2020 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

Driver side low beam has stopped working. Ford was unable to pinpoint the problem and wants to replace the entire head lamp to cover all possibilities.

Car vibrate and jerk when switching gears randomly. Also the control panel has went out twice. I read everywhere these vehicles have issues with transmission problems on all the 2020 and there is no recall this is. Ridiculous.

Transmission starting to fail at around 91,000 miles. Diagnosed at dealership. Just out of warranty. Other repair shops say this is a common issue. This should be a recall matter.

For new model year 20 20, and 2021 Ford developed an all-wheel-drive vehicle. This is not a four-wheel-drive vehicle. It is an all-wheel-drive vehicle that you can select manually into four-wheel-drive, but it has an automatic system that engages and disengages the front drive axle through a comp component called an FADA. Front axle disconnect actuator. Ford has problems with that actuator going bad to the point that they put out a technical service bulletin to fix this unsafe design TSB 23-2174 dated 24 July 2023. They replace the drive axle and this component and make the car full time all wheel drive. The reason was because the actuator would fail and it would damage the front differential when it locked up on the highway. My car is in Service right now getting it replaced over $3000 and it just clicked past the drivetrain warranty. Now, unfortunately, the car is redesigned into something that it wasn’t meant to be. For highway speeds it now affects fuel economy and design is different from what they sold us. It is unsafe and it is like a ticking time bomb they they’re exploding on the highway. They redesigned the cars after this to four-wheel-drive and you have to manually selected into four-wheel-drive. Ford is reworking all the parts and they’re trying to cover it up.

The first component that fails and gives a warning is a 4WD failure. Once this warning occurs it cascades into a failure of collision assist, a sudden loss of adaptive cruise control, traction control and lane assist component. When this first occurred and my vehicle would suddenly slow down on the highway, because the cruise control would suddenly shut down and swerve due to the lane assist also shutting down. these warnings and failures did not reset immediately when you shut the car off and would last for days at a time. this would also happen randomly either on the highway or local roads. This is a known issue to Ford and they have issued TSB 23-2174 in regards to this.

At 45,000 miles the third row driver side headrest broke and the seat will not fold and is a safety hazard for the seat since the head rest does not work as intended. The third row passenger side head rest broke while under bumper to bumper warranty. Given both have broken with minimal use and others having the same exact issue, the part is made inferior and causes a safety issue.

On highway was accelerating to pass another vehicle the transition froze , engine revved with no acceleration ( transmission skipped) this has happened several times over the 5 years. The lasted event we documented the date and mileage it happened date 7/13/25 mileage is 34990. These skips have put us in extremely dangerous situations. Transmission has been making growling noise now under normal driving.

Dear NHTSA, I am writing to formally report a critical safety issue involving our 2020 Ford Explorer that I believe demands immediate investigation and consideration for a recall. While my wife was driving the vehicle on the freeway with our two young children, the transmission began shifting erratically and aggressively at various speeds. The vehicle experienced sudden power loss, delayed gear engagement, and violent jerking motions that nearly resulted in a rear-end collision due to the abrupt deceleration. This malfunction placed my family and others on the road in immediate danger. This is not an isolated incident. I am aware that there is already a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) issued for this transmission issue, as well as an active class action lawsuit related to the same defect. These facts indicate that Ford is aware of the problem, yet the risk to consumers remains unaddressed through a formal recall. This is a serious safety hazard that must be escalated. I am urging your team to take immediate action to investigate this matter and initiate a recall if warranted. The safety of families like mine should not be compromised by known mechanical failures. Please confirm receipt of this message and advise on the next steps for inspection, documentation, and escalation. I am prepared to provide additional details, including service records and diagnostic reports, if needed. I trust that Ford and the appropriate regulatory bodies will act swiftly and responsibly to protect consumers and uphold safety standards.

i have been seeing complainants about the 2020 ford explorer transmission, I just want to say that I also had transmission issues with my 2020 ford explorer, I had Vehicle down shift issues at or around 50,000 miles, i took it back to the dealer because it was still under the 60K miles power train warr. The dealer had my explorer for about a week to do repairs, I do remember them saying there was a technical bulletin about this problem. I still have transmission jerking issues when i am driving slowly and have to let's say step on the gas to accelerate. I am at 67,000 miles now and worried is this thing going to make it to 100K.

slipping gears between 1&2nd gear, harsh/delayed shifting, some power loss. Vehicle is around 120k miles