2020 Ford Explorer Complaint Log

Twice now my car has felt like it has stalled. Once I was at a stop light, the light was red so I stopped. Then when the light turned green I accelerated, the car moved slightly and then stalled. Pedal to the floor and nothing happened. Nothing in the car indicated why this happened. The car was on and ready to go but the petal or engine didn't work. Not sure what happened. The second time it happened I was trying to make a turn from a stop. I accelerated, the car moved a bit then stopped. I was pulling onto a 55 mph road and I was just sitting there. Car was fine, running and seemed to be in working condition but it stalled on me. Pedal to the floor, no response from the car. I have an appointment on Tuesday April 12th to take the car in to speak with the service department. I have spoken to other 6th generation ford explorer owners that have stated the same thing has happened and the service department had no answer for them. I am hoping if enough of us submit an issue it will get investigated preventing a fetal crash.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated when the vehicle was shifted into reverse, there was no image displayed on the screen. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that there was a recall for the failure. The contact stated a programming update was needed and was performed; however, the failure continued. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where an update was completed several times; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle had been to the dealer at least 7 times to update the software. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and advised to go back to the dealer and a case was opened. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for a 9-hour update. The contact stated that the dealer called and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and the contact would be responsible for the repair. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention). The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.

I was driving down the road and several sensor malfunction warnings started to pop up including an antilock brake fault. I was in traffic and needed to slow down but the brake system was non responsive when I applied normal pressure to the brake. I had to attempt braking with all my force before car slowly started to brake. I nearly was in an accident but fortunately was able to pull off to the side until car was able to fully stop.

Recall 21V735000 was performed by Sakelaris Ford of Rolla, Missouri on December 9, 2021. On February 28, 2022 the problem of the "Blue Screen" Backup Camera display again occurred and has been occurring regularly ever since. I have not yet contacted the dealer to reschedule a follow up pending correspondence from the NHTSA.

I purchased this 2020 Ford Explorer ST, used while still under factory warranty. Within a week or two the IPMB module started malfunctioning, this affects all of the safety systems to include reverse brake assist, lane keeping assist, rear view camera and more. I have had the vehicle in two different dealerships over 9 times in the 15 months I have owned this suv, and within days of the problem being fixed the unit malfunctions again. I have tried to have the vehicle bought back by the dealer through their customer service program and the BBB of Michigan, to witch both claims have been denied claiming that the chicle does not fall under the NYS lemon law policy for used cars. The issue I have is this problem started within 1-2 weeks if purchasing the vehicle. What are the next steps that can be taken to have Ford Motor Company but this vehicle from me, as there is recall after recall on the unit in question.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound and accelerated unintendedly. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the brake pedal continuously until the vehicle stopped. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently while driving from a complete stop. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving downhill, and the vehicle nearly drove into highway traffic. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred while reversing in a parking lot, nearly causing the vehicle to crash into other vehicles. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer several times to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

The driver's side door doesn't unlock. The locking mechanism gets stuck in the locked position and the door will not open as it won't unlock. Has happened 9 times in the past 48 hours during a total of 7 outings. It puts the driver at risk if they need to quickly get out or get in the vehicle. I took it to the dealership today and it would not unlock for me to exit the vehicle. They tested the mechanisms involved and all function so not parts replaced. There are no warnings when this happens. First started on 2/22/2022. In my online research, it is happening for others with this type of vehicle including police vehicles which is a huge safety issue for them if they can't exit the vehicle when necessary.

When you put car in reverse the camera screen may go blue or black. Sometimes it is all in cone in rear, other times it’s on the right side and at other times it is the entire screen. Turning blue or black. This started in the first several months of ownership in 2020. The dealership tried several things including replacing the camera in 2020-2021-2022. Problem continued. Was told it was all fixed and the same day it happened again. I live in metro DC and have to park in small spaces often between cement pillars. I bought the car specifically for the camera system. I have hit things while attempting to get the camera back to useable again while in heavier car use areas buy not being able to see or have a sensor go off. Since 2020 Ford has had no viable remedy available. No option for new owners other than taking the loss on the car which as a widow I cannot afford to do.

