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.
On September 10, 2023 our 2020 Ford Explorer ST with 26,800 miles began experiencing a harsh downshift in the transmission between gears 7 and 6. I contacted the Ford dealer where purchased (Germain Ford in Dublin, OH) however they said they could not look at it until November 2023. I contacted another Ford dealer (Buckeye Ford in London, OH) and made an appointment for Friday September 15, 2023. I drove the vehicle to them and they confirmed a transmission problem, but could not get their transmission tech to look into it until Monday September 25th. They said the vehicle was OK to drive and released it back to me. The problem continued throughout the next week and on Saturday September 23, 2023 while driving on a major roadway the vehicle began lurching and losing all power. At a stoplight on a 6 lane road, the vehicle would not move at all. The transmission was unresponsive and the car would not move. I could not even put the vehicle into neutral to try to push it out of the traffic. This put me in an incredibly dangerous situation. I ended up having it towed back to Buckeye Ford in London, OH (a $385 tow job). They had the vehicle from Saturday September 23, 2023 until Friday October 20, 2023 when they told me they had repaired the transmission and it was ready to go. I picked it up that afternoon and drove it home, but while driving, I could tell the transmission was still not shifting correctly. When I reached home I parked it in the garage and when I exited the vehicle I noticed a strong burning smell. Shortly thereafter I noticed a puddle of transmission fluid (or possibly transfer case fluid) puddling underneath the vehicle. I immediately contacted the dealer and made arrangements to have it taken back to them the next morning (Saturday October 21, 2023). I would like to know why Ford did not authorize a complete transmission replacement as there are many documented issues with this particular transmission in the 2020 Ford Explorer ST.
Driving 55 mph in a costuction zone lost power and 2020 explorer stated bucking violently with no place to pullover. Power came back and took to dealer. Drove it while waiting for parts when the tansmission went completely out. This happened on June 21 2023. Only 19500 miles. They replaced the trasmission.
My 2020 Explorer ST has been in the shop off and on for three months. The engine had to be replaced at about 45K miles. The transmission whines. The latest issue occurred while driving in downtown Chicago. I was coming up on a light and moved to the left turn lane to turn into oncoming traffic. When I went to go - I pressed the pedal and nothing happened. I ended up rolling into oncoming traffic when finally, the vehicle responded. On the way home this happened about 10 times on the interstate. It would happen when you quickly decelerate and then accelerate after the transmission downshifted. The loss of responsiveness lasted about 5-10 seconds each time and was accompanied by a loud clicking sound under the vehicle. It is still at the dealership and waiting to hear back from them.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle became hesitant while downshifting. The vehicle independently jerked. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been diagnosed by an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a faulty transmission that needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 92,200.
Vehicle would suddenly slam on breaks when breaking and stalled changing gears. We have had it looked at and it is in engine failure - the vehicle is only 3 years old.
- Lincolnton, NC, USA
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Reporting a loss of motive power and loss of transmission torque to the rear wheels from my Explorer that had been remedied with the PCM software update. Experience a surge forward nearly striking another vehicle. Contacted my Ford Dealer who advised that I must wait for a letter and instructions from thereafter. I have several trips planned with family and feel this is unfair ( prolonged fix and intial fix didn't work) and unsafe but I need my vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V255000 (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 15 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle violently lunged from side to side, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Please find attached documents (including a Chat Script) related to an issue we are having with our 2020 Ford Explorer. Our vehicle has less than 10,000 miles on it and began having serious transmission issues to the point where it was unsafe to drive. The vehicle would completely stall out in the middle of an intersection or during acceleration at speed. On August 16, 2023, we made an appointment for Friday September 15, 2023, (earliest available appt) with a dealer to get the vehicle in. We parked the vehicle in our garage from 08-16-23 to 09-05-23 then took it to the dealer. On Wednesday, September 20th, 2023, the dealer notified me that the technicians found that the transmission fluid smells burnt, and they will be submitting their findings to Ford so they can find out how to proceed (either replace or repair). On Wednesday, September 20th, 2023, the dealer notified us that they got a response from Ford, and they are going to be replacing the entire transmission and they will be ordering it that day. We are still waiting for the new transmission to arrive and to get an estimate of how long the replacement will take. Now, I am not writing you to just complain about the amount of time we have been and continue to be without our vehicle, but rather to stress the fact that there is a HUGE issue with certain Ford transmissions that should be addressed through recalls not technical bulletins (as attached - TSB22-2428) as this is an extreme safety issue. I can tell you form experience that it is very scary when you start to accelerate from a red light and your vehicle completely stalls out and stops moving forward and the vehicles behind you have to slam on their brakes and swerve around you. It is also very scary when you try to accelerate at speed to change lanes etc., and the vehicle completely stalls out. This is why we parked our Explorer in our garage for over 2 weeks waiting for our scheduled appointment.
