2021 Ford Explorer Collision Avoidance Problems

56 owners have reported driver assistance problems with the 2021 Ford Explorer to NHTSA — 13% of all 447 complaints for this model year. The typical failure happened around 32,000 miles. That ranks #3 of 19 Explorer model years for collision avoidance complaints (a typical year has 17). 7 related recalls have been issued.

56complaints
32ktypical miles
7related recalls
2crashes
0fires
1injuries

Which parts fail

  • Warnings
    11
  • Automatic emergency braking
    10
  • Rearview system braking
    8
  • Adaptive cruise control
    7
  • Sensing system › Camera
    5
  • Blind spot detection
    4

Components named in complaints (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, backup camera).

Mileage when the problem started

  • Under 25k
    528%
  • 25k–50k
    844%
  • 50k–75k
    317%
  • 75k–100k
    211%
  • 100k–150k
    00%
  • 150k+
    00%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2021 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact leases a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was driving at 25 MPH with Co-pilot 360 assist mode and the evasive steering assist engaged, she lost control of the steering wheel. The contact stated that his wife could not feel the connection between the steering wheel and the front tires of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle made a sharp right turn and crashed into a telephone pole. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags deployed. The contact 's wife sustained bruises and lesions on the ankle, knee cap, arms and on her left breast but did not seek medical assistance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was then towed to another tow lot where it was totaled. The dealer was not notified of the failure. …

Automatic emergency steering · 12,000 miles · Mar 2022 · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated the adaptive cruise control and the collision avoidance systems would malfunction. The vehicle would suddenly deactivate the cruise control and the collision avoidance would detect a non-existing object and stop the vehicle from also turning to avoid the crash. The contact stated that while idled at a stop light when the vehicle suddenly accelerated rear-ending the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deploy however the acceleration did not reach high enough speeds for such a response. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not towed. There were no injuries or medical attention needed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

10,000 miles · Apr 2022 · crash

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.

42,000 miles · Aug 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.

28,000 miles · Oct 2021

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.

35,000 miles · Feb 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.

30,000 miles · 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 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.

56,000 miles · 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 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.

13,000 miles · Mar 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 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.

60,000 miles · Oct 2023

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.

Automatic emergency braking · 31,000 miles · Dec 2023

Related recalls

Back over prevention › Software

NHTSA recall 26V-123 · Mar 3, 2026 · 889,950 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2020-2024 Lincoln Aviator, and Explorer vehicles. The image on the center display may flip or invert, resulting in an incorrectly displayed rearview image when the vehicle is placed in reverse.

Remedy: Dealers will update the accessory protocol interface module (APIM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 23, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Back over prevention › Software

NHTSA recall 25V-442 · Jun 27, 2025 · 200,237 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023 Aviator, Transit, 2020-2024 Explorer, 2021-2024 Bronco Sport, and…

Remedy: Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Back over prevention › Software

NHTSA recall 25V-159 · Mar 14, 2025 · 49,399 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 23V-342. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying.

Remedy: Dealers will update the Image Processing Module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera

NHTSA recall 23V-342 · May 12, 2023 · 442,973 vehicles

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.

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.

Show 3 more recalls

Back over prevention › Display function

NHTSA recall 23V-305 · Apr 28, 2023 · 523 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with a 12.1-inch Integrated Computer Screen (ICS). When the Display On/Off Button is used to turn the display to "Off" prior to placing the vehicle in reverse, the backup camera rearview image will not appear on the…

Remedy: Dealers will update the ICS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C14.

Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera

NHTSA recall 23V-022 · Jan 23, 2023 · 382,759 vehicles

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.

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.

Back over prevention › Software

NHTSA recall 21V-735 · Sep 22, 2021 · 228,297 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Corsair, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with 360-degree cameras. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying.

Remedy: Dealers will update the Image Processing Module (IPMB) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 16, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Collision Avoidance complaints in other Explorer years

’95’96’97’98’99’00’01’02’03’04’05’06’07’08’09’10’11’12’13’14’15’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26111512544215118173141745633194165
Collision Avoidance complaints per model year, Ford Explorer.

Frequently asked questions

How common are collision avoidance problems on the 2021 Ford Explorer?

NHTSA has 56 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2021 Ford Explorer, 13% of the model year's 447 complaints. The component named most often is warnings (11 mentions).

Is there a recall for 2021 Ford Explorer collision avoidance problems?

Yes — NHTSA recall 26V-123 (software, Mar 3, 2026); NHTSA recall 25V-442 (software, Jun 27, 2025); NHTSA recall 25V-159 (software, Mar 14, 2025). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.

At what mileage do 2021 Ford Explorer collision avoidance problems start?

Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 32,000 miles, and 28% before 25,000 miles.

Is it dangerous?

Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to driver assistance problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.