general problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer - part 1

On 2/27/26 I heard a knocking sound in my car, no warning lights came on, took it to local car place and was told there was no oil in the tank. I immediately made an appt to take it to river view Ford dealership for service. They looked at it on 3/2 and found the engine to be damaged from the turbos pulling oil out of the oil tank and sucking it into the engine. They informed me nothing was being offered to replace the engine for that year 2020 and my warranty just ended 11/25. This car is worth $70,000 new, just paid it off early, otherwise in great condition. I called the customer service line and was told there is nothing they can do or offer and filed the complaint. My husband called back and spoke to 3 different rude people requesting someone call our dealer and talk with the service people- this didn't happen. Earlier this year this car had a differential leak that cost $3000; it also had the undercarriage of the car that holds the flex pipes up, fall apart and required the entire undercarriage to be replaced. I find it appalling that you google st engine issues and they specifically say 2020 models have issues with and suffer from severe oil-related issues, including high oil consumption, oil starvation, and, in some cases, turbocharger failure or engine knocking. How is this not a recall? no warning signs til its too late.

I own a 2020 Ford Explorer with approximately 85,776 miles. The vehicle has experienced two separate loss-of-propulsion events in traffic. On both occasions, the vehicle suddenly lost power while driving and stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. There was no prior warning of imminent engine failure. After stalling, the vehicle would crank but would not restart. The vehicle was disabled in the intersection for approximately 45 minutes to one hour each time. My family was inside the vehicle during these incidents. The vehicle displayed multiple malfunction warnings including “shift system fault” and messages indicating the vehicle was not in park even when the shifter was in the park position. The dealership, hansel Ford of petaluma, verified the concern and referenced Ford technical service bulletin (TSB) 23-2249 related to internal transmission components, including the valve body and park pawl actuator system. The dealership confirmed that when the vehicle is placed in park, it may actually remain in neutral. This creates an additional safety risk of unintended vehicle movement. This issue presents a serious safety hazard due •sudden loss of propulsion in traffic •vehicle disabled in active intersections •extended inability to restart •potential rollaway risk due to park malfunction the vehicle is currently pending major transmission-related repairs. I am submitting this complaint due to concerns about loss of propulsion and park system malfunction creating a safety risk for occupants and surrounding traffic.

My Explorer was very slow/unable to accelerate onto the highway. The next time I started it there was rattling and lots of non engine noises, along with all kinds of warning lights. I took it to the dealership. In his words ‘the turbo grenaded itself into the engine. Quoted me 15k to fix/replace the engine, turbo and half shaft. I still owe 9k on it. Extended warranty that I purchased expired 4,000 miles ago. I have had multiple issues with this vehicle since I purchased it brand new in 2020. I am trading it in tomorrow??.

Bought my car 2020 and every year I have been on and off the shop to fix it. Last year I just paid them to fox my transmission gearing, clutch and axle. The other dy I have them service it again due to power train malfunction. And sent me an invoice of $1700 not including the $195 to diagnostic test for my car.

The weld which attaches the tail pipe to the muffler failed causing the pipe to strike the pavement while the vehicle was in motion which resulted in sparks and potential fire hazard.

I was driving down upper pleasant ridge road caldwell id . Had cruise control on doing 50 and all of a sudden car just stopped in the middle of the road. No warning, no noise, no smoke , no check engine light nothing. I was in the middle of the road ,in the dark. Had to call the canyon county sheriff out to help me not get hit by a car waiting on the tow truck. Put jumper cables on battery my new battery bought in Jan 2025 started smoking what ever happen fried my battery . Took it to dealership waiting on info.

Slipping gears between 1&2nd gear, harsh/delayed shifting, some power loss. Vehicle is around 120k miles.

Manufacture hasn’t made a remedy available for the recall and it’s past its anticipated availability date. Manufacturer recall number 24s52 NHTSA recall number 24v598.

On highway was accelerating to pass another vehicle the transition froze , engine revved with no acceleration ( transmission skipped) this has happened several times over the 5 years. The lasted event we documented the date and mileage it happened date 7/13/25 mileage is 34990. These skips have put us in extremely dangerous situations. Transmission has been making growling noise now under normal driving.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop at a red traffic light, the vehicle inadvertently shut off in the middle of the roadway and failed to restart. The battery warning light was illuminated. No further information was available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA action number: ea23002(engine). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was also referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 112,000.

