NHTSA Complaint #11471556 — 2016 FORD EXPLORER

The Duratec V6 engine in many models of Ford including Explorer 2011-2019 has a major design flaw in that the water pump is INSIDE the engine and fails frequently and abruptly. When it fails, the coolant immediately floods the engine and mixes with motor oil and the engine seizes immediately it could be in traffic in an intersection or anywhere. This should have been recalled. There is a class action already for this issue in Canada, same engine and manufacturer, moving thru the courts and certified as a class action there. The US seems to be behind. The NTSB should pressure Ford to recall all of these and repair them with a water pump assembly which is stronger. In my case, on a routine service visit to the dealer I was told that I had the beginning of a coolant leak on my 2016 Ford Explorer Limited, with only 65K miles on it. They required me to bring it back another day for diagnosis then shocked me by saying the water pump is about to fail and should be replaced but because of this design the entire engine must be removed in order to replace it. They also said it is a common failure and can recur. The repair costs $4000 almost all labor to replace a $200 water pump. But the problem is it can be replaced and within a month fail again with consequences of being stalled in traffic or the middle of an intersection. It is well documented online. They changed their design to correct the problem starting after 2019. A useful description of the issue is at: https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/all-about-the-ford-explorer-water-pump-recalls but there has been no recall in the US.