Ford Explorer 2016–2018 — technical service bulletin
Bulletin SSM 47163 · NHTSA communication 10137098 · issued Mar 15, 2018
Technical service bulletin
communication type
Electrical System
component
2016–2018
model years
3
vehicle entries
Official summary
Some 2016-2018 Explorer vehicles equipped with automatic temperature control and premium AM/FM/CD may exhibit a broken or missing temperature control switch. The driver and passenger switches are now available separately from the control head. Replacement of the control head assembly is not necessary. The switches are driver and passenger specific and must be installed in the correct location with the red heat indicator facing up. HB5Z-19986-AA - Drivers Side Switch, HB5Z-19986-BA - Passengers Side Switch
Vehicles covered
What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.