2021 Ford Expedition Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: October 27, 2026 · Filed: October 28, 2026

I was making a right hand turn and had loss of power and a clunk sound. I also experienced loss of power between 65-75 mph on the freeway. I ran a forscan report and it's pointing to the transmission even though the fluid and a tcm update has been performed. There is about 40k miles on the fluid.

Incident: October 15, 2026 · Filed: October 23, 2026

The chrome plating on the interior center console trim is bubbling, wrinkling, cracking and peeling along the console edges, including the vertical corner by the cupholder, leaving sharp metal edges. This vehicle is covered by Ford recall 26S38 / NHTSA campaign 26V368 for this exact defect, but no remedy is available (remedy expected Q1 2027) and Ford has provided no interim cover, guard, repair, or instructions to make the sharp trim safe. Two injuries have occurred from the sharp peeling chrome trim: 1. On approximately March 12, 2026, the owner's right pinky finger was cut on the outside of the finger by the sharp peeling trim. It bled heavily, took a long time to heal, and left a permanent scar. No medical treatment was sought. No crash. 2. On October 15, 2026, the owner's right middle finger was cut on the same peeling trim. It was painful and would start bleeding again when bumped for several days afterward. No medical treatment was sought. No crash. Photos attached show the peeling trim and both injuries. The component is available for inspection upon request.

Incident: June 8, 2026 · Filed: October 23, 2026

Power problems and the light was on. I took it to the ford place and they didn’t fix it.

Incident: October 18, 2026 · Filed: October 22, 2026

Wiper switch not working for auto, because switch itself is broken. When accelerating to pass a car the transmission skips/slips and car pauses and gas pedal won't work for 10 seconds. Car basically stalls. Could have caused accident if unable to pass or slide back over behind the car trying to pass.

Incident: October 15, 2026 · Filed: October 19, 2026

While driving at highway speeds, specifically during sudden acceleration and lane-change maneuvers, the vehicle experiences a severe dynamic mechanical binding event. The transmission briefly forces a sudden "halt" or engine-braking downshift, causing the vehicle to unexpectedly slow down in active traffic before entering a temporary limp mode. This sudden loss of propulsion and unexpected deceleration creates an immediate rear-end collision hazard on the highway. This happened to my wife while merging onto a highway almost causing an accident. Diagnostic and Mechanical Verification: The vehicle was taken to an authorized Ford dealership for evaluation. The dealership officially scanned, verified, and documented diagnostic trouble code P0786 (Shift Timing Solenoid "A" Range/Performance). Following an advanced diagnostic review, the certified Ford technician officially diagnosed a failed transmission park solenoid (parking pawl solenoid). Direct Relation to Active Safety Recall: The component failure (park solenoid), diagnostic code (P0786), and severe dynamic highway-speed binding symptoms are identical to the safety defects outlined in Ford Safety Recall 26S48 (NHTSA Campaign 26V402). Reason for Filing / Manufacturer Action: Despite an authorized Ford dealership verifying the exact failure mechanism of this active federal safety recall, Ford Corporate are currently refusing to cover 100% of the repair costs. They state that my specific VIN has not yet been "activated" in their database due to Ford’s phased tranche rollout schedule extending through 2027. I am being forced to pay out-of-pocket for an active, dealer-verified, federally recognized safety hazard. We cannot drive the vehicle with this significant safety risk. I am paying mostly out of pocket to cover the repair.

Incident: October 5, 2026 · Filed: October 7, 2026

At approximately 12:10 p.m. on October 5, 2026, we had just washed the Expedition and I was going to move it over to put it in the middle bay of the garage that is attached to the house. I put the vehicle in reverse and it took off like it was going 100 miles an hour. I crashed into the garage behind us and the tires were still screaming. I then put it in drive to pull forward and it screeched the tires going forward. I had my foot on the break and it was roaring;burning rubber, it crashed through the garage door, hitting the Explorer in front of it which pushed into a wall of our house. It was an unexplained prolonged period of engine racing. I have a video that I would like to send you showing everything that happened, but it’s too large to attach.

Incident: September 4, 2026 · Filed: October 6, 2026

My 2021 Ford Expedition MAX XLT with the 10R80 automatic transmission has experienced repeated momentary “neutral-out” events while driving. The transmission/park-system components are available for inspection upon request. The most serious incident occurred in September 2026 while I was driving at highway speed near Charlottesville, Virginia, with six children in the vehicle. I was not towing or placing the vehicle under unusual load. The vehicle suddenly behaved as though the transmission had shifted into neutral, the RPM/engagement became abnormal, I heard loud thumping, saw smoke or fumes from the rear of the vehicle, and observed a transmission temperature of 261°F. The vehicle later re-engaged. This created a serious safety concern because I temporarily lost normal propulsion/acceleration capability while traveling at highway speed with other traffic. This problem has previously been confirmed by my Ford dealer. In February 2026, I reported that the vehicle would “neutral out and rev up,” hesitate for several seconds, and then go back into gear. The dealer documented that no diagnostic codes were stored but followed Ford TSB 23-2249. During diagnosis, the dealer found physical wear/damage involving the transmission parking pawl area, rear output shaft, and cam. The transmission was removed and disassembled and multiple park-system components were replaced. The neutral-out condition returned after that repair. In July 2026, I again reported that the vehicle would intermittently neutral out for several seconds and then re-engage. The dealer was unable to reproduce it and again found no diagnostic trouble codes. In September 2026, after the 261°F highway incident described above, the dealer again scanned the vehicle and found no codes and was unable to reproduce the condition during approximately 100 miles of testing. There have been no transmission warning lamps, transmission messages, or

Incident: September 24, 2026 · Filed: September 28, 2026

Vehicle has 84,000 miles at it. It started to jerk when putting it into a gear. I thought it was due to the colder mornings no. I was taking the kids to school and It was skipping gears. I was very leary of driving but had no choice. It would not get up to speed the rpms was suffering. I stopped at a parts store to run the code after the warning popped up. When leaving because I was 30 mins from home it jerked when I placed into gear, I was scared to pull onto the 4 lane due to not being able to get up to speed and being in a high traffice area. Very unsafe. Now the vehicle is at the dealership needing a $7,000 transmission and ford will not assist. I am still financing it through a dealer and there is no Goodwill from Ford. This is known issue that they documented.

Incident: September 16, 2026 · Filed: September 26, 2026

Both second-row captain’s-chair seat-belt buckle assemblies are separating. The driver-side buckle has separated enough that it will no longer latch, and the passenger-side buckle is beginning to separate in the same manner. These are inflatable second-row seat belts. The vehicle has not been involved in a crash and the restraint system has not deployed. Ford replacement parts JL1Z-7860045-FF and JL1Z-7860044-FF are reportedly discontinued or on indefinite backorder, leaving no available repair for these occupant-restraint failures on a 2021 Ford Expedition. Because both buckle assemblies are showing the same failure, I am concerned this is a common safety defect.

Incident: July 4, 2026 · Filed: September 25, 2026

"Catastrophic simultaneous failure of both the Main (front) and Aux (rear) HVAC evaporator cores at 60,000 miles. The component defect causes atomized chemical refrigerant and system compressor oil to leak and vent directly through the dashboard and rear vents into the sealed passenger cabin. This creates an immediate toxic inhalation environment and chemical respiratory hazard. My young child has severe asthma, and this severe component failure makes the vehicle entirely unsafe to transport my family due to acute respiratory irritation risk and cabin air contamination."