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

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her son was positioned in the third-row seat, the head restraint unexpectedly slammed down on the tip of his left index finger. As a result, he sustained a severe injury that required immediate medical attention. The injury required 6 to 8 stitches, and the child also required surgery. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11750070

The vehicle was parked on a slight incline and they were inside the vehicle rolled away and struck a fire hydrant. The vehicle was in park and rolled down the hill and struck multiple stationary objects.

NHTSA ODI 11748737

On December 26, at approximately 7:08 p.m., I was driving on the Belt Parkway during a snowstorm. I was traveling in the middle lane and began to safely change lanes to the right. During the lane change, the vehicle’s four-wheel-drive system suddenly displayed an error and appeared to malfunction. Immediately after this occurred, I lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle veered to the right, struck the median, and flipped over twice before coming to rest on its side. Prior to the system error, I was operating the vehicle normally and driving cautiously given the weather conditions. The loss of control occurred abruptly and without warning.

NHTSA ODI 11707956

Put vehicle in reverse camera camera on then went black and the backup lights went out while trying to move resulting in hitting a pole.

NHTSA ODI 11694015

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to open the passenger’s side door, her son and husband’s hands were sliced and injured by the door. Neither the dealer nor an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred by the manufacturer to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.

NHTSA ODI 11679846

Interior driver door handle - coating is metal, it partially peeled off. Several times it has cut my finger when I open the door (paper type cut). Due to fast paced life, I forget to open door is a way to avoid the metal flake and tend to always cut my finger which is scary if I touched it when vehicle was in motion, there is a quick second of shock/pain from cut. Ford has this common problem as we had the window openers replaced when it was warrantied, same issue. I think it's a safety issue and should be replaced by Ford. They want to charge me over $300 for the repair, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. Driver side is more affected because it is used 3x as much and other doors.

NHTSA ODI 11679501

* Upon a significant partial front and complete side impact, the airbags failed to deploy. No front, side, curtain, etc... * The vehicle has been seen by the original tow company, the insurance assigned tow company (from original tow company to a body shop) and by the body shop personnel. * I believe the insurance adjuster has inspected, but I cannot confirm that at this time. * No prior warning lamps or messages were present prior to the impact. * The vehicle safety system engaged the fuel cut-off, hazard lights and automatically initiated the SOS system (called 9-1-1).

NHTSA ODI 11676854

While sitting in the 3rd row seat, my daughter felt the headrest smack the back of her head. When trying to put it back up, it will no longer stay in place. There are multiple reports of this exact thing happening. This is a known issue with these vehicles. I am now unable to allow anyone to ride in that seat, as the headrest will not stay up.

NHTSA ODI 11674615

Driver side headrest does not properly lock in place. The headrest moves from the upright position to a forward angle position when jostled. While braking heavily in a car accident, my driver side headrest abruptly moved forward causing the headrest to slam into the back of my head.

NHTSA ODI 11669811

Back up camera glitches and back up lights went out cause me to back into a tree at night

NHTSA ODI 11664995

I was involved in an accident. I was traveling through a green light and a car was coming towards my driver side, they failed to yield. I attempted to accelerate and my transmission slipped prior to impact. I have tried to address this concern with Ford in the past and have reported the vehicle jerks on acceleration and when slowing down. You can feel the transmission slip when it is attempting to go from gear to gear.

NHTSA ODI 11657533

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the sunroof fractured without impact. Additionally, the fractured glass fell onto the contact and all over the interior of the vehicle. The contact sustained cuts from the fractured glass. The contact had not received medical treatment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

NHTSA ODI 11656846

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under Customer Satisfaction Program: 22N17 (Power Window Switch Chrome Tip Replacement); however, the failure occurred with the driver's and passenger's side door handles. The contact stated that the chrome paint on the driver's and passenger's side door handles had peeled, exposing a sharp edge that cut the contact’s hand while opening the front driver's side door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance, and the contact was informed that the driver's and passenger's side door handles were not covered by Customer Satisfaction Program: 22N17 (Power Window Switch Chrome Tip Replacement). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,302.

NHTSA ODI 11651782

Sunshade for the sunroof is starting to sag/come off track

NHTSA ODI 11651618

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, another vehicle collided with the passenger side of the vehicle and hit the rim. The wrench, the four-wheel drive, the brake, and the hillside warning lights illuminated after the crash. The vehicle was driven to the dealer. The vehicle was repaired for an axel that needed to be replaced, the module PMI was replaced, a revised part for the four-wheel drive shaft was replaced, and a module switch was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 61,800.

NHTSA ODI 11643744

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer XLP. The contact stated that his wife received a minor cut from the front driver’s side interior door handle because the chrome wrap on the door handle had started to deteriorate. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the interior door handle chrome was peeling and had sharp edges. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.

