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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her fiancé was driving 76 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 39,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 39,000 |
| Jul 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE | 2021 Ford Explorer •Problem: Blind Spot Detection / Sensor Malfunction •Description to copLeft-side blind spot sensor fails intermittently. It shows no warning when vehicles are in the blind spot, creating a risk during lane changes. I found Ford TSB 23-2048 confirms the issue. Dealer quoted $1,200 but this is a known factory problem and safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | SEATS | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V393000 (SEATS); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear passenger’s seat moved forward unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Jul 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Backup camera has failed again aftyer being programmed twice and replaced once under recall's. But now it's out completely. It has worked off and on since new. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that there was a gap between the body and the frame on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 74,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 74,000 |
| Jun 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission failed while driving leading to a sudden loss of power. Vehicle was hard to control after incident causing other vehicles to swerve around. Vehicle was taken to Ford dealership where it was recommended for a total transmission replacement due to internal transmission components that failed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 10 speed Transmission malfunction, needs replacing, | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | SEATS | The passenger 3rd row seat if the fold button is hit it can lock and pin a passenger. It wont release itself unless you try and hit the reset holding the 2 buttons simultaneously. Currently for safety reasons I taped that seats button and won't let anyone out in the 3rd row | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | AIR BAGS | The airbag burnt a hole in a cotton shirt and then left 2nd and 3 degree burns on my side. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred while the vehicle was idle. Additionally, the contact stated that the driver had noticed an abnormal exhaust odor coming from the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter had fractured at the welds location and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost. The vehicle was then taken to an exhaust system center, where it was being diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21E11. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 89,000 |
| Jun 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | While our 2021 Ford Explorer with 47,000 miles to work the vehicle warning light came on stating the vehicle was overheated and shut down. We allowed the vehicle to cool for 20 minutes as recommended by the owners manual and then restarted the vehicle which immediately overheated again. We had the vehicle towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the issue as coolant in the oil forcing a replacement of the engine and coolant systems. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | As I am traveling on the freeway or expressway, when I have cruise control active and I am in the far right lane the vehicle suddenly changes to the speed of the frontage road dropping my speed from 65 or 70mph down to 40, even tho I am on the expressway. It almost caused me to be rear ended because of the sudden drop in speed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sun roof clips broke causing sunroof shade to sag | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The electronic sunshade that covers the panoramic sunroof has malfunctioned and cannot be retracted fully. The sagging sun shade covers the rear window and blocks the view. I have taken it to the dealership for repair, but it is not covered under my extended warranty and is around $2000.00 to repair out of pocket. The dealership charged a $199.99 diagnostic fee to ascertain that it was the sunroof shade that had broken. There were no symptoms or warnings before this happened. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon shifting into reverse, the rearview camera failed to display an image. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V315000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 36,000 |
| Jun 2025 | Carry Handle, Shell, Base,Other/I am not sure | We bought this in 2022 from clek, and a few months before we were transferring our daughter from the infant seat to a convertible seat, our infant seat became stuck on the base. Absolutely impossible to get off and my husband and I both tried many times. I reached out to Clek because I was very concerned that in an emergency situation it would take much longer to unstrap and get baby out instead of just grabbing the seat and going. I mean in a car fire, if we went in any body of water- anything it’s extremely concerning to me that this could happen. I have bought cheaper car seats than this for our other children and never once had this issue. They ended up emailing me with a video showing me to break the base, pull a strap and remove the seat from the base - that’s great besides it still won’t detach and you could never do this in an emergency. They also said this happens often which clearly it does if they have a video showing how to remove it. The car seat has been inspected by the hospital and police prior to this and we have had other friends/ family who are in those professional fields who were very concerned. We actually were told by Albee baby to report clek because they said they should refund us. They aren’t even offering us a new seat and we are due in less than 2 months with baby number 3. We have no seat and to be truthful I don’t want one like this where it may get stuck again. They also told me in an email, police and ems could help save my child- sometimes you can’t wait for that- that’s a horrible excuse to me. I should be able to save my children myself and I will never rely on anyone else. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The rear axle bolt snapped. Causing the differential to fall out and rear wheel axles and driveshaft to break out of position. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2025 | FIRERELATED | The contact owned a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway for over three hours before the vehicle caught on fire. The origin of the fire was unknown, however, the contact believes the fire originated from faulty electrical wiring. The vehicle was unoccupied during the fire. The location of the fire was the rear end of the vehicle. The fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. A fire department report was filed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed as it was determined to be a complete loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | 75,000 |
| May 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The vehicle has intermittent issues with bucking, running poorly, and not shifting properly. It results in several warning lights which will clear at random. The dealer has told us it needed a new alternator. The repair was made but the problem resurfaced again today. This is not a new issue as it has occurred many times before. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Moon roof cover is sagging and interfering with visibility with the rear view mirror. There have been many incidents of the sagging occurring online in for forums. There have been no warning notices for this issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My vehicle is having the blue screen & message to contact my dealer when in reverse. I understand there is a recall for this. I contacted ford to see why I haven't received a notice & am being told that it only affects certain vehicles yet I'm having the exact issue. It is a safety hazard due to low visibility behind the vehicle when in reverse. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | This vehicle has an electronic shifting transmission and when shifting from drive to reverse, the system lags significantly (1-3) seconds before engaging reverse. This has been an issue causing several close calls. In addition to not being able to back up efficiently and being left hanging in limbo while waiting for the transmission to engage, the vehicle also continues to roll forward causing near collisions. Happens while maneuvering the vehicle in situations where a three point turn is necessary or when trying to quickly go from drive to reverse in an attempt to avoid another traffic unit or on coming hazard. Has been brought to Ford for them to check and they advised after a test drive that the vehicle shifts smoothly. The smoothness of the shifting was not the concern. It was the lag between drive to reverse. I believe it needs a software reprogram for the transmission. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | STRUCTURE | The chrome on the window switch on the passenger side is peeling and cut my finger while using it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V635000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Sunroof headliner sagging. Can't see out back window | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |