Sensing System Camera Problems of Ford Explorer - part 1

In February of 2024 I received a recall notice for this vehicle with respect to defective a-pillar applique trim clip attachments around the windshield. The recall stated that parts would be available the latter half of 2024 and that we would be notified when we could schedule our SUV to be fixed. We did not hear from Ford for many months. When winter approached, we called to see what the status was of the parts for this recall. We were told the parts were not available until December. Unaware that this flaw could cause severe water leaking, my wife drove the car as usual. The recall notice even states that there is no reason to stop driving the vehicle. When the first rains hit in November, the car leaked a lot of water around the windshield and came through the top console. So much water leaked into the floor carpet areas had standing water. We had never experienced any leakage issues before and we're not properly notified that this was the potential issue or that it should not be driven in the rain. We still do not have any date for the fix on our SUV. We cannot drive it when it is raining, and in fact, have to cover it with a large tarp so water does not leak inside again. The leak having run down through the electrical system at the top of the inside of the windshield has caused problems. The sun roof now does not work and is now stuck in a partially open position. The rearview camera now works intermittently and the main computer console has gone black a number of times. We seem to have been able to air out the wet carpet smell that prevailed for some time. Needless to say, this is ridiculous. It has been a year since the recall notice was sent. My wile and I are incredibly angry about this situation. Your dealership has done nothing to help us and has only said that we have to contact Ford directly ourselves. I would appreciate your passing this email along to Ford customer service in dearborn, ml and to your service department. I will also be sending a copy to the national highway traffic safety admini.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Faulty rear view camera. Says contact the dealership on the message.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The backup camera sometimes does not come on. The bluetooth connection does not work. The dash screen which displays the camera view, radio, clock, etc will sometimes remain black while the car is on. Other times, the screen will not turn off when the car is off, even after opening the driver's door, causing the battery to drain faster.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while reversing the vehicle, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that reversing he back up camera failed. The contact stated that while accelerating forward the back up camera image remains visible on the screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Back up camera went out and later came on. Today we have been driving the last hour with airbag indicator on. Camera incident was 10-29-2023.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Explorer 🔎.

See attached document for complaint.

Back up camera stays on after selecting drive and moving forward, it will either stay on showing what’s happening behind me or will stay on for 20-40 seconds than go to a blue screen or blue than black screen and stay in that screen. While this is happening I have no control over the display, sound, radio or heat. There has been time the back up camera has stayed on while in park. I have several pictures and videos of these incidents. In the incidents I was able to reboot my display it would be unresponsive and not update time these issues only happened when the back up camera would not properly shut off.

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing the backup camera, was slow to respond. The screen displayed an image of the vehicle. Additionally, there was an extreme amount of air entering the vehicle from the door seals. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer referred her to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and referred her to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 5,100.

See all problems of the 2022 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I have had the previous recall for my rear camera/display screen repaired in 08/2022. However, recently I have had my display screen start to glitch and turn off intermittently. Sometimes this happens while I am driving. Other times is happens while I am in reverse and the reverse camera does not work. When the reverse camera is not functioning there is concern for unseen dangers. I have videos of this but I cannot upload them into the form.

Despite bringing the vehicle in for two recall repairs, I still get the blue screen on the 360 camera when reversing. This limits my ability to safely back up and view my surroundings.

My rear camera intermittently goes off in the middle of backing up.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Explorer 🔎.

When going from drive to reverse, the car will delay for 30 seconds to a minute and display a white vehicle screen. It will be inoperable during this delay time, which can be dangerous given the situation and I have almost been hit twice because of this delay. I am uncomfortable driving the vehicle, as not being able to put the car immediately into reverse in any given situation is dangerous for both myself, my children and anyone else on the road. The vehicle has been into the dealership, they said no issue exist. However, after picking up the vehicle the concern still exist and now I am stuck with a vehicle that I cannot drive. No warning messages are being displayed, this is one reason why the dealership is saying there is no issue.

Backup camera stays on the entire time driving or it will stay as a black or blue screen and not go back to original screen.

I have a 2018 Ford Explorer. My sync 3 is showing a black screen due to a failed apim. I do not have my rear camera, gps, or hands-free capability which impedes driving safely. Ford has recalled multiple other years of my vehicle for this same reason, but not the 2018. Ford has also extended it's warranty up to 7 years/100,000 miles on some years of my vehicle, for the same reason, but not the 2018. I am reading that there are numerous other owners who a have the same problem with only an expensive resolution. The Ford dealer confirmed the need to replace the apim today at a cost of $1,417. This is unacceptable due to the safety factor and that they know this is a problem in their vehicles. I reported it to Ford and their response was my warranty is expired and there is no recall, so I have to pay.

See all problems of the 2018 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Back-up camera starts turning blue. Verified that there was an issue during manufacturing that they left a hole open and can cause malfunctioning of the back up camera causing the blue screen. Unable to spot blind spots when backing up and can put others safety in danger if behind vehicle especially children and I am not able to see them when reversing.

See all problems of the 2021 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Rear camera fails 1/3 times.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while reversing, the 360-degree camera view became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted but offered no assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the warranty on the vehicle was expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 59,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rearview camera was intermittently inoperable while reversing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 174,000.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Rear camera screen turning blue when in reverse. Incident where child on bicycle crossing driveway put in danger. Appears to happen in afternoon with sun exposer on side of vehicle where camera is located. Taken to Ford dealer and had to purchase new camera system. Rear automated lift hatch also began opening when unattended and triggering alarm if parked. In addition it has released once while driving and caused alarm. Circuit board replaced at my expense has not resolved the problem. Each issue has happened multiple times during September and October 2022.

My backup camera hasn’t been reliable for over 2 years. Also my audio and gps do not work. If I put my phone in the car I cannot even answer it due to no audio. I believe it needs a download update. I have tried and tried but have not succeeded. In getting an oil change the mechanic told me it can only be done on a Ford computer. This is wrong! I only have 36000 miles on it.

Back up camera works intermittently. It frequently gives a message stating thet the camera is not available and owner should contact the dealer.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while placing the gear shifter into reverse(r), the back over protection screen turned blue. The side and front cameras functionality worked as intended. The vehicle was repaired under recall; however, the failure recurred several times. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed at the local dealer with a defective camera. The camera was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Backup camera display shows intermittent blue screen.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rearview camera intermittently failed to display a rearview image while reversing with a contact the dealer message displayed. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

My rearview camera is faulty. When it works, the pictures are reversed. For example if a vehicle or person is coming from the left, it will show it/them coming from the right. The camera often just stops working and the screen is blank. I have seen recalls on Ford vehicles with faulty rearview cameras stating my exact symptoms yet my vehicle is not included in this recall. I have called my local dealership and Ford customer service, corp. And have also been told I must wait for a recall although this same problem is identified on Ford vehicles. Please give me guidance on what I can do for my local Ford dealer to fix this problem which has been identified by the manufacturer as a safety problem which increases the risk of a crash, which can lead to property damage or injury to people behind the car, especially small children. Thank you for your prompt attention to this very dangerous situation. I have not had a crash yet but have had many abrupt stops. Please contact me for any further questions or information.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated when the vehicle was shifted into reverse no image was displayed on the screen. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that there was a recall for the failure. The contact stated a programming update was needed and it was completed however, the failure continued. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where an update was completed again and again the failure continued. The contact stated that the vehicle has been to the dealer at least 7 times to update the computer. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and advised to go back to the dealer and a case was opened. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for a 9-hour update. The contact stated that the dealer called and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and the contact would be responsible for the repairs. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 21v735000 (back over prevention). The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-up camera image was distorted and unviewable. The vehicle had also experienced various electrical failures which included the headlights independently turning on while the vehicle was off. Additionally, while driving at undisclosed speeds, the message "key not detected" was displayed. The vehicle also experienced the liftgate opening independently while driving. The contact also had difficulties starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear camera wire connector had failed due to water damage. The connector was replaced but later the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

The rear back up camera area is blue and you are unable to see behind the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was reversing from the garage, the rearview camera was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure might be due to a computer software issue. The dealer also advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnosis. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 54,800.

Reverse camera turns blue on many occasions and other times it gets dark, the engine in the mornings the engine sounds like a diesel car in the dealer indicate it is normal but new vehicles do not sound that way.

Back up camera not functioning properly. Back up camera will intermittently show distorted image while backing up and then it turns to black screen with warning stating "camera is unavailable. Please contact your dealership. ".

My rear camera works less than 50% of the time. It even goes out while backing up. I get a blue screen and my rear brake assist becomes inactive.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the backup camera failed to work as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.

Rear view mirror keeps turning solid blue ( blank ) and message center on the dash says "rear brake assist not working".