Overview & Reviews

The 2011 Ford Explorer has been fully redesigned.

• Nicely sorted ride and handling.
• Abundant high-tech features
• High-class interior quality

• MyFord Touch has some ergonomic foibles.
• Less third-row and cargo room than rivals
• Feels big behind the wheel

User Reviews:

Showing 21 through 30 of 68.00

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  OK so far - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By nazareth1 - November 29 - 6:44 pm

  My 2011 Limited has 10,000 miles on it. So far, so good mechanically......kind of scared though looking at some other problems with overheating. Yes, the My Touch/Sync issue hit me too....had it back to dealer 3x times, supposedly fixed it but after getting it home, they wiped off by Nav and all phone functions...have no idea how the dealer released it, but the system is so sophisicated the dealers really do not know what to do about it unless Ford sends them software update. Finally, seems like last update in October, 2011 has worked. Rear hatch misaligned slightly at factory, not sure how that passed QC. Love the ride and tows a 3600 lb trailer fine.

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  Lemon - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By chuckerrx - November 10 - 2:58 pm

  Im about to contact a lawyer about my 2011 Explorer Limited Lemon. I just spoke with a customer service manager at ford for my dealers district and was basically told tuff cookies! The MFT ( I can think of another word for the F instead of Ford) is junk. Goes black all the time and takes out the phone, stereo, nav, and climate controls. On a 100 degree day the MFT decided to turn on the heat and defrost full blast and there was no changing it until the car was off for awhile, nice. Ford said there might be an update fix in the first quarter of 2012. Might? might? great!

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  Better than the Pilot - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By gbtgd - November 9 - 8:53 am

  I got my 2011 Explorer in June. So far so good. My car is loaded. The only features I dont have on it are the sun roof and the engine upgrade for the class III hitch. In 05 I traded in my Durango (best car I EVER owned) and got a Pilot after ruling out the 05 Explorer. I HATED the Pilot. The Pilot was fairly reliable but it was BORING. Plus going from a V8 to a V6 was a real drop at the time. So when I heard the new Durango was out for 11 I tried it. It was awful. So, I went next door to the Ford dealer and tried the 11 Explorer and liked it a lot. Wish the Explorer was based on a pickup, not a car, and wish it came with a V8 option. The V6, even upgraded, is NOT the same as a V8

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  FIRST EVER FORD - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By smallmouth - November 6 - 4:55 pm

  We purchased our first ever ford vehicle. 3 days later it was in the shop for a computer failure. One week later we got it back. So far 7000 miles later we havent had any more problems. My ford touch wasnt a well thought out plan. I think Ford released it during the devolpment stage. The road noise is bad, I have a 2004 Dodge 2500 diesel that has less road noise that this thing.

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  Love my new Explorer! - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By mgward3 - October 27 - 2:36 pm

  I purchased the new 2011 Explorer after retiring my 1993 Explorer XLT after 18 years and 200K miles. The 93 Explorer was the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned so I figured I would buy another one. The new Explorer has more power, better gas mileage, more seating, more tech toys, better ride and handling, etc. Whats not to love? After 6 months and 5K miles, the only item that required adjustment was the alarm. It would go off if a loud truck or motorcycle went by while parked. The dealer adjusted that when they did the first oil change and all is well. I can only hope this Explorer lasts as long and is as reliable as our beloved 1993 model.

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  Buyer Beware, many problems - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By layhe - October 8 - 5:45 pm

  We picked up our 2011 Ford Explorer Limited about 3 months ago. I have never owned a vehicle with this many problems. It is in the dealer service department more often then it is at home. It is in my opinion a nice looking vehicle but that is the only thing it has going for it. We have had issues with the sync system, most of the features will quit working at some time. The radio will come on and off, the rain sensing wipers will turn on and off for no reason. The cruise control speeds up and slows down. The windshield has been replaced and the side mouldings twice now because of a whistling noise and the problem persists. The front axle seals have been replaced because they leaked.

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  2011 Ford Explorer XLT 4WD - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By patrick66 - September 19 - 9:53 am

  Bought my Explorer in April to replace our 2008 Toyota Highlander. The Explorer is a major upgrade. We have driven over 10,000 miles including an across country trip this summer. The Explorer is much nicer to drive than the Toyota. Much better handling, and the manual mode on the transmission was great driving through mountains. Gas mileage is generally 19-20 mpg in our normal mixed driving. But we were getting up to 27 mpg on our vacation. We have not had any mechanical problems - perfect for my family of 5.

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  Overheating problems - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By hrivington - August 26 - 8:00 am

  I have about 7000 kms on this Explorer and I had to have it towed back to the dealer because of overheating problems. I have been driving for over 40 years and I have never had to have my vehicle towed. I had to leave my daughter at the soccer field. I would recommend to people thinking about buying a a Ford Explorer (Exploder) "Dont do it"!

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  Problems with My Synch just the beginning.... - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By lockew1 - August 19 - 1:29 pm

  My Synch never worked properly from day 1. The phone constantly froze up which brought the whole system down...the phone, radio, navigation. The dealer told her it was not compatible with her phone....a one year old Blackberry? She went out bought a new I-Phone and had the dealer program it. Same problems. Now they say it was a software problem. Replaced/upgraded software and the problems continued. It is a dangerous situation caused by the distractions of the malfunctioning My Synch. The voice activiation never gets the commands or the names right, so it might as well not even exist. Last week vehicle caught fire due to defective valve. Never want to see car again

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  Wait - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By nobargain - August 16 - 10:59 pm

  As background, I have owned 5 ford explorers and loved 4 of them. My 2011 is pathetic. The problem is not with the car but with my touch. It simply does not work. It crashes all the time. Ford is withholding information about the problem and there is no real hope of a solution until late in 2012 when Microsoft does a complete rewrite of the system for ford. Do not even think about buying any ford with this system until this is proven to be fixes.