general problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer - part 2

Rear backup camera incorrectly sensed an obstruction behind vehicle and caused emergency braking with no visible obstruction. We were unable to pull out of the parking spot and had to jump a curb to leave. No further incident has been experienced,.

While driving at 70 mph the vehicle experienced the following issues all at once, the power steering shut off, all brake pressure was lost, the pre- collision system was turned off, parking brake engaged(at 70 mph) traction control system turned off, engine light turned on and all of the warning lights on the dash activated. This has happened 3 times and almost killed me twice. Ford has tried to repair this vehicle all three times and still have not corrected the issue. Ford has also refused to replace or buy back the vehicle.

Vehicle would not start and every warning lamp and alert triggered on the dashboard. Tried remote start which was successful, but vehicle shut off 5 seconds later and the above alerts/warning lamps repeated. Vehicle would not start and just repeated all of the warning lamps/alerts. Waited 20 minutes, car started without issue; however, when put into reverse with foot on the brake the vehicle started to drive backwards while foot was still on the brake! no amount of pressure on the brake pedal stopped the vehicle. Had to depress and repress the pedal to stop the vehicle. Rear cameras failed to activate as well. Luckily no one was injured. This is the third time this has happened, the third time I have reported to the NHTSA, and the third time I have reported it to my local dealership without resolve.

My new 2020 Ford Explorer had had on at least 4 occasions, the last being in July 2021 (mileage was approximately 7,280 miles at the time). This problem has only occurred when parked in my garage, I turn on the Explorer with my foot firmly on the brake and put the vehicle in reverse (with foot still on brake) the vehicle starts reversing with force even though my foot is hard on the brakes. I then push down even harder on brakes. I am fighting to keep the Explorer from roaring out of the garage. Luckily I haven't hit anyone or anything, but had I not reacted as quickly I could easily have caused serious injury. I reported this problem to my local dealer two times, the first about 10 months ago and the second incident was reported to the dealer when I took it in in August 2021 for numerous alerts received in July 2021 for: powertrain malfunction/ reduced power; pre-collision assist not available; hill start assist warning, pre-collision assist not available. The dealer said all the alerts came from one power module which will be fixed this week when the part arrives at the dealer. The dealer also said that the recent reverse power surge I advised them of is probably related to all of the alerts listed above and that this should take care of the problem. I never received any warnings, messages or other symptoms of this problem - it has always been a shock when it happens.

On March 14, 2021, a failure with the vehicle posed a serious safety hazard when my two children, another minor child and our dog were accompanying me, with the car fully loaded for spring break, and the brake system completely failed, among other electrical issues, as we were departing our neighborhood. The vehicle was subsequently towed to the dealership. I cringe to imagine what would have ensued if this defect would have occurred only a few minutes later, as we pulled into traffic or made it to the highway for our trip. I don't recall what lamps came on as it was very scary at the time, but the alerts on the Ford app were, antilock brake fault, hill start assist warning, hill descent control fault warning and pre-collision assist not available.

I was backing out of a parking space and I tapped the brake. The car kept going backwards so I pressed it harder. It felt like the brake became concrete and would not go down any further. I pressed harder and it finally went down. I did not receive any error messages.

Same failure as other drivers have reported. Very occasionally, immediately after engaging drive/reverse from a fresh start, parked position, brakes do not work correctly. Very hard wall on break press with very little to no breaking as a result. Vehicle continues to slowly roll in selected direction regardless of break pedal pressure until holding the break and transferring back into park. No error is displayed during this event. So far, 100% of the time, transferring the vehicle back into drive/reverse after having experienced this issue, it does not immediately reproduce. Issue has occurred 3 times in 17,000 miles.

When shifting into drive, vehicle will randomly have a hard brake pedal and vehicle will lurch forward with increased rpm. Use of e-brake or putting transmission in park required to stop movement. Place trans in park and restart of engine and problem gone until next time. Use of reverse, vehicle will suddenly stop and sound as if you hit something. Brake pedal very hard. Have to place trans in park and restart engine. The issue occurs from a stationary condition, in driveway or public parking areas, so this causes concern that this may ultimately result in accident or collision with a structure, another vehicle, or a pedestrian! 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 buying this Explorer st. Ford service seems surprised and unaware of this issue (and more).

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.

I was stopped in a parking space with the car running. I put the car in reverse to leave and noticed a car coming so I pushed on the brakes to stop, however the brakes did not engage. I pushed all the way to the floor and the car kept rolling. There was no resistance to the brakes, they felt loose with no resistance. I checked my feet to make sure I was actually pressing the brake and I was. The car was not stopping, and another car was coming behind me, so in order to finally stop I had to put the car into park. I waited a minute and then tried to put the car into drive and the brakes worked. I then put the car in reverse again and the brakes were working. About 30 minutes later I was attempting to turn the car on after leaving a store, and when I pressed the brake and then pushed the start button I received an error message that said to press the brake to start the car. However I was pressing the brake. I took my foot off the brake and then tried again and the car started. So this was a second time in the span of an hour that the car did not recognize the brake was pressed. The car was taken the very next day to the dealership however they did not see a code that had been thrown and they have been unable to replicate the issue.

Tl the contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a stand still, she shifted the gear shifter to reverse and was unable to stop the vehicle in a reasonable amount of time while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she had to depress the brake pedal to the floor to stop the vehicle. The contact stated she had experience the failure three times. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer autonation Ford sanford (4911 wayside dr, sanford, FL 32771, (407)680-0781) where the dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact leased a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while in the reverse position, the vehicle would independently stop abruptly without warning. On one occasion, the contact stated that his wife suffered whiplash while she was driving the vehicle and experienced the failure. The contact's wife had received medical attention for inflammation to her neck and back; she had also received therapeutic treatment for her injury. The contact took the vehicle to frontier Ford(12610 thompson rd, anacortes, wa 98221) where it remained in their possession and had yet to be diagnosed. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and a claim was filed. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

Drivers seat appeared to shift when turning. This has resulted in the plastic trim at bottom of seat to break and come loose from seat while moving. This has occured twice. Additionally we have received error messages on the 4wd while on an extended trip. It dropped us out of cruise controlled an told us to service transmission. Also reverse assist was inactivated as well as cruise . Back up view on screen turned blue. Brakes have also become inactive when starting to back up. (November 15, 2020) these problems are continuing to occur and the dealer has not tried to fix the issue.

When put into gear, brakes would not apply had to press extremely hard both in reverse and forward. Had to put vehicle back in park and turn off. Let reset, turn back on, and brakes started to work normal. Back up camera went to blank blue screen also.

2020 Ford Explorer st with approximately 5,200 miles. Yesterday, I started the vehicle and put it into reverse and it started to roll backwards even though my foot was on the brake. Regardless of how hard I pushed the brake, the car continued to lunge backward until I fully depressed/repressed the brake. With my foot on the brake the vehicle continued to move. This same event occurred a few months ago but when in drive and the vehicle continued to lunge forward despite my foot full pressing the brake as much as possible. I shut off the vehicle, waited a few minutes, and attempted to restart. Restarted without issue. Today, I attempted to start the car and all lights on the dashboard began flashing and the engine failed to turnover. The in-dash display then began beeping, flashing all service/hazard/warning indicators, and cycling through the following error messages: - steering assist fault service required; - see manual (with wrench icon indicating powertrain fault); - front camera fault service required; - service advancetrac; - full accessory power active; - park brake fault service now; - pre-collision assist not available; - check park aid; - reverse brake assist not available see manual; - hill descent control fault; - normal cruise active adaptive braking off; I turned off the vehicle and attempted a few more restarts ranging in intervals from an immediate start/stop, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes without success (same error messages displayed as described above). My next attempt was a few hours later and the vehicle started without error, but did not give any indication that the vehicle had failed to start the previous time and the �powertrain fault� wrench icon remained lit.

Vehicle detected possible collision and applied brakes. There was nothing anywhere near me. Then several faults appeared. Service 4wd, pre collision assist fault, stabilitrack fault, drive mode unavailable fault. Info screen went all black. I was driving at 45 mph and a straight 2 lane road with no traffic in site. This is now the second time this has happened.

I have had this vehicle since February and it has been in the shop 5 times for various things! there is a jolt when it changes gears and when hitting brakes. I have a delay when I put the car in reverse which has almost caused accidents. It rolls forward, even with my foot on the brake and the jerks hard when it finally catches up and goes in reverse. Corporate will not get me out of this vehicle, even after it broke down and had to be towed while I was out of state on vacation!.

The first issue was with the car accelerating without pressing the gas. Rpms would increase and car would sound as if it was accelerating as well, when slowing driving through a parking garage. The car also down shifts and accelerates roughly. It is not smooth when transitioning to acceleration or DE acceleration. When braking the car jerks until stopped enough to where our heads jerk. Putting car into gear, to drive from reverse, it lags until it kicks in and jerks hard. When shifting into reverse with the foot firmly on the brake, the vehicle begins to roll backward with my foot still on the brake. When you try to press the brake pedal to get car to stop moving, brake pedal does not depress all the way and does not stop the vehicle from moving. If you attempt to pump the brakes, there is a hard stop that prevents the brake pedal from going all the way to the floor. The only way to stop the vehicle is to put it back into park.

