NHTSA Complaint #11035816 — 2017 FORD EXPLORER

MY 2017 FORD EXPLORER XLT WITH BASE 3.5 V6 HAS BEEN HARD TO START FROM THE FIRST WEEK OF OWNERSHIP. IT HAS LESS THAN 5000 MILES ON IT NOW AND ISN'T FIXED. FORD DEALERSHIP STATED IT WOULD HAVE TO GET WORSE BEFORE THEY COULD FIX IT. VEHICLE SHOWS NO DTC'S OR ANY HISTORY! MY WIFE HAS REFUSED TO DRIVE IT OUT OF TOWN DUE TO THE FEAR OF IT NOT STARTING AT ALL. WE HAVE RECORDED OVER 30 VIDEOS OF IT NOT STARTING AND HAVE SENT VIDEOS TO FORD MOTOR CO. WITH THE SAME RESPONSE, CANT FIX IT IF IT ISN'T BROKE. APPARENTLY IT WILL HAVE TO EITHER BREAK SOMETHING INTERNALLY AND LEAVE MY WIFE AND CHILD STRANDED, BEFORE IT WILL BE DIAGNOSED. IT IS A $40000 LEMON THAT TAKES 3-4 TIMES ATTEMPTING TO START BEFORE THE ENGINE WILL RUN. THIS WEEKEND IT TOOK AT LEAST 30-40 SECONDS BEFORE VEHICLE STARTED, THEN IT WOULD NOT IDLE CORRECTLY! STILL NO DTC'S! VEHICLE DOES THIS NO MATTER THE LENGTH OF TIME ENGINE HAS RUN OR LEVEL OF FUEL? IT DOES IT DURING REMOTE START OR THE PUSH BUTTON. IT DOES AT TIMES HAVE A STRONG ODOR OF GAS AFTER START-UP, ALMOST AS IF IT WAS FLOODED? AS A PERSON IN THE AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR WORLD, THE ABSENCE OF CONCERN FROM FORD IS SHOCKING! SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CORRECT A ISSUE BEFORE IT BECOMES A DANGER, THEY WOULD RATHER IT BECOME DANGEROUS AND THEN REPAIR IT? IF IT IS A FUEL RELATED ISSUE, THEN THIS IS A POTENTIAL HAZARD THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THE VEHICLE IS GETTING WORSE, BUT AS SAID EARLIER, IT WILL HAVE TO COMPLETELY NOT START BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE. FORD MOTOR CO HAS NOT BEEN VERY HELPFUL, AND NOW I AM PROUD OWNER OF VEHICLE THAT WILL NOT START CORRECTLY.