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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the recall repair was performed; however, the contact stated that while shifted into reverse, the rear-view camera failed, and the screen display was blue. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention) and needed to be repaired again. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 100,000 |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On April 1, 2023 | was leaving the garage of the Marriott Residence inn in Arlington, VA, with two passengers. Up the ramp of level two to level one, slight turn and suddenly car accelerated so fast, sounded like an airplane. Like the accelerator had a mind of its own. Brakes and steering wheel did not respond. We traveled about 20 feet in about 10 seconds at rapid speed head on into a wall. My car was totaled, airbags deployed, a parked car next to me was totaled. EMTs and police responded immediately. We were immediately taken by 2 ambulances to Virginia County Hospital. Injuries: Driver: partial amputation of right middle finger 16 stitches, deep scrape on left Front passenger: severe bruising from seat belt, cut to finger Rear passenger: 4 fractured ribs and severe bruising from seat belt, lower back injury. All treated and released from hospital ER late afternoon, I was not cited. I believe there was some kind of mechanical malfunction. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 3 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ENGINE | Sudden unintended acceleration when parking; vehicle stopped with brake depressed. Vehicle suddenly accelerated and steering wheel jerked back and forth with no driver input resulting in an collision with an unoccupied parked car. No injuries. Insurance adjuster stated that Dealer found no evidence of equipment malfunction. A police report was filed (military police aboard a military base), report is pending as requires FOIA. No warning lamps or messages or other symptoms prior to failure. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Vehicle jerking while driving and breaking | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,ENGINE | The wiring harness in the back for the air was installed upside down, making the hot cold and the cold hot The vent in the ceiling that distributes air was kinked and had to be replaced The seatbelt on the drive side second row bucket seat was installed upside down The heater core had to replaced due to heat not blowing hot, still not and car was returned a second time Found out upon calling Ford that the car had two transmissions repairs by the previous owner and another "additional repair" done in 2022, would not disclose to me. I informed them the dealership gave me clean car facts. Car has less than 28,000 miles on it. I have had it less than ONE month. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | Back up Camera goes blue or blank screen, we have called the Ford Dealer, we took it into their maintenance. Can’t find issue We just received a recall in mail , we called the Ford Dealer today about our backup Camera recall. THEY told us they know nothing about it and Ford Manufacture has not confirmed this issue. ( todays date is 04/05/2023 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission and transmission cooler have to be replaced on 2020 Explorer with 65,000 miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Backup camera stays on the entire time driving or it will stay as a black or blue screen and not go back to original screen | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | I’m constantly cutting my fingers when I used the window controls to roll up or down my car windows. I believe this issue is the chrome is coming off and slicing people when they used it. This issue is unsafe and dangerous especially when driving. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 3 | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the driver's side door opened while the contact was making a left turn. The contact stated that the "Door Ajar" chime sounded. The contact was wearing his seat belt and managed to shut the door but had to hold on to the door handle to keep the door closed. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to Ford Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N09 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 12,000 |
| Mar 2023 | STEERING,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the back over prevention camera malfunctioned and intermittently displayed a blue screen. Additionally, while driving, the display screen would erroneously activate and cause the steering wheel to momentarily vibrate and shake. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a software update which corrected the failure; however, after a second software update was performed, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 37,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 37,000 |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on various occasions after starting the vehicle, the brake system warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the warning light disappeared after driving; however, the failure persisted whenever starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Mar 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | Despite bringing the vehicle in for two recall repairs, I still get the blue screen on the 360 camera when reversing. This limits my ability to safely back up and view my surroundings. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was distorted. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Mar 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The issue was initiated when you turn the vehicle on. The vehicle would process through normal startup modes, and then produce several error codes and light illuminations, all within several seconds. The illuminations would consist of; Traction Control Error, Auto Hold Error, Descent Control Error, Lane Assistance Error, and Collusion Avoidance Error. This would then maintain the error during the trip or until the vehicle was powered off for several minutes. After the power cycle, the vehicle would start and show no symptoms of any error codes, at all. This would happen in several different instances a day, lasting several months. In several of my cases, this would disable traction control for longer periods of time throughout the day or week as well. This places extreme risk to drivers who may not know that there are so little standard safety features active while behind the wheel. Additionally, it affects drivers ability to stop, which traction control and auto hold disabled, and reduces the safety of everyone else on the road. I took the vehicle twice to a Ford Certified dealer and repair shop to investigate the issue. The technician was able to verify the codes that arose from the incidents. However, the first instance when I took the vehicle in, they were unable to locate a solution to the problem. After the second visit, they recommended a complete reprogram of 5 major computer modules that have created the system error. I inquired since this seems to be an issue widespread that they could not identify as a user error, but rather an equipment defect. They indeed charged me for the service when this should be something that should be issued a recall and fixed at a wide spread level. The safety of others while on the road are effected and may lead to serious vehicle accidents as a result of the failure of the vehicle component. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, a message indicating that the 360-degree camera was inoperable was displayed. The contact stated that the failure persisted while reversing. The contact also stated that the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) that activated an indicator light in the side view mirrors when a vehicle was detected in the blind spot was malfunctioning as the sideview mirror indicator light failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the failure mostly occurred during cold weather. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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 informed the contact that the recall was placed on hold on March 15, 2023. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | 12,000 |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | When stopped at a light the engine suddenly accelerated forcing a hard braking action to prevent an accident. after 2-3 seconds it went to idle still in gear. This has happened 3 times the third time 2 witnesses said that it was not caused by braking with their foot on the accelerator. In reviewing the three episodes I noted that the air-conditioned switch was engaged all three times when this uncommand occurred. This never occurred when the car was moving only at a stop. It seems that the air conditioner was called to turn on by the body control module which cause the engine RPM to decrease which cause the power train control module to react increasing the demand to the throttle body which either stuck high or was over commanded in not reacting in a fast enough manner to satisfy the power train control module. When this occured I thought we were going to hit the car in front of us. I think this is correctable with some changes in the power train control module programing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | I started my car via remote start and after entering the vehicle, I hit the start button, depressed the brake and turned the transmission to reverse. Upon rolling back, I noticed the brakes felt funny, not completely stopping me as they should with the amount of pressure I was applying. I proceeded start driving thinking the brakes my fix themselves after letting off and driving forward. I then began to hear dinging, prompting me to look at the dash. It was flashing a bunch of errors: “hill start assist not available”, “Pre-collision assist not available”, “service advance trac”, “check brake system”, “hill descent Control fault”, 4WD fault service required”, “Park Break limited function service required”. As I was driving down the road with all of this flashing/ dinging and brakes not completely working, I noticed my emergency brake was on as well. I never use the emergency brake and am unsure how it was switched on. I was able to pull over about a minute down the road and turned the car off and then back on. I tried again to start driving, but had to pull over again 100-200 feet down the road because the dinging, notifications, and brake issues continued. At this point I again, turned the car off and back on. This time it cleared the issue and no more dinging, notifications, or brake issues. This has happened about 3 times. After the first time, i mentioned it to the dealer when servicing my car, but they were unable to find any problems. Each time this happens, i am able to clear it with a restart. I seem to notice it happens with colder temps (under 40 degrees). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission is extremely rough. When my vehicle shifts gears, increasing or decreasing speed, it jerks and sometimes takes a few seconds to shift at all. Very clunky and unreliable. This has happened many times- I am currently looking for a mechanic to look at my transmission as my vehicle is out of warranty. I JUST purchased this vehicle and it has acted up at least 20 times in a month and a half. I did own an explorer in the past that had 130000 miles and it was perfect. I never had issues with it! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle shut off at a stop light and was unable to be restarted. Vehicle had full power but would not start when pressing engine start switch. Vehicle was stuck in the middle of lanes blocking traffic and putting me in danger of being hit by other drivers. Police had to respond to block traffic until a tow truck could arrive. Dealer states the vehicle exhibited loss of communication to the PCM and there is a TSB #22-2145 for a neutral out condition. Vehicle is at dealer awaiting repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked while depressing either the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal after coming to a complete stop. The contact stated there was no warning lights illuminated during the failure. The contact called a local dealer and was scheduled an appointment. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 55,000 |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,VISIBILITY | The rear defroster is peeling off the window, causing the defroster to fail. In icy conditions, it elimates my ability to see out of the rear window. I took it to the dealer, and they told me other Explorers had the issue but that they wouldn't fix it and that I should file an insurance claim. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle was jerking. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle warranty had expired. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 65,000 |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | I parked my vehicle 2/17/2023 around 9:45pm in the parking garage of my Condominium for the night. I was awakened Saturday morning 2/18/2023 by the building fire alarm and my neighbors banging on the doors to get outside because smoke was visible from the side of the building. I exited the building and crossed the street. The entire parking garage was filled with thick black smoke. The sprinkler system had activated and the Fire Dept arrived. Through the smoke I was able to see that my 2020 Ford Explorer Limited Edition was on fire. The front end was engulfed in flames which were now shooting up the side of the building and the ceiling of the parking garage. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Several electrical issues from day of purchase. Dealerships have looked at codes,but have been unable to repeat conditions or find an issues. Recently, on a random basis,the vehicle would become unresponsive & the accellerator pedal would not engage & for 10-20 seconds the vehicle wouldn't respond. At a point it reset itself and continued as if nothing had happened. This occurred on 6 or 7 occassions from June 2022 to Dec 2022. In Sept I took to dealership to check, they were unable to recreate condition & therefore no repair was made. In Dec the front brake pads went metal to metal. I decided to replace them myself. I put the Electronic Emergency Brake (EB) into the Maintenance Mode & changed the front pads and rotars. When I started to jack the front end up the car moved, so I immediately lowered the vehicle & verified the car was in park. At this time I discovered that the car, in park, could be moved by pushing it. I moved the car about 5 to 6 feet in either direction. I believed this was due to the EB being in the maint mode. I blocked the rear wheels & completed the repairs with no further incident. When I attempted to return the car to normal & take the EB out of maint mode, I was unsuccessful. I then bleed the brake system to ensure I hadn't inadvertently gotten air in the system. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore EB to normal, I contacted my local dealership for help. I was informed that even the site tech's had difficulties getting system into normal. I had AAA tow car to dealership, which then replaced the rear brakes, flushed brake fluid & renewed & restored sys to norm. When tech moved car to parking lot, they placed car in park and upon exiting car, it began rolling. When i contacted for pickup, I was informed of issue and gave permission to diagnose problem. Inspection of transmission found pin for parking mechanism broken, metal shavings in transmission. Need for extensive repairs or replacement of transmission. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |