10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 4,414 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
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).
- Lancaster, NY, USA
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.
- Laurel, MS, USA
The car is struggling to switch gear and loosing power. While I am driving
- Loveland, CO, USA
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.
- Loveland, CO, USA
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?
- Keene, VA, USA
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.
- Dorchester, MA, USA
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.
- Springfield, IL, USA
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.
- Murrells Inlet, SC, USA
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle started to hesitate as if the transmission was slipping. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an unknown dealer where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,100.
- Seminary, MS, USA
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission would suddenly downshift or upshift erroneously. Additionally, while operating the vehicle a grinding sound was present while the transmission was shifted into drive with a chemical odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 7,500.
- Riviera Beach, FL, USA
The contact leased a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact stated that five minutes later the vehicle went into safety mode and the vehicle failed to move. The low battery message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact called the local dealer but, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 7,600.
- Bronx, NY, USA
The transmission in the Ford Explorer failed on June 28th. This was noticed by observing the vehicle struggle to shift gears, and sometimes failing to shift at all resulting in extremely high RPMs. It also resulted in rough transitions from Park to Drive, combined with lurching forward suddenly. The vehicle is currently awaiting service at the Ford dealership, which was originally scheduled for June 29th. Upon notification to the dealership (where vehicle was purchased) of a transmission issue, the dealership moved the appointment to July 6th, thus encouraging me to drive a dangerous vehicle until then. During the next couple of days, the car intermittently exhibited both check engine and service lights, but neither consistently. It also produced another alert which automatically put the car into park from drive. Once the car turned off and back on, the alert did not repeat. The car was then taken to a separate dealership where it was diagnosed with a defective transmission due to an engine coolant leak. The dealership did not provide any means of transportation in response despite the vehicle being under warranty.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
I noticed transmission fluid on the garage floor. March 27,2021. Dropped the car of at the dealership where I bought the car. 2021 Ford Explorer St with 2120 miles I purchased on January 30, 2021. Problem was diagnosed as leaks at the transfer case seals on the transmission output drive train. The boots were leaking transmission fluid. The transfer case needed to be removed and the seals replaced. This resulted in waiting 6 weeks for the parts to be delivered and 1 week more to repair and install. Today I still do not have my car back. Week 7 will be next week when completion is estimated to be.
- Santa Rosa, CA, USA
I purchased a Ford Explorer St 2021 in New York from city world Ford on boston rd in the bronx on April 22, 2021 at approximately 9:37pm. I took my car home the same same day. The following day (second day) I started experiencing a pre-collision assist not available and powertrain malfunction/reduced power light on my dashboard at 12:49 pm. The car began to jerk and felt like it was on AWD mode. The gas pedal was heavy and difficult to drive while I was on the highway with my children. I started to smell fire coming from the inside of my car. Once I started experiencing those problems from my car I immediately parked the car. I immediately called the dealership didn't get an answer so I drove to them personally after I let it cool down for a couple of hours. I explained the problem I experienced with the car to them. The dealership stated to me to take it to the repair shop the Monday and I did. The next day (Tuesday) I picked up the car from repair service center. The next day I started experiencing the same problems with the Ford. I went back to the dealership on Wednesday (next day) and stated I wanted a new car or exchange for a different car. Manager stated I had to take the car for second time for repair. I then took the car for the second time for repair on Wednesday. The car is currently still in the repair service center and still displaying malfunctions after being repaired in the repair service center. I have not yet received my car back and repair center stated they are not sure when will the problem will be fixed and working properly.
- New York, NY, USA
- Succasunna, NJ, USA