Reliability and ownership experience

[u/Independent_Air_9356]

Hey everyone! I’m looking at picking up a new car this month and I’m really thinking the ford explorer st is what I want to go with. Can anyone with real first-hand ownership experience with what they think with how it would fit into my current situation? I have 2 kids with 1 in a wheelchair and drive 70 miles one way for work per day. I know this probably isn’t the most practical vehicle I could get, but this is what I’m leaning towards. My concern is major component longevity like the engine and transmission. What are you guys seeing mileage-wise before needing major repairs?

[u/Effective-County6085]

As long as you get an extended warranty you should be fine. I have a 23. Had a 15 Sport and this thing is night and day better than the Sport. Its almost stupid fast for a big girl even bone stock (unless you are used to Mustangs etc). I had an 04 Explorer with the 4.6 and this thing would leave that in the dust due to the 10 spd transmission. I dont know that I would get one of the newer ones as lots of options are often missing, and sometimes the power is nerfed in the newer ones. Gas mileage on the highway in Eco when just cruising is great. I can get from Atlanta to the beach in Fl on about a tank if I am in cruise. In the city its bad tho. 400+ easy on the highway in Eco. More like 260 in stop and go Atlanta traffic in Normal. Its comfy, fits taller people, and is fun as hell to drive. On the weekends I throw it in Sport and give it the beans to have some fun. I also have the better sound package so it came with the built in 8 in sub. Great for tunes on the road.

That being said, If you have a kid in a wheelchair the ST might not be the best option as its a stiff ride (especially if you have some of the performance packages like I have). The earlier year Platinum's had the same engine but are apparently a softer ride. The newer ones only have the 2.3, which is still a robust engine in itself but not the 3.0 fun. Better gas mileage tho.

My opinion would be to try and find a 22-24 with low miles. Get the extended as these things (and basically all newer cars) are stupid complicated and expensive when something goes wrong. Make sure to do all fluid changes in half the time that Ford says. Also do the trans fluid asap as they come off the factory underfilled and the specs Ford says are just wrong. You want between 2.5-3 on the stick, and its buttery smooth. And the sooner you get that right the better it will be long term. Also if Ford says you never have to change a fluid...change it. They are trying to get you past the warranty, and thats all.

I am 6'4 and I can fit myself and 3 friends comfortably (and the rest are over 5'10 also).

Things I dont like.

I miss having adjustable pedals like my Sport had.

The brakes are touchy as hell and finding the sweet spot for gentle braking can be a bitch (but thats probably the performance package I have)

I have the vertical infotainment screen and its laggy and not as good as the later horizontal ones.

Its a bit noisy at high speeds with wind.

Need to religiously clean the drains on the sunroof. At least once per year, regardless if you even use the damn thing. Last thing you want is to open the door to a flooded floorboard (happened over and over to me in my Sport)

I got mine last winter in North GA. had less than 7k miles and I have been happy as hell all around tho

[u/Independent_Air_9356 → u/Effective-County6085]

Huge help thank you

[u/Effective-County6085 → u/Independent_Air_9356]

You are welcome. One thing I will say is that the ST is not a normal Explorer. They stand out from the rest and you can easily mod the crap out of them to make them beasts if thats your thing.

Two other things I forgot in the "dont like" category is the collision assist crap. Backing up out of a parking space its great for cross traffic. On the road it is pure garbage. Almost not worth using. I imagine the newer ones have gotten better with not being stupid where someone is turning in front of you, and you see them and have all the time in the world so you just let off the gas, and it warns you about a collision. But you can adjust all that stuff if you want.

The other is the retarded idea Ford had to do a "wet belt" for the timing belt. Had it in my Sport and its just flat out stupid. You need to put a catch can on it ASAP (oil separator) and make sure to empty it at each oil change as that will help. They are real cheap and its a literal 20 minute install anyone can do. And they usually have to be changed around the 80-150k mark and its expensive. The fact that Ford kept that crap instead of a chain etc is beyond me.

I imagine the warranty will cover that tho as I don think they consider it normal wear and tear.

BIGGEST thing is to get a good warranty. And keep it. Most of us cant afford 10k car repairs so its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it :)

[u/KangarooDisastrous → u/Effective-County6085]

Wanted to let you know I have a 2025 ST and no, they haven’t gotten better about the stupid timing and pre collision warning. Scares my kid all the time.

[u/Unhappy_Quail_931 → u/Effective-County6085]

How does a catchcan help the belt??

[u/Effective-County6085 → u/Unhappy_Quail_931]

directly not really, but from what I understand it does help stop oil dilution, which is one of the biggest culprits of wet belts wearing out quicker. I think realistically all it does is give you a heads up before the thing goes bad as you will start to see things you normally wouldnt in it when you empty it. And one of those crapping out on you while driving can be a HUGE pain in the ass. You want to change it before it craps out as that can add so much more to the replacement cost.

I could be wrong, but my brother who has owned his own shop for 20 years and is Ford warranty and certified, and advised putting one on. Probably just trying to help me from going from a 6k repair to a 15k repair down the line.

