WITH LIGHTS EVERY BLOCK, IT WILL SOMETIMES LUNGE FORWARD AS I SLOW DOWN TO…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Transmission · August 16, 2014 · crash

Common questions

How many transmission complaints does the 2006 Ford Explorer have?

NHTSA has 301 complaints about the 2006 Ford Explorer transmission — 38% 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.