2020 FORD EXPLORER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERE VIBRATIONS AT CERTAIN SPEEDS AND AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER BREACHED IT'S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION BY FAILING TO PROPERLY AND TIMELY REPAIR THE VEHICLE.

When this vehicle is put into reverse it does not engage the transmission at times. You either have to put it back in to park and back in reverse and/or floor it in essence push the throttle all the way down for it to engage. As that happens and it finally engages you’re going way too fast in reverse. Also when it does not engage it acts like a stick shift and that you are in neutral and you’re either rolling forward or backward depending on the incline. Very frustrating I’ve taken it into the shop two different times specifically for this they say they have a work order in place and the last time they said it was a chip and they ran their diagnostics and corrected it. It still did not get corrected and is still a problem . I am not pleased at all with this failure in the transmission as far as the engaging of reverse is involved. Thank you

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the instrument panel would remain inoperable, resulting in a loss of speedometer and tachometer functions. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the instrument cluster replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

I was driving my car in the afternoon & heard a pop. My windshield randomly cracked. It cracked at the base of the car about 2 inches up from where it meets the frame. Then it cracked across 3/4 of the windshield

It has happened several times over last year. When car is put in reverse the brakes barely work and car doesn’t stop well. Almost like no power brakes. Once put in drive, the brakes work correctly.

The rear back up camera area is blue and you are unable to see behind the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to simultaneously accelerate and make a left turn, the steering wheel forcefully turned in the opposite direction. During the failure the message "power steering fault, service required" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the 12-volt battery was faulty and performed a reprogramming of the steering system. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure was still present. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.

While driving my 2020 Explorer a couple of weeks ago I noticed it was down shifting really hard when I would slow down to stop at a light. There were no warning lights or check engine lights of any kind. It continually got worse over the next few days so I made an appointment with our local Ford dealership. When I called they told me it was probably just a computer issue and they could reset it. On my first appointment I was having them change the oil as well as “reset” the computer. When they came out to talk to me they said they had a technician “reset” the computer but the actual “transmission guy” wasn’t there and I would probably have to bring it back. He told me it would probably drive different to me now because it has an “adaptive” transmission and it would have to adjust to the way I drive. I called and made another appointment that same day after I saw it was still doing the same thing. Well the next night I took it on a trip to the next town that was about 20 minutes away. It started “driving” very strangely and I began to smell a hot or chemical kind of smell. I actually pulled off to the side of the highway at one point. I was able to make it home and didn’t attempt to drive very far until I had it looked at again. We’ll I took it back today and they’re now telling me it has to have either a new transmission or that one rebuild. Whichever Ford decides. Luckily it’s still under warranty or I’d have a bigger problem. After researching I’ve discovered thousands of other people who have had the exact same issue with their 2020 Explorer, all at different mileages. I feel Ford should have already issued a recall for this known problem by now. This is absolutely a safety issue because if your in traffic or pull out into an intersection and the car doesn’t want to shift it could cause a serious wreck. I’ve already had to have the backup camera replaced(before they issued the recall)and the drivers side power window motor replaced. Definitely regret buying.

Has burning smell of wires when heat is on, only has heat on drivers side, blows cold air on passenger side, had Avis Ford Dealership look at it, said it was the heater core and they don't know when it will be in stock.

The vehicle steering wheel felt loose, took the vehicle to a local Ford dealer where they found that the steering wheel bolt was loose almost to the point of falling off. They tightened up the bolt and sent me on my way.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH and slowing down for a traffic light he had a brake failure and crashed at low speed into the rear of a vehicle already stopped at the traffic light. The contact stated that he was pumping the brakes and was not able to stop. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that there was damage to the right front passenger side of his vehicle and was unable to determine the damage to the other vehicle. The police were called and wrote a report. There were no injuries and the contact had the vehicle towed to his home and later towed to a dealer. The local dealer diagnosed that there were no problems with the brakes. The vehicle damage was repaired but not the brakes. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

Some 2020 Explorer/Aviator vehicles built on or before 17-Feb-2020 may exhibit an intermittent partial opening of the power liftgate and/or false activation of the anti-theft alarm

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the Power Train Malfunction - Reduced Power", "Pre-Collision Assist not available", "Hill Start Assist Warning" messages flashed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was restarted, and the messages continued flashing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the failure was not replicated. The failure later reoccurred and the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission transfer case needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,149.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that during cold weather conditions, the front driver’s and passenger’s side door latches failed to unlock to allow the doors to be opened. In addition, the contact was using the rear passenger’s side door to exit the vehicle safely. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and both door latching cable assemblies were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed that front door latching cable assemblies 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 67,000.

The vehicle has been in the Ford Dealer 3-times to replace the sunroof/moonroof wind deflector. It has fallen off while driving two times interfering with traffic and one time it detached on one side only. Fortunately, no one was injured or any damage done other than the deflector was damaged by traffic after it detached. It was replaced just a few weeks ago for the second time and it just detached and fell off again while driving yesterday. I notified Ford Quality and Customer Concerns of the situation but no reply, apparently Ford, nor the dealer appear to care. However, besides the cost someone is going to get hurt. The first time the wind deflector came off was in April 21 and the second time October 22, the third time was yesterday, 01-14-22.

A police officer dropped this SUV off complaining of an exhaust smell coming through the vents in the vehicle. upon opening the hood ,a strong odor off exhaust from the right side of the motor could be smelled .No visible leaks or sounds were noticed. The vehicle remained out of service until our local Ford dealer could service this vehicle.

While driving my Explorer at night on an unlit road in north western New Jersey the instrument cluster in my car displayed a warning message stating, “Check Headlight System, See Manual”. I pulled over and inspected my cars exterior lights for abnormalities, found none. With the headlamp warning light still on I proceeded on my way home when approximately 10 miles further down the road my driver side low beam turned off completely drastically reducing my visibility of the road ahead of me. Making it incredibly unsafe to me and the passengers in my car. On my way home I got pulled over by a local police officer for an out headlight. I explained the issue and they let me off with a warning. I immediately brought my car to my local Ford dealership to be further inspected. They proposed that the headlamp control module was causing the issue by diagnosing using their “pin test”. After replacing the module ($1,000) at the dealership I drove the car less than 10 miles away from the dealership and the headlamp warning light turned back on and the driver side low beam turned off once again leaving me stranded without light on the road. This cycle continued several times and Ford had no explanation as to why it’s happening. I was sent a quote to pay full price for the repair ($2,500) because I was out of Ford’s 36,000 mile limited warranty. A new car that leaves me without a driver side low beam on a dark road poses an incredible risk to me and my passengers as well other drivers and is unacceptable. Not only is an out headlight illegal and a ticket able offense what if there was an animals or debris on the road while I was driving with my 8 month old niece? My down the road sight is exponentially reduced because the driver side low beam is out. The car had less than 36,500 miles when this issue first occurred and it’s been an ongoing problem ever since. An LED headlamp is supposed to be a “lifelong” vehicle part and it’s failing before the car is fully broken in.

This vehicle has been “repaired” by Ford dealer per recall instructions but the backup camera is still intermittently blue. Recall “fix” offered by Ford does NOT fix this problem

While driving in regular weather. The dash flags a red box that say pre Collison alert, and beeps. For no reason nothing around me. I know the sensor is located in the front end of the vehicle. Scares everyone in vehicle thinking we are going to have an accident and put o

I have this 2020 Ford Explorer with about 15k miles on it. It suddenly started down shifting hard, getting hang gears, and having multiple issues. I took it to my local Ford dealer who refused to even do a diagnostic because my vehicle had warranty work done on the head gasket about two weeks after it was purchased. They are claiming it is similar to the issue I am having now. I am now trying to work with Ford to get it repaired. I checked online and this seems to be a pretty common issue on the forums that I went to and people were describing identical experiences that I had with my car. One example is that when I applied a small amount of pressure to the gas pedal, my car wouldn’t shift, got up to 7k rpm, and then finally did a hard shift that felt like I hit something. The hard downshifting would happen even when I was coming to a complete stop or anytime I was slowing down.

