2021 ST rattling bulking noice going over small bumps!

[PPerrelloJr]

So here’s a glimmer of hope- I drove a 2020 ST the other day that did not have the noise!
I have driven dozens of 2020-2022 explorers (all trim levels) being that I am a technician at a dealership. I also own a 2020 Platinum that has made this horrid noise since it rolled off the lot with 7 miles. I immediately picked up on it after driving it for a couple of days.

Anyway, I am constantly driving these things at work, always taking notice of the noise and every single platinum or ST regardless of the model year has sounded the same. I constantly check TSB’s hoping Ford will release a fix… still nothing to date. We acquired a 2020 ST with 46k mikes from a local auction for the used car lot that needed a state inspection (which is what I do) and I couldn’t believe my ears when the noise was absent on the road test! I thought holy shit, hopefully I can find where some struts/shocks, or something had recently been replaced. Popped the hood- could easily tell that the upper strut tower bolts and strut tower brace bolts had been wrenched on at some point, pulled the warranty history- and discovered the long block had literally just been replaced 25 miles ago at a neighboring dealer. So from what I’ve gathered, in the process of removing the front subframe and engine/trans- somewhere during reassembly something must have been tweaked just right or tightened down more than it was from the factory to rid this truck of this awful noise! Sorry for the long read- but I’m now hopeful that someone will finally be able to pinpoint where this shit is coming from.

Yesterday I drove a a brand new '22 Rogue Platinum. It was luxuriously quiet.
Thanks for this report. I'm hopeful we will eventually figure out the problem. Perhaps everything at the factory was torqued to the point insulators are crushed and ineffective.

 

[CareerFiremanGuy]

This sad... I bought mine 6 months after production had started and thought I would be ok too ... I wonder if the team that came up with this mess is still employed!

In today's wacko world, they probably got promoted.

 

[mpacheco]

Apparently, this has been happening since 2020. I have a 20 Platinum and started to complain after 2k miles on the car. Dealer had it for 4 weeks. Said they put ears on the chassis and could not find where the noise was originating from. Started the process of a buy back but was not approved. I test drove a 2021 Platinum, same noise. This noise is only on the AWD models and obviously coming from the sub chassis. Anyone had this issue fixed ??

My 2022 ST with 8k on it started rattling/knocking at lower speeds up to around 40mph. More noticeable over parking lots and uneven roads, sound came from front end. Just took it in today. They said both front sway bar links were bad and will be replaced.

 

[PPerrelloJr]

My 2022 ST with 8k on it started rattling/knocking at lower speeds up to around 40mph. More noticeable over parking lots and uneven roads, sound came from front end. Just took it in today. They said both front sway bar links were bad and will be replaced.

Did the repair eliminate the noise?

 

[mpacheco]

Did the repair eliminate the noise?

Sure did! Back to normal and hasn’t the sound anymore.

 

[PPerrelloJr]

So here’s a glimmer of hope- I drove a 2020 ST the other day that did not have the noise!
I have driven dozens of 2020-2022 explorers (all trim levels) being that I am a technician at a dealership. I also own a 2020 Platinum that has made this horrid noise since it rolled off the lot with 7 miles. I immediately picked up on it after driving it for a couple of days.

Anyway, I am constantly driving these things at work, always taking notice of the noise and every single platinum or ST regardless of the model year has sounded the same. I constantly check TSB’s hoping Ford will release a fix… still nothing to date. We acquired a 2020 ST with 46k mikes from a local auction for the used car lot that needed a state inspection (which is what I do) and I couldn’t believe my ears when the noise was absent on the road test! I thought holy shit, hopefully I can find where some struts/shocks, or something had recently been replaced. Popped the hood- could easily tell that the upper strut tower bolts and strut tower brace bolts had been wrenched on at some point, pulled the warranty history- and discovered the long block had literally just been replaced 25 miles ago at a neighboring dealer. So from what I’ve gathered, in the process of removing the front subframe and engine/trans- somewhere during reassembly something must have been tweaked just right or tightened down more than it was from the factory to rid this truck of this awful noise! Sorry for the long read- but I’m now hopeful that someone will finally be able to pinpoint where this shit is coming from.

Were you ever able to find additional information to rectify this problem?
Coming up on 2 years on my '21 Platinum and it's still making the horrid noise.

 

[JCR ST]

Sure did! Back to normal and hasn’t the sound anymore.

Still good? Mine is making a knocking noise that sounds like the front sway bar/links. They don't seem to have any slop in them but ??