The 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,497 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN07V4530002007-09-261,497 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.6L ENGINE AND 6R TRANSMISSION, THE BOLT SECURING THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINE FITTINGS AT THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TORQUED DURING VEHICLE ASSEMBLY. AS A RESULT, THE BOLT MAY LOOSEN AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINES MAY DISENGAGE…
Consequence
IF LEAKING TRANSMISSION FLUID CONTACTS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER, IT MAY POSE A RISK OF FIRE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND HAVE THE TRANSMISSION COOLER LINE ATTACHMENT BOLT TIGHTENED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 30, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
Complaints by component
ENGINE
7
1fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
4
1fires
POWER TRAIN
4
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
4
1crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2
SERVICE BRAKES
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2
AIR BAGS
1
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
1
Total complaints34
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that on three occasions while the vehicle was in drive but stationary, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the…”
“Tl* the contact owned a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph on the sand in a beach area that there was a failure of which a strong burning odor started, excess heat was felt by the driver, front passenger and 3 rear passengers. The vehicle was pulled over as…”
“Tl* the contact owned a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph on the sand in a beach area that there was a failure of which a strong burning odor started, excess heat was felt by the driver, front passenger and 3 rear passengers. The vehicle was pulled over as…”
“Tl* the contact owned a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph on the sand in a beach area that there was a failure of which a strong burning odor started, excess heat was felt by the driver, front passenger and 3 rear passengers. The vehicle was pulled over as…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford explorer. While driving various speeds and attempting to stop, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. The brakes eventually stopped the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic…”
“Broke down on a very high traffic bridge, that had no safety lane to pull over. Very dangerous, with no time to pull over when engine light came on. Repeat, this happens to all ford sport tracs with plastic radiator housing. There are some class action lawsuits across the usa. Ford has known about…”
“Driving on highway check engine light came on and engine started missing and car shaking; pulled in to ford dealer in next town; diagnosis said could be this or that they could not figure it out but got car running smother; we went another 300 miles to our destination; took car to local ford…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. While at a stop light with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body and motor assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE08060 Opened 2008-10-14 · closed 2009-04-09
TIRE VALVE CRACKING
ON OCTOBER 14, 2008, ODI OPENED PE08-060 TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF CRACKED AND LEAKING SNAP-IN TIRE VALVES IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2007 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY.THE VALVES WERE SUPPLIED TO FORD BY TOPSEAL AUTO-PARTS, A SUBSIDIARY OF THE SHANGHAI BAOLONG AUTOMOTIVE CORPORATION IN CHINA.VALVES MADE BY…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.