More than 500 examples of the specially-equipped Ford Explorers being used by police around the United States need to be brought back to dealers, due to an issue with the in-built 12.1-inch computer screen.
Ford has revealed that when someone is driving one of its Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles and turns off the computer screen prior to placing the vehicle in reverse, the backup camera image will not be displayed. The issue has been caused by a problem with the Integrated Computer Screen (ICS) software that does not override the state of the ICS display from Off to On as it should when the vehicle is put into reverse.
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The automaker’s engineering team discovered the issue during testing on March 8, 2023, and then on March 21, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group reviewed a customer concern when the screen did not display the reversing image after being switched off. Ford doesn’t know of any warranty claims, accidents, or injuries that have been caused by the problem.
A total of 521 Ford Explorer models are involved in the recall, manufactured between June 26, 2020, and October 7, 2022.
Ford will start to mail out notification letters to owners from May 29, 2023. Police fleets that own an Explorer Police Interceptor will be asked to bring the SUV into a Ford dealership where the ICS software will be updated for free.
An unrelated second recall impacting the Ford Explorer was also issued in March. This recall involves 674 examples of civilian models built between February 2, 2019, and April 4, 2022. In this case, a number of Explorers did not receive the remedy for a previous recall where vehicles don’t include an automatic electronic park brake when the SUV is shifted into Park.
