Most common 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems
Share of the 167 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Explorer Sport Trac complaints by model year
Best Explorer Sport Trac years: 2006, 2009, 1997. Years to avoid: 2001, 2002, 2007, 2004, 2003. Compare all years →
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac recalls (4)
Vehicle speed control
On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch May, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected…
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with high back seats, the upper bolt on the driver's side high back seat, that attaches the seat recliner mechanism to the seat back frame, could fracture.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver seat upper bolt with a metal spacer and bolt. In addition, seats with tubular back frames will have the fully threaded lower recliner bolt replaced with a partially threaded bolt.
Vehicle speed control › Cables
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control and 4.0l sohc engines, if the strand cover on the speed control cable becomes flared at the end, the speed control cable May bind when the speed control is activated.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the speed control cable and, if necessary, replace it. Owner notification began August 29, 2003. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Structure › Body › Hood › Hinge and attachments
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles with steel hoods and certain pickup trucks equipped with sheet molding compound hoods. A wire formed hood striker could be susceptible to fatigue fractures. If the hood striker fractures, the hood could fly open while the vehicle is being driven.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the hood striker.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 2 possible defects involving the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac:
Front seat back recliner attachment
By letter dated August 4, 2003, Ford notified the agency that it is conducting a voluntary safety recall (NHTSA recall no. 03V281) involving certain model year (my) 1998-2001 Ford explorer / Mercury mountaineer 4-door, my 1998-2000 Ford explorer 2-door and my 2001-2002 Ford explorer sport and sport trac vehicles equipped with high back seats.complaints allege that the driver's seat back reclined without warning.a…
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
What 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac owners say
Transmission & drivetrain all 36 →
Vehicle running in park while driver gathered boxes to place in bed of truck. Drive train engaged sending driverless vehicle down road, across intersection and into brick wall. Witness to impact ran to vehicle thinking to check on driver. Upon opening door, noted no driver and stated shifter still indicated vehicle was in park.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving various speeds. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was manually restarted and operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed as a transmission malfunction. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and transferred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.
Body & structure all 27 →
I have owned this truck since 2002. Left rear passenger door handle broke (one day it worked, next day it was flopping and obviously disconnected). Can't open it from the outside or inside. Front driver's side door handle also feeling floppy and loose. Child "safety" latches on both back passenger doors have never worked properly so anyone sitting in the back seat has to be let out by someone on the outside as the inside door handle won't work. On the internet, you will see that door failures on this make and model are rampant. This is extremely dangerous. In an accident, the driver and/or passengers could not get out of the truck. Fixing the doors is really difficult as w/o being able to open the door, you have to dismantle the interior of the truck in order to get to the I/s door panel. …
While driving down the road I heard a popping followed by a lot of metal noise. The truck seamed shift around. Upon looking under the truck the body mount under the passenger seat was gone on both sides of the frame. The cab is now sitting on the frame and some parts around the passenger front mount are cracked. Called Ford, not under warranty or recall. (good answer?) I think not....took to local Ford dealer in ri. Told him what the problem was and that my wife wanted to use the Sport Trac to pick up our 1 year old grandson. He told me the truck was unsafe and not to drive it ... Sound like a maintenance issue? Sounds more like a product failure. Ford knows. NHTSA knows. We who own know. This is not environmental due to the fact that I see it is also happening in texas too. So I will call Ford again and demand the fix as many times as it takes til my truck is fixed. …
Speed control & acceleration all 26 →
Ever since I got the truck about 4 months ago I have been having a problem with the rear brakes locking up. It happens after the vehicle has been sitting up for a few hours and it's raining or there's a good but of moisture in the air. When you first get in the truck the rear brakes will lock up on you only going forward for some reason. If you apply very little pressure it does it. After about 10 times locking it up it drives fine as long as its not parked for a while. On a good hot summer day with no moisture or rain it does do it at all. A few weeks ago I backed out my drive way it was raining and it did it. So I decided to pull back into my driveway and take my fiance's car to town. When I was pulling up it locked up when I trying to stop and slid into the corner of my home. No major damage was done just cracked the front bumper. I have taking it to 3 local mechanics. …
Tl* the contact owns 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard upon engagement and the vehicle continued to accelerate. In addition, smoke emitted from the air vents and from under hood. The contact immediately jumped from the vehicle once he noticed flames extending from under the hood. The unoccupied vehicle then crashed into a wooded area. The contact sustained road rash and injuries to the left wrist and hand. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage facility. The vehicle had been included in NHTSA campaign id number: 07V336000 (vehicle speed control) however, the failure occurred before the recall remedy could be performed. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 156,800.
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 15 / 19 / 17 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 14 / 18 / 16 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 18 / 15 |
EPA ratings. Class: Full-size pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac a good car?
Based on 167 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2001 Explorer Sport Trac rates avoid: 4.7× as many complaints as a typical year of the Explorer Sport Trac at the same age. It is one of the Explorer Sport Trac years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac?
The transmission & drivetrain — 36 complaints, 22% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the body & structure (27) and speed control & acceleration (26).
How many recalls does the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac have?
There are 4 recalls for the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, the most recent from August 3, 2007 (vehicle speed control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2006, 2009 and 1997. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2001, 2002, 2007, 2004 and 2003. See the full Ford Explorer Sport Trac years comparison.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 72,000 miles; 32% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.