Vehicle sticks, jerks or lunges while shifting in low gears

- Manteo, NC, USA

The most recent and severe incident occurred February 27 2021. I've started my 2020 Ford Explorer St via remote and entered it to move it in order to load the vehicle. The loading the vehicle all in all took about 15 minutes, the whole time, it was idling. I've put the vehicle in reverse, backed out of a spot and started driving forward in the lot I was in at about 10mph. I've attempted to stop the vehicle, but then it was not slowing down properly. I had to use the E-brake button to stop it. It came to an immediate stop. The dash was cycling through numerous warnings; 1. hill descent control fault 2. anti lock brake fault 3. pre collision assist not available 4. hill start assist warning 5. hill descent control fault 6. service advance track system 7. check brake system 8. park brake fault service now I tried testing the brakes, while going forward and backwards, the were weak and inconsistent. Like they were pulsing with full power and then nothing. Restarting the vehicle made all those warnings disappear. Took it to the dealership, which is the 2nd time that is it going in for brake and power train related issues. Few times a months since I've bought it, the only issue I would have, is on startup and immediate movement, the brakes would sometimes bottom out and not be able to stop the vehicle when in gear unless I put it in neutral or pump the brakes. Was told that they do not see any codes, and might be just a weird timing with my start ups. The most recent event on the 27th, was what prompted me to report this. Vehicle was idling for a while and moving with weak or no brakes to stop. That could have resulted in an incident.

- Allen, TX, USA

Very hard jerky shifting. When accelerating and braking. 1st to 2nd gear and 2nd to 3rd. Has gotten worse over time. Happening for months

- Hope Mills, NC, USA

The transmission on the vehicle started going out as we were driving back from an out of town trip on a highway. My husband made a stop at a light and upon accelerating after the stop, the vehicle made a grinding sound and began having engine issues. We made an appointment at the local dealership where my husband drove the vehicle on city streets due to high rpms despite low speed. The vehicle is at the dealership as of Monday February 8th and we have been told parts are on back order with no eta. The vehicle does have a recall for a transmission intercooler. We have read about this issue in numerous 2020 Ford Explorer.

- Lubbock, TX, USA

At 6700 miles transmission began harsh, jolting shifting mostly in low gears, downshifting. So bad as to be undriveable, been at the dealers service dept. For 8 days now. This problem totally eclipses the dead battery - deep sleep mode that the car experiences about once a month. Had it towed to Ford the first time it happened, they say nothing wrong, that we probably leave our lights on. We don't go anywhere without jumper cables.

- Newberry, FL, USA

Transmission shifts erratically, hard shifts, and twice press the accelerate and vehicle does not move.

- Middletown, DE, USA

Have had the vehicle for about 4 months. It isn't driven very much. Recently started to notice that went slowing down it downshift very roughly from 35 to 20 mph. About 2300 miles on the vehicle and they already said that they needed a new transmission and valve body. They said that it would be covered by warranty but it's odd that pretty much a brand new vehicle that's not driven often and that it's already needing a large scale replacement to nothing I've done wrong.

- Yukon, OK, USA

I have a 2020 Explorer limited edition, with just over 10,000 miles. Since I got it, I noticed that shifting from 2-4 gear was pretty rough, and jerky. About 2 months ago, I left the driveway, heard a thud when I put it in D, and it didn't move. I hit the gas harder, and it moved, but would not leave 1st gear. Got a check engine light. Turned it off, waited a while, tried it again, and it drove fine, but check engine light was still on. The car drove fine for a couple of weeks. The check engine light went off the next day. 2 weeks later, I took it out of the drive, put it in drive and again, it wouldn't leave first gear. Put the car back in the garage, waited a while, and it was fine. Called the dealer, and scheduled an appt because I can't have these serious issues continue. My concern was that they won't be able to duplicate the issue, and just send me on my way. Needless to say, they ran several diagnostics tests, and found some issues/codes. They performed a pinpoint test trace and found codes P062C, P2242. They then performed tsb 20-2217 again, and the codes were clear. For a short time after, the jerkiness in the shifting of the gears went away, however that has since returned. Stopping and starting, and driving especially in neighborhoods, is very frustrating. It is uncomfortable to say the. Least, the very aggressive shifting, and jerking of the vehicle at low speeds. I have not yet had the same issue where the vehicle refused to change gears, or was stuck without moving, however the transmission as a whole is very problematic, and somewhat scary to drive.

- Charleston, SC, USA

The transmission is not functioning correctly. When shifting from second to third and third to second, the engine revs high. The car then jolts forward when moving back into second gear causing safety concers.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

11/6/20 driving home from work and transmission started to jerk and clunk twice each time I slowed down. Immediately drove to Ford dealer and was given a loaner. 12/30/20 dealer called and said repair was complete and vehicle was delivered to my house. The following evening I drove it and found that it was not fixed. When driving over 30 and then slowing down, transmission would jerk and clunk at just below 30 mpg. Drove Explorer to dealer on 1/5/21 (jerking and clunking each time I decelerated) and have been waiting for repair since.

- Romeo, MI, USA

The vehicle displayed a check engine light and made a whining sound when shifting. The next day attempted to shift into reverse and the vehicle would not move. Had vehicle towed to dealership where we purchased the Explorer. The dealer identified the issue as an electronic valve control for the transmission. 3+ weeks later we are still waiting for parts to be received by the dealer.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

The contact owns a Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked on a hill with the emergency brake engaged, the vehicle rolled and crashed into a 2019 Jeep commander without warning. There were no reported injuries, fire, air bag deployment or police report filed. The vehicle was towed to nemer Ford( 323 quaker rd, queensbury, NY 12804;(518) 798-8834) where it was diagnosed that the relay and module needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified, where an extended warranty was provided. The failure mileage was 20,000.

- Queensbury, NY, USA

I received my 2020 Ford Explorer back from the dealership on 01/23/2021, after it had been at the dealership since 12/22/2020 for an "overheating" issue, which turned out to be a module and sensor issue. While driving last night I received a warning for a "powertrain malfunction". I was able to get home with no issue by driving slowly. I parked the car overnight and checked the status this morning, 01/24/2021, in order to call roadside assistance and let them know what the current issue is. When I started the car I received warnings for "pre-collision assist" not available, "hill descent control" fault, "hill start assist" warning, and "anti-lock brake" fault. I attempted to move the vehicle in my driveway to make it easier to load on a tow truck, and I had almost no braking power. I had to put the vehicle in park to stop it from rolling down my driveway. This will be the third time in a month that the vehicle has to be towed to the dealership for a major issue that has left me stranded. This vehicle has 7,393 miles and was purchased 04/2020.

- Newark, DE, USA

Two days prior to the vehicle not working, I heard a whining and grinding sound. I took it to the nearest Ford dealership and they said it was the transmission. I couldn't get an appointment until 10 days later. So, I went home. The next day I tried to take the vehicle to the dealership that I purchased it from and the vehicle wouldn't move. My Ford app said it was the powertrain. I called a tow truck and they took it to the dealership (where I purchased it). The dealership called two days later and said it was the transmission. Now, I am awaiting a "new" transmission to be put in my vehicle.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

Complete failure of the transmission. 16,000 miles a whining noise started while shifting in low gears (similar sound to low power steering fluid) while my family was 4 states away over the new year weekend. Upon stopping I checked under the vehicle for leaking transmission fluid but saw no wet spot. We continued to drive a few more hours to a hotel. When stopping to make a left turn the whole vehicle shuttered and suddenly downshifted very hard. It hesitated to accelerate again across 2 lanes. This time I got out and checked under the vehicle while it was still running and found fluid leaking from the transmission cooler. I have a video of fluid coming out. The next attempt to even move the vehicle it has no power and would not move.

- Parrish, FL, USA

I purchased my 2020 Ford Explorer in February 2020. Since purchasing I've had several electrical and other problems. I wish I had never purchased Ford. I've had issues with the camera which had a recall which was fixed in November. I've also had a problem with both passenger and driver window not being operable or operating incorrectly, which stills happens periodically. I also had to have the transmission repaired due to a recall. However, I still receive messages within dash that tells me transmission not in park when backing up. I sometimes am driving and it feels as if transmission is slipping. I've had nothing but problem after problem with Ford and do not recommend that anyone purchases.

