23 complaints reported

2021 Ford Explorer BACK OVER PREVENTION

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
23
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2026

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2025
Feb 2025

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Dec 2024

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023
Nov 2024

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2024
Oct 2024

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Jul 2024

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023
Jan 2024

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)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Nov 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2021
Nov 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2023
Nov 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2023
Oct 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2023
Sep 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2023
Sep 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2023
Jul 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2020
Jun 2023

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2023
Jun 2023

The rear camera has not worked since the vehicle was purchased in spring of 2021. It has now been "repaired" 3 times based on open recalls. however the issue is a known issue and can not be fixed. We have now been told they will.nees to replace the camera which is on indefinite backorder. This is a huge vehicle safety issue Ford is aware of and yet not one of their alleged recalls actually resolves this serious issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2023
Apr 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (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 his vehicle rental company owns a fleet of 105 2021 Ford Explorers, and the VINs were all included in the recall. The contact stated that 35% of the 105 vehicles had experienced a loss of rearview camera image. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicles were not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.  

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023
Jan 2023

Back-up camera starts turning blue. Verified that there was an issue during manufacturing that they left a hole open and can cause malfunctioning of the back up camera causing the blue screen. Unable to spot blind spots when backing up and can put others safety in danger if behind vehicle especially children and I am not able to see them when reversing.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023
Apr 2022

(1)While reversing into the garage, the rear facing camera system turned blue and disabled the reverse braking system. (2) several instances: while reversing, the reverse braking system disables randomly.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2022
Jan 2022

I had the backup camera parts replaced 4/15/2022 and within 10 days of having the vehicle back the backup camera was turning blue again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2022
Oct 2021

I had the safety recall 21V735000 performed on October 12, 2021. Within 2 days the same problem of rear-view backup camera blue screen recurred, just as it did before the recall. The problem happens in about 1/3 of trips. Once the blue screen occurs, it doesn't go away until powering off the vehicle, waiting a few minutes, and then upon powering the vehicle on the rear backup camera might work again for a while, but will usually break again the same day.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2021
Sep 2021

When putting the car in reverse it jerks back if the pedal is touched which has almost caused an accident. It takes about a minute or two to adjust backing up and the rear camera does not show until the clutch has adjusted.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2021

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Ford Explorer has 23 BACK OVER PREVENTION complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.