Hard shift 3rd-6th gear as well as from park to reverse or drive
2020 Ford Expedition complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2020 record →
While driving the car, it would completly lose power at arounf 45 mile per hour. It seems the transmission does not shift correctly. The automobile is completly unsafe to drive. Dealer says it will take 6 to 12 months to repair unless there is a recall (i have not found a recall yet). Thanks
Traveling on the highway I lost all acceleration, the gas pedal wasn’t functional and the vehicle begins to quickly decelerate, then it corrects itself and accelerates quickly. It has done this a few times already.
Transmission shifts from 3rd to 5th gear very hard and downshifts from 10th to 8th very hard also.
Transmission is slipping & failing. Why is this happening on a vehicle that is 4 years old
Frequent Hard shifting, especially going from 3-4 and 6-7 Frequent Clunking and hard shift from Park to Drive or Park to Reverse While traveling in the interstate at approximately 55-60mph, I had to accelerate hard to merge into traffic. After hitting the gas, the vehicle momentarily lost power, felt like it shifted to neutral as I could not accelerate despite hitting the gas. After a few seconds the transmission shifted back and I could accelerate, but it was as the transmission didn't knt what gear to be in and it continued to shift hard before eventually going back to "normal " Set up appointment with local Ford Dealership. They said that the vehicle didn't throw any codes so there was nothing they could do.
We have had continuing issue related to the 10R80 10 Speed transmission that Ford uses in the Expeditions (for us) along as in the F-150's, Explorers, and other vehicles. We had repair under warranty and now the issue is back doing the exact same issues as before. Multiple people that we know with this transmission also have shifting/hard engagement issues, have had work done, then the issues come back.
Panoramic moonroof suddenly exploded in a car wash during the high pressure air drying. Thankfully the sunshade was closed and my 3 children sitting in the middle row were not sprayed or hit with the shattered glass, water or air from the car wash and were not seriously injured. Ford clearly knows there is a problem, and I’ve watched numerous news stories about exploding moonroofs and I want to know if NHTSA will re- investigate this known problem and huge safety risk.
When driving the vehicle will jerk and lag between gears. At 70 mpg while excelling the car will jerk and some times pop out of gear and slowdown. Sometimes during slow down it does the same.
While I am driving, or stopping to turn or at the red light the engine turned off completely, and a warning signs will display telling me to restart my car again, it is very scary abd dangerous. It happens 3 times so far where I have to turn on my warning flash lights, so cars behind me could pass me or wait until I restart and drive again. It happens with no warning
Front passenger door latch is inoperable from inside in cold weather (below freezing) preventing egress of front passenger without a seperate person opening door from outside vehicle.
My check charging system light came on at a drive thru and the truck put itself in park and shut off. I tried to start it back up and wouldn’t start but the starter keep trying which lead to an electrical fire and the only way to get it to stop was to disconnect the battery. I was not even able to get the truck in neutral to push it out of the way. Even following the steps that it says by pressing both the brake and gas pedal and moving the knob. It would just go back in park. I had to have a tow truck to come remove my truck out of the drive thru is was blocking. My concern is that if this happened in a garage while using the remote start, it could’ve completely caught fire had not, I’ve been paying attention.
[XXX] on my way to pick up kids from school in Dallas and take them home. I was driving about 65 mph trying to accelerate to pass an 18 wheeler, to exit. As I press on the gas there was no acceleration. All l hear is motor revving as if I’m in neutral, it feels like it slipped the gears resulting in the inability to speed up. At this point, I’m in front of the 18 wheeler, which is coming up on me while I am unable to accelerate. I have to swerve to avoid him hitting me while nearly hitting the car next to me. Luckily, there wasn’t an accident. It remains this way for about 3 sec & then I take my foot off the gas & try accelerating again & it catches a gear and performs normally. I took it to the dealership & they kept my car for over a month did a complete overhaul on the transmission they said they repaired it & gave my car back. After a few days the same problem occurred. I took my car back & they did a 2nd overhaul on the transmission & gave me my car back. The same day I picked up my car after repairs the same problem happened. I’ve taken my car to a Ford dealership 6 times now for same issue. Currently my car is back at the same dealership & they’re trying to correct the issue. I drive 6 children all under 10 years old home from school every day & I have lost all confidence in my vehicle. I’m terrified when driving on overpasses, merging or trying to switch lanes, I never know when it will happen. As a result of my fear of this happening with the children, I try to avoid
Transmission lost power, revved up high and wouldn't shift into gear. All this happened while driving. Taking to Ford dealership for a second time for the same thing. Car is equipped with the 10R80 transmission.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated when the vehicle was first started, the vehicle hesitated before shifting out of park(P) into drive(D). The contact stated that the vehicle also hesitated while driving at various speeds and then jolted into the next gear. Additionally, the contact stated that after reversing down the driveway and attempting to shift reverse(R) to drive(D) the vehicle hesitated and was still rolling backwards after the contact had shifted to drive(D). The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the RPMS increased; however, the vehicle failed to respond and downshifted. The message "Transmission Fault" was displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated that after 15 minutes, the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound and shuddered while the transmission shifted into gear. The contact continued driving at low speeds. The dealer was notified of the failure. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was a manufacturer’s defect; however, the vehicle was not covered under warranty due to the mileage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 65,600.
