Ford Explorer 2020–2021 — technical service bulletin
Bulletin SSM 49696 · NHTSA communication 10189587 · issued Mar 26, 2021
Technical service bulletin
communication type
Engine and Engine Cooling
component
2020–2021
model years
4
vehicle entries
Official summary
Some 2020-2021 Explorer/Aviator Hybrid vehicles may exhibit a buzzing noise coming from the center console or cowl area with engine speed around 1500 RPM at idle or while driving. This may be due to the transmission park manual release cable vibrating against the transmission. This can be resolved by isolating the transmission park manual release cable with Rotunda PVC foam tape (164-R4901) or equivalent, where it is contacting the transmission. Replacement of the transmission park manual release cable is not necessary.
What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.