Complaint volume
398 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
398 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ford Explorer, grouped by component category.
398 Total complaints
13 Crash reports
5 Fire reports
13 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, engine. 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, 13 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 93 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 43,564 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, engine?
- 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
13 Injury
0 Fatality
24 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Ford Explorer complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 88
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 60
ENGINE 33
BACK OVER PREVENTION 23
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 22
VISIBILITY/WIPER 19
STRUCTURE 14
SERVICE BRAKES 12
SEATS 10
VISIBILITY 10
398 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | SUSPENSION | On [XXX], we sent a 2021 Ford Interceptor to J.C. Lewis Ford located at 309 W. Oglethorpe Hwy, Hinesville, Georgia 31313 for a recall under 23S55. The recall is a safety issue related to a rear axle bolt and the possibility the bolt can fracture. We had the recall done and returned the vehicle to service. On or about [XXX], our fleet manager was called to the Liberty County Jail because this vehicle was making a loud noise from the rear end. Our fleet manager had the vehicle towed to the county shop where it was inspected. They concluded the vehicle would need to be towed to Ford for repair since the rear axle bolt fractured, the exact issue that was addressed under the recall. A few days later, we were notified that the dealer was refusing to pay for the repair since they had already done the recall. I contacted Ford Customer Service, case number [XXX], to try and resolve the issue. After going back and forth, I received notification on February 3, 2026, that financial assistance has been denied and that this concern is caused by how the vehicle was / is used over and form of manufacturer defect or previously completed recall. The vehicle is a police interceptor purchased for use as a patrol vehicle for the Liberty County Sheriff's Office located in Hinesville, Georgia. The vehicle is assigned to our civil division and the operator serves evictions and civil documents. The vehicle is not used for patrol but even if it had been, that's the intended purpose of the vehicle when purchased. I have photos of the bolt which show it fractured and also shows the head of the bolt appears to have some damage, possibly from the manner in which it was installed. This failure has been identified as a safety issue related to the 2021 Ford Interceptor and is not a new issue. The recall referenced an axle bolt that can fracture, and that did happen but Ford doesn't want to take responsibility. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact's husband, who was an independent mechanic, used a diagnostic machine to diagnose the vehicle and discovered a failure with the emissions system. The contact stated that the failure was like the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Feb 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The drivers side door latch mechanism malfunctions and causes the door to unlatch or does not allow the door to latch. This is a safety hazard. I know two other ford owners with vehicles after 2021 that is having this same issue. This calls for a recall! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sun roof fabric/covering came off tracks and is now sagging. Many forums on this issue. When driving if windows are down, the fabric flaps in the wind and sounds like it will fly off. I no longer drive with the windows down. If it continues to sag, could obstruct rear view. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | I was informed by the dealership that the engine issue with my 2021 Ford Explorer is the same issue for which a recall was issued. However, because my vehicle’s VIN was not included in the recall, I was required to pay for the engine replacement. I attempted to work with the dealership to have them coordinate with the manufacturer, but they declined to do so. I then contacted the manufacturer directly to file a complaint and request a review of the issue. I was advised that there was nothing they could do because my VIN is not listed under the recall. I am requesting that the manufacturer investigate this matter further and reimburse me for the repair costs if it is determined that the issue is applicable to my vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | LED low beam headlight failures. Our 1st headlight failure occurred in January 2025 at 51,248 miles (Passengers Side), our 2nd failure occurred in December 2025 at 64,356 miles (Drivers Side). My claim is Ford decided to embrace LED technology with out properly performance testing it. LED headlights are new on the explorer platform since 2020, the platinum & ST trims are the only ones that utilizes LED's to my knowledge. The design intent was life of car which clearly is not occurring. Ford should have completed more testing and/or designed a serviceable headlight for all internal components. The cost of these lights is astronomical ($1600 a pop w/o labor or diagnosis fee). As reference we also own a 2006 Audi S4 & a 2012 F150 XLT. The Audi has ~170K miles on it and the F150 has ~130k miles on it. Both have the original headlights and bulbs within them. Both older technology and both still working as intended. The headlights in the 2021 car BOTH failed in terms of the low Beam LED components failing in under 4 years. Seems to be a common issue in over 50% of 6th Generation Platinum trim level explores on the market. Numerous others have experience similar issues. Asking for a recall for these. Again only on Platinum & ST trims so not nearly as many at the average XLT level trims. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | SERVICE BRAKES | While applying brakes coming to a stop light, the vehicle gave a message stating service brakes. The brakes still felt normal. Then after a few minutes, the brakes felt like they suddenly stopped working and then the rear tires started locking up and releasing. The frong brakes felt like they were not working at all. Stopping distance approximately tripled and not really any way to adjust braking pressure. Releasing the pedal would give a 2ish second delay before the brakes would reapply upon hitting the pedal again, and withing 1 second would lock up the rear brakes again, starting the cycle over again. Took approximately 3 applications to fully stop in a safe manner. Luckily I was already driving slow due to the warning and was able stop before hitting the car in front. Was driving approximately 30 mph when this happened. Under normal circumstances and driving distances this would have not been possible. The car was taken to the Ford. They determined there was internal failure in the Electronic Brake Booster. The fix was to replace the full assembly (EBB, ABS, etc), and flush the brake fluid. Along with diagnostics of the issue, the cost was $4,100.87 to fix. Since replacing the EBB assembly, the problem has gone away. There were no other indictions of an issue before this happened. I know other Explorer years, and other models that use this same component have been recalled for similar issues as well, and think there is a issue with this module as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | SUSPENSION | 2024 - 19k miles. Both rear shocks were leaking. Dealer replaced both at no charge. 