Explorer owners say SUVs are making them sick

Migraine headaches, fatigue and dizziness were sidelining Bert Henriksen several times a week. Evenings were the worst, after his 50-kilometre commute home in his 2017 Ford Explorer. Then his behaviour 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 a year ago in a phone call from his doctor: A blood test revealed Henriksen had been exposed to toxic levels of carbon monoxide gas. But how? He says his prime suspect was parked in his driveway.

Henriksen is among more than 3,000 Ford Explorer owners who have complained to Ford or U.S. federal regulators they suspect exhaust fumes have seeped into their sport utility vehicles’ cabins. Many fear carbon monoxide gas may have made them ill, and dozens of drivers have complained to regulators that the company’s recommended fix wasn’t effective.

Explorer owners have filed more than 50 legal claims across the U.S. against Ford. And some police departments said in 2017 that Explorers used as cruisers were exposing officers to carbon monoxide.

The complaints, which cover vehicles built between 2010 and 2018, carry high stakes for the second-largest U.S. automaker. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating drivers’ claims in 2016, then expanded the probe a year later after saying it had “preliminary evidence” of elevated carbon monoxide levels in some driving scenarios.

If the NHTSA finds a safety defect, Ford would face the prospect of recalling more than one million vehicles.

Ford, which in January debuted a redesigned Explorer for the 2020 model year, says there’s nothing wrong with the previous version.

“All of our testing to date has shown these vehicles are safe,” company spokesman Mike Levine said in a statement.

“Ford’s investigation has not found carbon monoxide levels that exceed what people are exposed to every day.”

The claims aren’t easy to investigate. The U.S. has no regulatory standard for how much of the odourless, colourless, toxic gas would create a health risk for drivers, and scientists say the answer varies depending on an individual’s health and age.

Ford said it’s confident in its most recent repair campaign, which was offered in 2017 and is still in effect. Complaints have dropped dramatically since this latest effort, the company said, and the fix “effectively resolves the matter.”

And yet, for drivers like Bert Henriksen, it hasn’t. He now drives with a portable carbon monoxide detector in his Explorer, and he said it occasionally shows elevated levels of the gas.

Ford offered to buy his Explorer back after he sued the company under Michigan’s lemon law. He’s in the process of closing that deal.