2020 Ford Explorer complaints

When slowing down around 27mph car downshifts so hard it jerks. If someone would have been behind me they would have probably hit me.

When drivers side seat automatically goes back it will eventually break off the seat control cover with the adjustment controls on the left side of seat.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there were metal shavings inside the differential. The contact was informed that the differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,158.

Transmission does a hard downshift from gear 7 to gear 6. There is a TSB bulletin for it but no recall. Car is under 100k miles but out of warranty and estimated to cost $3500 to repair. Also, the screen and backup camera frequently freeze or go black

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the parking brake inadvertently activated. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the parts not being available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the interior panoramic sunshade cover detached from the interior roof headliner and fell inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the sunshade cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 66,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving or while reversing, there was an abnormal shuddering sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the brakes, 4-WD, Auto Stop, and Auto Hold warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front axle was fractured. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that there was no recall coverage for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,436.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact became aware of an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was inspected by a relative who became aware that one of the fuel hoses was fractured. A local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

360 cameras are foggy and cannot see out of them causing false readings on parking alerts.This is the same issue the f150s have a recall about but there is not one for the explorer. The foggy display is getting worse over time. Hard to tell by the picture but in not very bright areas out of direct sun you cannot see anything on the 360 camera

Check engine light came on. Code P0161 for O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Bank 2 Sensor 2. Found massive corrosion at connector. This is the second like make/model/year vehicle we have seen this on. MFG does not have pigtail repair kit available and entire harness would be needed to repair.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

While driving down the road at approximately 45 miles per hour, the Explorer sounded as though gears were stripping. The vehicle lost power and we had to quickly pull over with vehicles behind us. We were able to put the vehicle in park and return home around 10 miles away. It is now hard shifting while decelerating around 30mph. It was a very scary situation with children in the car and almost being rear ended due to a known Ford issue, but Ford states they are unaware of these issues.

The sunroof is leaking when closed when it rains or when the vehicle goes through car wash. Inside back passenger was getting wet and there was wet smell in the interior. Smell of wet interior can cause health safety issues/risks and car damage. When looking online may be caused by faulty lining or clogged drains.

The top brake light bar on the wing over the trunk consistently fails. I have had to replace almost yearly. Water gets into the light bar causing the LEDs to short out and fail. This makes my brake activity difficult to see for truckers and other tall cars. This is certainly a design defect that water should get in do easily. In regards to dates, the lamp fails annually.

Tailgate does not work any longer. After a few days period of it getting progressively less functional, it just stopped working.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed fluid leaking underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission cooler was fractured. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

Muffler tailpipe separated at the wield of the muffler

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the charging system fault warning light illuminated, and the vehicle independently shifted into to park(P) and stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a battery junction box and fuse failure. The vehicle was currently being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

AWD system binding at low speeds, backing out of parking space, shift to drive, then vehicle suddenly lets loose the lurches forward. Known issue with front axle disconnect actuator present. Code C0631 - Front Axle Disconnect Actuator

In early 2023, I discovered micro-fractures in the side of the left headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer ST. As the 3/36 warranty was still in effect, Ford replaced the defective headlamp. However, just a few months later, after the warranty had expired, I discovered much more severe micro-fractures in the right headlamp lens assembly. This time however, the micro-fractures are located in front of the light source, thus they are diffusing the light as it passes through the lens. There is also a fracture appearing at the lower inside corner of the assembly. The dealer attempted to get Ford to replace the second headlamp assembly, but Ford will not replace the $1800 part under warranty. The vehicle has never been in an accident and is garaged 90% of the time. Even now at over four years of ownership, the vehicle has just over 44,500 miles on the odometer. My personal belief is that there is a defect in the plastic that was used to manufacture the headlamp assembly, and as such, Ford needs to replace the defective part. I have included two pictures from the original discovery and then three pictures just taken today.

Our explorer has had cascading warnings each time we drive the car for the past 7 days. Sometimes it takes a mile, sometimes it is immediate. The safety warnings include: 4-wheel drive fault, passenger air bag fault, forward Collision avoidance not working, powertrain malfunction, restraint indicator light warning, pre collision assist- . Not all appear each time, and some change ( 4wheel drive fault/ power train malfuntion- restraint warning/ airbag seem to alternate. Power train shows with restraint. 4 wd malfunction shows with airbag). Each time it occurs the airbag warning illuminates. Dealer cannot work on it until July 16th. Sounds like tsb 23-2174, but have been unable to codes when I stopped by a dealer Before July 1 we had no warnings. 48,582 miles. When faults appear- most systems appear to work, have tried 4wd and other modes and they appear to work. But cruise control, seatbelt chimes and others do not work.

I have put my 2020 ford explorer platinum in the ford shop several times because my cruise control has never worked properly. While using the cruise control it will reset to 85 mph whenever it chooses. This is a dangerous issue. Sames Ford dealership has looked at this issue 4 or so times with no fix. This issue needs to be addressed as my car is not the only one with this same issue.