2025 - 30k rear shock shows signs of leaking. Dealer states no leak. 2025 - 32k Tire shop says shock is leaking. I told them the dealer said it was not. they took pictures. 2025 - Arrive at dealer (2nd time same issue) Dealer states no warranty because I did not pay for replacements. They stated had I payed for replacements I would have a 2 year warranty. Since it's been over a year I have to pay for it. Left dealer called Ford and filed a complaint. Case # XXX-XXX or XXX? Under 40k miles and going on 3 sets of shocks. Online forums readily show this is a known problem that Ford will not acknowledge. Furthermore their warranty of 1 year vs 2 based on payment or warranty replacement should be illegal! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Police car started to run rough at low speed. Stalled in middle of road. Scanned codes and code for Catalytic converter showed up along with misfires from numerous cylinders. Brought to dealer and was told needed plugs and a wire. Vehicle was returned and the same issue occurred. Fixed again. Picked up and once again the same issue started. Turned around and brought it back to dealer. The mechanic stated he never checked the catalytic converter as he was never told it had a code for the converter being bad. Two weeks later I am informed that Cylinder 5 is bad. No compression. Two issues. Ford upped the warranty on the catalytic converters because of this common problem. The tech sheet shows that a bad cat will cause misfires, but never checked. Second issue is the recall 24s55 was for fords with a 3.o liter engine, built in Chicago, between the dates of 7/21 and 10/21. My vehicle was built in Chicago on 9/21 and has a 3.0 liter engine. I also received the post card regarding the recall and we had brought it t o the dealer. 24s55 states the valve could cause engine failure. Well now I have a bad engine. Ford says no recall even though prior Chief brought to dealer after receiving postcard for recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Rear differential/axle bolt broke, destroying other parts and making vehicle unsafe at the moment and then inoperable. Vehicle had previously had the recall work done for this exact issue prior to any issues/damage. Dealership is repairing the vehicle under warranty, but made sure to tell us that this is a known issue and the only true way to “fix” the issue is to install an aftermarket brace (at our cost). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | When given gas to move from a complete stop, vehicle lost all power. After vehicle lost all power to rear wheels, warning lights flashed on cluster. Manually moved vehicle to side of road and checked under SUV to see rear axle was at a unusual angle and later discovered rear axle bolt on road. Vehicle was towed to dealership, which originally completed recall repair in July of this year, for this known issue. Repairs have been completed after 2 weeks, and was informed by dealership it was roughly 6 thousand in damages. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The fabric from the moonroof has come loose on the sides and blocks rear visibility if open. This is apparently an issue with many vehicles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train); however, the repair failed to prevent a failure shortly after the vehicle was serviced. The contact stated that after shifting from reverse(R) to drive(D), there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle before the vehicle lost automotive power. The vehicle was towed back to another local dealer, Sutton Ford (21315 Central Ave, Matteson, IL 60443); where it was diagnosed with a fractured rear axle bolt. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 77,000 |
| Dec 2025 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Adaptive Headlamps keep going out causing a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sliding roof mechanism for the sunroof failed and droops into the backseat impairing vision. This can be triggered accidentally while driving causing zero rear visibility. This is part of the sun roof that is the shade keeping the sun out of the car. With extremely little use on my 2021 ford explorer this mechanism has failed causing this dangerous malfunction. I found may posts in Facebook describing this same issue. [XXX] There’s just one example of many people having this issue. There’s component was taken to the Ford dealership where I was provided a verbal quote of more than $4,000 to fix, which is not feasible. There were no warning signs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V598000 (Engine). The local dealer was contacted and declined to complete the recall repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof shade is sagging. It broke from one day to the next, and it’s blocking my rear view. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunshade is sagging. For the 2nd time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Panaromic sunroof blind became lose and is sagging, causing an unsafe driving experience, making it difficult to see out rear view mirrors. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | My explorer is only 4 years old and it suddenly suffered catastrophic engine failure due to low engine oil. The engine started knokcing and clattering BEFORE any warning lights came on the dash. This could also be due to premature bearing failure which is common in the 3.0 ecboost engines. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof sunshade snapped a clip off and now hangs down blocking the rear view. It is impossible to see out the back window. I have read on multiple sites that this is happening to many of these SUVs and it's an extremely expensive and difficult fix. It's very dangerous and I won't even let my girlfriend drive it anymore. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | vehicle low beam headlights went out all of the sudden. Would not come back on after car was turned off and restarted. Drove home with high beams on. Next day, just the driver side low beam came back on. Took to dealer, they reprogrammed and headlights worked for three days, then went passenger low beam went out again. Took back to dealer and now they are telling me both headlamp control modules on both sides need replacing. The cost is very expensive and I am doubting this is the problem. This is a safety issue and I am reading blogs and the Platinum version of the Explorer seem to have issues. This could cause an accident and Ford could be liable. This issue needs to be looked at, as this should not be an issue for a car with 50K miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | SUNROOF SHADE HAS FALLEN OFF TRACKS WHILE DRIVING | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate. In addition, the vehicle jerked aggressively, and the engine idled roughly. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The contact inquired if the failure was the result of the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,954. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 97,954 |
| Nov 2025 | STRUCTURE:BODY | Dashboard not attached to frame. Clips intended to attach dashboard to frame are defective (cracked in half). Air bags may be affected (either won't deploy or will deploy on their own). Service Dept. at Ford dealership says this is the first case they've seen and repairing it would cost $$$. This vehicle has been regularly maintained and has 0 history of accidents. It is unknown if this defect has existed from the date the car was purchase(or earlier). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |