Vehicle loses power while on freeway when 4WD, Pre-Collision Assist, Hill Start Assist, and other warning messages display. Vehicle lost power approximately 5 times while registering message, but messages have displayed approximately 40-50 times in the past week before being services. Vehicle dealership repair facility inspected and diagnosed a bad 4WD module.
2021 Ford Explorer: false forward collision warnings
5 of the 456 complaints about the 2021 Ford Explorer describe false forward collision warnings.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 7
Is there a fix? There are 7 recalls and 8 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
False forward collision warnings by model year
What owners say
The fuse box got wet after a routine car wash. The hood was not opened at any point prior to the car wash, nor directly afterwards until the incident occurred. A few hours after the car wash, the horn went off on its own continuously for 5-10 minutes and had to be shut off manually via disconnecting the battery. The car was not running or turned on in any way at this point. Prior to disconnecting the battery, the car was turned on to try and deactivate the horn. The horn was still blaring and the car would not shut off. Upon inspection, there was smoke coming from the fuse box. Multiple vehicle alerts went off on the dash including Hill start assist warning, Powertrain malfunction/reduced power and pre-collision assist warning lights. The car was taken to the dealership for repairs. The following "story" was conducted at the dealership: Unhooked battery. Removed front cowl battery junction box. Removed battery junction box. Battery junction box is burnt up and engine bay harness is melted. Engine bay harness needs replaced. Have to remove engine assembly to gain access to harness. Removed engine transmission and subframe assembly. Removed inner plastic firewall. Removed harness and replaced. Reinstalled drive train assembly replaced all one time use fasteners. Reassembled car. Found horn is INOP. Diagnosed and found horn is burned up from being stuck on from melted harness. Removed front bumper cover. Replaced Horn and reassembled. Horn works now. Cleared all DTCs. No DTCs returned. Test drove car. Everything is working properly now and no codes returned. Total repairs are $3,300. I did not feel safe in any regards while driving it to the dealership. Through casual conversation with a friend who works at the dealership, they witnessed something similar happen with a Ford F-150. I don't believe that this has been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the incident.
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.
Audio Control Module failed on 2/17/22. No audio for Forward Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Warning, and reverse sensors. Dealer replace ACM, which fixed the issues on 2/22/22. However on 2/27/22, the speakers started making a popping crackling noise and front speakers went out. Then a few minutes later, no audio for about 15 minutes, but the popping noise still continued. After no audio for about 15 minutes the driver side speakers started to work, but the popping noise continued. Vehicle will be going back to the dealership.
I purchased a ford explorer st 2021 in new york from city world ford on boston rd in the bronx on april 22, 2021 at approximately 9:37pm. I took my car home the same same day. The following day (second day) I started experiencing a pre-collision assist not available and powertrain malfunction/reduced power light on my dashboard at 12:49 pm. The car began to jerk and felt like it was on awd mode. The gas pedal was heavy and difficult to drive while I was on the highway with my children. I started to smell fire coming from the inside of my car. Once I started experiencing those problems from my car I immediately parked the car. I immediately called the dealership didn't get an answer so I drove to them personally after I let it cool down for a couple of hours. I explained the problem I experienced with the car to them. The dealership stated to me to take it to the repair shop the monday and I did. The next day (tuesday) I picked up the car from repair service center. The next day I started experiencing the same problems with the ford. I went back to the dealership on wednesday (next day) and stated I wanted a new car or exchange for a different car. Manager stated I had to take the car for second time for repair. I then took the car for the second time for repair on wednesday. The car is currently still in the repair service center and still displaying malfunctions after being repaired in the repair service center. I have not yet received my car back and repair center stated they are not sure when will the problem will be fixed and working properly.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Advance Notice – Customer Satisfaction Program 25N17 Certain 2015-2025 Model Year Multiple Vehicle Lines...
- Inoperative blind spot monitoring with a "Blind Spot System Fault" message displayed in the instrument...
- Lack of heat from the passenger side vents of the vehicle when using the climate control
- Inoperative power liftgate
- Some 2019-2020 Edge/F-150/Fusion/Continental/MKZ/Nautilus, 2019-2021 Mustang/Ranger/Transit Connect,...
- Concerns with rear camera zoom, wrong map matching or a blank display
- Front Camera Fault, Lane Keeping Fault, and/or Collison Warning Not Available message with various...
- Some 2018-2021 vehicles supported by FDRS may not list a software update for a module under the SW Updates...
Related recalls
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- 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. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- An incorrectly displayed rearview image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- 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. Ford's number for this recall is 26C11. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on March 5, 2026.
Recall number 26V123000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- 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 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera to display a blank image, or the image may remain on the display after the backing event has ended.
- Risk
- A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.
- 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. Ford's number for this recall is 25S72.
Recall number 25V442000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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 software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S27.
Recall number 25V159000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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 the federal safety agency recall number 23V‑022. Vehicles previously repaired under 23V‑022 will need to have the new remedy performed.
Recall number 23V342000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: display function
- What is wrong
- 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 display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
- 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.
Recall number 23V305000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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 the federal safety agency recall number 21V‑735. Vehicles previously repaired under 21V‑735 will need to have the new remedy performed.
Recall number 23V022000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
- 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. Ford's number for this recall is 21S44.
Recall number 21V735000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2021 Ford Explorer collision warning
Is false forward collision warnings a common problem on the 2021 Ford Explorer?
5 of 456 owner complaints about the 2021 Ford Explorer (1%) mention false forward collision warnings. The model year with the most reports is 2020.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Ford Explorer?
There are 7 recalls and 8 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2021 Ford Explorer
Backup camera 27Jerking 19Loss of power 19Stalling 19Engine failure 15Check engine light 13Wipers 12Fire or smoke 9Rollaway 9Transmission failure 9Won't start 9Adaptive cruise 8Hesitation 8Headlights 7Sunroof shattered 7Grinding brakes 6Knocking 6Fuel pump 6Slipping 6Sudden acceleration 6ABS 5Fuel smell 5Harsh shifting 5Screen failure 5Overheating 5Won't shift 5
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