Complaint volume
382 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Ford Explorer Complaints
382 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ford Explorer, grouped by component category.
382 Total complaints
13 Crash reports
5 Fire reports
12 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, unknown or other, back over prevention. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 13 crash reports, 5 fire reports, 12 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 92 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 43,068 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, unknown or other, back over prevention?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Ford Explorer?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Ford Explorer
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Ford Explorer complaints?
13 Crash
5 Fire
12 Injury
0 Fatality
24 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Ford Explorer complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 74
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 52
BACK OVER PREVENTION 23
ENGINE 20
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17
STRUCTURE 14
VISIBILITY/WIPER 14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 9
SEATS 9
VISIBILITY 9
382 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he had received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V255000 (Power Train). During a routine maintenance check, the recall was serviced; however, upon return of the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard with the parking brake fault, uphill assist, and ABS warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal hardened and the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The contact's wife called the dealer and was informed that there were 5 other vehicles that had experienced the same failure. The contact attempted to reach the manufacturer but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 37,000 |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN | My 2021 Ford Explorer should be included in safety recall NHTSA 22V255, Ford recall 22S27, Ford Program 22N06 My vehicle[XXX] was built in September 2021. Ford identified to NHTSA that Explorer vehicles built between June 4 2020 to November 10, 2021 were affected. My vehicle was built during that period. My vehicle has the V6 engine with AWD powertrain. My vehicle has the 52T trailer towing package. Trailer towing will put additional load on the powertrain and the rear axle mounting bolt. The bolt may fracture while towing the trailer leading to a serious injury and personal property damages. I have not received the recall letter from Ford. All letters were supposed to be sent by June 2022. Ford will not include my vehicle in the recall at my request. Ford will not apply the PCM update to automatically engage the electronic parking brake every time the vehicle is shifted into Park (P). Ford will not provide the one-time repair of the for 10 years or 150,000 miles. I'm concerned the vehicle may experience the rear axle mounting bolt fracture. Please help. Thank you. -------------------------------------- Safety Recall 22S27 / NHTSA Recall 22V255 / Customer Satisfaction Program 22N06 Certain 2020-2022 Model Year Explorer Vehicles Rear Axle Bolt Fractures REASON FOR THIS SAFETY RECALL In some of the affected vehicles, the rear axle mounting bolt may fracture during vehicle acceleration. A fractured rear axle bolt will allow the rear axle housing to move out of position, resulting in severe noise and vibration. If the rear axle bolt breaks, the driveshaft/half shafts may become disconnected, resulting in loss of transmission torque to the rear wheels which is necessary to hold the vehicle in park. If the parking brake is not applied, the loss of the primary park torque will allow the vehicle to roll in park increasing the risk of crash and injury. --------------------- INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN | I recently had the recall addressed at my local Ford dealer, Performance Ford in Randolph, NJ. Ford is only allowing dealerships to reprogram the parking break to engage whenever the vehicle is placed in park. If the axle bolt were to shear, it would disengage, allowing the vehicle to roll in park. This remedy does not adequately address the underlying issue- which was the fact that Ford’s Chicago mfg facility used a part designed for the 4-cyl engine power train, not the 4 bolt design required in the Police Interceptor and Explorer ST versions. The police version will be getting the parts upgraded while consumers are left with a band-aid solution. NHTSA should force Ford to address the issue- which is an inadequate bolt configuration for the HP/Torque output of performance version Explorers. This is a safety hazard as the bolt can snap while in use, disconnecting the drive axle from the rear differential. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Our 2021 Ford Explorer Limited was purchased in December of 2020. It currently has been driven only 6,900 miles. Our apparent transmission problem has occurred three times so far. 1. On 27 June 2022, I experienced the first problem. While turning left on to a four-lane city street, which is largely flat in that area, a loud grinding/ringing sound occurred. Right in the middle of the four-lane street, the transmission dropped into neutral. It scared the crap out of us. We could have been hit by oncoming traffic. I brought it to a stop, then shifted to park and then into drive. We drove away normally as if nothing happened. 2. On 28 July 2022, after having the "bolt failure" recall completed (22S27/22V255/22N06), the transmission again made the loud grinding/ringing sound immediately after accelerating from stopping at a city street intersection. The road grade has a slight incline in the direction we were traveling. The vehicle dropped into neutral, then the newly programmed "auto braking" brought us to an abrupt stop in the middle of this intersection! Again, a scary situation. 3. Today, 25 August 2022, while backing out of our garage today, which has a slight downward driveway, the vehicle did an abrupt stop while halfway out of the garage. The message was "Hill Start Assist Warning." The message on my phone was "The Hill Start Assist System has detected a failure." This is the first and only time that this problem has happened. I think it is related to the problems mentioned above. It is a good thing I was not backing out into a busy street. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Backup and front cameras are not working consistently. Blue screen shows on display screen. Cannot reproduce at the Ford dealer. Blue screen camera issue started on June 13, 2022. Since then I have had 27 instances to date. There currently is a recall for this same problem on other Ford Explorer's. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SEATS | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's and passenger's side rear seats inadvertently moved forward while his children were seated in the seats. The contact was concerned about the safety of his children while riding in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 14,700. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,700 |
