Complaint volume
1135 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
1135 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford Explorer, grouped by component category.
1135 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 307
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
1,135 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 59,000 |
| Sep 2023 | SEATS | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the front passenger’s seat became detached. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been diagnosed by the dealer and determined that the failure was due to a design flaw which cause the plastic clips used to hold the seat together had fractured. The vehicle was repaired several times, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to contact the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 35,000 |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EQUIPMENT | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the AWD became inoperable. The park assist, traction control, ABS, Lane Keep System, front radar, and the parking sensor also became inoperable. The map displayed on half the screen. The screen was black with a blue rectangle. The cabin temperature indicator was flickering. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that an update and reprogram of the system was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered financial assistance, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Summer 2023 OTA update to Ford Sync caused Sync system to malfunction. As a result touch screen controls are a black screen. No radio , no rear climate control, no backup camera , no 911 crash assist, no voice activated features, no forward collision warning system. Waiting for service appointment at local ford dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 41,000 |
| Aug 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | In April 2020, I brought my car into the Lafayette Ford Dealership in Fayetteville, NC bc I had been experiencing issues with the car moving when it was not supposed to. I would start the car with my foot on the brake, switch it into reverse/drive and *without taking my foot off the brake* the car would jerk forward or back, depending on if I was in reverse or drive. The event that caused me to bring my car into the dealership occured while I was in front of my garage. I had my foot on the break, and was planning to adjust my direction toward the garage when my car propelled forward and took a hit that resulted in bad damage to my driver side bumper. The dealership held my car for over a week and was not able to replicate the problem, so they told me my car was fine. I have since mentioned this problem every time I get my car serviced to see if there have been any similar complaints and nobody has shared anything. At my last service appointment, they updated my firmware so that the car keeps the emergency brake on until I disengage it, which nullifies the issues that I had been having. Today I can across the following article that sounds exactly like the cause of the damage to my car. What are my options for taking this information to Ford to have them acknowledge the fault and fix the damage? Thank you. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/06/25/ford-explorer-recall-investigation-nhtsa/70354653007/ | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed the 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 stated that the camera became inoperable with the display screen going black. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed down a steep driveway, upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to come to a complete stop. The driver was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop by shifting into park. The hill stop control and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 45,200. | Crash: No Fire: No | 45,200 |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | I purchased my 2020 Ford Explorer ST in 2020. Since then, I've had several warranty issues and recalls. Presently, this "blue screen" issue when the car is placed into reverse cannot be resolved by Ford who offers no solutions other than platitudes. This is a significant safety issue with the vehicle as the exterior camera assist does not work ("blue screen") and beeps intermittently when the vehicle is in reverse, which is a distraction. I cannot comprehend how/why a vehicle has had so many issues and believe action should be taken against Ford to remedy these problems. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | Faulty exhaust downpipe. Vehicle made loud rattling by catalytic converter, upon investigation the downpipe exhaust hanger rod had broke off due to vibrations in the flex pipe. Ford has an issue with the flex pipe in which it is to weak and will shake the downpipe during idle or acceleration. Ford had issued a factory fix for the downpipe; however, it doesn't fully fix the flex pipe vibration issue. My flex pipe shake so violently that it broke the metal exhaust hanger rod by the catalytic converter. Without the hanger support further shake could result in cracking along the exhaust/catalytic converter. This could result to exhaust fumes being ventilated into the passage side of the car. This could result in carbon monoxide poisoning. As a pilot, they always teach us to check the exhaust for cracks and teach awareness due to the exhaust being near the cabin. Fords fix is to place a hose clamp which doesn't work. Multiple explorer forums have reported this issue. Fords solution to it is to replace it with the same part. Not sure how that will fix the issue if your replacing a defective designed part with another defective design part. I have attached photos of the snapped hanger and hanger location. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE | Good Afternoon, the problem that I have encountered for is is that the rear camera does not work all the time a blue screen appears and I am not able to see what is behind me and that can cause me to have an accident. I do not feel safe | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | This is my third complaint regarding the same issue, driving on the freeway today the gas pedal was not responsive leading to a drop of speed almost getting hit from behind, don't know what to do, I'm getting nervous to use my car because the problem comes with no notice (see complaint [XXX], [XXX] and [XXX] ) hopefully I will not get in a serious accident before something is done. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | While driving the rpm needle dropped under 1 and would not accelerate. And while slowing down the car jerks. The wretch light showed up. The codes was read at a service center that it was powertrain control specifically the transmission temperature gauge and pulley system. Currently being diagnosed at the dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Hard downshifting while coming to a stop - dealership is saying a complete transmission replacement on a 2020 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | After starting vehicle it rolled when placed out of park while foot was on break and the emergency break was still engaged. There was no pressure and all warning lights associated with pre-collision, hill start, and antilock break fault were flashing across screen only while trying to stop and break from rolling. My safety and others was at risk by rolling into the street i could have been hit by oncoming cars or unable to stop from hitting anyone. My vehicle is maintained at dealer and is kept up on all service and recalls requirements. After vehicle was towed to dealer they were able to find the following TSB: https:// [XXX] Lives are not a technical service bulletin they are a RECALL. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Backup and 360 camera have not worked since shortly after purchasing this vehicle in Aug 2020. They state issue is intermittent. It is not, it is constant. It rarely works. This has not been fixed since original recall in Sept 2020. They continue to update the recall which seems to be an attempt to hide the true length of time this recall has been outstanding and unresolved which is 3 years. I have young children and no reliable backup camera increases the risk of accidental injury due to backing into a child. It increases risk of accident due to being unable to see surroundings. I have attempted to resolve the matter with the dealership and the manufacturer. I am never given a response other than a canned answer that there is no fix at this time. I have owned the vehicle for 3 years. It is unacceptable to have this be unresolved with no action or accountability from Ford. I hope to see this situation escalated and the issue thoroughly reviewed to include how Ford has handled this. They have repeatedly ignored customers requests for assistance and resolution. They've deleted comments on social media pointing out the continued issue and lack of assistance from Ford in an attempt to keep selling vehicles with these issues they can't seem to fix. I firmly believe the "reasonable" timeline to repair a safety recall has been beyond exhausted. If they can't fix it, they need to find an alternative for the impacted customers. In learning they knew of the issue in May 2020 and I was allowed to purchase in Aug 2020 with this defect, I feel as though they were not following the 2018 law requiring backup cameras in new vehicles. There are significant concerns with the integrity of this company and their lack of concern for maintaining vehicle safety. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1. The Explorer spontaneously went on fire while being driven damaging the entire front of the vehicle 2. The vehicle could have exploded affecting other vehicles as well as injured or killed the driver and passenger 3. No. Insurance Company immediately declared vehicle totaled. 4. No. Once again, vehicle was immediately declared a total loss and assigned salvage company to take possession 5. No warnings. First sign of anything wrong was flames coming from under the hood | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Cars jerking while upshifting or downshifting at regular speed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | SEATS | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that she became aware that the rear passenger’s side head rest was fractured several months ago. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the head rest needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 35,000 |