The transmission jumps when putting it in park or reverse or when driving and switching gears. This is a well known issue with this vehicle. Ford has done nothing to correct it. It’s a safety issue as I went to Pass and my car stalled on the highway and did not switch gears. I do not feel to be responsible for paying for a repair that is happening everywhere.
When you rapidly accelerate the power train slips into neutral and you lose power and the engine revs. Let off accelerator and it reengages. The first time I got a warning “wrench” and error message in the Ford Pass app.The next several times no “wrench” or error message. Ford knows the problem exist. They have TSB 23-2249 out that list all covered year and models that the problem can exist on as well as repair instructions. This problem is a safety hazard if you are attempting to enter onto the interstate and you lose power.
I purchased this vehicle used, I started having transmission issues here and there and now it's more frequent. I travel from Houston tx to Katy Texas weekly and travel on I-10, the most dangerous road in Houston with my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son. There have been several times where I was almost rear ended because the vehicle shifted gears and when I would push the accelerator the vehicle would do nothing and just glided. Yesterday traveling to Katy, it happened again but only this time the vehicle didn't shift back into gear for a longer period of time and again almost causing us to get rear ended. I have taken my vehicle to Ford only to tell me that they test drive it and nothing happened so they were not able to fix anything. I have read several complaints about this issue with the 10 speed transmission but nothing is being done about it. This is supposed to be a safe family vehicle on the road but instead it's a DEATH trap waiting to happen. Please, please, please look into Ford being held responsible for this issue that should be fixed. Thank you for your help.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while the vehicle was idling. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where diagnostic codes: P0011, P0012 and P0016 were retrieved. The dealer determined that the crankshaft chain was stretched and needed to be replaced in bank #1 and bank #2, along with the pretensioners and phasers. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 98,800.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shifted into neutral independently. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, after which the vehicle returned to normal functionality. However, the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, who was also unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle experienced jerking and shuddering while shifting gear with the Power Train fault message displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the camshaft timing chain, phasers, and variable valve timing solenoid were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 91,034.
Driving down road went to pass and lost all power almost causing a collision. Then transmission reengaged.with a very loud thud. Vehicle continues to do this and has done this since day. One randomly when downshifting usually around the eighth gear.
The transmission keeps slipping while driving. It has been happening for over 6 months. Continuous visits to FORD and they are unable to find the problem. Now, we noticed our transmission temperature is rising to 240 degrees.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at various highway speeds, the transmission malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to suddenly decelerate. Additionally, the transmission abruptly shifted into gear and while attempting to accelerate from a stationary start, the engine revved very high causing the vehicle to abruptly lunge forward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who rebuilt the transmission on two separate occasions, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 60,000.
APIM failure which results in loss of screen and information that has safety related items. Ford should provide a recall on all failed units. Customer forums have many complaints about this item.
Transmission slip in 4A and above gear 4 at speed..hesitation at speed accelerating inconsistent, clunking/jerking from park to reverse when parked. 22’s have lawsuit…don’t understand why 20’s aren’t included. Need recall
Routinely the vehicle shifts erratically, can't seem to find the right gear, and loses power. I am surprised that I have not been rear-ended yet as the vehicle loses power on busy roads and freeways.
Transmission has always been faulty in the vehicle. The vehicle constantly hesitates. We have had a number of incidents when turning the transmission hesitates and come close to getting hit. Car hesitates and slips when entering freeway and we almost get rear ended. Last week I was on the freeway and a semi started to come in my lane I attempted to floor it to avoid a collision and vehicle hesitated and did not take off. I had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid the accident. I have notified Ford 5 times of the problems. Ford has attempted to fix the transmission 3 times and failed every time.
Transmission is awful hestiates and is going to cause serious accident. Latest incident occured on freeway semi started coming into my lane without seeing me and I floored it. Car hesitated I had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid the accident. There have a number of occurneces over the 3 years we have owned the car where we have almost got hit because the car hesitates. My wife will not let our kids ride in the car because it is unsafe. Ford has attempted to fix the transmission 5 time and stil has not suceeded.