| Jul 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The car is struggling to switch gear and loosing power. While I am driving | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STRUCTURE | 2021 FORD EXPLORER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ISSUE WITH THE REAR SUBFRAME. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED WITH AN INCORRECT SUBRAME. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE SINGLE BOLTS WILL EVENTUALLY BREAK DUE TO STRESS. THE VEHICLE HAD A RECALL TO REPROGRAM THE PCM TO AUTOMATICALLY APPLY THE PARKING BREAK. THE CONSUMER WAS CONCERNED THE RECALL WOULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING AWAY. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Gear(transmission), when put in reverse the car goes forward instead of reverse, and Jerks in reverse after 7-15 sec. And it also jerks while accelerating. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | My vehicle is throwing alerts about a power train malfunction. It reduces speeds by it self attempts to loose all power when having issues and the transmission feels like it is slipping or not shifting into gear. This has now happened on multiple occasions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | All of the sensors are out. Nothing is working. They were working fine then one day I noticed the lane keeping sensors were not working. Today I noticed the side sensors are not working which they were this morning. The middle row seat gets stuck if moved forward, it will not stay back. The button is always stuck so while on the road the seat randomly pops out of place. The wipers do not work properly, only on high speed. I have already called McCombs Ford West in San Antonio, Tx as I purchased the vehicle there in October of 2021 but they are not worried about it. They said I can go drop it off but they will check it when they get a chance and will not provide a loan car which I cannot do that as I have kids. All the safety features that it should have are not working. They told me it would be weeks before they even look at the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after his wife set the vehicle to "Park" while the engine was running, as she exited, the vehicle lurched forward and crashed into the garage back wall. There was no damage to the vehicle, however, there was damage to the garage back wall. The contact stated his wife saw no warning lights were illuminated. The contact's wife got back into the vehicle and observed that the gear shift lever was still in "Park" and she shut the vehicle off. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer, or an independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Feedback on Manufacturer Recall Number 22S27, NHTSA Recall 22V255 Allowing Ford to reprogram the powertrain control unit (ECU) on this vehicle so that the vehicle applies the emergency brake whenever the vehicle is placed in park in order to prevent the vehicle from rolling away if/when this one bolt breaks on the rear differential is NOT sufficient. The 2020 MY Ford Explorer ST/Plantium models have two bolts attaching the rear differential to the rear subframe. The equivalent 2020-2022 Lincoln Aviator also has two bolts on this part. The issue is that Ford ran out of the correct rear subframe parts and substituted a part for a lower powered powertrain, or this was a cost cutting measure gone bad. Cross referencing Ford's own parts numbers with the VIN shows the incorrect rear subframe installed at the factory. NHTSA should require Ford to properly and securely attach the rear differential to the rear subframe of the vehicle to prevent this issue. Allowing a workaround, use of parking brake to prevent rollaway, is not ok. Additionally, the equivalent police interceptor is obtaining the correct rear subframe as part of the manufacture defect resolution. Why wouldn't the others receive the same fix? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | While driving vehicle, reduced engine power occurred resulting in the vehicle being unable to safely maintain highway speeds. Once safely on side of roadway, vehicle lost all engine power and would start. Vehicle had 11,049 miles on it and had been properly maintained. Attempts to start vehicle were unsuccessfully and engine sounded like internal components had failed (like a bag of rocks inside the engine). Vehicle was towed to Ford dealer in East Peoria, Illinois for examination and repairs. Excessive metal shavings were found in the oil filter and it was discovered internal engine components had failed, causing catastrophic engine failure. Engine block was replaced. Dealer was provided all previous maintenance records to show that the vehicle was properly maintained. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the transmission was either in park(P) or drive(D), the vehicle independently rolled away without warning. The contact stated that he forcefully depressed the brake pedal in an effort to stop the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and transferred him to the NHTSA. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V255000 (Power Train) which he linked to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Ford sold a non sale vehicle to me on 11/05/2021 after Ford Critical Review Team on 8/9/2021 deemed wrong rear axle bolts being put on. Essentially, putting a no transit order on vehicle. I was made aware on this recall only after I updated my app on May 10th,2022. Read on app about the no remedy recall stating 2022-4-14. I have spoken with Ford Corporate as the service manager stated for me to do via phone. Ford's buyback department will not consider it. The buyback team is waiting on a recall remedy as of today. I do not feel safe in my vehicle, and have opened a claim with the BBB. I am only requesting Ford to either do a buyback or swap out vehicle for one year newer. No communication with Dealership about the problems both NOW and IMMEDIATELY after purchase of 2021 Ford Explorer ST. