by Rear Suspension Issue
Ford Explorer owners should pay attention to unusual sounds like clunking, which may not be coming from children in the back seats. The manufacturer is recalling hundreds of thousands of SUVs due to the potential for a sudden failure of a rear suspension component. According to documents filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall affects 412,774 Explorer vehicles from model years 2017-2019 in the United States. The problem concerns the rear suspension toe links, which hold the rear wheels in the correct position. There is a risk that they could crack under certain load conditions.
When a rear toe link breaks, the driver may lose the ability to effectively steer the vehicle, increasing the risk of a collision. This can be compared to the behavior of a shopping cart on ice.
Drivers may notice warning signs: a clunking sound, unusual vehicle behavior on the road, or even a visually noticeable misalignment of a rear wheel. Such “surprises” are particularly undesirable at high speeds when the vehicle is carrying a family.
Cause and Consequences
As reported by Ford, the root cause of the problem has not yet been definitively determined. Some reports indicate the possibility of the ball joint seizing, which creates additional stress on the toe link and can ultimately lead to its failure.
The company is aware of two global road incidents potentially related to this fault; in both cases, the vehicles collided with fences or barriers after the toe link broke. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far. Owners will be offered to contact dealerships for a free replacement of the suspension parts with reinforced, redesigned toe links.
Not the First Recall of This Kind
For those in the know, this may seem like a familiar story, as the Explorer has already faced toe link issues before. Back in 2016, there was a relatively small recall of about 75,000 vehicles from the 2014 and 2015 model years. However, later, in 2019, the recall became massive, covering 1.2 million SUVs from 2011-2017, another 375,000 vehicles in 2020, and 775,000 the following year.
Other Ford Safety Issues
Defective suspension parts are not the only safety problem Ford has faced this month. The manufacturer has also instructed 24,690 owners of 2023-2025 Ford Escape and 2023-2026 Lincoln Corsair hybrid SUVs not to charge their battery packs above 80% until a fix is available. Ford states that a manufacturing defect in one or more cells of the high-voltage battery could cause a short circuit and even a fire, but work on a remedy is still ongoing.
This recall situation highlights the importance of constant monitoring of a vehicle’s technical condition, even for mass-produced and popular models like the Explorer. The recurrence of the problem with the same components over several years may indicate systemic difficulties in their design or production. For owners, it is also a reminder of the critical role of official recall notices and the need to respond to them promptly, as it concerns the safety of not only the driver but all road users. The scale of the recall – over 400,000 vehicles in the US alone – makes this story one of the largest in the automotive industry this year.