Driver's door latch inoperable when in freezing weather, potentially blocking egress in emergency situation. Ford has issued a service bulletin to address this safety concern and engineering (and testing!) flaw, yet will not cover safety concern because car is out of warranty. SSM 50571 - 2018-2021 Expedition And 2020-2021 Explorer - Doors Intermittently Unable To Lock/Unlock And/Or Difficult To Open In Freezing Temperatures Some 2018-2021 Expedition and 2020-2021 Explorer vehicles may intermittently exhibit doors unable to lock/unlock and/or difficult to open in freezing temperatures. This may be due to water entering the interior door latch lock indicator cable assembly. To resolve the condition, replace the affected latch and cable assembly per Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 501-14. Use the latest level service parts only. APPLICABLE VEHICLES 2020 - 2021 CAR: TW U625N EXPLORER 2018 - 2021 TRUCK: B8 U553N EXPEDITION
I was sitting at the kitchen table with my children doing some painting projects for Halloween and my car started smoking, my alarms started going off and within a matter of minutes my car was completely engulfed in flames, I grabbed my kids and ran outside as the car was close to our house and we then called 911. By the time the fire department arrived the car was a complete loss, and my house has sustained minor damages.
While I was driving (in drive) down a busy street, my car suddenly turned off. It was raining at the time, and I managed to coast to the side of the road and turn it back on.
Hard shifts into gears, when accelerating to pass a vehicle vehicle stalls and loses all power even on interstate and will not accelerate until it gets down to 15-20MPH. Almost wrecked several times because of this as I went to pass another vehicle. Very very dangerous at highway speeds. No warning lights or anything came on
We were driving on the highway and attempting to change lane when the engine ceased to work properly, the vehicle would not excelerate and a indicator with a crowbar came on. As we begin to steer toward the shoulder of the road we narrowly avoided getting hit by cars behind us. The car then begin to work again. We took it to the dealer who ran a diagnostic and stated there is no problem but the vehicle periodically does this and so our use of it is limited as we are afraid it could cause a fatal accident. The dealer did not inspect any of the vehicles parts and no warning indicator was present prior to the car shutting off. Our vehicle has the V6 turbocharged engine just like the Ford F150.
1. Power train (transmission) slips causing the vehicle to jerk. Issue is most noticeable when accelerating out of 3/4 gear to 5th and into 10th. Yes available. 2. The vehicle randomly without a noticeable pattern, and when stopped at a light, the engine would shutoff (which is designed with auto start stop) but when stepping on the gas pedal, would not start back up. It would need to be put in park and push start the motor. Additionally, when the vehicle is on an angle, even if the emergency break was set while the vehicle is in neutral and then out in park would shift violently when putting the transmission from park to drive or reverse. 3.multiple Ford dealers were contacted for support but the soonest appointment was 90 plus days out. When the vehicle was dropped off it sat for three days before a call to the manager helped a tech “look” at it. The fix was a so call update to the onboard computer. Vehicle still shifts hard when going into 5th and 10th and when moving from park into drive or reverse on any incline regardless, wether the emergency break is set or not. 4. No. 5. No on board signage, except the battery light when the issue happened with the engine shut off.
The transmission frequently hesitates or fails to engage gears when changing speeds. Sometimes the vehicle will fail to engage when increasing speeds on the highway to pass another vehicle and go into a neutral state momentarily causing the vehicle to drastically lose speed. This can happen anytime even when going at slower speeds. FORD has assessed the problem and knows that 1,000s of people are experiencing these very dangerous situations but do not have a solution for the problem. This defect could result in a catastrophic event. FORD should recall these vehicles and compensate customers until a solution to this major flaw is found. This has been happening over the last 6 months of driving. Countless number of incidents.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon shifting into drive (D) after he had reversed, the rearview camera remained activated, then the screen turned black. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving and had caused the infotainment system to become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
While underway on the interstate I pushed down on the accelarator to pass but instead the vehicle rpms went down and I lost power. The engine did not stall but the RPMs went to 500. A quick message saying something about shifting flashed and went away. I couldn't read the the message as I was avoiding an accident due to the loss of power. The transmission has done this to me three times.
The APIM is malfunctioning causing backup camera to remain on, not allowing GPS location of vehicle, inhibiting cameras from working properly. No WiFi functionality, cannot connect phone and I cannot stream music
My SUV had shudders and vibrations while making turns. I took it into a local Ford dealer and they couldn’t find the problem. They said they did an “engine relearn” and that I should drive it for one thousand miles to see if it gets better. I drive it to Kentucky from Wisconsin and back; the problem got worse. I took it back in to the same dealer and they then figured out that it was the front differential and it needed to be completely rebuilt and the cost would be $3200!
