What 398 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Ford Explorer Gas

I am reporting a safety concern involving a delayed transmission gear engagement and delayed rearview camera activation. Intermittently, when shifting the vehicle from Park into Reverse or Drive, there is a noticeable delay before the transmission actually engages the selected gear. During this delay, the rearview camera also fails to activate immediately. Because there is no immediate indication that the requested gear has engaged, I have experienced situations where I believed the vehicle was in Reverse or Drive, but it remained in the previous state for several seconds. In some instances, the transmission engages unexpectedly after the delay, causing the vehicle to move in a direction different from what I anticipated. For example, after selecting Reverse, the vehicle may hesitate before moving, or after changing between Reverse and Drive, the delayed engagement can result in the vehicle moving in the previously engaged direction before finally shifting into the selected gear. This creates a significant safety hazard, particularly when parking, backing out of driveways, or maneuvering in areas with pedestrians or other vehicles. The delayed rearview camera activation further increases the risk because it prevents the driver from immediately seeing behind the vehicle while attempting to reverse. The issue occurs intermittently and without warning, making it difficult to predict. I am concerned that this condition could lead to a crash, property damage, or injury if the vehicle moves unexpectedly due to the delayed gear engagement. I request that NHTSA investigate this issue to determine whether it is related to a transmission, electronic shift control, or software defect affecting the safe operation of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11750264

The parking collision sensors started to act up. Its been replaced 3 or 4 times in the last year over the same problem and no one has tried to tell me how to fix the issue besides keep getting it replaced. People are at risk of getting hit or hitting a object that could be in the way of me reversing.

NHTSA ODI 11718657

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was blank. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V159000 (Back Over Prevention) and 25V393000 (Seats). The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11680757

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.

NHTSA ODI 11664320

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention camera screen display was inoperable. The contact stated that a blue screen was displayed creating a visibility hazard for the driver. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 34,600.

NHTSA ODI 11600913

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while attempting to shift into reverse, the contact became aware that the rear-view camera showed a blue screen. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ODI 11593738

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. 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 the camera intermittently failed, causing a visibility hazard for the driver. The failure mileage was 60,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11571486

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. 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 the back-over prevention camera intermittently failed to operate as needed while in use. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11570525

My complaint relates to: Manufacturer Recall Number: 23S23 NHTSA Recall Number: 23V342 INTERMITTENT EXPERIENCE OF A REAR CAMERA BLUE ON THE SYNC SCREEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PLACED IN REVERSE and notification that rear parking assistant is disabled. Per January 2024 I received a notification that a remedy is available (replacement of rear camera and software update of SYNC). The dealership was not able to perform the remedy as they told me that the Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) showed error codes and could not be updated. I was told to replace the APIM on my own expenses of ~$1,800. I am not willing to pay for a hardware replacement as I strongly believe that the APIM was defected by two prior updates: 1. prior effort of Ford to solve blue screen issue via software update and 2. a subsequent botched Over-The-Air update to version 22251 which is know to having bugs and causing APIM issues according to various Internet forums: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] So I have a security relevant recall that won't be fixed unless I pay. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11569054

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the screen display was blue and black and became inoperable. While reversing, the screen was blue. The contact was unable to use the GPS feature. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, and the contact was informed that the vehicle could be repaired under warranty. The system showed that the screen had connected and disconnected. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention). The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

NHTSA ODI 11560168

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera image was blue. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown software update was performed; however, the failure persisted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) 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 not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11557338

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention), 22V255000 (Power Train), and 23V675000 (Power Train) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and determined that parts were not yet available. 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11555314

In relation to NHTSA Recall Number: 23V342, Ford has failed to remedy issues around reverse Automatic Emergency Breaking. Whenever the 360° camera screen is blue, the system in place to prevent collisions also fails. There is no pattern of failure. Nearly 60% of the time the vehicle is driven an error related to 23V342 occurs.

NHTSA ODI 11552126

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) 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 made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the image displayed was distorted whenever shifted into reverse. The failure was intermittent at first but became a constant failure with the screen displaying a blue image while shifted into reverse. The failure mileage was 55,887. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11550848

The contact’s daughter owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his daughter was reversing, the rear-view camera image was blue and black. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ODI 11549371

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving in reverse mode, the back-over prevention camera displayed a blue screen. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13000.

NHTSA ODI 11549172

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting or while driving the vehicle, the front camera screen image was black or gray before going blank. Additionally, the navigation system was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. While driving at undisclosed speeds, the transmission was slipping. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant had intruded into the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11545956

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was shifted into reverse, the audible alarm feature failed to alert the contact to an object or another vehicle nearby. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.

NHTSA ODI 11545345

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the back over prevention screen was either black or blue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the software was updated, and the camera was replaced however, the permanent fix was unavailable. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11543763

Screen is blue by reverse

NHTSA ODI 11538179

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) 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 made aware of the issue. The contact stated that on several occasions the rear-view camera failed to show an image. The failure mileage was 30,839. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11534316

Every 6 months, the rear cameras, cross traffic sensors and blind spot warning go out and completely stop functioning. I take it to the dealer tland they keep it for 1-2 weeks and eventually replace a fuse and send it home. This has happened four times. No one will actually correct the root cause ti the issue. It's going on its third week in the shop this time.

NHTSA ODI 11533856

I have taken my Explorer in twice to have the infotainment system repaired. It will randomly shut down and go blank. Nothing will work to include the camera/backup assists. Sometimes an ignition cycle will clear it, but there have been times it will not. Both local dealers claim they could not duplicate despite bringing in and showing the service advisor during an event. Ford has also performed a "recall" for this 4 times, with the 3rd being canceled because it was not actually fixing the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11529359

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11526264

I am reporting countless incidences of my backup camera screen going to black or blue when the Gear Shift is selected to REVERSE. This has happened multiple times a day, week, month, etc. and is extremely frustrating. I am reporting in hopes to do anything I can to get the software fix expedited because it has been occurring for too long without a fix. t=The only "FIX" (if you can even call it that) for this problem is to stop what you are doing, put your car in PARK, turn the car OFF, open the driver's door to "reset", and then turn your car back on AGAIN in HOPES that the backup camera / 360 view is back to functioning within normal limits. That is unacceptable!!! It is not safe and anyone experiencing this issue should not have to stop their car, open a door, and restart it just to get the backup camera to work. I have contacted my dealership, Ford Corporate Offices, and now you guys in hopes to get this process going and the software to be fixed. Thank you - please contact for any questions or more information.

NHTSA ODI 11525384