What 401 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you regarding a persistent issue I have been experiencing with my 2021 Ford Explorer For some time now, I have noticed a loud sound when braking and when navigating obstacles such as speed bumps or when entering and exiting the ramp of my parking lot. Concerned about this situation, I took my vehicle to the service department at your dealership, where I was informed that there was a recall to replace a part related to this issue. I appreciate that you have identified and committed to addressing this problem through the recall. However, I am concerned that despite more than one or two months having passed since my initial visit, I have still not received any notification regarding the availability of the necessary part for the repair. This delay has been particularly frustrating as the problem persists and even seems to have worsened over time. The loud sound when braking and navigating obstacles is becoming increasingly pronounced, significantly affecting the driving experience and my safety on the road. I understand that manufacturing and distribution processes can be complicated, but I need an urgent solution to this problem. As a loyal customer of your dealership, I trust that you will take the necessary steps to resolve this situation quickly and effectively. Since my vehicle is my primary means of transportation, I strongly request that you expedite the repair process and keep me informed of any developments related to the recall and the availability of the necessary part. I look forward to receiving a prompt response and a satisfactory solution to this problem. I appreciate your attention and prompt action in addressing this matter.

NHTSA ODI 11575463

My vehicle started to put up messages regarding going into power saver mode. The vehicle then said all wheel drive not available. After that electrical components started going unavailable such as power steering, brake assist, blind spot monitoring, cameras, and traction control. The vehicle then shut down while driving and all I could do was brake. When I attempted to restart the vehicle it did not restart. I jumped it and was able to safely pull it off the road. This is the 2nd time in three weeks this happened. Ford looked at the vehicle and tightened the battery cables. Then told me it was fine.

NHTSA ODI 11575207

Roof trim blew off. Moon roof- yes Luggage rack- no Driver side

NHTSA ODI 11574936

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train) however, the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time to for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11574291

While making a left turn on a city street there was a loud bang noise and a sudden shift of the rear of the car. The bang noise was immediately followed by a loud grinding noise (sounded like metal on metal). There was a sudden loss in power, and I was only able to drive the car a short distance to get to the side of the street. When the car was put in park, the car rolled downhill without resistance. The car was towed to a Ford dealer for repairs. The dealer's repair shop drained the fluid from the rear differential and found "large chunks of metal." The repair required the replacement of the rear differential. Had this event occured on a busy street, it could have resulted in a vehicle accident. The loss of vehicle control when the vehicle was placed in "park" could have also been a safety risk. This event is similar to the Ford recall of the Explorer for a rear axel bolt fracture (NHTSA recall 23V-199 and 22V-255). My vehicle VIN # has not been added to the recall list, therefore, Ford has refused to consider reimbursement for the cost of the repairs. I would like the NHTSA to consider adding my VIN# to the recall for this design defect.

NHTSA ODI 11572145

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the third-row seats were inoperable. The contact stated that the passenger’s and driver’s side seats were frozen in a semi-folded-down position and were not responding to the electronic control switch. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the seat control unit needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the dealer that the seat failure was a known failure; however, the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,438.

NHTSA ODI 11571384

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

There was no incident yet. This concerns the ballistic panels mounted in the two front doors, the mounting tabs break and are broken in this vehicle and there is a TSB but Ford refuses to fix because they claim it's not a "Safety" issue which it is and because it has a salvage title. This needs to go to a recall or customer satisfaction "Safety issue". "SSM 51945 2020-2023 Police Interceptor Utility - Level III Ballistic Panel Mounting Tab Service Kit Now Available". "2020-2023 Police Interceptor Utility vehicles may require level III ballistic panels to be replaced due to broken mounting tabs. Level III ballistic panel mounting tab service kits are now available (right LB5Z-78201B68-F and left LB5Z-78201B69-F). Replacement of the level III ballistic panel assembly is not required for this condition. Level IV ballistic panels do not have removable mounting tabs and still require complete panel replacement. Level III vs. level IV ballistic panels can be identified by a large roman numeral label on the panel or by the vehicle window sticker if equipped".

NHTSA ODI 11571358

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 startrover run clutch or whatever went out and they said it was bumper to bumper, not powertrain warranty! Don’t make any sense to me , the starter has to dtart everthing for there to be power and it’s attached to everything that’s powertrain related!

NHTSA ODI 11568081

When driving at low speed, every uneven thing in the road surface creates a low resonating frequency sound (deep base) through out the cabin.

NHTSA ODI 11568129

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train) 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11567756

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the passenger’s side rear door glass fastener installed between the V-shaped glass and the door glass had fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The contact was informed that the passenger’s side rear door glass fastener needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the repair could not be covered under warranty. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11567465

Both rail roof luggage racks on roof are loose. Flap at high speeds. Ford advises it's not covered.