- Ellenwood, GA, USA

Transmission started violently shifting and jerking the car at city and highway speeds. The transmission was determined to be damaged and took 2.5 months to fix because parts were not available. Additionally, the driver's seat massage feature failed, interior columns kept popping out, defective pull down sun glass holder, gap in lift gate interior plastic bolted to it and replacing of damaged seat clips.

- Bothell, WA, USA

No recalls or notices as of December 4th. Took a road trip for wifes birthday from Texas to Oklahoma, car has less than 10K miles on it. On December 5th while driving to get breakfast tranamition started to slip on hills and gears started grinding. Called Ford when I was in an area with reception. Ford was notified that the tranamition was slipping in an out of gear and there was a grinding noise. We were 300 miles from home with no dealership or tow option and limited service. Service adviser asked if we had the recall done on the transmition and told him we have received no notice. We played a back and fourth game were I told him we got no notice of the recall and he thought I was wrong. On December 5th when we were schedule to drive back, car would not come out of park, had to rip apart the center console to get to the emergency park override. While driving back car would commonly go out of gear, grind and while at constant speed fall out of gear. Ford advisor confirmed there was no way to add or check transmition fluid.almost got rear ended on highway, service roads and on ramps on numerous occasions but knew Ford would not pay for tow. Ford confirmed that the oil cooler was leaking but only replaced the cooler. Transmitionwas running low on fluid the entire time so now we have a new car with a damaged transmission. Ford advisor confirmed after I showed proof that recall was not on Ford pass app, NHTSA website under VIN. Ford is hiding issue to save money. Long time Ford customer in 30S with over 5 new cars but this will be the last Ford. Only got recall notice 5 days after car was taken to shop. NHTSA still does not have recall. "recall" notice cites its a customer satisfaction program 20B34 but the trasmition will latterly fail due to this part issue causing long term issues on reliability of a $40K car. Tried to call for recall hot line and was hung up on!

- Garland, TX, USA

Vehicle has been in multiple repair shops multiple times for fuel pump, electrical, and power train problems. The first time it shut down in the middle of a parking lot, it was towed was at 1720 miles. It currently has 7772 miles. I would get it out of the shop one day the car would either have the same warning lights appear or break down totally. Prime example picked it up on Monday, November 23, 2020 and it started experiencing problems on the 24th as soon as the gas warning light came on the car shut off at 65 mph and all the cabin lights came on inside the car. I managed to get it restarted after 20 minutes around 8:15 pm and get to a gas station and I put gas in it and the gas warning lights went out. Then shut down completely at 70 mph on the 25th on highway 421 near yadkinville, nc. Warning lights would appear at the moment the car shuts down. (near hit by a tractor-trailer that swerved to miss hitting me.) had it towed to two separate Ford dealerships. The first said they could not work on it because it was a holiday and they knew I was out-of-town from Virginia. The second dealership inquired about the problem. Ohmed out the fuel component and discovered the connector was defective on the fuel pump and it had been wired improperly and replaced the missing screws on the fuel pump. The shop rewired the component correctly and the vehicle runs. I still consider the car unsafe because I can still feel the powertrain jerk subtlety.

- Stafford, VA, USA

I was parked on an incline ramp in a parking lot and tried to maneuver out between the vehicle in front and behind me. I put the vehicle in drive and reverse a few times to get out. I maneuvered enough to get out of the space but when I put the vehicle in drive (D), it revved as I stepped on the gas (like it was in neutral) but the vehicle kicked back into reverse which is what my previous gear was. My vehicle then rolled back. When I looked at the gear select it was on drive (D). This caused me to hit the parked vehicle behind me causing minor damage to my vehicle but major damage to the other vehicle. The transmission lags but I was certain that it was in drive before I stepped on the gas. The cause is probably due to the drivetrain not engaging causing a loss of drive. I believe its related to Ford recall 20S65 which I did not know of at the time of the crash.

- Honolulu, HI, USA