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Exterior lightingPart report

2022 Ford Explorer Exterior lighting Problems

Complaints
5about this part
Share
2%of 271 total for the year
Median mileage
—not reported
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 5 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2022 Ford Explorer, 2% of the 271 complaints for this model year.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My front passenger get side lighting component started blinking about 6 months ago. Now it’s completely out. I went to get a new bulb and they told me I need to buy the entire lighting unit it’s $2800 at the dealership. I joined a Ford group on Facebook and hundreds of people are having the same issue. Some models newer than mine, but most from 2020 - 205 models. I reached out to Ford they won’t cover the issue.”

NHTSA complaint #11721270, filed 2026-03

“An alert often shows up on the dashboard check headlamp system. See manual . This is occasionally associated with one headlamp not working. This happens on and off. The alert spontaneously turns on, may stay for days or weeks and then spontaneously turns off. Ford dealership service were unable to fix this problem. This has happened multiple times since we purchased the car”

NHTSA complaint #11635142, filed 2025-01

“Purge valve has now failed twice since owning the vehicle (1 year and 5 months old). First purge valve went out when the vehicle was only 4 months old (Oct 2022). Second purge valve went out at 1 year old (June/July 2022). The main concern that I am reaching out for- Drivers side headlight - a small bird flew into the headlight and cracked it. Placed a hole in the headlight, causing water to get in and stop working. There is no way that a headlight should crack from a bird flying into it.”

NHTSA complaint #11557744, filed 2023-11

“Head lamp warning alerted (refers driver to drivers manual, only to say see a dealer) but no issues, both lamps were working. Took vehicle to Ford service center and they could not find a problem, we figured this could be an electronic issue with the warning, but Head lamp warning became more frequent again no issues. Then while driving in the dark with headlights on the automatic function, head lamps would cycle rapidly between bright and normal when approaching another vehicle…Even turning them to manual it continued to cycle Researched the issue and apparently it’s a known issue with Ford. …”

NHTSA complaint #11722629, filed 2026-03

Related service bulletins

Exterior lighting: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202555%
202322%
202252%
202182%
2020564%
201841%
2017121%
201660%
2015171%
2014251%
2013251%
201261%
201161%
201022%
2008128%
200731%
200610%
200551%
200471%
200361%
2002191%
200192%
2000263%
1999463%
1998382%
1997201%
1996151%
1995162%
199491%
199371%
199230%
199161%

Other parts of the 2022 Ford Explorer

Transmission and drivetrain
61 complaints
Other or unknown
58 complaints
Electrical system
39 complaints
Fuel system
37 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
31 complaints
Engine
30 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
23 complaints
Brakes
13 complaints
Suspension
13 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
12 complaints
Body and structure
11 complaints
Steering
9 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2022 Ford Explorer

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology