No warning lights ever presented on the dash and 2 auto shops verified the car did not throw any codes. Codes had to be scanned for and only came up as a stuck solenoid.

I was headed to the airport to pick up my fiancé (3-1/2 hour drive to DFW from the country) no issues other than sometimes a hard shift into gear 1 or 2 times in the last month. Drove for 40 miles at 70 mph. Going through the first small town and after stopping at the light, went to accelerate and the vehicle seemed stuck in 2nd gear and wouldn't go past 30mph. Stopped at an auto shop where they couldn't find any codes, scanned and said the solenoid was stuck. Cleared the code and the car was fine.

Drove another 50 miles at 65/70 mph no issues. Next small town where I had to slow down to take an exit and same thing, vehicle seemed stuck in 2nd gear and wouldn't go past 30mph. Still no warning lights on the dash. Made it to a mechanic and luckily they had a loaner for me but explained the issue and they couldn't find any codes and nothing on a total scan. They had my car for 3 days and couldn't find anything wrong. On a test drive 10 miles out of town and back they were unable to reproduce what happened to me but that it sounded loud.

They towed it to the nearest dealership and after 2 weeks the dealership said it was the transmission pump seal kit and overdrive/direct hub assembly.

I asked the dealer about if it may be covered under Ford's Customer Satisfaction Program #20N07. They came back and said No. Then said the bill was $6438. The service manager said he would ask Ford Assistance? Not sure what that is but I'm trying to figure out who to contact at FORD.

Curious to me is that a coworker with a 2017 Explorer -same ecoboost engine, had a similar experience in Aug 2022 and her repair plus rental costs were covered. Her vehicle had 82,000 miles.

Update from Apr 26, 2023: Update Contacted FORD Customer Service and started a case to see if this was able to be covered under Customer Satisfaction Program 20N07. At the end of the day and after answering questions posed to me by the dealership where my car has been for over 2 weeks, they left me a message stating that they denied my repair.

Now to come up with $6500 for the repair and wait 2 months for something else to fail. October 2022- Purchased vehicle "certified" by Carvana -yes, through the vending machine. Carfax showed one private owner, no fleet use or rental use. Pristine maintenance record. December 2022- Shaking horribly and needed a new front axle. February 2023- wouldn't start so it was towed to the dealership; New starter put in. April 2023- Transmission.

"Earning and keeping the trust of customers is vital to everything we do. That is why Ford and its dealers have gone to great lengths to improve the performance of the transmission." excerpt from Dave Filipe, Vice President, Powertrain Engineering, Ford

Update from May 4, 2023: Car was towed in for repair 4/13/23. I told Johnson Sewell the solenoid was the issue, that was the code (stuck solenoid) that popped up at each shop (San Saba & Evant) before it came to Johnson Sewell. Solenoid lockup, shifting hard. No engine light. They screwed up by not following the proper diagnostic procedure. They picked the most expensive repair and I paid for it. They took a guess and replaced the transmission unnecessarily. What needed to be fixed was the Solenoid (single shift solenoid replacement, valve body replacement) transmission oil and filter change with flush. Repairs were completed 5/2/23. I paid in full $6220. Upon driving home the car experienced the same issue leaving me stranded in Kingsland. I phoned Johnson Sewell and they picked up the vehicle. Upon another diagnostic check, they found the solenoid problem and said they misdiagnosed it on 4/13/23 and that I would not have to pay for this repair (which would have been significantly LESS than what I just paid for a brand new transmission!!!).

I have brought in the 2 year old Explorer to have several things fixed and one of the key points for them to look at was that it downshifts really hard in the lower gears. I just got a call from the shop that the transmission has an error code coming up and they are now going to have to submit it to the warranty company to have it either rebuilt or have the transmission replaced whichever is less costly. I have driven this car for 2 years with about 40,000 miles on it and already need a new transmission!!! What is wrong with the engine that it needs replacement at 40k??? This has been doing it since about 20K but i didn't think it was something bad till my hubby said something was wrong. Has anyone else had issues with the downshifting being noticeably hard or make a noise ?