We reported the driver's side headlamp as going out intermittently on Jan 4, 2022 to the dealership (Ford of Boerne, Boerne, TX). When they could not resolve the issue, we reported the problem to Ford. The light is out mostly full time now. We first realized the problem when driving at night when it would go in and out.

I have a safety recall notice 21S44/NHTSA RECALL 21V735 - 360 degree camera display, which includes the rear view camera may intermittently display a blue image on the media touchscreen upon shifting into reverse. Although your form said there was no recall on my vehicle I have received a notice mentioned above and I have experienced the problem mentioned in the recall notice a number of times. The Phil Long Ford Dealership in Colorado Springs on Motorcity .Drive have worked on the vehicle four times since the 1st of January and still have not repaired my vehicle. I would think that since this is a recall that they should have a fix by now. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving and shifting to another gear it was difficult to shift and jolted the vehicle. There was an abnormal clunking noise detected. The maintenance light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that a transmission replacement was needed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced but was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear hatch closed without driver input. The contact stated that the buttons were inoperable and failed to open the hatch as needed. While the hatch was closing, it pinned and violently struck the contact on the head. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on four occasions, who was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

The front windows on my 2020 Ford Explorer have an intermittent issue. When auto rolling up the windows they will bounce back and automatically roll down 2/3 of the way. This has happened in rainstorms and at the car wash creating a driving hazard. The dealer hasn’t been able to fix the issue as the issue does not generate an error message. They tell me without an error message they can’t fix it. Several calls to Ford Customer Service hasn’t resulted in them agreeing to fix the issue. The best they offer is for me to take it to another Ford dealer and pay another $160 and hope this time an error code is found If you google the issue you will see this is a widespread problem that Ford is apparently pretending doesn’t exist. So much for “Quality is job 1.”

The chrome plating on the interior door handle is peeling away from the handle structure, creating a sharp edge that has the potential to lacerate a person's finger(s) as they pull the handle to open the door. This defect cut my middle finger on my left hand fairly deep, causing bleeding, but did not require stitches.

Adaptive headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer Platinum AWD has failed twice in 2-years. First, upon receiving the vehicle, the passenger side had to be replaced (dealer was unable to fix the problem, so had to replace the whole headlamp assembly which requires a complete removal of the front bumper). Now the driver side headlamp has failed - and I haven't even had the car 2-years yet (will be 2-years in a few weeks). The headlamp failure is complicated by the long lead time to get the replacement part for the whole headlamp assembly - so now I am WEEKS without being able to have a headlight and am forced to drive without it.

Fuel does not pump in correctly and causes spit back. The car has been taken into ford numerous times without a solution & parts have been replaced. The problem still exists. This causes gas to leak at the gas station as it doesn’t flow fast into the tank even on the lowest flow possible. You are also unable to move the nozzles around, in or out to make it work.

I own a 2020 Ford Explorer (Platinum edition). A recall was issued for the back-up camera. My car had been having issues of intermittent camera problems prior to the recall. I took my car into Sam Pack's Five Star Ford of Lewisville (1144 N Stemmons Fwy, Lewisville, TX 75067) for the recall repair. . . I drove the vehicle for about thirty minutes after completion of the recall repair at which time I parked the car. Unfortunately, when I did so the "Blue Screen" returned. The was the reason for the recall. . . This is the same as prior to the recall "repair". Also, when this happens a warning pops up "Reverse Brake Assist Not Available" (this may be because the camera is malfunctioning). The camera does not do this all of the time. There is no rhyme or reason as to when it is going to fail. After turning the car off for a while (as when eating at a restaurant or grocery shopping, etc.) the camera works when you put the car into reverse (with the one exception noted above). It appears that the "fix" for the recall is insufficient to stop the camera errors from recurring. The incident date listed below is the date of the supposed recall repair. I have uploaded a PDF File showing pictures of the camera errors. If you would like any other information, or pictures of the blue screen errors, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached by email at [XXX] or by phone at [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Rear backup camera incorrectly sensed an obstruction behind vehicle and caused emergency braking with no visible obstruction. We were unable to pull out of the parking spot and had to jump a curb to leave. No further incident has been experienced,

Worked until 11am Friday 11/5/21, went back out to work night shift 10:40 ish at night to start the vehicle up to warm up (he believes that he had turned on the heat). As the officer was outside walking his dog he heard noises of glass cracking. He walked up to it and noticed the entire rear window was shattered. No point of entry or notice of vandalism.