NHTSA ODI 11627743

As my [XXX] was opening the rear passenger door of the vehicle part of the chrome trim had came loose in turn causing a laceration on his finger. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11620553

I hit a pole in early April, and brought it to a shop - Casey’s in Brentwood - to have it fixed. The car had no warning lights or issues. They needed to take off the front of the car to repair the body damage. They discharged the car to us, and I noticed a battery light was on. We called a few days later and the owner said well I tried to call you and left a message but heard nothing. He said we needed to take it to the dealership to turn the light off. We drove it 50 miles to the dealership. The dealership said that this is not a “light to turn off” - this was a significant problem that would be an expensive repair. He said the car would not be safe to drive ultimately very long because the car could just dead stop while driving on a freeway (similar to what happened to a Tesla causing a death). They were unsure of the cause but not from hitting the pole. We brought it to our family’s nearby. We had a second opinion and the mechanic noted this is not typical damage - this is a dangerous safety issue and the car should not be driven. We called Casey’s and they said oh we had no idea, have State Farm toe it back to us. State Farm has refused to pay, saying the damage is unrelated. Caseys has now changed their story and said the light was on when they got the car. This is wildly unethical, and had I known, I would have wanted this fixed not just be allowed to drive home with my children. The first auto shop put me and my children’s lives at risk by letting us drive home without letting us know, putting it in the paperwork or investigating this. They deny it is because of their doing and they will not take accountability for potentially causing this damage. I genuinely believe they are covering it up.

NHTSA ODI 11596598

2020 Ford Explorer purchased in January 2021. Since owning this vehicle, we have experienced numerous (10+) situations where at a light or entering traffic with our foot on the brake pedal and waiting to proceed the car starts to acerate on its own and jump forward 4'-6' before it stops. I have visited my dealer Jones Ford in Charleston, SC and reported this issue a couple of times over the past few years. As usual they were unable to replicate the issue in shop or find a service code that relates to this problem. On Thursday, [XXX], 2023, while horizontally parking my vehicle in Georgetown, SC in front of an electrical pole (with support wires holding it in place), with my foot on the brake pedal coming to a stop, the engine accelerated and jumped the curb hitting the steel wires causing damage to my front and right side. The following Monday, [XXX] I brought the Explorer into the dealer to investigate the problem since it was still under an extended warranty. After spending a week at the dealer, they return the vehicle unable to find anything wrong and charged me over $200 for a service inspection (Invoice Included). At that point I contacted Ford Customer Service directly and after numerous calls and emails they denied that anything was wrong with my Explorer and closed the case (email included). Since January 2024, I have incurred 5 additional occurrences, and the last one was last week while I was parking the car in reverse...it jumped and struck the parked vehicle behind me. Thank goodness there was no damage to either vehicle. Over the past weekend in continuing to research this problem I came across an AP Article from June 2023 discussing this problem with 2020-22 Ford Explorers (article included). This is why I am lodging this complaint; Ford was well a where of this dangerous situation that my wife and I faced over the years. When the vehicle would accelerate it was very scary, and you honestly were not positive the car would stop. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11589627

Vehicle caught fire while parked after driving.

NHTSA ODI 11587169

the chrome is peeling from the interior driver door handle, leaving a piece of metal. This flaking/peeling metal cuts your hand when using the inside driver door handle to exit the vehicle. Ford told me it is not covered under the current recall of window switch chrome peeling (and can cut you).

NHTSA ODI 11586037

The contact owned a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the advanced traction control, 4-wheel drive pre-collision assist, and drive mode assist warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while it was raining. The contact lost control of the rear of the vehicle and the rear of the vehicle and crashed into a rail. The vehicle then crashed into a guard rail, crossed a two-lane highway, and bounced off of a concrete slab before the vehicle stopped. The contact's two children were in the vehicle. The contact and the contact's children received medical attention on the scene and were taken to the medical center. The contact and the contact's children were all treated for whiplash and concussion. The contact was also treated for nerve damage. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The contact stated that the failure had occurred previously, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer had informed the contact that there was an unknown recall with a similar failure description, however, the VIN was not associated. The vehicle had an upcoming service appointment with an independent mechanic. The contact stated that the independent mechanic was very trustworthy and served the contact's vehicle regularly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11583062

I have a 2020 Ford Explorer that has had intermittent issues with the passenger side losing heat since aprox 11/18/2023. On Friday 2/16 we had snow begin falling at 7AM locally. I park in the GARAGE. 1/2 way to work, on a major highway, my passenger side began fogging up. The heat was all the way up and there was no way for me to aim my driver-side vents to the other side of the car. After 4-5 minutes, my passenger side was completely fogged up and 1/4-1/3 of the windshield was also completely fogged up. In the 15 minute drive, I could not see anything on the right side of my vehicle and almost missed my exit, hitting a curb and scraping my rim. This is a known issue as there are 2 bulletins out by the NHTSA for my SPECIFIC make, model and years.

NHTSA ODI 11572757

I have had the blue screen sensors replaced 3 times. This has been a recall. Now my front camera is having an error code. Yeh blue screen came on while backing up and I hit a rock. They say it has been fixed but now it is still occurring with the radio freezing and the front camera producing an error. The dealer says there’s no current fix and they have an unable to reproduce it when it is at the dealership because it happens intermittently. I have had the driveshaft replaced and the transmission I am unable to trade this car and due to the multiple safety issues and transmission issues, this car has such a long repair history that it is priced up below market value. I am afraid that I am going to have another accident or something is going to freeze up at an in opportune moment and causes collision as it did before.

NHTSA ODI 11572734

The chrome trim on the 2020 Ford Explorer inside door handle and window switches is separating/peeling off and is very sharp. My neice sliced her finger and was bleeding from the inside passanger door handle chrome that is peeling/separating from the handle when opening the door to exit the vehicle. I have cut my finger on the chrome tipped window switches.

NHTSA ODI 11569366