This problem started about 2 months ago and it happened 3 different times so far. While driving, when pressing the gas, the vehicle will all of a sudden not go. You just drift as if the car is not getting gas. On 2 of the occasions, a shift error message appears on the dash but quickly disappears. This can be very dangerous while driving and cause an accident. I have not had the vehicle looked at yet because I feel it should apart of the new recall for the other Ford Explorers.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle jolted forward while parking. The brakes were locking up. While driving 5 mph, the steering wheel locked up. The 4-wd fault light was illuminated. The contact stated that the pre-collision assist, hill assist and reverse messages were displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to technical service bulletin: 23-2174. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the awd actuator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 89,156.

Adas system malfunctions, 4wd malfunctions, vehicle will randomly shut off during driving.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power after coming to a stop. The contact stated that the oil pressure message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred thirty days after an oil change. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Fuel purge valve not working properly causing the vehicle to not start after filling with gas, needing to keep vehicle running while filling with gas, safety issue. Turbo faulty causing car to loose power while driving and towing. Safely concern for multiple reasons. Flex exhaust pipe broken and mesh ripped causing burning smell and dangerous debris.

The car has 66,311 miles and both catalytic converters are cracked and leaking exhaust into the passenger compartment. The down pipe flex joint on the passenger side is leaking and the one on the driver’s side is deteriorating. Car is currently at the dealership being evaluated. This appears to be a known problem with the 3. 0 Ford Explorer in the model years 2020-2022 but no recall has been issued. The problem has been identified by both the dealership and an independent transmission repair shop. There has been no warning lights just strong exhaust smell in passenger compartment when idling at stop signs or lights.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted and the vehicle jerked with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 101,400.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. An abnormal sound was coming from the engine. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the front passenger’s side axle had detached, and the engine had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was provided NHTSA campaign number: 20v788000 (engine). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Electrical shorting caused the transmission to improperly shift stalling the vehicle on a highway.

At only 5 years old and at 113k miles in January 2025 I was told by my local dealership that the right side catalytic converter was cracked and needed replacement to pass inspection. In March 2023 the left side catalytic converter was replaced under a service bulletin 21e11. Prior to that both sides intermediate exhaust pipes and flex connectors were replaced in November 2021. I have searched online and read of many other Ford Explorer st owners complaining of failed catalytic converters. Ford is doing nothing to address this if the vehicle is outside of the required 80k mile emissions warranty. It seems to me there’s a known problem and this ride side catalytic converter should also be recalled. No catalytic converter should be consistently failing this early in a cars lifespan. Catalytic converters are known to last over 10 years and 300k+ miles. I’ve also seen where the same Ford Explorer but under the police interceptor name has had the right side catalytic converter recalled.

Ac compressor has gone out 3 times. This car year, make, is known to have this problem.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the failure recurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the left and right catalytic converters were fractured. The dealer was then notified of the failure and informed the contact that only the left catalytic converter replacement was covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

I have recently have experienced engine failure with the 2020 Ford Explorer 2. 3 ecoboost engine. I was driving on a 4 lane highway, specifically on a bridge, and I experienced loss of power and acceleration. At that time, the engine light came on. I managed to get home, with the vehicle seemed as if in limp mode. I had my vehicle towed to the Ford dealer ship. The service manager stated that they believe it is complete engine failure. He believes the failure is in the cylinder walls which is due to coolant intrusion in cylinders 2 and 3. His suggestion is to change the "long block" at the costs of $12,284,51. Also, he expressed a concern with the transmission. It might be an issue with the computer, or wire harness. Which would be $1091. 81. Plus, a couple sensors, spark plugs. In all the total repair costs are $16,904. 16. I owe about $9,500. Prior to this, in 2022 the turbo went out. It was replaced under the warranty at that time. This was at 90,000 miles. After doing some online research. There has also been a class-action lawsuit involving the 1. 5l, 1. 6l, and 2. 0l ecoboost engines. Owners of these engines reported issues such as coolant leaks leading to engine overheating and, in some cases, engine failure. The lawsuit claims that Ford was aware of these defects but did not take adequate steps to address them. There are some fantastic videos on youtube that explains and illustrates the reasons for the manufacture defect and engine failure. [xxx] I am a high mileage driver of highways and interstates. I understand that vehicles will have normal wear & tear. I now have 190,000 miles and no longer under warranty. However, based on my investigation, and other similar complaints about the 2020 Explorer with the same or similar issues, I believe there could be a defect with the cylinder head just like the other ecoboost engines. Other Ford Explorer owners will likely experience the same as the add miles information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

There are problems with these items which are covered under a Ford recall. My vehicle is at liccardi Ford dealer in watchung NJ and I feel a tremendous resistance from the dealer to repair the recalled ordered repairs.

