Factory build sheet
2021 Ford Explorer Platinum
Build 1FMSK8HC-M · 3L 6cyl · Four-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read 1FMSK8HC and position 10 reads M. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Explorer whose VIN starts 1FMSK8HC and carries M in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 3 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 3 known VINs
- 1 listed for sale now
Factory specification
As filed by Ford with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 3 L
- Cylinders
- 6
- Configuration
- V-Shaped
- Engine model
- GTDI
- Engine manufacturer
- Ford
- Turbocharged
- Yes
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Drivetrain
- Drive type
- Four-wheel drive
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Forward speeds
- 10
- Brake system
- Hydraulic
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
- NHTSA body type
- MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
- Doors
- 4
- Seats
- 6
- Seat rows
- 3
- Manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1D
- GVWR
- 5,001–6,000 lb
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
Driver assistance, as built
- Forward collision warning Standard
- Lane departure warning Standard
- Lane keeping assistance Standard
- Adaptive cruise control Standard
- Blind spot warning Standard
Systems the filing does not record are not listed above. Check the window sticker of the exact car before you rely on any single feature.
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 1FM | FORD MOTOR COMPANY · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | SK8HC | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | M | Model year — 2021 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
NHTSA safety ratings
Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2021 Ford Explorer as a whole rather than this build alone.
Overall
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Frontal crash
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Side crash
★★★★★ 5 / 5
Rollover
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
26 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2021 Explorer. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
3 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to 1FMSK8HC-M shares the specification above.
- 3 Known VINs
- 1 Listed for sale now
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Vehicle counts come from the 3 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.