2021 Ford EXPLORER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2021 Ford Explorer SUV RWD has received excellent safety ratings across the board, with a perfect score of 5 in overall, front and side crash ratings. The car also boasts stability control as a standard feature, adding an extra layer of safety for drivers. Additionally, it offers lane departure warning as a standard feature and gives drivers the option of adding forward collision warning for additional safety precautions. In terms of complaints and recalls, the car has had 163 complaints and 11 recalls reported, indicating that while it excels in safety features, there have been some issues that drivers should be aware of. Overall, the Ford Explorer is a top choice for those looking for a safe and reliable SUV option.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

163

Recall Count

11

Investigation Count

2

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2021 Ford Explorer SUV RWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2021 Ford Explorer SUV RWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Optional
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

Standard

2021 Ford Explorer SUV RWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2021 Ford Explorer SUV RWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2021 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 5 Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 5 Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2021 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2021 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2021 Ford EXPLORER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"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!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2026-01-01
Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2026-01-01
Complaint:
"the contact's daughter owns a 2021 ford explorer. the contact stated that while his daughter was driving from a complete stop in a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. a message indicating a transmission failure was displayed. the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not diagnosed and was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. the dealer informed the contact's daughter that a diagnostic test cost would be charged because the vehicle was out of warranty. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 46,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-12-11
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2021 ford explorer. the contact stated that while attempting to accelerate after coming to a complete stop, the vehicle briefly lunged forward. the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. 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: 23v675000 (power train) the vin was included but parts were not yet available. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 15,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-03-05
Complaint:
"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 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."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-06-10
Complaint:
"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 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."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-06-10
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2021 ford explorer. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 23v635000 (power train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was made aware of the issue. 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 parts were not yet available. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-01-11
Complaint:
"unknown my rear axle bolt may fracture. and this repair still has not been done. and ford doesn't know. when the part will be in, i'm in fear. for my safety."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-09-06
Complaint:
"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 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 while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle started to vibrate. the contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. the contact stated that she drove the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that the failure could not duplicated. the vehicle had not been repaired. additionally, the contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(p), the parking brake automatically activated, and the contact did not manually set the parking brake. the failure mileage was approximately 28,000. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-02-07
Complaint:
"i bought the car in 12/21/21 brand new from hopkins ford in illinois drive the car just for work and school, we serviced the car and well mantained with all needed services around 1000 miles i start noticed lots of clunking noises coming out of the car right after exit the vehicle and took it to 2 diferent ford dealerships and they said was normal, which wasn't. kept driving the car i had also an issue with the panoramic roof having leaks and wasn't fixed too, around 15000 miles start noticed delay on the transmission when moving from park to reverse and also a very loud clunking noise , when moving from reverse to drive noticed de delay and and pull when the transmission engaged to drive, i use the highway around 1 time a week and noticed loose of power when accelerating so i decided to take it to the hopkins dealership, initially they diagnose just need an update and will be ready in 5 days , they never contacted me and i call them back to ask the status because i need the suv for my family and they gave me a pickup truck as loaner and is useless for my family, they told me it will be another 4 days, than at day 20 they said they have to replace the whole transmission , and i forced them to give me a another explorer as loaner because i need that size car, i drove it and at day 29 called me and asked me for their car back and they gave me again a f150 but my car was not ready and will take another 4-5 days, magically my car was ready next day !! day 30 really? they dropped at home but with scratches in door panels and dents in the paint. they i drove the car for .3 miles and the car had the same issues , they told me to drive it for 500 miles and transmission will adapt, i drove it for 1000 miles and now the problems still and now are worse even with new transmission, vibration while driving on highway, clunking noises and lose of power , i dropped the car at the dealership already for a week and is no estimated time on repairs or how long this will take"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2025-04-07

Recalls for the 2021 Ford EXPLORER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 explorer, lincoln aviator, and 2020-2022 lincoln corsair vehicles equipped with a 360-degree camera. the video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying."
Consequence:
Loss of the rearview camera image can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Dealers will update the image processing module (IPMB) software, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed April 25, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed February 13, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S02. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall number 21V-735. Vehicles previously repaired under 21V-735 will need to have the new remedy performed.

Component(s) Involved: BACK OVER PREVENTION > SENSING SYSTEM > CAMERA
Date of incident: 2023-01-23
Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 explorer, lincoln aviator, and 2020-2022 lincoln corsair vehicles equipped with a 360-degree camera. the video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying."
Consequence:
Loss of the rearview camera image can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Dealers will replace the 360-degree camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 10, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S23. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall number 23V-022. Vehicles previously repaired under 23V-022 will need to have the new remedy performed.

Component(s) Involved: BACK OVER PREVENTION > SENSING SYSTEM > CAMERA
Date of incident: 2023-05-12

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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