I have a previous file for this situation already submitted reference # 11626064. Since that filing I have had an additional occurrence of the same description. I also found a recall for 2021 Explorers which sounds to be the same as what I have experienced , below is a reference to the 2021 Explorer recall. [xxx] please confirm if the recall can be updated to include the 2020. Best regards [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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).

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The oil and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the failure the engine. The contact was informed that the the independent mechanic observed a hole in the engine block. 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 93,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while idling at a stop light or while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The failure was intermittent at first but became a constant failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the variable camshaft timing (vct) system had failed and needed to be replaced. The failure was linked to an unknown customer satisfaction program; however, the vehicle was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

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.

It is well know fack that rear bolts for axle and all part tend break Ford replace them once with what ? bolts that still break so probems was never fix, now as Ford did this as was no recall they refuseing replace bolts a 2ed time to fix there error, wich lead to many cars being damage so bad Ford has refuse to fix them leaveing the people holding the bag more so when car wreckes, probem is Ford and may others are hiding cars throw use of modle number vr ack year that car was made under, 2020 Ford expoler made 2019 throw not one 2019 recall was place on this car, ? and why VIN is base on modle number not year was made, and your department dose not force these busness to investgate part number in reclall list, parts should not been used in newer cars but was this goneing on more then not, now again I get message replace rear axle bolts only after they brake only after they break now they know what will happen if they brake going 70 mpr, this probem was never fix right first time and now again this time Ford saying we not going replace bolts , it is time you all step up and find out why this keeps going on why wasent it fix and get fix right, this is huge saft probem, that one can lose a hole tire if more one bolts breaks this has happen, Ford and others do not look at part numbers as part there recall process throw part number in the system so if other cars has this probem people has fix it, think change must be made to not only look at VIN but part numbers in all recalls regardless of VIN or what car if that part is in it should be replace, now I cant explane why Ford refuse to not replace such a critcal part this is not just something as lose pice of molding these bolts hold rear end in place and all the bolts prone to breaking, I ask that u look in to why they replace first time and why they must be replace again and force Ford to replace these bolts befor some one dies.

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.

While driving on an interstate highway, my car slipped from drive to neutral on its own. Within a few seconds the transmission returned to drive. When the car reached its destination, it went into park, but wouldn't shift out of park for 20 minutes. It finally shifted into reverse, and drive as needed until reaching my home. While trying to shut off the car at my home, it showed that it was in park, put the car was rolling. Finally the car stopped rolling and appeared to be in park. The car hasn't been driven since that day. I had the car towed to the local Ford dealer who sold me the car. They determined that the parking pawl malfunctioned and part of it destroyed the transmission. When I researched recalls on this vehicle, I noticed NHTSA recall #23v-069 appears to be the same problem that I experienced. The Ford dealership said that this recall didn't include my car's VIN #, so that is why I never received any notifications of this recall. I believe that my car should have been included in the recall and I wouldn't be facing an $8,000 + bill for a new transmission. Ford will not pay for the repair because the car has 66,000 miles, which is over the 60,000 limit. The service technician at the dealership said that I did nothing to cause the transmission to be destroyed. This obviously was a very dangerous situation, and this is why there is a recall on 2020 Ford Explorers. I believe that more cars need to be included in this recall.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the engine coolant overheat warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact pulled over. The contact then continued driving at 10 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with coolant sensor failure. The contact was informed that the coolant sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 93,000.

Check engine light came on. Code p0161 for O2 sensor heater circuit bank 2 sensor 2. Found massive corrosion at connector. This is the second like make/model/year vehicle we have seen this on. Mfg does not have pigtail repair kit available and entire harness would be needed to repair.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 mph, there was an abnormal exhaust odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the odor was present while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the left exhaust flex pipes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was advised by the dealer that the manufacturer had issued a customer satisfaction program: 21e11 – left side exhaust flexible pipe(s) and left side catalytic converter inspection and replacement (engine and engine cooling), however, the vehicle was no longer covered under warranty. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.