The quiet final year of the fifth generation — the cleanest gen-5 Explorer, if the water pump and recalls check out.

All-wheel-drive 2019s carry the generation's Power Transfer Unit leak: the pinion seal weeps, the sealed factory fluid overheats, and the unit can eventually fail. The prevention mechanics recommend is a fluid change every 15,000-20,000 miles. It is a cheaper problem to catch early than to replace late (roughly six hours of labor). Look underneath for oil around the PTU and ask about fluid service.

The recent 2019 complaint sample is dominated not by new failures but by owners chasing recall parts: the A-pillar trim recall (24V-031) 'unresolved for approximately two years' while the trim detaches at highway speed, and the B-pillar and roof-rail covers coming loose after an earlier glued repair. The repairs are free — the frustration is availability. Before buying, confirm by VIN which recalls are open and whether the parts have actually arrived, so you are not the one waiting.

The 2019 carries the rear toe-link fracture recall through its 2017-2019 expansion (26V-101) — a corrosion-driven loss-of-control risk in salt states — plus the seat-recliner recall (19V-633). Ford also ran a Customer Support Program (19B12) updating the anti-lock brake system module software on 2019 Explorers. On a salt-belt car, confirm the toe-link work; ask whether the ABS software update was applied.

Compared with the 2016 and 2017, the 2019 has shed most of its complaint volume — the exhaust-in-cabin reports, the wall of transmission failures, and the fuel-system recalls that hit the earlier cars are largely behind this year. That does not make it perfect, but it means the shopping list is short and inspection-driven: water pump, PTU, and the handful of open recalls, rather than a laundry list of active failures.