general problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer

I was driving on the highway and I heard a loud bang , with grinding and a jerk I assumed the rear axel or differential something in the rear area along with smoke and I was able to swerve to the side of the highway along the grass and jump out with my kids multiple cars where behind me but I turned on my emergency lights & got out just in time before causing a accident , this is all tied to a recall that’s been fixed twice now here we are a third time and it’s back again at Ford dealership.

On 1/11/2026 while was driving vehicle started making screeching sound. Stopped vehicle and a bolt came off from the rear arm of vehicle and unit was towed for service, which at this moment Ford dealer claimed could not not find any recall notice on file. After researching the internet came across recall 21s11 re rear lower control arm bolts may break announced 3/10/2021.

Left lowlight headlight stops working intermittently and then completely. Both front axles cracked. Right rear shock busted. Gas purge valve malfunctioned.

The first component that fails and gives a warning is a 4wd failure. Once this warning occurs it cascades into a failure of collision assist, a sudden loss of adaptive cruise control, traction control and lane assist component. When this first occurred and my vehicle would suddenly slow down on the highway, because the cruise control would suddenly shut down and swerve due to the lane assist also shutting down. These warnings and failures did not reset immediately when you shut the car off and would last for days at a time. This would also happen randomly either on the highway or local roads. This is a known issue to Ford and they have issued TSB 23-2174 in regards to this.

Have replaced rear tires three times in past year. Vehicle causes extreme wear on inside tread of rear tires. Vehicle is known to be prone to have rear axle fractures.

When my vehicle reaches 60 mph the back end of my vehicle begins to sway excessively. Something may be wrong with the axle. It’s actually very frightening. Also, when my vehicle is running, I feel a slight puttering and then it quickly goes away as if somethings going on with the fuel pump. Lastly, my rearview camera sometimes looks a little blurry. I did take my vehicle to team Chevrolet in swansboro, north carolina where I purchased the vehicle. They stated something is going on with the axle and sway bar.

Under Ford recall 23s55 I had my car service @ a Ford dealership where I don't believe they replaced the bolt. This was in Jan 2024. It's stated they replaced the bushing and hardware but found no broken bolts so it seems only an inspection was done. That would explain why 1 1/2 year later as this is a 2020 Ford Explorer that the rear axle bolt did break and caused the differential to fall off putting my family's life at risk. That being said Ford is refusing to reopen the recall to pay for the damage caused by this ongoing issue. I know there is a class action lawsuit against Ford regarding this so I'd like to settle this amicably with Ford and see if you can help reopen the recall so that my vehicle can be repaired and be safe to drive again.

I have 68,000 miles on car and car suddenly started making a thumping sound and jerking when braking. Slip also when driving at low speeds. The dealership says it needs a new transmission. I have searched online and found this is a common problem for this year and model.

Dealer confirmed the driver side rear shock is leaking. SUV was driven only on paved roads locally with an occasional highway drive.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger side tires shredded. In addition, the curbside tire went flat. The contact's son replaced the tires. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with fractured front axles which were leaking fluids. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

Recall in 2022 on rear bolts breaking was done bolts was replace. How ever new bolts are breakng as well, and dealership has put out report but only if rear bolts brake at this time u wreck the car , note two cars has crash do this when I ask they said the not replace them unless they break this incluedes bolts in upper and lower control arms, and related compontents, now why would say replace the bolts but wait untill they break makes no sence to me as total loss control can happen bolts should be replace with stanless steel , mettle wont rust or seze up , my resuch pulled up 5 car crashs all was hurt no one died so what must happen dose people neeed die , ? this must be taken care of ASAP cars are not safe , and this leads me to bigger probem front end uses same bolts yeat we have no idea how many bolts was replaced and never documented,.

Vehicle is giving a code c0631 and c0632 also has a wrench light indicator on it has something to do with the awd the vehicle will become hard to turn stall completely will not move and a loss of power occurs.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30-35 mph, the brakes, traction control, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front axle disconnect actuator, or the intermediate shaft needed to be replaced with a revised part. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to technical service bulletin number: 21-2174. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving or while reversing, there was an abnormal shuddering sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the brakes, 4-wd, auto stop, and auto hold warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front axle was fractured. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that there was no recall coverage for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,436.

The passenger side lower control arm broke in half while backing out of a parking spot at a low rate of speed, not turning very deep.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the pre-collision assist, service engine, four-wheel drive service, and advancetrac service warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the front axle. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to technical service bulletin: 21-2174. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 60,000.

Reporting a loss of motive power and loss of transmission torque to the rear wheels from my Explorer that had been remedied with the pcm software update. Experience a surge forward nearly striking another vehicle. Contacted my Ford dealer who advised that I must wait for a letter and instructions from thereafter. I have several trips planned with family and feel this is unfair ( prolonged fix and intial fix didn't work) and unsafe but I need my vehicle.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 21v154000 (suspension) however, while attempting to leave the dealer after the repair, the vehicle was shifted in drive(d), but the vehicle failed to respond. The contacted stated that the electronic parking brake appeared to be engaged. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal persistently, the vehicle responded by surging forward. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the vehicle failed to respond upon releasing the brake pedal. The contact stated that she depressed the accelerator pedal several times and the vehicle responded by surging forward. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure occurred as a result of recall repair of NHTSA campaign number: 21v154000 (suspension). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that she was concerned as the recall repair had generated a potential risk to her safety. The contact stated that the electronic parking brake would engage while the vehicle was at a complete stop. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 28,500.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving in reverse and bumping noise was sudden present from the front of the vehicle and the vehicle could no longer driver forward. The tow truck was called and while lifting the vehicle onto the tow truck it was discovered that the front passenger side control arm had fractured. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle felt misaligned and made an abnormal rubbing sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated; however, the dealer recommended the transmission be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and covered the transmission replacement. The dealer replaced the transmission. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was test-driven, and the failure was duplicated; however, the dealer could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford campaign number: 24n01. The manufacturer was contacted, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 55 - 75 mph, the contact was switching lane and felt the vehicle was swerving. The contact stated that there were vibrations felt coming from the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer test drove the vehicle and diagnosed that there was no failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,999.

Ball joint worked itself loose and the bolt connecting the wheel to the control arm fell out. As a result, the wheel concaved and posed a serious risk of loss of control, crash and injury to vehicle occupants and other drivers.

Car was thumping at left rear after recall (for transmission oil cooler) was just completed. I hadn't left the parking lot. Ford mechanic said it was the shock. I was told that the car was safe to drive and to bring it back after 3 days. I'm having my doubts as to whether it's safe or not. They said they'd change only that absorber. If one is bad after 3 months, why wouldn't the others? I bought the car new in November 2020.

This truck has a few different issues on and off issues 1. The reverse camera stops working turns blue when trying to reverse 2. All my warning sensors stop working going reverse or forward when trying to park there's even times when I'm driving and I get a warning that my sensor are not working to refer to manual 3. My car car has an auto shut off when on a red light for some reason this is not working I get the symbol on dash board but is crossed with a line 4. When driving and I step on gas the rpm stay high like if the engine or transmission is trying to catch up 5. When driving or you step on gas heavily I get a rotten egg smell or sewer type smell in cabin not a pleasant smell I'm constantly keep having this issues on and off will need to find out is Ford is gonna fix this issues they keep giving me the run around that there's no worker right. Now.

On Saturday August 22, I drove my 2020 Ford Explorer sport to work in my company parking lot. When I attempted to leave work to go home, after starting the car, I received a succession of warning notices - hill start assist not available / reverse brake assist not available / pre-collision assist not available / service advance trac / steering loss - stop safely. The car was brand new, not even a year old and has only 7,000 miles. The car was towed to summit Ford in siverthorne colorado on August 23 where it has been for two weeks. It is absolutely outrageous that a relatively new car would have a catastrophic failure of the steering system without warning leaving me without a vehicle for over two weeks. Needless to say, I will never purchase another Ford product but they need to be held accountable for the inconvenience they have caused me with this obviously inferior product.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle would make an abnormal, roaring sound as well as vibrate without warning. The contact also stated that the vehicle would violently jerk upon depression of both the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact stated that she taken the vehicle to the dealer several times for repair and even had the transmission replaced; however, a year later, the failure returned. The manufacturer had been notified of both failures and a case was filed. The vehicle had been placed under NHTSA campaign number: 21v154000(suspension); however, the parts of the repair were unavailable. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.