What 1,163 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle drove over a pothole and made a metallic clunking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a failed driver’s side rear shock absorber. The contact was informed that the rear shocks needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

NHTSA ODI 11614173

We been getting AWD malfunctions alerts, causing the vehicle to not go into AWD. Took it to the dealership they say this isn't covered under the powertrain and we need to replace the AWD module on our 2020 Ford explorer. Reading other Forums, sounds like this is a common issue with the explorer but the dealership won't cover under powertrain warranty even thought this component powers the AWD part of the powertrain.

NHTSA ODI 11614282

Heating on passenger side of vehicle has failed multiple times.

NHTSA ODI 11614020

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission experienced hard downshifting while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the over time, the failure also occurred while depressing the accelerator pedal. The power train warning light was illuminated. A local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be seen until the end of the month. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle would not be covered under warranty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a leak was discovered in the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the independent mechanic. The failure mileage was approximately 52,500.

NHTSA ODI 11613401

2020 ford explorer police interceptor utility 27k miles has a broken differential bushing and axle bolt which in turn has cause the axle to fail thankfully not on the highway at full speed. This issue has a recall 22S27/22V255 but our vehicle and vin # aren't included in the recall even tho same issue is being reported. What can be done to add the other vins to this list because it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS OF UNKNOWN BUT POSSIBLE FAILURE

NHTSA ODI 11613450

-Transmission fluid leak -Trans cooler broken/cracked -Check engine light never came on (I had to discover this problem by a noise I was hearing) -Problem has been prepared by auto mechanic ($2,600). I have read there has been a recall for 2020 explorer models but my VIN is not included (should it be?). Attached youtube video shows the problem and mechanic states it’s been a problem: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11613289

Car went to dealer for engine noises and was told the motor needed replacement. Was never told what was actually wrong with the car in my paperwork. Then brought to another mechanic and was told the car needed a motor due to a bearing in the lower end had failed. Then noise went away was driving it to another dealer when the motor completely locked up.

NHTSA ODI 11613129

The drivers side outside seat valance broke and needs to be replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11612777

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The contact drove the vehicle to the side of the road and performed an inspection of the vehicle. The contact noticed that 3 of the 4 lug nuts were fractured on the driver's side rear tire. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with detached lug nuts. The contact was informed that the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred four times within the year. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11612904

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

NHTSA ODI 11611863

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon exiting the vehicle, the driver's side seat belt failed to fully retract. Afterward, entering the vehicle to drive to the next destination, the contact became aware that upon fastening the seat belt, the seat belt hung loose, providing little to no restraining tension. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.

NHTSA ODI 11611707

odd jerking during acceleration and deacceleration. More prominently noticed at 35MPH during deacceleration. Difficulty changing gears. Odd noises. Check engine light went on at

NHTSA ODI 11611369

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the power window control switch failed to function properly. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the powertrain control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,518.

NHTSA ODI 11610222

August 22, 2024 Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center P.O. Box 6248 Dearborn, MI 48126 Regarding: Customer Satisfaction Program 24N01 I want to let you know how dissatisfied I am with your customer service claim to have happy satisfied customers, that is so proudly proclaimed in the introduction to this notice. We travel long distances in very remote areas of the Southwest. The last thing I want is to be stranded in the hot desert with an axle bolt beginning to or actually failing. Your policy to notify us of a potential problem, but not repair until the bolt fails gives me no confidence in my vehicle. In fact I am reluctant to make this trip again in this vehicle that has a known parts failure issue. It would have been better to have not notified me of this concern, in which Ford has no intention of repairing until it fails. If the issue was only non critical, such as the chrome around the window operation buttons this process would be acceptable. However this issue has the potential for severe mechanical failure, resulting in dropping the driveline. The approach presented in this letter for this issue demonstrates a lack of customer service. At this point I am ready to sell this vehicle and purchase a different vehicle from a different manufacturer before taking another long distance trip in it.

NHTSA ODI 11610251

When slowing down around 27mph car downshifts so hard it jerks. If someone would have been behind me they would have probably hit me.

NHTSA ODI 11609285

When drivers side seat automatically goes back it will eventually break off the seat control cover with the adjustment controls on the left side of seat.

NHTSA ODI 11609461

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there were metal shavings inside the differential. The contact was informed that the differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,158.

NHTSA ODI 11609482

Transmission does a hard downshift from gear 7 to gear 6. There is a TSB bulletin for it but no recall. Car is under 100k miles but out of warranty and estimated to cost $3500 to repair. Also, the screen and backup camera frequently freeze or go black

NHTSA ODI 11609547

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the parking brake inadvertently activated. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the parts not being available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11608985

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the interior panoramic sunshade cover detached from the interior roof headliner and fell inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the sunshade cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 66,000.

NHTSA ODI 11608742

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.

NHTSA ODI 11606417

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact became aware of an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was inspected by a relative who became aware that one of the fuel hoses was fractured. A local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

NHTSA ODI 11605521

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.

NHTSA ODI 11603988

360 cameras are foggy and cannot see out of them causing false readings on parking alerts.This is the same issue the f150s have a recall about but there is not one for the explorer. The foggy display is getting worse over time. Hard to tell by the picture but in not very bright areas out of direct sun you cannot see anything on the 360 camera

NHTSA ODI 11603984

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11603081