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated the adaptive cruise control and the collision avoidance systems would malfunction. The vehicle would suddenly deactivate the cruise control and the collision avoidance would detect a non-existing object and stop the vehicle from also turning to avoid the crash. The contact stated that while idled at a stop light when the vehicle suddenly accelerated rear-ending the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deploy however the acceleration did not reach high enough speeds for such a response. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not towed. There were no injuries or medical attention needed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | In the last 2 months I have had a total of 3 back up cameras and the equipment is still turning blue on random. I have had the wiring replaced to “fix” the Bluetooth echo, and it is still doing it. The gas take also shakes enough to move the car when you come to a stop depending on amount of gas in the tank. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | While in a driveway at a decline (approximately 5% grade), I placed the vehicle in park and set the emergency brake; when I decompressed the brake to turn the vehicle off it took off sliding down the street. A coworker was with me and was about to get out at the time as well. Fortunately I was able to gain control before I hit the mailbox in front of us and no one or thing was injured This was the second time this happened; however, the first time the emergency brake was not set. Also, starting at 23k miles, I am repeatedly getting a "Auto Hold system fault" error every few days. This occurs sometimes at startup and sometimes while driving and the Auto Hold will not work when it comes up. However, if I stop and restart the vehicle, it will go away and work. I am not sure these are related. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after she had parked her vehicle and retrieved items out of the liftgate compartment; the vehicle began to roll back independently towards her. A witness alerted her that the vehicle was rolling towards her; the contact moved out of the way. She then opened her driver-side door as the vehicle proceeded to roll back; the contact was pinned in between the concrete post and the driver-side door as the vehicle eventually stopped. Witnesses assisted her and aided her away from the vehicle which bruised her left arm. The contact did not seek medical attention for the injury. The contact called the dealer and they offered no assistance. The contact then had the vehicle towed to a different dealer Lithia Ford Idaho Falls(980 W Broadway St, Idaho Falls, ID 83402) where the driver-side door was replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and she was given a case number. The cement post was damaged as a result of the failure. The police were called after the failure and a report was filed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the cause of the failure had yet to be determined. The failure mileage was approximately 4,500. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 4,500 |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while parking the vehicle on an incline, the transmission inadvertently shifted out of park(P). The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated the failure occurred whenever the parking brake was not activated while parking the vehicle. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50. | Crash: No Fire: No | 50 |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Ford safety recall 22S27 dated April 19, 2022 DOES affect my car and I just called Ford corporate and they DO NOT confirm that my car should be on the recall list. I have visually inspected my car and I do have the improper 1 bolt, rather than 2 bolt design installed on my car. If the bolt breaks, my car will be disabled wherever this happens without warning. This can cause an accident and I do not understand how Ford is not at least including me on the recall list. The only way to fix this issue is to replace the axle structure with the 2 bolt design. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | I am having major issues with the 3rd row seating on my Ford explorer getting stuck and not able to be moved. This is happening causing children to not have places to sit and seatbelts to secure themselves in for a safe commute. Each time the seats are stuck, they are not even able to be moved manually. The entire seat including the head rest becomes immobile and leaves the seat in either a half open/closed position or an open position with no headrest capability. While traveling out of town on January 23 with 6 people in my vehicle my 3rd row seats became stuck in positions where I was unable to safely transport 2 of the occupants of the car. I also had to travel home in an extremely unsafe situation where luggage had to remain in laps for a 4 hour car ride and could have been catastrophic had there been an accident. I reached out to the service department of Palmetto Ford on January 24th about this issue and they told me it would be 3 to 4 weeks until they could get my vehicle in to “look at it.” I reached out to my sales person who was able to coordinate with the service manager to get my vehicle looked at the next day. They did not have a loner for me to drive so they rented one from Enterprise and had me come back the next day to pick it up and began to repair my car. It took them about 2 days and they said they had to completely replace the computer brain of the 3rd row seating. When I left it was in working order. Two months later while once again out of town with 4 other people’s children to care for my 3rd row seating gets stuck again in an unusable position. This time I had no other alternative but to put these kids in seats together seatbelted in and pray that I did not get hit. When I got home on March 29th I called Palmetto Ford sales to let them know that my seats are once again broken and spoke to the sales manager Jake. I told him that I felt unsafe in the vehicle now and that I would like them to take it back. I told him I had more travel | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | I had the backup camera parts replaced 4/15/2022 and within 10 days of having the vehicle back the backup camera was turning blue again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The auto rear trunk hands free lift gate likes to start closing on its own when you are moving around under it. For instance and could hit you in the head. It has before. Other manufacturers use a similar system and I've never had this happen. It's to sensitive to movement | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |