Is the new Ford Everest unreliable? Revisiting the Next-Gen Ford Everest!

Welcome to our in-depth review of the 2023 Ford Everest. In this three-part series, we'll be delving into the reliability concerns surrounding the Everest and its sibling, the Ford Ranger.

As automotive journalists, we strive to provide you with a balanced perspective, separating fact from fiction.

So, let's address the elephant in the room and uncover the truth about the reliability of the 2023 Ford Everest.

Before you go to our comments section at the end of the article, a full disclaimer here: Ford does not know we are making this series. Ford has not paid for or endorsed or encouraged us to make this content in any way. We just want to make sure you, our audience, are getting a balanced perspective from the media.

What has been said about its reliability?

Let's start with what objectively has gone wrong mechanically en-masse with the all-new Everest: nothing (at least, nothing as of writing this article - no one can predict the future!!)

However, it's sibling under the skin - the Ford Ranger - has suffered from tail shaft issues. Just after its launch in July 2022, some owners of the Ford Ranger had experienced vibration at higher speeds (specifically, between 40km/h - 80km/h).

Ford later recalled approximately 1,000 Ford Rangers, explaining that the vibration was resultant of defective tail shafts provided by their supplier.

Recently, approximately 1300 Rangers and Everests were recalled over a fault in their seatbelts where the drivers seatbelt was manufactured improperly.

Although no issue is a good issue, props should be given to Ford for jumping on-top of these issues relatively quickly.

An issue that came to light semi-recently though was again with the Ranger, whereby two seperate customers had purchased 'lemons'; cars that had mechanical and/or technological faults of some descript and had experienced delays in having these issues resolved.

Both customers have since received new Rangers.

Ford later released a statement saying that of the 25,587 next-gen Rangers sold since July 2022, 9 have had to be totally replaced... that's a replacement rate of 0.0004%.

That doesn't mean that other Ford Rangers are not having bits and bobs replaced, but ask any product engineer and I'd wager they would say that's an acceptable replacement rate to say the least.

Still, it's important to recognise that any issue is an annoying issue, and naturally we want everything to work as expected.

To their credit, Ford has said they are actioning these issues as a matter of priority and increasing their Australian based customer service team size to shorten wait times.

However, if you are experiencing issues, you can let us know using the contact form here.

What reliability issues have we faced during our 2 months of testing?

It seems almost absurd, but we ran the numbers - across Everest, Ranger and Ranger Raptor products we spent 2 months driving them over the last 9 months!

The 2 main issues we have experienced with the all-new Ford Everest relate to it's mode selector and parking brake.

In our first review of the Ford Everest, our mode selector - which is also our 4wd selector - was inoperable. That was annoying, even for us, but it did not hamper the drivability of the car. This is also something that would be fixed under the 5 year warranty.

Not a great hit-rate, but our current Ford Everest on test also has an issue - this time we are getting a 'Parking Brake Malfunction' error. We believe this is a software issue, however, as sometimes it appears and sometimes it is no where to be seen.

Again, it doesn't impact on the SUVs drivability, but is certainly something I would take to the dealer ASAP just in-case.

Some might call this an excuse, but I wouldn't be surprised AT ALL if this parking brake issue was Journalist-caused.

Something you, our reader, may not be aware of is how poorly these press cars are treated.

Here is an example, Jacob's mum (Jacob being one of our Journalists at CarSauce) bought a Ford Fiesta ST that used to be a press car with just a few thousand km's on the dial when purchased.

However, it needed engine mounts replaced shortly after, because of how poorly it had been thrashed during its press life career.

At least once a month, we here at CarSauce have a press car moved around or cancelled due to a Journalist damaging the vehicle

No word of a lie, it happened TODAY.

So I would not be at all surprised if the Everest we had, had a damaged parking brake system because a careless journalist thrashed it off-road. We've seen worse things happen.

How about technology and connectivity reliability of the Ford Everest?

It is no secret that car companies are having to become tech companies, first.

Ford is showcasing this now, packing technology into their vehicles - and the Everest is a great example of that.

I, for one, love this fact - the more technology to make my life easier, the better!

But, I will say - across Everest, Ranger and Raptor - the technology implementation has been somewhat frustrating.

The 12.3" portrait infotainment display is wowing; very bright, colour accurate, and responsive.

However, the implementation of wireless Apple CarPlay is frustrating at best. When used wirelessly, I consistently experience stuttering, lag and micro-disconnections - it can somehow make listening to my favourite music annoying.

That is a shame, because it has been 9 months since their launch and I would have hoped it would be fixed by now.

The workaround for those looking for it, use your phone projection technology (Apple CarPlay / Android Auto) with a wire. If you've already connected your phone, you'll need to disconnect it first completely from your system and then reconnect it. It will give you the option to use wired only when you set it up again. You're welcome.

The other issue I have experienced, though only once in a Ranger Raptor last year, was an instrument cluster that froze during the startup animation. That was less cool, as I had to pull over, turn off and on the car, and that then seemed to fix the issue.

I want to stress though, I have these issues across all car manufacturers. It happened last week in a Volkswagen product, and the week before in a Suzuki product.

This seems to be more an issue of this transitionary period from car manufacturer to tech company, in my opinion.

Should you be concerned about reliability of the Ford Everest?

Probably not.

The reality is, the Ford Everest is a brand new, Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle. That means it has a bunch of new technology, all while having one of the most complicated systems of motion... ever: the car engine.

Me personally, I was shocked when I learnt that only 9 Ford Everests of almost 26,000 were totally replaced. That replacement rate at 0.0004% is very, very low.

That does not mean you will not have issues with your Ford Everest. Or any car. No one can guarantee that.

However, Ford like all car companies should help its customers out when something is genuinely wrong. 

As far as I am aware, having spoken to some owners, Ford are largely stepping up to the plate when issues arise.

But if they haven't, you can let us know and we will forward it onto Ford. Use our Contact Us page here.

Final thoughts on the new Ford Everest

Although the Ford Everest is at the premium pricing end of its competition - being the Toyota Fortuner & LandCruiser Prado, Isuzu MU-X and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport - it still remains my preferred offroad SUV.

It has the appeal of being incredibly refined to drive, powerful (specifically with its V6 engine), comfortable on the interior, and great to look at (though, looks are subjective!)

6 months after its local launch, if I wanted a 7 seat offroad SUV, the Ford Everest would be at the top of my list; and that says a lot!

Make sure you let us know what you think about the Ford Everest, though! Use our comments section down the bottom of this article.