Periodically when starting my 2020 Ford Explorer the brake pedal will become very hard to push and the vehicle will roll on its own. After about 15 seconds the brakes will respond and then brake very hard. Alternatively, I have to switch the Explorer into park and restart the vehicle and the brakes will be fine. I would say this happens roughly 2-3 times a month. I believe this to be a programming issue with the electronic brake booster.

On occasion when starting our 2020 Explorer st, the brakes do not work. . . Resulting in the vehicle driving away. The only way to stop the vehicle, is to throw it back into park or neutral. This has occurred 1-2 times a month, and Ford has been reluctant to fix the issue. The vehicle was almost involved in a low-speed crash, due to Fords inability to fix the problem. We have attempted to get a buyback, but they have not resolved it as of now.

There are times when I start the vehicle, or manually release the parking brake, that it simply does not release. The brake pedal becomes rock hard at these times, without its normal travel. If the vehicle is reversing, like leaving my garage, it stops like it hit a brick wall when the brake pedal is touched. The rear brakes are simply locked. It stops so abruptly that it has aggravated lower back pain from previous injuries. I’m afraid of getting stranded in traffic, unable to move the vehicle. It did this on dirt and it was just dragging the rear tires. The only solution I have found is to turn off the engine, wait a few seconds, restart the vehicle, hope. I got, in rapid succession: 1. Antilock brake fault !!! 2. Hill descent control fault 3. Pre-collision assist not available 4. Hill start assist warning the service at mesquite (nevada) Ford was totally insufficient. I expected them to find and fix the problem, which obviously lies in the anti-lock/parking brake. I was eager to get the vehicle back and find out what was wrong as I’ve been afraid to use the manual parking brake for fear it will seize up and not release. When I got the vehicle back (which took a long time and a long story as the mechanic went home sick in the middle of the job with covid) they said, “OH, we reset the error message so everything is fine. ” well, it still locks up, sometimes when I have shut the engine off and sometimes when I tried to manually set the parking brake, which I am still avoiding. If it’s only my vehicle then there is a dealer problem. If there are more reports, then it’s a bigger problem. I don’t know where on your site to say this — I am shocked by the number of fatalities — but not really. Either reduce the speed limits in the west or keep killing people. 80 mph is ridiculous because everyone now runs 90+ mph. We’ve come upon two fatal accidents this summer on I-15. The carnage was terrible. Please, please, please slow the traffic.

2020 Ford Explorer st with approximately 1,927 miles. I started the vehicle and put it into drive and it started to roll forward even though my foot was on the brake. Regardless of how hard I pushed the brake, the car continued to inch forward until I fully depressed/repressed the brake. I shut off the vehicle, waited a few minutes, and attempted to restart. Upon the attempted restart, all lights on the dashboard began flashing and the engine failed to turnover. The in-dash display then began beeping, flashing service/hazard/warning indicators, and cycling through the following error messages: -park brake fault service now; -pre-collision assist not available; -service advancetrac; -driver door ajar; -steering assist fault service required; -check park aid; -see manual; -front camera fault service required; -full accessory power active; I turned off the vehicle and attempted a few more restarts ranging in intervals from an immediate start/stop, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes without success (same error messages displayed as described above). There were also no alert messages/notification in the Fordpass mobile app indicating the above failures. My next attempt was a few hours later and the vehicle started without error, but did not give any indication that the vehicle had failed to start the previous time. I stopped/restarted the vehicle again without error and put it into reverse and then drive and there did not appear to be any failure of the brake pedal. I took the vehicle for a test drive around my neighborhood and noticed that 1st and 2nd gear appeared to shift just fine, 3rd gear made a loud grinding/vibrating noise and took longer to shift than normal, and then the vehicle did a hard shift into 4th gear. I only got up to about 35 miles per hour, but the vehicle never shifted out of 4th gear, but appeared to hold the rpms higher than normal.

The last week of June 2020 while driving my Explorer XLT a check brake system warning message started flashing on and off when applying the breaks. The message was difficult to read since it would go on and quickly off. My Fordpass message center noted antilock break fault pre-collision assist not available hill start assist warning 40 min later Fordpass noted same messages. I took it in to be serviced. They found that the electronic break booster need to be replaced. Approximately 10 days later while driving @ 35 mph I applied the breaks and the car jolted when coming to a slow stop. It definitely caught our attention we drove to our our destination around the corner. The car was off for approximately one hour. We got in the car drove down the road then when applying the breaks the jolt happened again this time more forcefully kicking our heads back. Luckily no other cars were behind me otherwise they would have slammed into us. We took the vehicle to the dealership ASAP. The entire drive over we drove slowly and it jolted at very application of the breaks while decelerating. At that point it was determined that my vehicle that I've only had under 4months with approximately 1300 miles on it needed a transmission replacement.

