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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,283 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2020 Ford Explorer drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2020 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 3 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #176

Jan 092024

Explorer

  • 42,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, unknown warning lights were flashing. Additionally, the vehicle failed to shift into drive as needed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #175

Oct 012023

Explorer

  • 119,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle independently downshifted without warning. The vehicle also hesitated or lost motive power upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked forward before resuming normal driving operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer later diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

- Hernando, MS, USA

problem #174

Apr 012022

Explorer

  • 63,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle started to shake abnormally. While driving, the vehicle lunged forward without the accelerator pedal being depressed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The software was reprogrammed and set for the parking brake to remain engaged. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.

- Hartford, WI, USA

problem #173

Oct 062023

Explorer

  • 0 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Maricopa, AZ, USA

problem #172

Dec 072023

Explorer

  • miles
Power train malfunction (wrench) indicator came on. I eventually slowed down and when turning sharply, I could feel some grinding. I didn't want to drive any longer than necessary and got the vehicle to a shop. There was a bulletin for this problem-23-2114 requiring replacement of multiple parts including intermediate shaft and half shaft. Considering this was in the front end drive train, I was very concerned this could have affected the steering ability.

- Martin, OH, USA

problem #171

Dec 012023

Explorer

  • 107,200 miles
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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was violently jerking. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the rear axle bolt had previously been replaced; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,200. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Fort Belvoir, VA, USA

problem #170

Dec 032023

Explorer

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and shook excessively. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #169

Nov 032023

Explorer

  • 80,000 miles
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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that after he started the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shift into drive (D), reverse (R), or neutral (N). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #168

Nov 062023

Explorer

  • 0 miles
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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- El Centro, CA, USA

problem #167

Nov 012023

Explorer

  • 78,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that with the vehicle in park, the vehicle started reversing independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to several faulty parts inside of the transmission. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #166

Oct 152023

Explorer

  • 31,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifting gear, there was an abnormally loud grinding sound coming from the front-end of the vehicle. There was transmission fluid leaking underneath the vehicle while the vehicle was idling. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission cooler had fractured and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program NHTSA ID Number: 10185994 (Power Train, Equipment) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the Customer Satisfaction Program. The repair was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.

- Stapleton, GA, USA

problem #165

Nov 132023

Explorer

  • miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) and 23V675000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Pacifica, CA, USA

problem #164

Nov 052023

Explorer

  • miles
The 4WD/Powertrain service wrench appears on the dash of the car along with multiple other warnings -??Service Advance-?? The AWD module has been an issue with 2020 Ford Explorers around the nation, locally as well as the Ford Service Techs brought to my attention. This AWD module has been replaced and fixed multiple times on my own personal vehicle but still manages to not function correctly. While on the highway, my car was going 65-70 mph and suddenly stops accelerating and slows down to 40 mph without driver having control of the matter. Acceleration does not occur until foot is off the pedal and the RPMs are back down to 1000 and slow acceleration occurs. The AWD module has had issues on the 2020 Ford Explorer regardless of mileage. It occurred at 7,733, 9,569, and 30,351. Again at 64,000 miles and again at 93,276 with lights coming off and on in between but after a while lights shutting off and car functioning normally. This is an electrical, technical issue that messes with the speed of your car while on the road. It-??s happened while trying to accelerate from a red light to a green light and being unable to move proficiently with traffic.

- Holts Summit , MO, USA

problem #163

Oct 312023

Explorer

  • 34,412 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and whenever attempting to accelerate the vehicle would display a jerking sensation. It would jump as if it wanted to fail and or stall. power train malfunctioning, hill start pre-collision assist, front camera low visibility, as well as others, all had illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the all wheel drive module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred them to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 34,412.

- Nutley, NJ, USA

problem #162

Oct 312023

Explorer

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast into a parking area, after which the vehicle displayed a power train fault alert. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000.

- Niles, MI, USA

problem #161

Jun 212023

Explorer

  • 67,473 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and shifting into gear, the rear end of the vehicle made abnormal clicking sounds. The contact stated that the vehicle made abnormal clicking and popping sounds while driving from a complete stop. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to respond while accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V255000 (Power Train); however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven, and it was confirmed that the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the records indicated that the recall repair was not completed. The failure mileage was approximately 67,473.

- West Plains, MO, USA

problem #160

Oct 202023

Explorer

  • miles
This car is putting my life in danger! It feels like the gears are slipping in the transmission. When I accelerate, there is a metal grinding noise and the car has no power. Most recently, I was doing 70 mph on the highway when I went to pass someone and I lost power to the transmission. I heard an awful metal grinding noise. I could smell the metal grinding. The vehicle didn-??t engage the gear again and I was forced off the road. Thankfully I made it to the shoulder. I had to wait 15 min to restart the vehicle. Today, I went to turn off the vehicle and it wouldn-??t let me. It gave me a dash warning that read -?? transmission not in park-?? and -??Park Not Available, Apply Park Brake Before Exiting-??. The light on the gear shift for park was flashing. I couldn-??t turn off the vehicle. Then I couldn-??t start it again for a while. The vehicle also shifts hard out of reverse or into drive frequently. The four-wheel-drive transfer case was replaced with less than 5,000 miles on it. Vehicle has never operated the same since and has gotten worse. I-??ve taken it into the dealership more than half a dozen times for this issue. They can never replicate it. There are codes in the computer from the failures in the gear shifting, but the dealership says they can-??t fix it because they can-??t replicate it. I-??m literally afraid for my life to drive this vehicle at this point. I-??m not paying thousands of dollars to replace a transmission that has been bad since we bought it new. I have 65k miles on this very expensive vehicle with a transmission that has failed from the beginning.

- Oviedo, FL, USA

problem #159

Oct 242023

Explorer

  • miles
Car became unresponsive to accelerator while trying to pass on the freeway, lost speed and had cars around me going 65+ mph, this is not the first time this had happened, have filed several reports and have not heard about a fix to this, getting nervous using this car and I don't know what recourse I have, dealer unable to duplicate the problem and almost got involved in an accident again, please advise. See complaint 11539225, 11533701, 11521566, 11494044

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #158

Jul 242023

Explorer

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, upon releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle started to roll backwards. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal a second time, the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while parking the vehicle. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) steered the vehicle towards traffic. The contact stated that he was able to steer the vehicle back into the lane; however, the steering wheel was very resistant. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer, who then referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

- Potterville, MI, USA

problem #157

Oct 192023

Explorer

  • 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle experienced a hard downshift which caused the vehicle to jerk and independently shift into park. The contact smelled an abnormal burning odor. The vehicle lost power motive and stalled. The contact pulled over and was able to restart the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

- Brundidge, AL, USA

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