10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 14,492 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked while the transmission was shifting gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the crash prevention system, the traction control system, the driving mode warning lights, and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was unable to change the driving mode to the current driving condition. Additionally, the vehicle unintendedly switched from 4WD to 2WD. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, Jordan Ford (609 E Jefferson Blvd, Mishawaka, IN 46545), where it was diagnosed and determined that the AWD control module and the front axle seals needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the AWD control module replacement was not covered under the power train warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
- South Bend, IN, USA
Transmission gose into limp mode when trying to pass other vehicles missed shift warning -??? on dash also loud rattling noise from floor passengers side
- Pittsburg , CA, USA
Transmission stalls at high speed it seems as if it gose in to neutral
- Pittsburg , CA, USA
First I started randomly getting lights come up on my dash hill start assist not available powertrain malfunction traction control reduced power took it to ford multiple times they tell me there is nothing wrong. Finally I have to have my car towed due to not going into gear yet again they still find nothing wrong same thing happens again we tow it home my husband looks under the car it is pouring fluid out of the front axel seal and the inner cooler. He checks the transmission fluid there is no fluid in my transmission. Call ford again get no answers as to why they have looked at my car multiple times supposedly checked transmission fluid and continue to tell me there is nothing wrong. Then I find out there are TSBs for both these issues yet can-??t find anything on my car being in that recall.
- New Bern, NC, USA
Carr rolls when put in PARK until the Emergency Brake senses the roll and engages.
- Fontana, WI, USA
Transmissions -??A-?? clutch failure diagnosed by Ford service department. There were no warning lamps indicating there was an issue Car start jolting upon acceleration and deceleration in 2nd to 3rd gear. Because of the jolting effect, especially upon deceleration, it put me at greater risk of an accident. Vehicle is only 4 years old.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
Oil change and service check was completed on 20 Nov 2024. Maintenance record shows transmission fluid levels passed inspection. Issue started on 23 Nov 2024. Driving at speeds of 65, 55, 45, and 35mph on a highway. When accelerating to the speed limit, a hard shift was noticed at around 45mph. When decelerating to stop light or to reduce speed due to traffic, a very hard shift was noticed. Around 25mph is the hardest shift. On 25 Nov 2024 while increasing speed from 42mph to 50mph, a very loud metal clanking sound was heard at the same moment a hard shift took place. A check engine light came on briefly and went away within one minute. I took the vehicle to a transmission repair shop to inspect the codes. Two transmission over temp codes were shown without the check engine caution light on. The codes were cleared and the vehicle was taken for a two minute test drive. Upon returning to the shop, when the vehicle was put into park, a rough gear shift was heard and felt throughout the vehicle. The two transmission over temperature codes were populated again after the test drive.
- Deridder, LA, USA
Harsh downshift
- Las Vegas, NV, USA
I was on [SSS], right before [SSS], traveling back from visiting family for the weekend. My vehicle suddenly lost all power while I was in the fast lane doing highway speeds. Luckily I was able to get over to the sliver of shoulder while there was no acceleration and only a brake. Although I was able to turn the vehicle off and start it again to drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento, it was the most frightening moment of my life. I have multiple recalls on this vehicle that have delayed my ability to register it in my state. I do have an open court case with Ford but they have delayed the hearing date to over a year away. 2026. There are multiple issues with this vehicle and I have not been able to drive this SUV comfortably again since my power loss experience. There may be a safety concern for others who have this vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Roseville, CA, USA
The transmission shifts hard when going at speed and slowing down through about 30mph. Sometimes it will not accelerate, like when passing another car. Overall poor transmission shifting. This is an ongoing issue.
- Fontana, WI, USA
When placing the car in park using the gear shift selector nob the vehicle rolls until the automatic stop feature kicks in. IF it does not roll you can easily push it. This is a continuous issue, parking by selecting "P" never works. You must set the parking brake, so it does not roll.
- Fontana, WI, USA
While driving at highway speeds I have had a engine malfunction warning or a power train warning appear on my dashboard. The vehicle losses power and has a rattling sound when there is a loss of power. The vehicle steers fine but starts to slow down with the engine rpm dropping to zero. After a few seconds of gliding the engine resumes and I have full power. It seems to happen when I try to accelerate to pass. On occasion it has happened with other vehicles being in the lane I intend to move into or with another car following too closely behind me. I have looked on line about this problem and other people have noted the same problem. I brought the car in to Ford service they had the car for a day and ran it without finding anything. I am not surprised as it only happens occasionally. Of course the day after I had the car in for service it happened when I was driving.
- Bronxville, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The service engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V069000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 32,000.
- Columbia, SC, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the Power Train Malfunction - Reduced Power", "Pre-Collision Assist not available", "Hill Start Assist Warning" messages flashed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was restarted, and the messages continued flashing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the failure was not replicated. The failure later reoccurred and the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission transfer case needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,149.
- Roseboro, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle began to jerk when downshifting without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for another repair and the contact requested a transmission flush. The contact was later informed that transmission fluid had leaked into the transmission resulting in transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a case number. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.
- Naples, FL, USA
We bought this our ST in April and just our luck it has passed the 5-year mark.....no powertrain warranty for us, darn. On Wednesday, during the 30-minute drive home from work, my spouse reported a fault indicator on the dash related to 4WD or AWD being inoperable. This did not trigger the MIL, but diagnostics showed DTC C0631, identified in TSB 23-2114/2174. After a costly fix replacing the FADA with an intermediary shaft, the SUV will no longer be an "Intelligent 4WD" vehicle-?"seems like creative and false advertising masking a known engineering failure identified by many on the internet [XXX] ). The first sign is a FADA leak. The TSB states that customers can continue to drive, so I took the vehicle for a drive, only to find myself abruptly stalled in traffic after about a mile. I tried to restart the vehicle several times, but nothing happened. After waiting about five minutes and calling my spouse, I tried again and was able to start it. It felt like it was in "limp" mode, as it had issues accelerating, so I slowly drove home. When entering the driveway, the vehicle could barely make it into the parking spot. As I pulled in and applied the parking brake, the vehicle was idling and started squealing so ear-piercingly loud (maybe SSM 51419?) that I was shocked and quickly shut it off. Later, I started the vehicle again and noticed it was knocking now, but the squeal was gone and didn't reproduce. The vehicle was towed to the local Ford dealer, and after reporting my experience and their troubleshooting, I've been given an incredible ~$8,000 estimate for repairs. The technician claims that the VTC phasers, a fix from TSB 23-2058, are the additional corrective action for the stalled engine, lack of power, and engine knock noise. Ford knows the VTC phasers are design flawed, they've redesigned them multiple times; Ford TSBs have been available for this issue on this website for other engine models for over 10 years. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Lincoln, CA, USA
A couple months ago I started having problems with the turbo kicking out and having no power. I let the vehicle sit for a while before being able to get someone to look at it. Once the mechanic looked at it, it was determined that the catalytic converters were clogged and causing problems with the turbo or engine. The vehicle had started blowing out with smoke from the exhaust at this time also. After having the cats cleaned, the vehicle ran but was still kicking out white smoke. After driving it the first day it was now back to low power and low oil pressure light is kicking in more white smoke was coming out of the exhaust. I parked it 100 miles from home and having it towed for the second time
- Redgranite, WI, USA
Harsh down shift 7 gear to 6 gear. Apparently ford knows of the issue. Very expensive repair due to Ford-??s negligence
- Lapeer, MI, USA
Multiple advanced service warnings. Dealer states it-??s the AWD module that needs to be replaced.
- Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
- Bronxville, NY, USA