I own a 2020 Ford explorer, the catalytic converter failed at approx 100k miles. There is an open recall but my vin is not included and it SHOULD be! The vehicle has been inspected by a dealership and confirmed the catalytic converter is bad. The check engine light is on for the repair. Program #24M01 REPLACE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS IF FAILED AND INSPECT WIRE HARNESS

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera screen was black intermittently. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) and the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was returned to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 52,700.

I have a 2020 Ford Explorer and a Motorola Andriod phone. When I plug my phone into my Explorer to use the maps my display blinks like crazy the charging does not work and my phone gets so hot I am afraid it is going to start a fire. The Ford dealer I talked to said that they knew about it and do not know of any fix. I don't need my vehicle catching on fire.

While vehicle was driving in motion, all system error messages began to sequence on the dashboard (Steering Assist Fault Service Required, Check Park Aid, See Manual, Service AdvanceTrac, Front Camera Fault Service Required, Full Accessory Power Active, Park Brake Fault Service Now, Pre-Collision Assist Not Available, Navigation Fault). Vehicle lost acceleration and had decreased steering and braking capability. This happened on 5/20/2024 and was "repaired" by dealership then happened again on 6/21/2024. It also happened in 08/17/2021 and was repaired by dealership until most recent reoccurrences. This DOES NOT include the instances where the same error messages sequenced prevented the vehicle from even starting (for hours) leaving the motorist stranded. This is also not the first time this concern has been submitted to the NHTSA.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the back over prevention camera malfunctioned and failed to display an image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V305000 (Back Over Prevention) for the failure. The failure mileage was 52,000.

I hit a pole in early April, and brought it to a shop - Casey’s in Brentwood - to have it fixed. The car had no warning lights or issues. They needed to take off the front of the car to repair the body damage. They discharged the car to us, and I noticed a battery light was on. We called a few days later and the owner said well I tried to call you and left a message but heard nothing. He said we needed to take it to the dealership to turn the light off. We drove it 50 miles to the dealership. The dealership said that this is not a “light to turn off” - this was a significant problem that would be an expensive repair. He said the car would not be safe to drive ultimately very long because the car could just dead stop while driving on a freeway (similar to what happened to a Tesla causing a death). They were unsure of the cause but not from hitting the pole. We brought it to our family’s nearby. We had a second opinion and the mechanic noted this is not typical damage - this is a dangerous safety issue and the car should not be driven. We called Casey’s and they said oh we had no idea, have State Farm toe it back to us. State Farm has refused to pay, saying the damage is unrelated. Caseys has now changed their story and said the light was on when they got the car. This is wildly unethical, and had I known, I would have wanted this fixed not just be allowed to drive home with my children. The first auto shop put me and my children’s lives at risk by letting us drive home without

I was going on the hwy speeding up with the traffic , my Explorer was at 8 gear of 10 atound 60 mph when it dropped to 1st gear and the truck started to break hard , after one second or two all gears started to go up one by one . No one was hurt or crash

Vehicle "service required" light (wrench) displayed on vehicle when commuting from work to home on a Friday. Light went off next time vehicle was used, so vehicle was used to commute from home to work. During this commute, light came on approximately 25 miles from home, and then 25 miles from work (commute is 32 miles 1 way). Driver stopped vehicle and once vehicle turned off, light went off. Local Dealership was contacted (Ryan) was able to diagnose issue over computer, stating 1. the vehicle (parts are not communicating with each other) and then the light is from transmission pump overheating. He stated this is common (transmission issue) with 2020 Ford Explorers. I did research and this is correct. We agreed to bring vehicle in to be checked out instead of driving it any further. I also asked if any dealer vehicles were having issues filling up fuel at the local gas station (they fuel all vehicles there), since recently the gas pump would stop filling after 2-3 gallons when vehicle was further empty. I said this has happened 3-4 times in the last few weeks (vehicle is filled up 2x a week). Upon review, Ryan found 2 TSB (bulletins) for the vehicle and explained these are again issues with this vehicles. 1-TSB 20-2337 Automatic Transmission Clutch, Coolant Pump. 2-TSB-22-2433 Fuel filler neck and housing for the fuel filling system. I have contacted number given by previous Service Manager (Jim) 1-800-392-3673 and either customer service personnel where: upset I received thi

The right windshield trim is separating from vehicle. Ford has recalled 2011-2019 vehicles for this due to safety risk of trim molding coming off in traffic. My vehicle is a 2020 and seems to have same issue.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk abnormally while shifting gear. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no additional assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 77,500.

When braking and slowing down between 30-25 mph the transmission catches and feels like it “bucks”. Almost to a sudden stop and I’m afraid the cars behind me are going to rear end me. I took it to my local Ford dealer where they reprogrammed and reset adaptive tables, then told me to drive it like this for 500-1000 miles to see if it worked itself out! I feel this is dangerous! I have an extended warranty 5 yr/ 60,000 miles, I’ve owned it 4 yrs with approximately 30,000 miles on it. Ford needs to just fix it!

