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This all happened over the weekend. Wasn't even planning on it.

Danielle and I were out running errands and was next door to a used car dealer. Said might as well sit in a few things, see what is comfortable and what we can get in/out easy. She has 2 bad knees. Had surgery on one. Talking to ortho now about replacement on that one, and her other one is going out. She could not get in/out of the Tundra. My back is fucked again. Doing PT. Not getting better. More than likely surgery is coming. So we were looking at something small yet economical that I would be primary on and she would use on occasion. Sat in a ton of different things. On the way out we decided to look at a 2019 explorer limited for the hell of it. We both were crazy comfortable in it. But they wanted $30k. Out of the price range for what we were looking for.

While at the next stores we got to talking. Since moving here, I have not been using the bed of the truck to the point that makes sense, it gets 12 mpg if I am lucky, the transmission was starting to shift weird, and there was a noise coming from the front end. So we got to thinking, if we can find something that we both like, maybe it is time to cut out having the truck and get something better for our lifestyle. Not our wants, but more our needs. We decided to look at a suburban at a local ford dealer. Get there, and it is gone, but they have a 2021 Explorer ST on the lot for $25k. What the hell. Lets try it. We fell in love. Perfect amount of comfort, size, power, etc.

So we bought it. They were also willing to give me what I paid for the Tundra. Agreed to a 3/36 warranty and the ST out the door price of $26k (including tax, title, warranty, etc) - trade in for the Tundra.

This thing is LOADED. Pretty much every option. Twin panel roof, heated/cooled massage seats, 14 speakers + 10 inch screen, street pack (bigger brakes and 21" wheels), 360 camera, adaptive cruise, power folding mirrors, etc. Pretty much every option that you could get in 2021.

Getting tint on this week and picking up some all weather floor mats. Other than that, not sure what else.

confirm that warranty covers diffs.

That should make for a more enjoyable DD. How many miles she got?

Also might be a good idea to look at the second bolt mod in the rear diff, if yours does not have it already.

vr4 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2026 7:14 pm confirm that warranty covers diffs.

It should according to the list in the coverage.

That looks great. Congrats. I like that one a lot better than the recent facelift with the square grille. Only change I'd make is to de-badge the hood and switch to black and gray Ford ovals. I need to do that to mine soon.

I think this is a good choice for you. Congrats

Driving it is kind of annoying. It's the same color as some of the local officers. So people see me and slow down.

I did think about one of these instead of the Lexus. I was just mad at ford as my escape just blew up. I would have prob got one if I could have traded in.


Coop

Only 1 thing wasn't working and didn't realize until I was messing with the radio more. The USB connection under the dash. Removed it last night and opened it up. It is fried inside. You can see some burnt parts on the circuit board. I plugged in a dash cam to the cord and it powered up the cam. So the USB port module was getting power, but not working. Would not charge my phone or allow it to connect to the radio. So ordered a new part this morning from Ford. We will see if that fixes it. Even if it was covered under the warranty, it was cheaper than the deductible is, so figured I would just try it myself and see what happens.

Those USB ports are stupid expensive for some reason. I had a hell of a time finding cheap used ones when I was building my early Sync bench setup.

Ya. Found a new OEM ford one for $90 from a parts dealer so got that. My deductible is $100. There was some liquid in it too. Like when detailing it or cleaning or something they got too much liquid in there and it shorted it out or something. Hopefully the new one works. Android Auto would be nice. Also my phone is too big to fit in the wireless charge pad area. So that kind of sucks.

Don't worry about the wireless charger on Ford's cars it's more of a phone heater

Chris GTO TT wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 2:28 pm Don't worry about the wireless charger on Ford's cars it's more of a phone heater

I was pretty impressed with how well the wireless charger worked in the Hummer EV. My phone didn't get warm at all. That's usually my whole reason for not using wireless.

Yeah I generally recommend people don't use wireless charging when they're using their phones for Android auto/apple car play because it tends to be hard on the battery due to heat issues. Ford's issues were even worse they actually stripped out the wireless charger because they were problematic. They are going without until a new supplier can be integrated.

wireless charger in my ev is set up perfectly. with the lid open it catches ac from the center vents and keeps the phone nice and cool.

granted with the lid closed its an easy-bake oven.

Jeff V. wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2026 10:39 pm That looks great. Congrats. I like that one a lot better than the recent facelift with the square grille. Only change I'd make is to de-badge the hood and switch to black and gray Ford ovals. I need to do that to mine soon.

Looked at images with them blacked out. Not sure I like it with my color.

https://kjmdecals.com/products/2020-202 ... 47c6d56d2c

If you look at the 2nd picture that is what mine would look like. I kind of like the little contrast keeping it blue.

Jeff means these I think

https://www.ford.com/product/ford-ovals ... gLFHfD_BwE

They dont make them for the 21 explorer unless ones for the 22 fit. At least according to Ford website they dont.