Airbag, trailer brake, and exploding sunroof issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Introduced as a replacement for the 2-door Ford Bronco in 1996, the Ford Expedition has become the company’s flagship SUV. According to Ford, the Expedition has nearly tripled its market share among full-size SUVs, elevating itself above competitors. But even successful flagship vehicles have problems. Those experienced by 2022 Expedition owners include faulty airbags and seatbelts, malfunctioning trailer brakes, and sunroofs that explode and shatter spontaneously.
Currently in its fourth generation, the 2022 Ford Expedition is a full-size SUV aimed at families. Its launch media release boasts new capabilities and technologies as well as lots of new “class-exclusive” features. These include driver-assist technology aimed at making the Expedition safer and perform better than ever before.
So, what could go wrong?
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2020 2021
Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tell us what has gone wrong already. One notable issue is the complaint that sunroofs spontaneously shatter. This is not a new problem, and Lemberg Law is already investigating complaints that the 2020 Ford Expedition has faulty sunroofs that explode and shatter for no apparent reason.
Another issue that doesn’t come as any surprise is that there are problems with the 2022 Expedition’s trailer brakes. There are potentially problems with as many as 391,836 Ford vehicles, and there is already a recall in place.
While the volume of complaints to the NHTSA isn’t great, they are disturbing. In addition to sunroof and trailer brake problems, consumers have seen fit to report faulty powertrains as well as malfunctioning airbags, sound system and seat belts.
Like the sunroofs and trailer brakes, these problems are not unique to the Expedition either. For example, we have reported similar transmission issues with the 2022 F-150 and the F-250. Similarly, we pointed out that when a 2022 Ford Edge airbags did not deploy in a crash in Colorado in April 2022, a young man was injured.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Power Train | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Engine | |
| Equipment:appliance:tv/radio/speakers | |
| Structure:body | |
| Back Over Prevention | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking |
There are 2 NHTSA complaints about shattering sunroofs, both of which describe a loud explosion. Both incidents happened in August 2022.
An owner from Utah, who had owned the Expedition for only 3-4 weeks, describes the experience. Driving in an express lane at highway speeds on a Sunday afternoon, she heard “a loud explosion.” The visor was closed. There were no warning lights before it happened.
She states that she was in the SUV with her three toddlers when it happened and there were no other cars nearby.
“It scared me and I immediately slowed and pulled off the road. I first thought maybe it was a tire. I checked and all were intact. Then I saw glass and looked up on my roof and noticed that the sunroof was completely blown out. I apparently lost my Panoramic portion of my sunroof, not the part that actually opens.”
Explaining that “the glass is angled out like a slope up a mountain,” she adds that it was lucky the visor was closed because it minimized the volume of glass that entered the cab. When she filed the complaint two days after the incident, she was still waiting for feedback from the dealer.
The second incident happened in Vermont on the interstate on “a nice, sunny day.” This driver was also in a 2022 Ford Expedition with three toddlers and there were no other cars around. The children were in car seats in the middle row and she was traveling at about 65 mph.
“We heard a loud explosion and the front panel of the panoramic sunroof glass covered the inside of my vehicle.” Shards of glass went all over the three toddlers and the driver, in their hair, on the car seats, and into every possible part of the car interior.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
There is only 1 complaint about the 2022 Ford Expedition airbags. But 1 complaint is 1 too many, especially when 3 people are injured.
The owner of a 2022 Expedition from Arizona was driving at about 45 mph. Suddenly, another vehicle, making a U-turn, crashed into the rear passenger door. None of the airbags in the Expedition deployed.
It’s not clear how many people were in the vehicle at the time, but the owner reports 3 injuries including whiplash.
The son sitting in the front passenger seat was forced forward by the impact. His seatbelt retractor failed to lock, which caused him to hit his chest against the instrument panel. He needed medical attention and was taken to hospital for a CT scan of his sternum.
The other son was sitting in the rear passenger seat. On impact, his seat belt unlatched and hit the window.
They filed a police report and opened a case before filing the NHTSA complaint.
Imagine driving at 15 mph when there is a sudden, abnormally loud noise from your SUV for no apparent reason. No warning lights or anything. This is what happened to a 2022 Ford Expedition owner in Florida whose SUV had about 6,000 miles on the clock.
While the vehicle was no longer drivable, the owner was able to park on the side and get out before having it towed to a dealer.
The dealer diagnosis was that the hose from the radiator to the transmission should be replaced.
In March 2022, Ford recalled 391,836 vehicles because of a possibility that their trailer brakes may fail. If this happens, the stopping distance of the vehicles could be extended, which increases the risk of a crash.
The problem is a software error. Because of it, a towed trailer equipped with an electric or electric-over hydraulic brake system may not brake.
It isn’t clear how many 2022 Ford Expedition owners are impacted because 2021-2022 Ford F-150, 2022 Ford F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550, 2022 Ford Maverick, and 2022 Lincoln Navigators are also on the list of affected vehicles.
There is one NHTSA complaint from a Ford Expedition owner in California who reports a “trailer brake system fault.” It’s not clear whether this person has experienced a failure. But the complaint also states that “it is likely the trailer brake system will not function when I hook up a trailer.”
If you think your 2022 Ford Expedition might be a lemon you could probably do with some help. Lemberg Law specializes in lemon law, and we have helped many clients who found themselves with problem vehicles.
It’s a lot easier for an experienced lawyer to negotiate settlement deals with manufacturers than for owners with little or no knowledge.
All you need to do is fill in our contact form or call our Helpline, and we will do a free assessment. Never forget that the law says Ford must pay the legal fees of lemon law cases.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
See more posts from Brian Jones
Our 2022 Expedition (leased on 11/10/22) had the screen monitor fail on 1/9/23. It was totally black after doing a remote start to warm up the car. I had no ability to control anything on the monitor. The heated seats were on high, no radio, no temperature controls, no phone access or Nav. Worse is that Ford includes the manual on the monitor and not in the glovebox as expected. Without the monitor you have no ability to troubleshoot. Took it to dealer next day and they had a bulletin on the monitor and in a few days replaced it. On 1/21/23, new monitor went black again (no remote start done this time). Car in shop 2 days and reprogramming done.
Also was not made aware of items left off of Platinum model such as Active Park Assist and hands free rear hatch opening and massaging seats. You pay for an expensive car, you expect it to have these features. This was really upsetting that we were not informed of the missing items prior to leasing it.