This latest Ford Explorer recall affects nearly every powertrain configuration, including Police variants.
After the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation earlier this year, Ford filed a new recall this month covering 238,000 2020-2022 Ford Explorers for an issue that could cause the driveshaft or half-shafts to disconnect from the rear axle. The rear axle bushing and bolt can fracture or fail completely, potentially causing the affected SUVs to lose motive power while driving, or roll away while parked without the parking brake engaged.
The investigation began after complaints that two earlier recalls — one this year (23V-199) and one in 2022 (22V-255) — reportedly failed to solve the problem. According to documents Ford filed with the NHTSA, “Affected vehicles were built with a 3-point mounted axle design. On some units the rear axle horizonal mounting bolt may fracture”. The description of the defect goes onto note powertrain torque exerts a “bending force” on the rear axle bolt, which may cause it to suffer a fatigue failure, particularly after several hard launches (or “numerous peak torque events”).
If the rear axle bot fractures, it will allow the axle housing to move out of position, which may cause severe noise and vibration. The bolt fully shearing may allow the driveshaft or half-shafts to disconnect from the rear axle. “The joint design is not robust to peak axle input torques and manufacturing variability,” the document says in describing the cause of the issue. “The primary contributor is insufficient bearing area for maximum joint loads. This results in bearing area deformation, increasing bending stress on the bolt, which may lead to a fatigue fracture.”
What’s the solution?
Of the 238,364 Ford Explorer models included in the recall, all of them could potentially have this defect. The campaign covers virtually every configuration of the vehicle, from the base rear-wheel drive 2.3-liter model to the 3.0-liter-equipped ST performance model. The NHTSA document also lists the 3.3-liter gasoline, hybrid and 3.0-liter gasoline Police vehicles, as well as the civilian-spec Explorer Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid.
Ford says it’s aware of 396 reports for rear axle bolt failures. Of those, fewer than 5% actually caused loss-of-power or rollaway events while the vehicles were parked. To date, the automaker also says it’s not aware of any accidents or injuries. Moreover, it hasn’t received any reports of roll-aways on vehicles that received the “Electronic Park Brake software strategy” update as part of an earlier recall, which automatically applies the parking brake on when the vehicle is put in Park and shut off so it can’t roll, even if the driveshaft becomes disconnected.
As part of this recall campaign, dealers will replace the defective bushing and rear axle bolt, free of charge. Technicians should also inspect the rear axle cover for damage near the bolt hole and replace that as well if it has been damaged.
Ford will begin notifying owners about the problem starting on November 6. In the meantime, you can check whether your Explorer is affected by entering your VIN on the NHTSA’s recall site (their recall number is 23V-675). You can also call Ford’s customer support line at (866)-436-7332, check the automaker’s recall site, or check with your local dealer (Ford’s recall number is 23S55).
