P0301 on a Ford Explorer
P0301 means cylinder 1 Misfire Detected. On the Explorer, a few causes come up far more than others.
What P0301 usually means on a Explorer
P0301 isolates the misfire to cylinder 1, making the diagnosis more targeted than a random misfire. On the Explorer the usual causes are that cylinder's ignition coil or spark plug, with an injector fault or, more rarely, low compression behind stubborn cases. The classic confirmation is to swap the cylinder-1 coil to another cylinder and see whether the misfire follows. Because it is one cylinder, the repair is usually focused and inexpensive.
Most common causes on the Explorer
- Failed coil on cylinder 1
Individual coil failure is the leading single-cylinder misfire cause across Explorer engines. Move the coil and retest to confirm.
- Worn or fouled spark plug
A cracked or worn plug on cylinder 1 misfires under load and is inexpensive to replace.
- Injector fault on cylinder 1
A dirty or leaking injector on the direct-injected EcoBoost skews fueling to cylinder 1 and causes a persistent misfire.
- Low compression on cylinder 1
A burnt valve or worn rings produce a misfire no ignition part will fix; a compression test reveals it, and on a 4.0L SOHC a jumped timing chain can drop compression.
What P0301 costs to fix on a Explorer
A single coil and plug for cylinder 1 is an inexpensive repair on most Explorer engines. Costs rise only if the cause is an injector or compression problem, and on the 4.0L SOHC a compression loss tied to timing-chain wear points back to the larger, labor-heavy chain repair. Confirm the cheap ignition items first.
Fixing it
Swap the cylinder-1 coil with a neighbor and recheck. If the misfire follows, replace the coil; if it stays, check the plug and injector, then compression, keeping the 4.0L SOHC's timing chain in mind.
For the full step-by-step diagnosis order (any vehicle), see the main P0301 guide.
Year, engine and mileage change the answer. Start a case and Redline weighs these causes against what your car shows, then names the check that would settle it.
Other codes on the Ford Explorer
Related symptoms
Ford Explorer problems & recalls by year
Based on widely reported patterns for this model; individual causes vary by year, engine and history. Generic P0301 behavior is covered on the main P0301 page. Confirm with a scan tool before buying parts.
P0301 on your Explorer?
Every problem becomes a Case. Tell Redline what your Explorer is doing: it shows what the evidence supports, what’s still missing, and what to check next, before you approve a repair.
“Inner pad ~1 mm. Outer pad 3 mm.”
Next: check the slide pins move freely before buying parts.