What 1,160 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Ford Explorer Gas

The back hatch has opened 4 times with no warning. The vehicle was in motion. First Time September 2021: I was backing out of my garage, the hatch came open and hit my garage door, it bent the hatch and it was repaired by RT Auto Centerville Iowa and garage door had to be replaced. Second time November 2021: I was backing out of my driveway and it came open with no warning, no damage. Third Time October 2022 I was backing out of my garage, the hatch came open and hit my garage door again, no warning, Repaired by Copeland Repair Center Oskaloosa Iowa Fourth Time February 2023: I was backing out of my garage, the Hatch opened with no warning & hit my garage door, the hatch, and camera were completely replaced and the vehicle had to be painted by Copeland Repair Center Oskaloosa Iowa. Prior to the fourth incident, I contacted FORD Motor company and was advised there was no recall or complaints on this issue and was told to go to the FORD Dealership. I went to the Ford dealer and was advised to take the problem to the repair shop, it was not FORD's issue that they had check it and found nothing wrong. Since the camera and hatch have been totally replaced, this has not happened. I am worried to have passengers in the back row seats due to this issue, for fear it will come open and someone will get injured. I purchased this vehicle new in May of 2020 from Junge Motors, North Liberty, Iowa. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I only have one of the 3 Estimates. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6

NHTSA ODI 11569580

Tailgate latching warning is intermittent in indicating if a lift gate is actually left open. This has been a reported issue by multiple users on forums. It’s caused me to have to call airport security to make sure my tailgate was indeed latch and happened three other instances. Some users have reported that they have had their driver door entry keypad unplugged that’s shorting the car’s warning system. This now sets off my car alarm and also sends a notification via the ford app. See other users experiencing the same issue since 2022 and ford trying to charge customers for short, even some reporting not being able to open the lift gate at all. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11564067

Our 3rd car (used by our daughter) has started to smell like mold. I then noticed the back seat behind the driver side was wet. All windows were up and fully closed - never left open. I soaked up the water. Days later the water returned. I did some research online and found this is a recurring issues were weld joints breakdown and then leak. In that same forum the post referenced water built up where the spare tire is keep. I just opened up the spare tire area and noticed 3" of water and the mechanism for holding down the tire is rusty, suggesting the water has been there for sometime. As reference, here is the forum I mentioned above: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t51317_ds819498

NHTSA ODI 11551299

1. The Explorer spontaneously went on fire while being driven damaging the entire front of the vehicle 2. The vehicle could have exploded affecting other vehicles as well as injured or killed the driver and passenger 3. No. Insurance Company immediately declared vehicle totaled. 4. No. Once again, vehicle was immediately declared a total loss and assigned salvage company to take possession 5. No warnings. First sign of anything wrong was flames coming from under the hood

NHTSA ODI 11537794

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the trim on passenger’s side windshield had detached from the windshield. The contact stated that the trim on the driver’s side windshield had also detached. The vehicle was diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11530140

The rear hatch opens unexpectedly with no command given. It happened twice while in Drive pulling out of my garage. There was no audible or visual warnings the hatch was opening. The hatch impacted the garage door frame causing the glass to shatter and denting the metal. First incident was 4/2022 the second was 1/2023. Both were reported to my insurance provider and the Ford dealer. I also contacted Ford directly for reimbursement of my deductible and other expenses and they paid. See attached. Please see SSM 49015 - 2020 Explorer/Aviator – Partial Power Liftgate Opening And/Or False Anti-Theft Alarm Activation – Liftgate Ajar - Built On Or Before 17-Feb 2020. The problem is not resolved and I no confidence the hatch won't open whie I am on the road. If it does and something falls out this would be a major safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11504175

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while approaching a stop, the vehicle's upper center console detached from its housing causing the contact to crash into another vehicle due to the failure. No one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 48,123.

NHTSA ODI 11500446

Over the last two years, the lift gate has closed in excess of 20 times without direct actuation of the lift gate button located on the lift gate, in the driver compartment or from the key fob. A significant amount of time this includes no sounding of the lift gate closing chime. This happens when the lift gate is open, and you are standing at the rear of the vehicle. The lift gate has closed and caused the person to quickly duck out of the way to avoid getting hit in the head by the door. This action is suspect of the movement of something below the bumper to trigger the hands-free opening / closing sensor. The vehicle in question was brought into the local dealer for troubleshooting and no defects noted. A software update was performed, and the condition still exists.

NHTSA ODI 11490217

At a speed of approximately 30mph, I heard a cracking noise from the rear of my vehicle. After looking into my rear view mirror, I saw the rear window was shattered, and caving inward. It was around 90 degrees that day at 1:30 pm and I was driving on an open road. There was a co-worker driving behind me that was witness. Nothing came down and hit the rear window.

NHTSA ODI 11442216

Worked until 11am Friday 11/5/21, went back out to work night shift 10:40 ish at night to start the vehicle up to warm up (he believes that he had turned on the heat). As the officer was outside walking his dog he heard noises of glass cracking. He walked up to it and noticed the entire rear window was shattered. No point of entry or notice of vandalism.

NHTSA ODI 11440212

Officer was sitting in vehicle while it was running with AC on, he pressed the Max defrost button for a couple of seconds then turned it off. After about a minute or two he heard a what a loud noise and looked in his rear view mirror to see his rear window completely shattered.

NHTSA ODI 11440216

I have a serious safety issue with my 2020 Ford Explorer. The tailgate has unexpectedly closed when loading or unloading items from the cargo area. This is due the foot activation function. When loading/unloading heavier items you must stand close to the bumper. In so doing the foot activation closes the tailgate. This has happened at least 6 times including closing on my wife and grand children. The attached photo shows a skin scrap I sustained in blocking the tailgate from closing on a grandchild. I have talked to the dealer about deactivating the foot function. They responded it cannot be done.

NHTSA ODI 11431642

We were going down the Hwy about 65 no cars around our sunroof exploded we had the headliner closed and it was full of glass. We thought at first we had a blow out but we saw all the glass in the middle of the sunroof no object or mark on car

NHTSA ODI 11428720

INTERIOR FLOODING, IN SPARE TIRE WELL AND ALL FLOORING AREAS. SIX GALLONS OF WATER REMOVED. WAITING FOR FORD DEALERSHIP TO INSPECT. THEY BELIEVE A WELD HAS GONE BAD.

NHTSA ODI 11402750

DRIVERS DOOR LOCKS AND WILL NOT LET YOU ENTER AND/OR EXIT VEHICLE AT ITS DISCRETION . I AM HANDICAPPED AND CANNOT CLIMB OVER SEATS TO EXIT VEHICLE. ONLY HAPPENS TO DRIVER'S DOOR. WOULD BE SAFETY ISSUE IF IN AN ACCIDENT AND/OR FIRE.

NHTSA ODI 11395894

DOOR LATCH FAILURE. DOOR WILL NO SHUT. STUCK OPEN.

NHTSA ODI 11385212

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A STAND STILL AND ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE MIRROR FAILED TO OPEN. THE CLIMATE CONTROL FAILED TO OPERATE CORRECTLY, WHICH CREATED A VISIBILITY HAZARD FOR THE DRIVER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BLIND SPOT DETECTION, CROSS TRACK, SIDE OBSTACLE DETECTION, PRE-COLLISION ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO EMPIRE FORD OF HUNTINGTON LOCATED AT 333 W JERICHO TURNPIKE, HUNTINGTON, NY 11743, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING TO UPDATE AN UNKNOWN SOFTWARE AND TO REPLACE AN UNKNOWN MODULE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, HOWEVER THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND OPENED A CASE WHICH WAS RECENTLY CLOSED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 8,000.

NHTSA ODI 11343540

DRIVER DOOR AND WINDOW VIBRATING WHEN REAR WINDOWS ARE ROLLED DOWN IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11326423