NHTSA ODI 11567666

My digital dash would get wavy and flickery with lines through it almost like the LEDs in the screen we're going bad. They made lines going across which made it hard to read the speedometer. Since I brought this up it's been two or three times that I've tried to have them look at it and they finally saw what was going on and they decided that they were going to replace the instrument cluster in the dash and since they replaced it it has been fine. Also I am on battery number for due to the vehicle going in battery saver mode every time the battery starts to go bad and Ford has yet to figure out what is going on with my vehicle that is causing me to have bad batteries and causing it to go in the battery saver mode to preserve power within hours of the vehicle having been driven.

NHTSA ODI 11566915

P25B4- TURBOCHARGER/SUPERCHARGER WASTE GATE (A) STUCK CLOSED P0299- TURBOCHARGER/SUPERCHARGER UNDERBOOST POWERTRAIN AND 4-WHEEL DRIVE IN-OPERABLE, TURNED ON VEHICLE TO DRIVE AND IMMEDIATELY THREW THE TWO CODES ABOVE. FORD SAYS THIS IS NOT A COVERED ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11565594

FELT LINER ON THE BOTTOM OF VEHICLE HAS COME OFF WHILE DRIVING 3X. IN SNOW AND RAIN WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES THE FELT LINER GETS WET AND HEAVY AND TIED UP IN THE TIRES. THE DESIGN AS WELL AS THE BOLTS CONTINUOUSLY FAIL.

NHTSA ODI 11565598

The rear windshield shattered as I was driving. I did not hit anything, nor did anything hit the rear window. The temperature is -3. I had the defroster on and think the extreme cold mixed with the defroster caused the window to shatter. Is the glass faulty? Or the defroster?

NHTSA ODI 11565647

Front windshield cracked n has expanded along the very bottom in the dark black area n spread up into clear glass for no reason whatsoever. Never heard a rock or anything else hit. One day it just started a small looping crack.

NHTSA ODI 11564883

Strong egg odor from exhaust when temperature is below 0 degrees C or 32F. This is especially the case then the car is started and left to warm up for 5-10 min. The smell goes away after 15-20min.

NHTSA ODI 11563461

With the Ford Intelli-Cruise enabled in settings, the vehicle automatically adjust the speed while using the cruise control. The vehicle will randomly, quickly, accellerate to a extreme new speed limit it thinks it has detected. For instance, several times while travelling on I-81, with a 70mph speed limit, the vehicle will think the new speed limit is suddenly 85mph and quickly accelerate to that speed. I have attached a photo of the dash displaying that setting the car set by itself. On the flip side, once on I-81, it thought the speed limit was 35mph and quickly slammed on the brakes to slow to 35mph from 70mph. Both are quickly overridden by the driver tapping the brake and cancelling the cruise control. However, both could lead to hazards to other drivers potentially resulting in a wreck, especially the sudden slow to 35mph on the interestate. The dealership says "Yea, it happens and people complain". I have no idea why the speed changes, there are no road signs or other indications to even cause the system to re-evaluate its settings. Ford says Intelli-Cruise uses road signage and other ways to also determine speed (whatever that means). This is a safety issue that needs to be remedied by Ford. However, without NHTSA enforcement, they don't seem interested in resolution. (This website isn't allowing me to upload the .jpg file, upload button disappears when I click it)

NHTSA ODI 11562894

Vehicle blinker works at fast rate at all times. In the event that one of the rear turn signals stops working, the vehicle will not adjust the turn signal flash rate frequency to warn the driver that a turn signal is not working correctly. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment." Ford says 'fast' blinker on all Explorer ST's is by design and normal.

NHTSA ODI 11562895

11/9/23 our still under warranty, 2021 Ford Explorer Platinum with 20,152 miles on it died at stop sign and would not start. Locked in park and had to be towed to dealer who worked on it for one week and claimed it was fixed. Same problem second time a few days later and dealer claimed it was lose wires and returned to us on 11/28. This last time (happened at a very dangerous onramp location and I thought I was going to get hit by another car while waiting for the police to arrive) they have had it since 12/4 and can not diagnose or fix the problem despite claiming to have done numerous things. Ford (Detroit) CS has been of zero help and will not loan us a car or rent one for us to use. We are supposed to be leaving in a few days for our Florida residence for 4 months without our car being fixed. We have had the car a total of 10 days out of the last 51 and with the holiday weekend being tomorrow and Monday it will be 53 days. I have read about numerous Ford Explorers having this same problem and never getting fixed correctly, only to have repeated software issues. How much is enough for a consumer to finally have protection. Lemon Law has expired and I can not find any information for consumers in our current situation. Please advise. We are [XXX] and this is very stressful to say the least. Thank you! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11562747

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle suddenly shifted into park, after which the vehicle went into LIMP mode. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle was unable to shift out of park and displayed the "Automatic Emergency Braking Unavailable" message. The traction control, start-to-stop, and hill start assist warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 30,500.

NHTSA ODI 11560368