2020 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger side tires were shredded. In addition, the curbside tire went flat. The contact's son replaced the tires. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with fractured front axles which were leaking fluids. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The service engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V069000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 32,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The low oil pressure and the check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine had failed. Additionally, the mechanic informed the contact that there was a hole in the engine block. The vehicle was not repaired. No further information was available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 93,000.

I am writing to bring to your attention an issue with my 2020 Ford Explorer, as well as many other vehicles of the same make and model. Recently, I discovered that the spare tire compartment in my vehicle accumulates water due to a leak, which I believe could compromise the safety and integrity of the vehicle. Upon further investigation, I found that Ford Motor Company acknowledged this issue in a Technical Service Bulletin issued on December 14, 2020. This TSB indicates that Ford is aware of the problem, which appears to affect numerous vehicles. Given that this leak could lead to corrosion or other potential safety hazards, I believe it warrants a formal investigation by the NHTSA. Since this is a known manufacturing issue, I request that the NHTSA initiate an investigation into this defect and consider requiring a recall by Ford Motor Company to ensure that all affected vehicles are repaired at no cost to the owners. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to any updates regarding an investigation or action taken to address this issue and ensure the safety of Ford Explorer owners.

Passenger side seatbelt reactor is broken. Now I am unable to have a passenger safely due to faulty ford seatbelt. When I attempted to purchase seatbelt, ford had it on back order.

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 the vehicle began to jerk when downshifting without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for another repair and the contact requested a transmission flush. The contact was later informed that transmission fluid had leaked into the transmission resulting in transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a case number. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

We bought this our ST in April and just our luck it has passed the 5-year mark.....no powertrain warranty for us, darn. On Wednesday, during the 30-minute drive home from work, my spouse reported a fault indicator on the dash related to 4WD or AWD being inoperable. This did not trigger the MIL, but diagnostics showed DTC C0631, identified in TSB 23-2114/2174. After a costly fix replacing the FADA with an intermediary shaft, the SUV will no longer be an "Intelligent 4WD" vehicle—seems like creative and false advertising masking a known engineering failure identified by many on the internet [XXX] ). The first sign is a FADA leak. The TSB states that customers can continue to drive, so I took the vehicle for a drive, only to find myself abruptly stalled in traffic after about a mile. I tried to restart the vehicle several times, but nothing happened. After waiting about five minutes and calling my spouse, I tried again and was able to start it. It felt like it was in "limp" mode, as it had issues accelerating, so I slowly drove home. When entering the driveway, the vehicle could barely make it into the parking spot. As I pulled in and applied the parking brake, the vehicle was idling and started squealing so ear-piercingly loud (maybe SSM 51419?) that I was shocked and quickly shut it off. Later, I started the vehicle again and noticed it was knocking now, but the squeal was gone and didn't reproduce. The vehicle was towed to the local Ford dealer, and after reporting my experience and their troubleshooting, I've been given an incredible ~$8,000 estimate for repairs. The technician claims that the VTC phasers, a fix from TSB 23-2058, are the additional corrective action for the stalled engine, lack of power, and engine knock noise. Ford knows the VTC phasers are design flawed, they've redesigned them multiple times; Ford TSBs have been available for this issue on this website for other engine models for over 10 years. 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 the vehicle was repaired under Ford Recall: 23S23/NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention); related to the Camera Blue Screen however, the repair failed to prevent the failure from occurring. The contact stated that approximately 3 years after the recall repair was completed, the digital screen failed to display the rearview image as intended and would reset once the rear door was opened and closed. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was not related to the recall repair and that a software update was needed. The vehicle was repaired out of pocket. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

Several years ago I reported to Elk Grove Fird that the middle right car seat would release and move forward when a personas seated in the chair. It wouldn’t happen otherwise and we seldom have a 3rd person in our car. They couldn’t duplicate the issue and did nothing. In May 2024, it took it in again. They replaced a seat release button and something else. In August, the unexpected seat release occur again. Another repair was done. The same problem happened again when I had my [XXX] granddaughter with me. On a 5 mile drive to Costco, it suddenly released about 10 times; each time propelling the seat forward and causing the seal belt around her neck. I stopped, placed my iPhone to catch what was occurring, as no body believed me. Within 5 minutes, as we returned home, I captured about 5 more releases. After one month of discussion with Ford, they said they would replace the entire seat and pay about $1,400 and I would pay $1,150. This is a safety issue that could cause serious injury or death to my grandchildren. I believe Ford doesn’t want to make safe a high-end car they know has a serious problem. I have video evidence of this defect. What can the NTSB do to help me? [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)