10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 5
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 11 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 2,357 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
Some 2020 Explorer/Aviator vehicles built on or before 17-Feb-2020 may exhibit an intermittent partial opening of the power liftgate and/or false activation of the anti-theft alarm
- Montgomery, TX, USA
The issue started after the car was brought in for a recall. They said it was only a software update, so it may be a coincidence. When starting to drive the car after being in park, the front of the car sounds like things are screeching and halts the car suddenly without any warning. When in reverse a note comes on that rear assist is unavailable as it stalls. When in drive no notice comes on but the car comes to a halt. It will work if you turn it off and on and try to drive again but happens in the middle of the street. This is a huge safety concern while driving on the road to be hit by someone, injured by the whip lash from the stop. We have very young kids and refuse to put them in the car in fear of this happening with them in it again, or happening in their daycare parking lot with other kids around. We took the car twice to the dealership by our house, however they were unable to duplicate the issue and says there is nothing they can do.
- Fullerton, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while activating the windshield wipers, the driver-€™s side windshield wiper was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the driver-€™s side windshield wiper was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic stated that the bracket had sunk into the vehicle causing the wiper to not function correctly. The mechanic stated that an additional screw would be added for the wiper to function as needed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 48,000.
- Maryville, MO, USA
The back up camera is malfunctioning on my vehicle. It presents a blue image with the back up camera and a blue image on the 360 camera. Everything that I have read shows it is a recall, but my VIN does not have a recall.
- Lowell, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was oil leaking from the vehicle at start-up. The seat heating and cooling system was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken four times to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to Phil Long Ford of Denver (7887 W Tufts Ave, Denver, CO 80123) where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve was loose and oil was leaking on to the manifold. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 10,516. THE CONSUMER STATED THEY FAILURE WAS DUE TO ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND DRIVER'S SIDE BEZEL TRIM REPLACEMENT.
- Bailey, CO, USA
The driver's side door doesn't unlock. The locking mechanism gets stuck in the locked position and the door will not open as it won't unlock. Has happened 9 times in the past 48 hours during a total of 7 outings. It puts the driver at risk if they need to quickly get out or get in the vehicle. I took it to the dealership today and it would not unlock for me to exit the vehicle. They tested the mechanisms involved and all function so not parts replaced. There are no warnings when this happens. First started on 2/22/2022. In my online research, it is happening for others with this type of vehicle including police vehicles which is a huge safety issue for them if they can't exit the vehicle when necessary.
- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
The rear back up camera area is blue and you are unable to see behind the vehicle.
- Dagsboro, DE, USA
When this vehicle is put into reverse it does not engage the transmission at times. You either have to put it back in to park and back in reverse and/or floor it in essence push the throttle all the way down for it to engage. As that happens and it finally engages you-€™re going way too fast in reverse. Also when it does not engage it acts like a stick shift and that you are in neutral and you-€™re either rolling forward or backward depending on the incline. Very frustrating I-€™ve taken it into the shop two different times specifically for this they say they have a work order in place and the last time they said it was a chip and they ran their diagnostics and corrected it. It still did not get corrected and is still a problem. I am not pleased at all with this failure in the transmission as far as the engaging of reverse is involved. Thank you
- Greeley, CO, USA
This vehicle has been -€œrepaired-€ by Ford dealer per recall instructions but the backup camera is still intermittently blue. Recall -€œfix-€ offered by Ford does NOT fix this problem
- Peachtree Corners, GA, USA
The chrome plating on the interior door handle is peeling away from the handle structure, creating a sharp edge that has the potential to lacerate a person's finger(s) as they pull the handle to open the door. This defect cut my middle finger on my left hand fairly deep, causing bleeding, but did not require stitches.
- Henderson, NV, USA
I own a 2020 Ford Explorer (Platinum edition). A recall was issued for the back-up camera. My car had been having issues of intermittent camera problems prior to the recall. I took my car into Sam Pack's Five Star Ford of Lewisville (1144 N Stemmons Fwy, Lewisville, TX 75067) for the recall repair... I drove the vehicle for about thirty minutes after completion of the recall repair at which time I parked the car. Unfortunately, when I did so the "Blue Screen" returned. The was the reason for the recall... This is the same as prior to the recall "repair". Also, when this happens a warning pops up "Reverse Brake Assist Not Available" (this may be because the camera is malfunctioning). The camera does not do this all of the time. There is no rhyme or reason as to when it is going to fail. After turning the car off for a while (as when eating at a restaurant or grocery shopping, etc.) the camera works when you put the car into reverse (with the one exception noted above). It appears that the "fix" for the recall is insufficient to stop the camera errors from recurring. The incident date listed below is the date of the supposed recall repair. I have uploaded a PDF File showing pictures of the camera errors. If you would like any other information, or pictures of the blue screen errors, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached by email at [XXX] or by phone at [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Grapevine, TX, USA
When backing up, the screen turns blue 3 out of 5 times when placed in reverse.
- Naples, FL, USA
Sunroof exploded. There were no warning lights or beeps. It sounded like an explosion and caused me to nearly wreck from the loud boom. I went into a field and nearly lost control of vehicle.
- Casa Grande, AZ, USA
Rear camera is not working correctly. If goes to a blue screen a lot.
- Swanton, MD, USA
Transmission shifts from reverse to park and drive to park on its own. Also, heads up display goes blank and sensors / backup camera stop working. Front collision monitors also do not work as well as lane departure sensors
- Montgomery, NY, USA
Turned the car on and immediately the headliner above the drivers seat started smoking. Within seconds there was an actual fire and had to call the fire department. Ford does NOT seem concerned about it at all. Are not sending it to be investigated at all from my understanding, My car has sat for 2 months now with no answers still. We do not know what caused the fire or exactly where the fire started.
- Van Buren, AR, USA
Rear camera will intermittently cause the screen to display distorted or total blue screen upon placing the vehicle in reverse
- Hampton, VA, USA
FIRENo INJURIES0 DEATHS0 WHEN SHIFTING INTO DRIVE, VEHICLE WILL RANDOMLY HAVE A HARD BRAKE PEDAL AND VEHICLE WILL LURCH FORWARD WITH INCREASED RPM. USE OF REVERSE, VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY STOP AND SOUND AS IF YOU HIT SOMETHING. BRAKE PEDAL VERY HARD.. THE ISSUE OCCURS FROM A STATIONARY CONDITION, IN DRIVEWAY OR PUBLIC PARKING AREAS, SO THIS CAUSES CONCERN THAT IT DID RESULT IN A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. ISSUE CANNOT BE REPEATED ON DEMAND. IT IS ENTIRELY RANDOM AND EVERY DRIVE HAS TO BE APPROACHED WITH THE EXPECTANCY THAT THE VEHICLE WILL MOVE WITHOUT NORMAL BRAKES TO STOP. THERE ARE NO ALERTS TO TELL US WHY (OR WHICH SYSTEM) IS THE ISSUE. THIS HAS OCCURRED RANDOMLY SINCE LEASING THIS EXPLORER. FORD SERVICE SEEMS SURPRISED AND UNAWARE OF THIS
- Shreveport, LA, USA
The backup camera intermittently does not work when we put the vehicle in reverse. We estimate that it fails to work 10-15% of the time. The screen turns blue and we cannot use the camera to see what is behind us. We rely on the camera because the overall visibility to see behind the vehicle is poor. We believe that this issue is similar to the problem that led Ford to recall other vehicles. Our vehicle is not included in those recalls.
- Burlington, MA, USA
- S San Francisco , CA, USA