Vehicle lost power while driving at 75mph on major highway. Received power train malfunction warning light. Had to tow car to dealership and wait 9 days for the service technician to determine a repair. Now my parking brake light keeps coming on.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was a beeping sound for the Hill Start Assist warning Power Train collision assist not available. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the axle disconnect actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Purchased this vehicle used exactly 2 months ago and put 1500 miles on it (now 56k miles). Within the last couple days, the vehicle started downshifting hard, similar to a punch type shift, under 35mph. After driving for a few minutes, it begins to shift the same while upshifting at similar speeds. While trying to go up a small hill on a curvy road, the vehicle decided it didn-??t want to shift, began slowing down, and began making a grinding sound. The sound last a couple seconds before stopping then started again for a second. Vehicle doesn-??t appear to have issues at a steady speed above 45mph due to not shifting at the time. I had both kids in the car with me at the time this was going on and the issue could have stalled us in the road and caused us to get rear ended due to the semi blind turns. We had a similar issue in a different vehicle but no where near as bad, especially instantly, where the throttle body had to be replaced. The vehicle drove fine after that. Diagnostic is a week out and the beginning of any transmission repairs approximately a month out. Vehicle is still under factory powertrain warranty by a couple thousand miles and covered under the extended warranty. However, the extended warranty only covers a max of 5 days rental although we could be without a vehicle for a month plus. I would not trust this car to go 5 miles down the road at this point, which is sad for something purchased 2 months ago from a reputable dealer.
On July 16th, 2023, while driving from Ohio to Indiana, my vehicle would not accelerate properly, and the power train malfunction warning illuminated on my dashboard. (The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.) My entire family's safety was put at risk as we were all in the vehicle at the time of the incident. We were on the toll road where other commuters were driving and were unable to accelerate as normal and other commuters were forced to go around us until the vehicle reached appropriate speed. Upon our arrival home the vehicle was taken to Ford for repair. Ford stated there was a recall for this issue and they programmed a software update which engages the parking break when the vehicle is placed in park and the warning light was no longer illuminated. I purchased the vehicle in December of 2021 and was not made aware of the recall in April of 2022. Prior to this incident my vehicle has showed no open safety recalls when entering the VIN online or checking the Ford Pass app. My vehicle has also never automatically engaged the parking break until after the service repair in July of 2023. Since there have not been any open safety recalls and my vehicle has never previously automatically engaged the parking break my belief is that the issue was marked as repaired without actually being repaired. The vehicle has been in for service for a separate issue at least 10 times prior to this incident and this "recall" was never brought to my attention or fixed at any of these service appointments.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power train and several other warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.
While driving the the vehicle's RPM increases violently, but no speed is increased or kept. Also, the car will jerk while driviing (at any speed). These are both separate cases. The occurs while driving on interstate, driving onto a ramp and entering traffic, while entering intersection and pulling into traffic, leaving a stop light and trying to drive through an intersection. It is being looked at by a dealer. Dealer says they cannot replicate. No warnings. I have been at risk many times trying to accelerate and not being able to when car slows or comes to a almost complete stop as entering traffic.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while at a stop light, the vehicle accelerated and jerked with a delay while shifting gear. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no cause for the failure was found. The failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 72,000.
Warning that the cruise control function was not working. The the car would not go more the 5 miles an hour until it had switched out of 1st gear, it kept changing gears. I was scared to death of driving it. I had to use my emergency blinkers everytime I had to slow down and the try to regain speed. The transmission was making a clunk noise and the engine was reviving like crazy. I was afraid of being rear-ended or someone crashing into my car because I could not get out of the way. The car is at the dealership right now, they will not have time to look at it until after the holiday. I was 600 miles from home and terrified.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact pulled to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon inspecting underneath the vehicle, he noticed that the transmission oil cooler was covered in red fluid due to a crack near the oil cooler line. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission oil cooler needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.
Code 102F: All wheel drive module malfunctioned due to lost communication/wiring with the module. The vehicle is in a compromised state and driving differently with AWD disabled. Problem was confirmed at Ford dealership and Ford refuses to provide coverage under the powertrain warranty, even though this is a powertrain issue.
Essentially, my Ford 2020 Explorer is having the same issues as the other 2020 Explorers on a recall list. My Ford rolled back, and it hit my husband's car when it slipped out of park. It also is no longer going into park without giving me a weird error message. It is currently at Five Star Ford in Stone Mountain, GA awaiting repair. My car will not go into park. The transmission failed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hilliard, OH, USA