Complaint volume
1134 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Ford Explorer Complaints
1134 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford Explorer, grouped by component category.
1134 Total complaints
33 Crash reports
10 Fire reports
27 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, unknown or other, back over prevention. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 33 crash reports, 10 fire reports, 27 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 385 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 33,892 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, unknown or other, back over prevention?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Ford Explorer?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Ford Explorer
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Ford Explorer complaints?
33 Crash
10 Fire
27 Injury
0 Fatality
40 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Ford Explorer complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 306
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 117
BACK OVER PREVENTION 56
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44
ENGINE 42
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 40
SERVICE BRAKES 27
VISIBILITY/WIPER 27
STRUCTURE 26
SEATS 25
1,134 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | SEATS | I’m having to replace the driver’s seat mounting/frame (underneath the seat) for a second time since I’ve had this vehicle. It happened last year as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 68,000 |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | the pre collision assist came on 10/09/2022 then On 10/02/2023 the pre collision assist warning light flashed 3 times on dash then went out drove to work when i started the car again the hill assist light came on abs light came on collision warning light came on4wheel drive light came on and little wrench light came on i could not change drive modes while driving the vehicle home the reduced power light came on and the vehicle ran slower got the vehicle home did feel safe driving it with system telling me failures and everything not working and called ford dealership asked if it was ok to drive with everything going on was told it was ok to drive was told i had to wait 3 weeks I called another ford dealership was told not to drive it and it had to be towed because it was unsafe and undriveable to dealership where it is being repaired for safety issues | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The 2020 ford Explorer eco boost limited that we have has had many issues that we are concerned about. Our number one concern is when we accelerate on the freeway to get up to speed we have a rotten eggs/ perm smell. We have taken this into the ford service department and they were able to recreate the smell and had the ford master mechanics look at it. The smell is a sigh of a catalytic converter going out according to other mechanics on other vehicles. They have gave us the excuse that it is the way the vehicle smells when you accelerate. It is a strong odor that makes the passengers in the vehicle verbally ask what is throat smell. My specialty in my career has brought up the question that I don’t know the smell and is it harmful. What could the long term effects have on me and or my family and kids. It’s a very displeasing smell and to hear the ford dealership tell us that it’s just the way the vehicle smells is a little frustrating knowing that we bought a vehicle that may have an issue and is not performing the way it is designed to. Also we have had issues with the electronics in the vehicle where the passenger mirror continues to extend beyond the set position. If you are not paying attention and look to use your mirror while driving you will not be able to see where the mirror is designed to show. Ford after a while of back and forth not wanting to fix it finally fixed it he issue by replacing a new mirror. We have had connection issues from the main computer and our tailgate will randomly open while getting our kids in the car. It has not done it while driving yet but we expect it to. We have taken it in for those reasons but they have not been able to fix it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1.Issues with Navigation / Map display 2.Issue with Speedometer display changing location on dash while driving Have previously written re: issues with the backup camera system on this vehicle. This a new recurring issue with the Navigation system and Driver Information Center display. 10/02/23 – Upon starting vehicle, map only displayed on the bottom 1/3 of center 10” display. Attempts to restore settings unsuccessful. Searched internet, found procedure for “soft reboot” of system (Press and hold Volume on/off button, then press right “next track / seek” button simultaneously.) This restored map to full screen. 10/03/23 - Start vehicle, map reverted to 1/3 screen. A soft reboot restored screen. This happened repeatedly over next several days. 10/08/23 – Map back to 1/3 screen, and Navigation kicks in telling me to resume a route previously cancelled. I cancel route and proceed. I don’t soft reboot. 10/09/23 – Start vehicle, map displays full screen, and Navigation again wants to resume the cancelled route. Cancel the route and drive 1 mile. Return to the vehicle within 15 minutes. Restart vehicle, map back to 1/3 screen, and Navigation again wants to resume cancelled route. Go to next destination and exit vehicle upon return, map is back to full screen. 10/09/23 – Evening – Map back to 1/3 screen. 10/10/23 – Map back to full screen. Drive approximately 40 miles. During drive map repeatedly zooms in and zooms out, AND A NEW PROBLEM APPEARS. During drive, speedometer display on the dash Driver Information Center repeatedly shifts back and forth from left side of the display to center of the display. Am out of vehicle for approximately 30 minutes. Upon restart map is back to 1/3 screen. I press the “Home” button and am provided driving instructions to some address never before visited and not even remotely close to my home. The map display is annoying. The repeated shifting of the speedometer display is a real distraction while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | When putting the vehicle in reverse the backup camera will cut out to a blue screen randomly. A recall was issued in May of 2023 and it is now October with no fix at all. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine was running abnormally loud. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that a bolt had loosened, leading to corrosion and a hole in the exhaust pipe. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was due to the elements, and that the exhaust system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 55,000 |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | While driving around town when I am coming to a stop either at a red light or stop sign or even in the drive through at a restaurant I am getting a message that says "shift to P, then Restart Engine" and then the car just shut's off and I have to put it in park and restart the car. After restarting the car sometimes is very sluggish as if it is not going to get through the intersection or starting from a stop ... this is in my opinion a very serious problem and a safety risk for not just myself and family but that also of the general public. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Intermittent non-functional backup camera and brake assist after ford dealer applied a fix for backup camera failure. Backup camera blue/black screen error was not present before dealer applied “fix” | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission jerks abruptly and very hard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Complete loss of audio when using navigation system. All audio from built-in sound sound system is not available, which occurs intermittently and lasts for up to 3 days or more. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Back up camera stays on after selecting Drive and moving forward, it will either stay on showing what’s happening behind me or will stay on for 20-40 seconds than go to a blue screen or blue than black screen and stay in that screen. While this is happening I have no control over the display, sound, radio or heat. There has been time the back up camera has stayed on while in park. I have several pictures and videos of these incidents. In the incidents I was able to reboot my display it would be unresponsive and not update time these issues only happened when the back up camera would not properly shut off | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the vehicle had electrical power but failed to start. The doors locked, after which several attempts to exit the vehicle failed, and smoke began to enter the interior through the vents. The contact called 911, who arrived right as she was able to exit the vehicle. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the fire department discovered faulty electrical wiring. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V687000 (Electrical System), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 69,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 69,000 |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The exhaust started making excessive noise about 07/15/2023. I had around 42,000 miles on the vehicle when the noise started. That means it was about 2 months and 6,000 miles out of warranty. Ford has a recall on the exhaust system (recall 21E11) for “thermal mechanical fatigue” of the welds on the left-hand side of the exhaust system. This is an emissions systems recall. I took the vehicle to my dealer, Serra Ford, Farmington Hills, MI on 07/19/2023. They did a repair per the recall but the excessive noise continued after I picked the vehicle up. I subsequently took my vehicle to a Midas muffler shop on 07/31/2023. They inspected my exhaust and found that the system was still leaking at the area where the exhaust system has been recalled and repaired and in addition the exhaust was completely broken and separated (weld failure) at the area at the right-hand muffler/tail pipe connection. Both problems are obviously the same type of failure. I have an inspection report and photos of the failed exhaust system from Midas. I took the vehicle back to the dealer. My repair invoice shows their diagnosis “found weld after exhaust on passenger side failed”. This is the right-hand side of the exhaust system. They determined that I needed a complete new exhaust system. I have my dealer repair invoice and photos of the failed exhaust system taken by Serra Ford. Ford has declined to repair and replace the exhaust system as part of my new car warranty or pursuant to the recall. I have obtained documentation relating to the above mentioned recall and to a “Customer Satisfaction Program 21B35” sent to all Ford dealers on November 7, 2022 showing that Ford knew on November 7, 2022 or earlier that it had problems with both the left-hand side and right-hand side exhaust system on vehicles like mine. This was well before my new car warranty expired. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 90,000 |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When the car is placed into reverse, it automatically starts launching back with foot on the brake. To stop the car from continuing to reverse, we must pump the brake 2-3 times to take control of the car and in order for it to stop launching back, the car must be put into park and then turned off. This is extremely unsafe and has put our children at risk and is a concern when parking in populated areas. The problem is sporadic (often occurs 1-6 times per month since 2021) therefore, it is never known when it will launch back however, this has occurred on both flat and incline surfaces. The problem has been inspected from a Field Service Engineer who noted that it occurred in their procession and stated it was "normal operating conditions" but then stated they would continue to monitor the issue which is contradictory of the "normal status". This is not normal operating conditions when you have no control over the reversing mechanism. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | While slowing down the car feels like the engine shakes and when I start to drive jumps when I accelerate also when I’m on brake it also starts to jump maybe transmission or engine problems | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | I had the driver side catalytic converter replaced under recall , I notice that the passenger side catalytic converter has a crack at welding point i notice this do to black exhaust leak crack shows black powder from exhaust marks on crack | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the brakes were being replaced, the mechanic noticed that the transmission had a leak and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that there was a leak in the transmission oil cooler and that the transmission oil cooler needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the warranty had expired and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 44,560. | Crash: No Fire: No | 44,560 |