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, there was an abnormal exhaust odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the odor was present while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the left exhaust flex pipes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was advised by the dealer that the manufacturer had issued a Customer Satisfaction Program: 21E11 – Left side Exhaust Flexible Pipe(s) and Left side Catalytic Converter inspection and replacement (Engine and Engine Cooling), however, the vehicle was no longer covered under warranty. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating, and the message "Power Train Malfunction" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the back-over prevention camera display screen failed to display an image, causing a visibility hazard for the driver. The camera was replaced on several occasions, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,000.

Ford dealer said one of the clutch's is failing. When getting up to speed it shifts fine. But when slowing down, there is a loud bang/jolt around 30 mph. The car is only 4 yrs old. This should not be happening.

The left, middle row captain seat chair passenger fails to lock in place. The back part of the chair can be easily folded down or pushed back just by pressing or pulling on it. The back part of the chair won’t stay locked in whatever position is chosen via the adjustment level on the side of the seat. None of my children are allowed to sit in that chair as I fear it could crush them or allow them to slide out of their booster seats in an accident. I have not reported this to our dealership yet, but I do intent to have my vehicle looked at soon.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the transmission unintendedly shifted into neutral(N), and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond while the engine revved. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and pulled to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission 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 75,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle was making an abnormal humming noise. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission cooler had cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised by the dealer that the manufacturer was aware of the failure and had issued a Technical Service Bulletin; however, the vehicle was no longer covered for the repairs under warranty. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to open the front driver’s side door from the inside, the chrome plating fractured, causing the contact’s hand to get struck. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle for the failure. The contact was instructed to contact the local dealer for the repair and to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

Was driving vehicle and during acceleration, heard a loud bang. No warning lights came on in the small distance I continued to drive into a gas station to safety evaluate the vehicle and find the cause of the sound. Entire contents of transmission fluid pan leaked onto the ground at the gas station that the fire department had to be called to help clean and car was towed to dealership. Still no warnings at this time and car had been to dealership for oil change just few weeks prior. When care was finally turned on days later at the dealership I received a warning that the powertrain control system has detected one of the transmission shift solenoids is not responding as expected. The dealership then informed me that there was a hole in the pan and that the entire transmission needs to be replaced on a vehicle less that 4 years old and 73,960 miles on it. Per the dealership it appears as though there was some catastrophic failure inside the transmission that shot off something and damaged the pan from the inside. I believe this to be an faulty issue with Ford Manufacturing and believe that they should be at least partially liable for the cost to repair.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle experienced an unexpected downshift and seized in low gear while the RPMs became significantly elevated. Additionally, the vehicle experienced hard shifting and shuddered while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving at slow speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission 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 61,100.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while in reverse, the camera screen went blank. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

AWD control failure creating these messages: No Hill-Assist No Collision-Assist No Traction Control Service AdvanceTrac Service AWD The result is no AWD.

2020 Explorer VIN: [XXX] Summary [Recall] Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera Description The remedy is under development. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed june 26, 2023. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23s23. This recall expands and replaces nhtsa recall number 23v-022. Vehicles previously repaired under 23v-022 will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov. Read less

2020 Ford Explorer purchased in January 2021. Since owning this vehicle, we have experienced numerous (10+) situations where at a light or entering traffic with our foot on the brake pedal and waiting to proceed the car starts to acerate on its own and jump forward 4'-6' before it stops. I have visited my dealer Jones Ford in Charleston, SC and reported this issue a couple of times over the past few years. As usual they were unable to replicate the issue in shop or find a service code that relates to this problem. On Thursday, [XXX], 2023, while horizontally parking my vehicle in Georgetown, SC in front of an electrical pole (with support wires holding it in place), with my foot on the brake pedal coming to a stop, the engine accelerated and jumped the curb hitting the steel wires causing damage to my front and right side. The following Monday, [XXX] I brought the Explorer into the dealer to investigate the problem since it was still under an extended warranty. After spending a week at the dealer, they return the vehicle unable to find anything wrong and charged me over $200 for a service inspection (Invoice Included). At that point I contacted Ford Customer Service directly and after numerous calls and emails they denied that anything was wrong with my Explorer and closed the case (email included). Since January 2024, I have incurred 5 additional occurrences, and the last one was last week while I was parking the car in reverse...it jumped and struck the parked vehicle behin

While in motion a 4wd fault is detected that also makes forward pre crash unavailable. The fault resets when the engine is cycled and remains out for sporadic amounts of time I.e one week, one month, three months... Due to the fault resetting the dealer is unable to confirm cause and the sporadic nature make it difficult to replicate. The dealer was given a DTC 0f C0631-7F but was not able to verify it do to the code not being present at time of service. There is an Internal Tech. service bulletin for said code but is only before if code is present at time of service

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, exhaust fumes were present inside the cabin of the vehicle and an excessively loud exhaust sound was coming from the exhaust system. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the weld on the catalytic converter was cracked. The contact was informed that the catalytic converter needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 38,000.

Transmission cooler is leaking, hairline crack in cooler line on external cooler on transmission we looked online and it said 2020 ford explorers 2.3 engine that was a recall but says my specific vehicle isn’t recalled but i believe it should be.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the brakes, traction control, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front axle disconnect actuator or the intermediate shaft needed to be replaced with a revised part. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 21-2174. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.