# NHTSA recall 21V746000

A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.

- Published by: NHTSA \(United States\)
- Campaign number: 21V746000
- Manufacturer's number: 21S43
- Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
- Reported: 2021\-09\-22
- Owners notified: 2022\-03\-17
- Component: SUSPENSION:REAR
- Units potentially affected: 150723
- Part numbers: DB5Z\-5B758\-B, DB5Z\-5B759\-B Left Rear Knuckle

## What is wrong

Ford Motor Company \(Ford\) is recalling certain 2011\-2013 Explorer vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,  Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  These vehicles may be equipped with a cross\-axis ball joint \(CABJ\) replacement part that could seize, and result in a fracture of the outboard section of the rear suspension toe link.


## What can happen

A rear toe link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.


## The remedy

Dealer will inspect for the presence of a CABJ.  If a CABJ of any design is found, the dealer will inspect the tightness of the CABJ, and replace the CABJ, knuckle, and/or toe link as necessary, free of charge.  Interim notification letters were mailed November 10, 2021.  Owner notification letters were mailed on March 17, 2022.  Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1\-866\-436\-7332.  Ford's number for this recall is 21S43.


## Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1\-888\-327\-4236 \(TTY 1\-800\-424\-9153\), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.


## Remedy progress the manufacturer reported

- Report: Annual report 2, for 2025 quarter 1 to 2025 quarter 4
- Filed with NHTSA: 2026\-01\-13
- Vehicles in the campaign: 150723
- Reported remedied: 71822 \(47%\)
- Reported unreachable: 5973
- Reported removed: 46

These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2025 quarter 4, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026\-10\-19.

## Vehicles this campaign lists

- [2011 FORD EXPLORER](/makes/ford/explorer/2011/recalls.md)
- [2012 FORD EXPLORER](/makes/ford/explorer/2012/recalls.md)
- [2013 FORD EXPLORER](/makes/ford/explorer/2013/recalls.md)

## Bulletins for the same vehicles and component

A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.

- [22N01 S1](/bulletins/10232579.md), 2023-03-06, Service bulletin
- [21R02](/bulletins/10226952.md), 2022-12-02, Service bulletin
- [21R01](/bulletins/10226951.md), 2022-12-02, Service bulletin
- [22N01](/bulletins/10208271.md), 2022-02-24, Service bulletin
- [21B14](/bulletins/10189760.md), 2021-04-03, Service bulletin
- [21B14\-S1](/bulletins/10189755.md), 2021-04-03, Service bulletin
- [SSM 48876](/bulletins/10176938.md), 2020-07-07, Service bulletin
- [DOR\-J9K8E\-10](/bulletins/10166446.md), 2019-10-21, Service bulletin
- [17G01\-S2](/bulletins/10144953.md), 2018-09-24, Service bulletin
- [17G01\-S1](/bulletins/10140336.md), 2018-06-11, Service bulletin

## Check a VIN

- [NHTSA recall lookup by VIN, United States](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls)
- [Transport Canada recall search, Canada](https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/VRDB-BDRV/search-recherche/menu.aspx?lang=eng)

JSON: [/v1/recalls/nhtsa/21V746000](/v1/recalls/nhtsa/21V746000)

[Report an error on this page](https://github.com/wenmar-pro/wenmar-open/issues/new?template=data_correction.yml&title=Data%20correction%3A%20NHTSA%20recall%2021V746000&page=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.wenmarpro.com%2Frecalls%2Fnhtsa%2F21V746000&vehicle=NHTSA%20recall%2021V746000)