Ford bulletin SSM 52351
What it saysCertain 2023-2024 Explorer vehicle trim levels built on or after 6-Feb-2023 are no longer equipped with the rear heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control panel on the rear of the center console. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 13, 2024, received Apr 4, 2024, about the equipment. It names 2 model years (2023–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
Get the next Ford Explorer bulletin by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Certain 2023-2024 Explorer vehicle trim levels built on or after 6-Feb-2023 are no longer equipped with the rear heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control panel on the rear of the center console. The following Explorer trim levels no longer include the rear HVAC control panel: Base, XLT 200A, XLT 202A without the Sport Appearance Package (sales code: 68M). Customers can adjust the rear climate control system via the front HVAC control panel. Installation of a rear HVAC control panel is not warrantable.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 52351 | Service bulletin | Mar 13, 2024 | 10252623 | PDF, 68 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
Find the defroster/defogger/hvac system for the 2024 Explorer →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Ford bulletins for the Explorer
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Ford files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 133 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 3 of them name Visibility/Wiper — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
Rear windshield wiper doesn't work. Earlier model years have been recalled for wiper motor issues
2024 Ford Explorer · Visibility/Wiper · filed with NHTSA Apr 11, 2026
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the equipment
Source: same model, same component group19 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Explorer under the same component group (equipment), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 52476 | Service bulletin | Apr 24, 2024 | All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory install… |
| 22M03 S1 | Service bulletin | Apr 12, 2024 | Certain 2017-2020 Model Year Continental and Super Duty, 2018-2020 Navigator, 2020 Aviator, and 2020 Explorer Vehicles Replace Front and/or… |
| 22G07 S1 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2024 | Certain 2020-2022 Model Year Police Interceptor Utility Vehicles Equipped with a Low Band Frequency Noise Suppression Kit - Electromagnetic… |
| SSM 52390 | Service bulletin | Mar 26, 2024 | Some 2023-2024 Explorer vehicles built on or after 31-Jul-2023… |
| TSB 24-2044 | Service bulletin | Feb 22, 2024 | This article supersedes TSB 23-2181 to add 2024 vehicle model year. Some 2020-2024 Explorer/Aviator vehicles may exhibit a lack of audio and… |
| TSB 23-2347 | Service bulletin | Nov 10, 2023 | This article supersedes TSB 23-2279 to update the Service Procedure. Some 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles equipped with a 3.5L PowerBoost hybrid en… |
| TSB 23-2307 | Service bulletin | Oct 5, 2023 | Some 2019-2020 Edge/F-150/Fusion/Continental/MKZ/Nautilus, 2019-2021 Mustang/Ranger/Transit Connect, 2020-2021 EcoSport/Escape/Expedition/Ex… |
| TSB 23-2301 | Service bulletin | Sep 28, 2023 | Some 2022-2023 Explorer vehicles built on or before 01-Jun-2023 may exhibit a buzz/vibration/rattle from the center left of the IP during ti… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 52351 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 52351 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 52351 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2024 Ford Explorer, 2023 Ford Explorer. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2023-2024 Explorer: built on or after 6 Feb 2023 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.