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Ford Explorer Owners Say Their SUVs Are Making Them Sick


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https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-ford-explorer-owners-say-suvs-making-them-sick/

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Migraine headaches, fatigue and dizziness were sidelining Bert Henriksen several times a week. Evenings were the worst, after his 30-mile commute home in his 2017 Ford Explorer.

His behavior grew erratic. He’d get angry over minor things. “We were getting scared that he had some kind of a brain problem,” said his wife, Megan.

An answer came last March in a phone call from his doctor: A blood test revealed that Henriksen had been exposed to toxic levels of carbon monoxide gas. But how? The result was consistent with someone who’d been in a house fire, his doctor said, but Henriksen hadn’t been through anything like that.

He says his prime suspect was parked in his driveway.

 

 

Full article at link...

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I don’t get this. The PI units makes sense because of all the aftermarket parts being installed. However the regular Explorers I don’t. 

I don’t doubt that some of these cases are real and could be a manufacturing defect but would Ford investigate this multiple times and ignore it if it were a problem? I just don’t see them doing that.  

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, jcartwright99 said:

I don’t get this. The PI units makes sense because of all the aftermarket parts being installed. However the regular Explorers I don’t. 

I don’t doubt that some of these cases are real and could be a manufacturing defect but would Ford investigate this multiple times and ignore it if it were a problem? I just don’t see them doing that.  

 

 

 

It makes perfect sense, some person wants to get rich by not doing anything and winning the Jackpot Justice Lottery. 

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3 hours ago, twintornados said:

That's one unit 6 years ago.  Has anyone else complained?

 

2 hours ago, jcartwright99 said:

I don’t get this. The PI units makes sense because of all the aftermarket parts being installed. However the regular Explorers I don’t. 

I don’t doubt that some of these cases are real and could be a manufacturing defect but would Ford investigate this multiple times and ignore it if it were a problem? I just don’t see them doing that.  

 

It makes sense that the Police would find out about a flaw like this first since they spend entire shifts inside their cars.  It seems to be more widespread than just the PI units.

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48 minutes ago, Anthony said:

That's one unit 6 years ago.  Has anyone else complained?

 

It makes sense that the Police would find out about a flaw like this first since they spend entire shifts inside their cars.  It seems to be more widespread than just the PI units.

The police issue was due to aftermarket upfitters leaving huge holes.  That lead to CO poisoning and is different than the problem affecting consumer vehicles which as far as I know was limited to exhaust smell on occasion and not actual CO poisoning.

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36 minutes ago, akirby said:

The police issue was due to aftermarket upfitters leaving huge holes.  That lead to CO poisoning and is different than the problem affecting consumer vehicles which as far as I know was limited to exhaust smell on occasion and not actual CO poisoning.

The person in the article states his doctor tested him positive for CO poisoning.

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"Still in current production"  [2011-19 Explorers]

The Chicago plant is retooling for 2020 models, new generation. 2019 production ended 3/1/19.

Not dismissing the claims, but clarifying that 2019 models in question are not in production anymore.

Edited by 630land
Add actual end date.
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I nod the Explorer forum and there is a VERY lengthy discussion on this.. we are talking dozens of pages over the years on this.  Just about every person who has bought a CO monitor registers extremely low if not 0 amounts.  Ford has addressed this by changing drain plugs, changing some of the rear air vents under the bumper cover (stronger flags to prevent air entering), reprogramming the HVAC so at wide open throttle, the HVAC shuts off recirc and brings in fresh air, has changed some customers mufflers to turn down and has even replaced gaskets of the rear trunk/hatch.

 

You do not know the scenario of these 1 off customers compared to the 1.5+ million 5th gen Explorers that have been sold with zero issues with this.

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4 minutes ago, blwnsmoke said:

I nod the Explorer forum and there is a VERY lengthy discussion on this.. we are talking dozens of pages over the years on this.  Just about every person who has bought a CO monitor registers extremely low if not 0 amounts.  Ford has addressed this by changing drain plugs, changing some of the rear air vents under the bumper cover (stronger flags to prevent air entering), reprogramming the HVAC so at wide open throttle, the HVAC shuts off recirc and brings in fresh air, has changed some customers mufflers to turn down and has even replaced gaskets of the rear trunk/hatch.

 

You do not know the scenario of these 1 off customers compared to the 1.5+ million 5th gen Explorers that have been sold with zero issues with this.

Exactly. The Bloomberg article acts as if Ford is turning a blind eye to all of this when in fact there has been a great effort to try and rectify the issue since it was first brought up. Bad reporting on their part. 

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8 minutes ago, blwnsmoke said:

I nod the Explorer forum and there is a VERY lengthy discussion on this.. we are talking dozens of pages over the years on this.  Just about every person who has bought a CO monitor registers extremely low if not 0 amounts.  Ford has addressed this by changing drain plugs, changing some of the rear air vents under the bumper cover (stronger flags to prevent air entering), reprogramming the HVAC so at wide open throttle, the HVAC shuts off recirc and brings in fresh air, has changed some customers mufflers to turn down and has even replaced gaskets of the rear trunk/hatch.

 

You do not know the scenario of these 1 off customers compared to the 1.5+ million 5th gen Explorers that have been sold with zero issues with this.

Yes, no doubt there are some people that may have legitimate problems. Whether it be a manufacturing issue or something happened (accident, run over something, etc) that could be contributing to it. I find it hard to believe more aren't complaining if this truly is an issue. All it took was a national story about that Texas PD who refused to use them,  for the ambulance chasing attorney and their clients (as well as the paranoid folks) to really fan the flames on this. 

Also I trust the equipment that Ford is testing with better than a cheap 10 dollar detector that some folks are saying is going off.

 

Just now, fuzzymoomoo said:

Exactly. The Bloomberg article acts as if Ford is turning a blind eye to all of this when in fact there has been a great effort to try and rectify the issue since it was first brought up. Bad reporting on their part. 

Sensationalism sells or gets clicks in this instance.

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I often tell my doctor to "Find Something!!!" that I can use as an excuse for those moments I'm moody, annoyed or just have my usual rants and conniptions. He laughed at me and told he was going to prescribe "Fuketol", but I would help me pin it on something LOL

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 People can and do respond differently to trace amounts of toxic gasses, so it's possible that trace amounts of gasses can cause headaches in some owners and not others.   The OP also says that Ford has bought back around 100 Explorers as a good will gesture and that the person in the article has begun that process with Ford.

The article points to exhaust leaks from cracked manifold welds in early vehicles that were repaired and apparently cured the CO leaks but Ford claims to have eliminated manifold leaks as the source if this problem,  I wonder if this is a whole bunch of issues that come together in certain vehicles where a combination of factory tolerances between the hatch and the rear opening allows slight leaks like the ons being seen now.There is certainly something going on here and while the CO levels may be low, t's in Ford's best interest to go the extra mile here and makr sure that these relatively small anounts of owners don't slip through the cracks and be dismissed as  just chasing payouts.

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2 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Exactly. The Bloomberg article acts as if Ford is turning a blind eye to all of this when in fact there has been a great effort to try and rectify the issue since it was first brought up. Bad reporting on their part. 

I’m not one to typically claim “fake news” but it’s Bloomberg. Are we just going to pretend they have any credibility after their China tech spying articles were debunked last year? 

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