Other lighting problem on the 2014 Ford Explorer
When other lighting problem gets reported
Owners of the 2014 Ford Explorer report other lighting problem at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 1,800 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 86,000 miles. It is the 19th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 800 miles at the tenth percentile to 75,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 72,397 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
67% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 803 miles | 1,800 miles | 34,000 miles | 69,000 miles | 73,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $120–$1,200 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2015, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 1999 at 210,000 miles.
By volume the 2014 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Head lights are not focusing correctly. When u go around curve, lights show ahead half way, but it is pure black around curve. We live in the mts. With lots of hills and mts. It is scary!! You could kill a child or animal without seeing them in the pitch black. Also, u cannot see signs on the side of road unless u put your bright lights on, which really tees off car in front. We just bought the ford explorer in dec.. Have taken it to two dealers,. The one we bought it from did raise the lights, but said nothing else can be done. I believe before ford will have a recall, someone will be killed! Praying it won't be us. Please help us find someone that can help. Engineers should know about this scary problem! Thanks! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
While vehicle was in the shop for preventive maintenance, the technician noticed that the left taillight assembly was about a third full of water. The light assembly was removed from the vehicle and was rotated in various directions in an attempt to find where the water had entered the light. What we found was a poorly welded plastic seam at the top edge of the light assembly. We approached ford with the issue and were informed that because emergency lighting had been added, they would not warranty the light even though the emergency light was not the source of the leak. This vehicle is operated by a police department. We have had another failure (upper seam leak) on another police unit,same year, that resulted in the lose of function of the left taillight assembly due to the LED lighting module shorting out after the light had filled halfway with water. We feel this could be a safety issue due the potential for reduced visible stoplights and taillights on the rear of the vehicle. *tr
The headlights on my 2014 ford explorer sport do not safely light up the road at night on a road with no street lights. The low beams project a black line from left to right approximately 6 inches above the dashboard. There is also no light on either side of the vehicle when making a right or left turn. Last week I almost ran into a ditch because I did not have enough light to see the road. I spoke to my ford dealer and they responded they know of the problem but ford has not sent out a maintenance bulletin or a recall. I called ford customer service and they responded they would make note of this issue and would use it to enhance next years model. I responded that they need to fix this years model. The headlights this year (2014) are new. They use a projector system which is not working. I believe this is a major safety concern and a recall should be issued to convert the new lights back to the old style lights. *tr
Also reported on the 2014 Ford Explorer
Other steering problem
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin
Other suspension problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 19 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other lighting problem happen on the 2014 Ford Explorer?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 1,800 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other lighting problem on the 2014 Ford Explorer?
19 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed