10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,600 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #14

Jun 192024

Explorer

  • miles
The right windshield trim is separating from vehicle. Ford has recalled 2011-2019 vehicles for this due to safety risk of trim molding coming off in traffic. My vehicle is a 2020 and seems to have same issue.

- Owensboro, KY, USA

problem #13

Oct 162023

Explorer

  • miles
Our 3rd car (used by our daughter) has started to smell like mold. I then noticed the back seat behind the driver side was wet. All windows were up and fully closed - never left open. I soaked up the water. Days later the water returned. I did some research online and found this is a recurring issues were weld joints breakdown and then leak. In that same forum the post referenced water built up where the spare tire is keep. I just opened up the spare tire area and noticed 3" of water and the mechanism for holding down the tire is rusty, suggesting the water has been there for sometime. As reference, here is the forum I mentioned above: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t51317_ds819498

- Mansfield, MA, USA

problem #12

Nov 162022

Explorer

  • miles
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

- Wolfeboro, NH, USA

problem #11

Jun 102023

Explorer

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the trim on passenger-??s side windshield had detached from the windshield. The contact stated that the trim on the driver-??s side windshield had also detached. The vehicle was diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Saint John, IN, USA

problem #10

Jan 122023

Explorer

  • miles
The rear hatch opens unexpectedly with no command given. It happened twice while in Drive pulling out of my garage. There was no audible or visual warnings the hatch was opening. The hatch impacted the garage door frame causing the glass to shatter and denting the metal. First incident was 4/2022 the second was 1/2023. Both were reported to my insurance provider and the Ford dealer. I also contacted Ford directly for reimbursement of my deductible and other expenses and they paid. See attached. Please see SSM 49015 - 2020 Explorer/Aviator -?" Partial Power Liftgate Opening And/Or False Anti-Theft Alarm Activation -?" Liftgate Ajar - Built On Or Before 17-Feb 2020. The problem is not resolved and I no confidence the hatch won't open whie I am on the road. If it does and something falls out this would be a major safety issue.

- Libertyville, IL, USA

problem #9

Jan 202021

Explorer

  • miles
Over the last two years, the lift gate has closed in excess of 20 times without direct actuation of the lift gate button located on the lift gate, in the driver compartment or from the key fob. A significant amount of time this includes no sounding of the lift gate closing chime. This happens when the lift gate is open, and you are standing at the rear of the vehicle. The lift gate has closed and caused the person to quickly duck out of the way to avoid getting hit in the head by the door. This action is suspect of the movement of something below the bumper to trigger the hands-free opening / closing sensor. The vehicle in question was brought into the local dealer for troubleshooting and no defects noted. A software update was performed, and the condition still exists.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #8

Aug 122020

Explorer

  • miles
At a speed of approximately 30mph, I heard a cracking noise from the rear of my vehicle. After looking into my rear view mirror, I saw the rear window was shattered, and caving inward. It was around 90 degrees that day at 1:30 pm and I was driving on an open road. There was a co-worker driving behind me that was witness. Nothing came down and hit the rear window.

- Millersville, MD, USA

problem #7

Sep 132021

Explorer

  • miles
Officer was sitting in vehicle while it was running with AC on, he pressed the Max defrost button for a couple of seconds then turned it off. After about a minute or two he heard a what a loud noise and looked in his rear view mirror to see his rear window completely shattered.

- Millersville, MD, USA

problem #6

Nov 052021

Explorer

  • miles
Worked until 11am Friday 11/5/21, went back out to work night shift 10:40 ish at night to start the vehicle up to warm up (he believes that he had turned on the heat). As the officer was outside walking his dog he heard noises of glass cracking. He walked up to it and noticed the entire rear window was shattered. No point of entry or notice of vandalism.

- Millersville, MD, USA

problem #5

Jun 022021

Explorer

  • miles
We were going down the Hwy about 65 no cars around our sunroof exploded we had the headliner closed and it was full of glass. We thought at first we had a blow out but we saw all the glass in the middle of the sunroof no object or mark on car

- Woodville, TX, USA

problem #4

Mar 052021

Explorer

  • 17,000 miles
Interior flooding, in spare tire well and all flooring areas. Six gallons of water removed. Waiting for Ford dealership to inspect. They believe a weld has gone bad.

- Murfreesboro, NC, USA

problem #3

Dec 282020

Explorer

  • 12,000 miles
Door latch failure. Door will no shut. Stuck open.

- Shelton, WA, USA

problem #2

Mar 202020

Explorer

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a stand still and attempting to start the vehicle, the front passenger's side mirror failed to open. The climate control failed to operate correctly, which created a visibility hazard for the driver. The contact stated that the blind spot detection, cross track, side obstacle detection, pre-collision assist not available warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to empire Ford of huntington located at 333 w jericho turnpike, huntington, NY 11743, where it was diagnosed with needing to update an unknown software and to replace an unknown module. The vehicle was repaired, however the failure recurred. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired as of yet. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case which was recently closed. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

- Deer Park, NY, USA

problem #1

May 142020

Explorer

  • 1,400 miles
Driver door and window vibrating when rear windows are rolled down in excess of 40 mph.

- Aloha, OR, USA