The 2021 Ford Explorer Hybrid has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 252,936 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN22V2550002022-04-14252,936 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer Police FHEV, Explorer Police 3.3L, and 2020-2022 Explorer 2.3L RWD, 3.0L PHEV, 3.3L FHEV, and 3.0L ST GAS vehicles. The rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect.
Consequence
A disconnected driveshaft can result in vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is placed in 'Park' without the parking brake applied, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the bushing and axle cover, or update the electronic parking brake software. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed June 9, 2022, and March 10, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed June 9, 2022. Owners…
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
POWER TRAIN
1
1crashes1injuries
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1
STEERING
1
1crashes
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1
1crashes1injuries
WHEELS
1
1crashes1injuries
Total complaints7
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“A police officer's ford explorer interceptor hybrid suv while driving had a vehicle malfunction where the rear wheels began to wobble/vibrate and while driving in a straight line with front wheels facing straight caused the vehicle to fishtail out of the control (loss of control to the rear…”
“A police officer's ford explorer interceptor hybrid suv while driving had a vehicle malfunction where the rear wheels began to wobble/vibrate and while driving in a straight line with front wheels facing straight caused the vehicle to fishtail out of the control (loss of control to the rear…”
“A police officer's ford explorer interceptor hybrid suv while driving had a vehicle malfunction where the rear wheels began to wobble/vibrate and while driving in a straight line with front wheels facing straight caused the vehicle to fishtail out of the control (loss of control to the rear…”
“The contact owns a 2021 ford explorer hybrid. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, there was a burning odor present. The message "pull over possible powertrain damage" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who determined that the high voltage junction box had…”
“I was making a slow speed u-turn to stop a speeding motorist. As I came out of the u-turn, the wheel did not come back to center and I continued the turn going up a curb and striking a chain link fence. When I realized what was occurring, I manually began to turn the steering wheel to the right to…”
“The contact owns a 2021 ford explorer hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the electronic "lift gate ajar" warning was activated; however, the liftgate was not open. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who adjusted the liftgate striker, and the failure was…”
“The contact owns a 2021 ford explorer hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the electronic "lift gate ajar" warning was activated; however, the liftgate was not open. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who adjusted the liftgate striker, and the failure was…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2021 Ford Explorer Hybrid as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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