On occasion, the brakes do not work properly when the car is first put into drive or reverse after starting. When shifting into drive or park with the foot firmly on the brake, the vehicle begins to move, and the brake pedal does not depress all the way and does not stop the vehicle from moving. If you attempt to pump the brakes, there is a hard stop that prevents the brake pedal from going all the way to the floor. The only way to stop the vehicle is to put it back into park.

Has happened to me a few times. Foot on brake, put the car in gear and it starts rolling. Brake pedal won't depress any further, but it definitely was not all the way in, almost like it was locked or something. Only way to get it to stop is to put it back in park or neutral and let off the brake.

Periodically, after starting the vehicle, and selecting a gear (either drive or reverse), I experience a "hard brake" where I cannot press down the break pedal but the vehicle will begin to roll. The vehicle will continue to roll and I cannot use the brake pedal (therefore I cannot stop). The only solution I have found is to switch the vehicle to park, turn off the vehicle, and turn back on the vehicle. This happens approximately 2 times per month. The 2020 Ford Explorer uses an electric brake booster, and I believe it may be a calibration issue upon ignition/vehicle start up. If it does not calibrate properly, the brakes will not work. This is a common issue, and there is a thread at the Explorer forum with various members experiencing this safety issue. . Read more...

In April 2020, I brought my car into the lafayette Ford dealership in fayetteville, nc bc I had been experiencing issues with the car moving when it was not supposed to. I would start the car with my foot on the brake, switch it into reverse/drive and *without taking my foot off the brake* the car would jerk forward or back, depending on if I was in reverse or drive. The event that caused me to bring my car into the dealership occured while I was in front of my garage. I had my foot on the break, and was planning to adjust my direction toward the garage when my car propelled forward and took a hit that resulted in bad damage to my driver side bumper. The dealership held my car for over a week and was not able to replicate the problem, so they told me my car was fine. I have since mentioned this problem every time I get my car serviced to see if there have been any similar complaints and nobody has shared anything. At my last service appointment, they updated my firmware so that the car keeps the emergency brake on until I disengage it, which nullifies the issues that I had been having. Today I can across the following article that sounds exactly like the cause of the damage to my car. What are my options for taking this information to Ford to have them acknowledge the fault and fix the damage? thank you. . Read more...

After starting the vehicle in park and with brake depressed shifting to reverse the car moves regardless of brake pressure applied. Issue only stops after pumping the brakes or shifting back to park our neutral. All situations have been on flat land and has occurred with multiple drivers. Brake pedal is noted to be �hard� when event occurs, almost like it is locked.

Auto hold feature continues to display fault. I've taken it to the dealership 3 times and each time they say it's fixed. Im concerned that it will fault when im stopped and cause a collision. Ford customer care can barely understand english let alone listen to me describe the issue. For a vehicle with 700 miles this is ridiculous.

Vehicle unexpectedly breaks, as if detecting a crash, when there is clearly no car ahead. Vehicle takes over control of breaks unexpectedly. Has happened on repeated occasions and already reported to manufacturer months ago.

After turning car on and taking it out of park, break becomes extremely hard when you lift up off of it making it impossible to break. The car then rolls forward or backwards depending on if in drive or reverse. Even when putting all my weight on the break, the car moves forward or backward for about a second or two before the break finally softens and I'm able to break. Car them works as normal. I have almost rolled into objects behind me or in front of me due to this. Bought it new. Took it to dealership but they cant recreate it as it happens only a couple times a week. We did hear something rolling around in the compartment below the steering wheel and they have found several factory screws just rolling around. Not sure if that is causing this.

Cruise control can not be disabled by pressing brake pedal. Requires passing steering wheel button to turn off. Also "pre-collision assist not available" message comes on dash every time vehicle is started.

Breaks gave out while backing out of lane. Separate issue pressed on gas no response or delayed response in stop and go traffic. Acted like it was almost out of gas but not. Also other small issue is loud high whistle noise above 70mph.

The Explorer was put into reverse. The vehicle drove forward about 3 ft, jerked, then slammed into reverse. Reaction time on my behalf was slow as it was unexpected, I almost hit a light pole. This occurred in a parking lot.