2021 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #2165153
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION filed January 11, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2165153 (ODI reference 11710201) concerns a 2021 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on January 11, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 2, 2026. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD EXPLORER cohort independently describe similar suspension failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2021 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
2024 - 19k miles. Both rear shocks were leaking. Dealer replaced both at no charge. 2025 - 30k rear shock shows signs of leaking. Dealer states no leak. 2025 - 32k Tire shop says shock is leaking. I told them the dealer said it was not. they took pictures. 2025 - Arrive at dealer (2nd time same issue) Dealer states no warranty because I did not pay for replacements. They stated had I payed for replacements I would have a 2 year warranty. Since it's been over a year I have to pay for it. Left dealer called Ford and filed a complaint. Case # XXX-XXX or XXX? Under 40k miles and going on 3 sets of shocks. Online forums readily show this is a known problem that Ford will not acknowledge. Furthermore their warranty of 1 year vs 2 based on payment or warranty replacement should be illegal! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2165153 |
| ODI Number | 11710201 |
| Date Filed | January 11, 2026 |
| Failure Date | January 2, 2026 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8GC9MG |
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Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.