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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,323 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 2 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #183

Oct 062023

Explorer

  • 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 dealer and several unknown dealers were made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #182

Jan 252024

Explorer

  • miles
Randomly one day, the transmission started lurching on downshift between gears 3 and 4. This pattern continued, regardless of driving status without any malfunction indicator lights. This sudden downshift, lurching, caused a rapid decelleration in the vehicle causing me to step on the brakes while in traffic to address the issue. The vehicles issue was identified and confirmed by the dealer and is currently being addressed with no solution being presented. As previously mentioned, this mechanical issue happened suddenly, without any sort of warning lamp or message and without any previous issue and appeared randomly, on a commute home from work.

- Maryville, TN, USA

problem #181

Jan 302024

Explorer

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the passenger-??s side rear brakes were scraping. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The vehicle was repaired; however, the brake failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Tupelo, MS, USA

problem #180

Jan 102024

Explorer

  • miles

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

Transmission failure at 48k miles under normal driving conditions. Down shifts from 7th to 6th gear you hear noticeable clunk and vehicle jerks as described under Ford TSB 20-2337

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #179

Dec 202023

Explorer

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the pre-collision assist, service engine, four-wheel drive service, and advancetrac service warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the front axle. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 21-2174. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 60,000.

- West Grove, PA, USA

problem #178

Jan 092024

Explorer

  • 42,000 miles
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 #177

Oct 012023

Explorer

  • 119,000 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 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 #176

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 #175

Oct 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.

- Maricopa, AZ, USA

problem #174

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 #173

Dec 012023

Explorer

  • 107,200 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 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 #172

Dec 032023

Explorer

  • 70,000 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 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 #171

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 #170

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 #169

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 #168

Oct 152023

Explorer

  • 31,000 miles
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 #167

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 #166

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 #165

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 #164

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

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