Ford announces recall of more than 660K Explorer SUVs

Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced a safety recall for hundreds of thousands of 2016-19 Ford Explorer SUVs over an issue with roof rail covers.

The Dearborn automaker said that the covers "may become detached from the vehicle while driving and create a hazard for others on the road."

The affected vehicles include base and XLT trim levels, as well as Police Interceptor and Explorer Sport models with roof rail covers painted silver, black or "absolute black," according to Ford.

The recall applies to 620,483 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories, 36,419 vehicles in Canada and 4,260 vehicles in Mexico.

Ford says it is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the issue.

Customer notifications will begin the week of June 28. The fix requires dealers to secure the roof rails with plastic push pins. The Ford reference number for the recall is 21S22.

Explorer — one of the Blue Oval's best-selling vehicles — has had issues in the past, including the botched launch of the 2020 model year and low reliability rankings from consumers.

jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @JGrzelewski