The Lemon Index$7,000 middle bill · most between $5,100 and $11,000
Lower than the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 65,000 miles (10 reports).
Ford Explorer owners reported paying a median of $7,000 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $5,100 and $11,000. That's from 22 owner reports (22 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5005%
- $2,500–$5,00018%
- $5,000 and up77%
Share of the 22 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2002 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
- 2003 Ford Explorer1too few for a middle
- 2004 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
- 2006 Ford Explorer1too few for a middle
- 2011 Ford Explorer4$7,800 middle bill
- 2013 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
- 2015 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
- 2016 Ford Explorer1too few for a middle
- 2017 Ford Explorer4$8,800 middle bill
- 2020 Ford Explorer1too few for a middle
- 2021 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2018 Ford Explorer24 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2021 Ford Explorer13 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
2.0 EcoBoost · 2.3 EcoBoost · 3.5 Duratec / Cyclone V6
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Keep going
- Ford Explorer reliability by year
- Engine replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Ford Explorer owners reported
Transmission replacement (120) · Steering rack replacement (114) · Steering column repair (39) · Water pump replacement (34) · Wheel bearing replacement (31) · Differential repair (29) · Radiator replacement (25) · CV axle replacement (15) · Wiring harness repair (12) · Brake repair (8) · Strut and shock replacement (8) · Throttle body replacement (8) · Torque converter replacement (6) · Clutch replacement (5) · Transfer case replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11773396, 11740275, 11736318, 11650531, 11638610, 11578002, 11549712, 11539317, 11528979, 11497664, 11441423, 11413083 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Ford Explorer?
Ford Explorer owners reported a median of $7,000, and the middle half paid $5,100 to $11,000, from 22 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Ford Explorer engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Ford Explorer middle bill of $7,000 is lower than the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Ford Explorer repair costs come from?
From 22 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Ford Explorer years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2018 (24), 2021 (13) Ford Explorer named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.