I was driving down the highway and parts of the roof rack flew off and hit the car behind me in the process.Ford will not cover even though they have a recall on the same parts for the ford explorer
I have encountered this issue five times since owning the vehicle (purchased June 2020). When coming up on a slow vehicle, I prepare to change lanes and pass the car. When I accelerate too quickly, my truck/transmission shuts down completely like it just goes into neutral. I am unable to move, a warning light comes up in the dash with a picture of a wrench and then it’s like my transmission slams back into gear with a loud thump and grinding and then it runs normal. The dealer has looked at my vehicle when it first happened stating there were no codes and nothing that appeared to be wrong. We just returned from a trip down south and it happened 4 times during the trip. It only happens when you want to accelerate quickly and push the gas pedal down quickly. It’s like the transmission can’t handle that quick of a gear change and it just shuts down which is never good when you are on the thruway doing 75 mph.
The transmission will randomly shift from gear 10 speed to Neutral while driving on the highway then suddenly back to gear 1 before to go back into normal gear, this is so dangerous to lose any vehicle traction while driving at 70mph along other vehicles. Often the transmission will jump gears with a loud clunk and the car will jerk while this is happening, often during gear shift from gear 5 to 6, and sometimes a transmission back to neutral is experienced there too. I took this truck to many repair shop but no error code are registered when such event are occurring, although the issue is well known from Ford, as a customer bulletin was initiated on this topic, but this isn’t enough, this is a major safety risk and I fear each time I have to take my family on a ride.
Transmission slamming into gear up and down. Could cause an accident.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the driver’s and passenger’s side running board failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions and the contact was informed that the vehicle was cleaned; however, the failure persisted. The contact demanded that the dealer repair the vehicle, and the running board motor was replaced. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The failure persisted and the engine overheated with black smoke coming from the vehicle. The powertrain wrench warning light illuminated with a message to check the Owner's Manual. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed back to the dealer, and it was determined that the torque converter needed to be repaired. The vehicle remained unrepaired at the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
The transmission seems to be missing gears and shifting violently at weird times, completely losing transmission engagement and randomly shifting into neutral when acceleration pedal is engaged at a higher speed on the highway and then the vehicle will all of the sudden try to shift back into gear violently at moments of high speed acceleration. It has issues finding the gear sometimes completely disengaging into neutral and a crackling popcorn sound coming from front passenger side under the car. The headrest in the third row, driver side is permanently, flipped down and gaged into the back of the head of the passenger, possibly resulting in a life-threatening injury during an accident The information screenshot of vehicle in the front, which displays all of the apps, air, music, sometimes randomly is blank, black screen with no power
This mechanical failure was reported previously on this vehicle (4/2/2023). The vehicle was repaired. The mechanical failure occurred again on July 27, 2023. The vehicle is currently sitting at a dealership 460 miles from my residence. Driving at interstate speeds (75-80mph) the vehicle's accelerator essentially goes dead. The vehicle loses speed quickly and the engine/accelerator is completely non-responsive for a period of multiple seconds before it finally engages, revs, and downshifts very hard and accelerates. The vehicle is not safe to drive. I provided videos of prior incident and have videos to support this incident upon request.
While driving at highway speeds and attempting to pass a vehicle up an incline, transmission suddenly goes into neutral, engine rpm suddenly increases, all power is lost, vehicle rapidly looses speed, loud clunk is heard, vehicle slows down until the transmission reengages (gear shift indicators goes from 8 or 7 to 1 and then to 3,4,or5 depending on speed and the power is restored. Meanwhile vehicle being passed is in directly next to my vehicle and I’m forced to abort the passing maneuver. This has happened multiple times and on both highway and two lane roads. A head on collision while passing on a two lane road is a real possibility when this failure occurs. It has happened while approaching a yellow traffic light and making split second decision to accelerate thru the intersection being the best option. Losing power and being caught in the middle of the intersection at red will cause an accident This is a real potential deadly defect to which Ford has made no effort to correct.
Problems with my transmission since day 1. bought the vehicle with 7k+ miles it now has 39650, the transmission, was not shifting properly, found it was 2qts low. no difference, reprogram it, no difference. Was on highway went to pass, engine revved, car did nothing, except make a huge bang, where I thought something broke. New valve body, seemed to correct some of the issues. Another trip trans overheated 288 degrees and leaked fluid. Remedie new gasket and new pan. Another trip trans overheated 240 degrees Ford engineer says it ok to 275 degrees. Now pan is leaking fluid again and trans still running hot. There is something not right with this transmission...it still soes not shift well in lower gears and the overheating is shortening the lift of the transmission as well as spilling oil everywhere.
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NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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