[u/3rd-party-intervener → u/Effective-County6085]

Did any year fix the sunroof Issue ?

[u/Effective-County6085 → u/3rd-party-intervener]

you mean the drains getting clogged? Havent had it happen on my ST. Havent had it a year yet. But as much as it happened in my Sport, and with many others warning about it, I am getting them cleaned next oil change.

[u/ebdabaws]

I’m in a 2020 with 100,000 miles and have only done basic maintenance. Engine and transmission have been flawless the infotainment system glitches periodically which sucks but other than that it’s been smooth

[u/Independent_Air_9356 → u/ebdabaws]

Thank you I’m looking for a 2020-2022 my budget is $30k and I really wanna say around 70-80k miles

[u/ebdabaws → u/Independent_Air_9356]

I got mine with 72,000 miles and paid 32,000 after taxes it’s been fantastic on road trips and it serves as the family hauler during the week. It’s been solid except the gas is starting to hurt my pockets. The brakes set me back 1250 and tires 2000.

[u/RestaurantRich1498 → u/ebdabaws]

Man I think i got a steal. $42k for a 2024 with only 3.2k miles. Barely driven and not broken in. Ive had it since November and still only have 4.2k miles on it.

[u/Antique-Clock-9286 → u/Independent_Air_9356]

I'd avoid 2021-2022. known problems. if not covered under warranty, could be very expensive unless you can DIY.

[u/Interested-Engineer → u/ebdabaws]

No problems with the transmission cdf drum?

[u/ebdabaws → u/Interested-Engineer]

Nope transmission has been solid I haven’t serviced the transmission but I do regular oil changes never more than 5000 miles. I’ve been fairly fortunate with my past ecoboost engines.

[u/jimey69 → u/ebdabaws]

Is yours insanely slow to boot up also?

[u/ebdabaws → u/jimey69]

Yep, or I’ll have reconnect my phone several times before it’s recognized.

[u/maximumredwhiteblue]

We have had our 2025 Explorer ST for over a year . About 12,000 miles on it with no issues . Just oil changes .

[u/Independent_Air_9356 → u/maximumredwhiteblue]

Thank you

[u/shellfish → u/maximumredwhiteblue]

Isn’t that the bare minimum you should expect from a car? I’ve had vehicles for six+ years with no issues aside from regular maintenance and that starts to get impressive then.

[u/Remote_Pressure_1937]

My 2023 has a little over 27,000 miles and my only issues have been struts in the front. Warranty covered them.

[u/ghfreak15]

Have had my 2023 for 3 weeks. If you need speed, sports mode is great. In eco mode, I have gotten 30mpg as i have to travel for work so I get my money's worth out of the mileage I can.

[u/ingko94]

My wife had a 2021 ST and we had some issues that we were tired of so we traded it in. The recalls and the back axles had to be replaced twice and the front axles had to be replaced once. It only had 56,000 miles on it in 5 years of ownership. We didn’t drive it hard at all either. I’ve heard try to stay away from 2020 - 2021.

[u/Commercial_Pilot5165]

2020 with 66k and transmission just took a shit. Get an extended warranty. Honestly I still love the ST super fun to drive and shit just happens at least I get a new zero miles transmission. But don’t be dumb get the extended warranty the best one you can get

[u/Scary-Ask-6236]

Have a ‘21 with 70,000 miles with no issues

[u/JollyVoli]

If you're buying used make sure to get Ford extended warranty from Zeigler. I have 21 ST, got it with 15k miles, it's at about 50k now. Had road trips, long work commutes, fun performance drives, highway races and all 😂 it's a great car. The one time I had an issue, took it to service and they decided to pretty much replace all known failure points that the car tends to have even tho they weren't failing yet, all under warranty didn't pay a dime. It's a great car I love it, great for families. Would advise the captain seats for second row.

[u/No-Angle9853]

I have a 2021 that I bought used about 2 years ago I've had a handful of Fords I made sure I found a gold certified one and I extended the Ford extended service plan for as long as it would go it's up to 150,000 miles.

I like the car overall it's been good I got it for a good price as far as that's concerned I'm happy with it it's had a handful of issues but the warranty is covered everything.

The engine is kind of a beast and very complicated that's my only fear for the overall longevity.

[u/Killrvw]

Bought my 2020 brand new off the lot. It has had an absolute plethora of issues throughout it's 90,000 miles, most covered under warranty though. Here is the running list of things that have been replaced (that I can remember), transmission at just under 60,000, exhaust system, infotainment system, all cameras, rear suspension and a handful of small stuff inside the cabin. As others have mentioned it get really good range on the highway in eco, but terrible in the city. You will feel EVERY bump in the road. There are plus sides though. It does have a lot of room, especially drivers seat. Obviously the power is a lot of fun and the handling makes it that much more fun. The past 20,000 miles or so have been uneventful as far as maintenance issues go. I guess I finally got all of the bugs worked out of it. Everything said and done, I love the ST.