The Lemon Index$3,000 middle bill · most between $2,000 and $4,000
Higher than the $1,400 middle bill owners of all 68 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 79,000 miles (5 reports).
Ford Explorer owners reported paying a median of $3,000 for a water pump replacement, with the middle half of bills between $2,000 and $4,000. That's from 34 owner reports (34 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0003%
- $1,000–$2,50038%
- $2,500–$5,00047%
- $5,000 and up12%
Share of the 34 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2011 Ford Explorer2too few for a middle
- 2012 Ford Explorer1too few for a middle
- 2013 Ford Explorer3$2,000 middle bill
- 2014 Ford Explorer4$2,300 middle bill
- 2015 Ford Explorer3$2,000 middle bill
- 2016 Ford Explorer8$3,200 middle bill
- 2017 Ford Explorer10$3,200 middle bill
- 2018 Ford Explorer3$4,400 middle bill
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
- 2016 Ford Explorer138 complaints name it6% of that year's complaints
- 2017 Ford Explorer90 complaints name it5% of that year's complaints
- 2013 Ford Explorer67 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2015 Ford Explorer52 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2014 Ford Explorer43 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2018 Ford Explorer37 complaints name it5% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a water pump. 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
- Water pump 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) · Wheel bearing replacement (31) · Differential repair (29) · Radiator replacement (25) · Engine replacement (22) · 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): 11762805, 11701379, 11670877, 11628446, 11628300, 11591572, 11580947, 11579778, 11555510, 11550807, 11548837, 11548178 and more.
Quick answers
How much does water pump replacement cost on a Ford Explorer?
Ford Explorer owners reported a median of $3,000, and the middle half paid $2,000 to $4,000, from 34 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Ford Explorer water pump replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Ford Explorer middle bill of $3,000 is higher than the $1,400 owners of all 68 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Ford Explorer repair costs come from?
From 34 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 2016 (138), 2017 (90), 2013 (67) 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.