While driving at 70 mph the vehicle experienced the following issues all at once, the power steering shut off, all brake pressure was lost, the pre- collision system was turned off, parking brake engaged(at 70 mph) traction control system turned off, engine light turned on and all of the warning lights on the dash activated. This has happened 3 times and almost killed me twice. Ford has tried to repair this vehicle all three times and still have not corrected the issue. Ford has also refused to replace or buy back the vehicle.

When using the defrost or air conditioner or just having the fan on, exhaust fumes enter the cars cabin. Its very troublesome that when I took it to a Ford dealer and they checked it out and said the catalytic converter was cracked but told us Ford had no fix for it. Its very dangerous especially in the morning time when you need to use the defrost you have roll all the windows down and freeze you butt off.

Ford issued recall 21S44 for an intermittent back-up camera problem. I took my vehicle to Elk Grove Ford (95624) on 10/05/21 for recall repair. The problem continued and I took back on 10/19/21 to fix back-up camera. It still only works intermittently. Today, while backing up at an elementary school after my second recall service, my camera failed again. This is a critical safety issue which Ford knows about but has provided incompetent information to Elk Grove Ford. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse the vehicle, the backup camera failed to function as designed. The contact stated that the backup sensor non-functional message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and was diagnosed IPMB updated and repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was repaired under the recall but continued to experience failure. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning . The systems did not perform as they where designed to. No the problem was not looked at by the company.As far as I know Ford never looked at the vehicle. No warning of any kind showed up on the vehicle before the collision.

My windshield washer tank is leaking. Brought to Ford and they changed the tank. Still leaking and looks like still coming out of new cap. Go thorough a half gallon a week and only leaks when driving. Car is at Friendly ford now. They drove another 2020 Explorer with the same miles and was also leaking when driving. they said seems to be normal. Its not normal and dont want it leak out in winter and have no fluid and get in a accident cause cannot clean windshield. Need help with this.

Back up camera image distorts goes black at times but goes blue multiple times a day while driving and putting in reverse camera is blue 90% of the time

Suv was banging and stalling when braking down a hill or going up a hill. Driving on the interstate it totally lost power. It happened at various speeds. First dealer near where it happened refused to look at it for a month after I told them I lost power on the interstate and stalled out. Had it towed to the dealer I bought it from and no recalls are showing up even though I got the wrench and transmission alert of total failure. It has been sitting there over a month and they have torn out the transmission-issue also with clutch seals.

When backing up, the screen turns blue 3 out of 5 times when placed in reverse.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while attempting to reverse the backup camera failed to engage. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) flashed. The vehicle was repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the same symptoms. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and spoke with the contact’s attorneys and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 22,900. Consumer stated camera was replaced 4 times and reprogrammed twice.

Backup camera failed with a blue screen that was initially identified early August and brought into Ford 8/11-13 but dealership unable to reproduce problem. It is believed that the dealership re-booted the computer and downloaded new software. The same problem occurred just two days after we got the car back on 8/15 at which time a picture was taken to show the service department. A Google search suggested there was a problem with the back up camera for 2020 Explorer, but there was no recall on my VIN. After reaching out to Ford soon after we got the car back, a service person offered to order a new camera, but it was never approved. Numerous calls were placed to the dealership given ongoing camera failure and concern for causing an accident, but we were told that the problem needed to be reproduced. The camera could not be ordered. While backing the car out of our driveway without an operational camera or sensors, driver side rear bumper collided with a car parked in the street. The insurance company was notified the day of the accident and the car was taken to Ford body shop 9/21 where a repair estimate was provided. The dealership service department was notified that the car was involved in an accident because of camera failure and finally agreed to order a new replacement camera. On 9/23, we were notified of a "blue screen" back up camera recall.