NHTSA Safety Recalls
2008 Ford Explorer Recalls
The 2008 Ford Explorer has 3 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on September 26, 2007.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2008 Ford Explorer. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 3
- Owner complaints
- 148
- Crashes reported
- 6
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
3 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2008 Ford Explorer, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
3 recalls on the 2008 Ford Explorer
Power train: automatic transmission: cooling unit and lines
- Campaign
- 07V453000
- Reported
- September 26, 2007
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,497
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2 other models
Visibility: glass, side/rear
- Campaign
- 07E104000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2002–2007 Explorer, 9 other models
Equipment
- Campaign
- 10E043000
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury
- Same campaign
- also 2006–2007, 2009–2010 Explorer, 10 other models
2008 Ford Explorer complaints by year
NHTSA has received 148 owner complaints about the 2008 Ford Explorer, the newest on July 10, 2026. Of these, 6 describe a crash (4%) and 3 a fire; owners reported 3 injuries.
In complaints about the 2008 Ford Explorer, the component group named most often is the electrical system (26%), followed by the power train (24%) and the seats (18%).
1 of the 2008 Ford Explorer's 3 recalls also concerns the power train.
Where 2008 Ford Explorer owners gave the mileage (129 complaints), the median was 77,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Electrical System38
- Power Train36
- Seats27
- Engine21
- Steering13
- Exterior Lighting12
Complaints received, by year
| 2007 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2009 | 6 | |
| 2010 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 7 | |
| 2012 | 20 | |
| 2013 | 12 | |
| 2014 | 21 | |
| 2015 | 22 | |
| 2016 | 12 | |
| 2017 | 10 | |
| 2018 | 9 | |
| 2019 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 2 |
Complaints about the 2008 Ford Explorer peaked in 2015, when NHTSA received 22. 18% arrived between 2007 and 2011, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2008 vehicles, the 2008 Ford Explorer drew 0.1× the complaints of the median Ford Explorer year in the same window: 22nd highest of the 23 ranked years.
That makes 2008 one of the three best-measured Ford Explorer years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 3/5
The 148 complaints about the 2008 Ford Explorer are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Ford Explorer by model year
Other 2008 Ford models
Newest record on this page: July 10, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted