14 complaints reported

2021 Ford Explorer Structure

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

Reports
14
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Aug 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was a 15x3/4-inch strip on the B-pillar trim of the driver's side rear door that was detaching from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who attempted to use adhesive to secure the trim piece; however, the temporary repair failed to fix the vehicle. The dealer determined that the entire B-pillar trim needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact became aware that the B-pillar trim on the passenger's side rear door had started to detach. The contact informed the manufacturer of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V347000 (Structure). The manufacturer advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

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

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that there was a gap between the body and the frame on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 74,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2025
Apr 2025

The chrome on the window switch on the passenger side is peeling and cut my finger while using it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Apr 2025

I was backing out of my driveway and a whoosh of water came pouring into my trunk from my roof of my car. When I took it to the Ford dealership they took the headliner down and found that the drains for my sunroof were clogged and caused the leak. They found that the headliner had mold growing on it. This is currently not a recall issue yet but I believe it should be or should be considered a default from Ford, (my warranty expired a couple months earlier). After speaking with the maintenance manager at Ford, I have been informed that it is not uncommon that the sunroof drains get clogged and this is something that should be checked or cleaned out periodically. With that being said- my 3 year old vehicle has only been maintained at a Ford dealership during its life. I go every 3-4 months and this has never been checked or cleaned out. My vehicle has been at the dealership for 3 months now because the parts are on back order. When I spoke with the dealership on 12/18 I was told there were 16 headliners on order, but when I checked back in January (a month later) there were 437 on order. This seems to be an issue with more and more of these vehicles. This is a dangerous situation because I do not know how long the mold has been growing in my vehicle and could cause health issues with me or my kids.

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

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.

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

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the power liftgate failed to close as needed. The contact was able to manually close the liftgate. Additionally, the roof was leaking near the sunroof and roof rails. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

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

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact observed that the driver’s side A-pillar trim had detached. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and trim taped down. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the A-pillar trim needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not prepared. The contact believed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2024
Jun 2024

I was driving and hood flew up and hit the windshield and caused it to cave inward despite hood not being popped since April. Dealership confirmed that hood was not popped that day according to censors and codes that were seen. I was unable to see and it could have caused a wreck and serious injury or worse the windshield almost fell on me and into my car with my one year old baby. Dealer confirmed latch was never popped. Therfore resulting in a malfunction with the hood. Vehicle has been inspected by dealership service center. No, there were no signs or indicators prior to the incident. The indicators did not illuminate until test at the dealership although they did not the day of the incident (confirmed by dealership service department)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2024
May 2024

The contact's spouse owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 68 MPH, the L-trim retaining strip detached from the driver's side door. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the L-trim molding and the retaining strip needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

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

The panel next the windows on both sides are cracking. The dealer said they need to be replaced on my dime. After doing a search for this problem, it appears that this is a common problem. It appears to be an issue with the seal and hot/cold weather creating the issue.

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

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

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

2021 ford explorer exterior windshield trim is loose and has been shown to come off while driving. it is also causing a wind noise inside of the vehicle while in operration. No warnings shown. Link below shows issue and repair guidelines. https://www.tsbsearch.com/Ford/22-2021

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2022
Nov 2022

2021 FORD EXPLORER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ISSUE WITH THE REAR SUBFRAME. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED WITH AN INCORRECT SUBRAME. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE SINGLE BOLTS WILL EVENTUALLY BREAK DUE TO STRESS. THE VEHICLE HAD A RECALL TO REPROGRAM THE PCM TO AUTOMATICALLY APPLY THE PARKING BREAK. THE CONSUMER WAS CONCERNED THE RECALL WOULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING AWAY.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 FORD EXPLORER, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2022
Mar 2022

I'm writing to you to relay a serious safety issue that started with the 2021 Explorer ST manufacturing processes. When Ford designed the new Explorer ST, the rear subframe was engineered to allow the rear differential to be attached with four bolts (Attachment-A). This was needed to properly secure the differential in light of the ST motor putting out more horsepower than their other models. My 2020 Explorer ST had the correct subframe with two bolts (Attachment-B.) At some point during the manufacturing of the 2021 ST models, Ford started using base-model Explorer rear subframes that contained a single bolt (Attachment-C) on the rear portion of the subframe. This was likely done due to the global shortage of parts and materials that most automotive manufacturers encountered. The results were predictable, and many users in Explorer discussion groups have reported the single-bolt shearing off, dropping the differential and damaging the rear suspension components and exhaust (Attachment-D & E.) This is a glaring safety issue, especially with a performance car, as a failure at speed could result in loss of control of the vehicle. To date, Ford has not responded to my inquiries requesting more information and a resolution. They did recently release a Special Service Message acknowledging that this is an issue (Attachment-F.) The thread below on explorerst.org outlines the problem in detail. There are dozens of people there and in the Explorer ST groups on Facebook that have encountered this problem, with varying levels of successful resolution and attention from Ford. I'm happy to provide additional links to conversations about this, if needed. https://www.explorerst.org/threads/rear-end-damage.2602/ I represent a growing group of ST owners who would like Ford to issue a recall, and repair their vehicles before a failure occurs.

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

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Ford Explorer has 14 Structure complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.