Home · 2020 Ford Explorer Police Intercept · Complaints

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

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (1,163)Crash / fire / injury (64)Transmission & drivetrain (454)Electrical system (179)Engine (111)Backup camera & sensors (104)Brakes (79)Driver assistance (67)Visibility & wipers (63)Lights (51)Body & structure (43)Fuel system (42)

Newest first · 1,163 complaints · page 36 of 47

May 18, 2022Electrical systemLane DepartureBackup camera & sensors

When reversing the rear camera display turns blue and I'm not able to see anything behind me using the safety camera feature. I rely on the camera to assist with detecting people or objects in my blind spots while reversing and intermittently the display turns blue. There was a recall for this make and model and manufacture date, but the vehicle is not included in the recall. Recall information - Rearview Camera Recall 21C09. The dealership can't reproduce the issue because it's intermittent and there are no error codes, so they won't replace the camera. They've tried several software fixes but the problem continues. No warning messages displayed when the issue occurs. Thanks.

NHTSA ODI 11465226

May 17, 2022Service Brakes, AirTransmission & drivetrain1 injury

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, unattended on an incline, the vehicle rolled backward without warning. The contact was able to place her hand on the brake and stop the vehicle. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The contact scraped her knee but no medical attention was provided. The contact stated while sitting in the driver's seat, the vehicle rolled backward. The driver was able to depress the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where they could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 22,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464987

May 9, 2022SuspensionTransmission & drivetrain

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 the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that she had taken the vehicle to the dealer several times for repair and had the transmission replaced; however, a year later, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The contact stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V154000 (Suspension). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

NHTSA ODI 11463930

May 1, 2022Backup camera & sensors

I have brought my vehicle to the dealership for repair of the Safety Recall for my car. They stated that they repaired the car. However the problem still exist. I have taken images and videos of the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11462894

Apr 30, 2022Backup camera & sensors

Reverse camera blue screen is appearing again after the 1st recall “fix”. Apparently this is becoming quite common, as I am in many Ford Explorer groups. Many others have this happening after their “recall fix” as well. Some even appear to have this happening after multiple times of recall “fixes”. Ford should be held accountable for not addressing a safety concern with a concrete solution. I have asked others within the groups to also submit incident reports.

NHTSA ODI 11462855

Apr 28, 2022Speed control

The gas pedal snapped off where connected to the floor.

NHTSA ODI 11462614

Apr 25, 2022Engine & cooling

This vehicle has a recall 21E11, for an inlet exhaust leak on the driver side, but the service technician when doing the recall says I have the exact same thing on the passenger side - a weld has corroded and there is an exhaust leak (photo available). The passenger side is not covered by the 21E11 recall, but is the same identical weld/corrosion/exhaust leak issue. They quoted $3,500 to repair. I have escalated via Ford - case number CAS36437910, but until this side has an official recall, they won't repair.

NHTSA ODI 11462094

Apr 23, 2022

The back up camera is malfunctioning on my vehicle. It presents a blue image with the back up camera and a blue image on the 360 camera. Everything that I have read shows it is a recall, but my VIN does not have a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11461896

Apr 11, 2022Backup camera & sensors

Recall 21V735000 was performed by Sakelaris Ford of Rolla, Missouri on December 9, 2021. On February 28, 2022 the problem of the "Blue Screen" Backup Camera display again occurred and has been occurring regularly ever since. I have not yet contacted the dealer to reschedule a follow up pending correspondence from the NHTSA.

NHTSA ODI 11460413

Apr 10, 2022Engine

Twice now my car has felt like it has stalled. Once I was at a stop light, the light was red so I stopped. Then when the light turned green I accelerated, the car moved slightly and then stalled. Pedal to the floor and nothing happened. Nothing in the car indicated why this happened. The car was on and ready to go but the petal or engine didn't work. Not sure what happened. The second time it happened I was trying to make a turn from a stop. I accelerated, the car moved a bit then stopped. I was pulling onto a 55 mph road and I was just sitting there. Car was fine, running and seemed to be in working condition but it stalled on me. Pedal to the floor, no response from the car. I have an appointment on Tuesday April 12th to take the car in to speak with the service department. I have spoken to other 6th generation ford explorer owners that have stated the same thing has happened and the service department had no answer for them. I am hoping if enough of us submit an issue it will get investigated preventing a fetal crash.

NHTSA ODI 11460302

Apr 4, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was oil leaking from the vehicle at start-up. The seat heating and cooling system was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken four times to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to Phil Long Ford of Denver (7887 W Tufts Ave, Denver, CO 80123) where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve was loose and oil was leaking on to the manifold. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 10,516. THE CONSUMER STATED THEY FAILURE WAS DUE TO ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND DRIVER'S SIDE BEZEL TRIM REPLACEMENT.

NHTSA ODI 11459522

Apr 1, 2022Electrical systemBrakesDriver assistance

My car warnings were malfunctioning as they were all flashing on briefly. The car has done this before and has other issues with the panel such as now it has the icon for camera visibility is not working. I cleaned each camera and the light is still on. I backed out of the driveway put the car in drive and started to accelerate. I stepped on the brakes and they were not working, I repeatedly tried to stop but they were gone. My car finally stopped (I was not far enough to have started to build any speed. I turned the car off and back on and the brakes were back on. This happened March 31st, 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11459198

Mar 28, 2022Backup camera & sensors

I have a safety recall notice 21S44/NHTSA RECALL 21V735 - 360 degree camera display, which includes the rear view camera may intermittently display a blue image on the media touchscreen upon shifting into reverse. Although your form said there was no recall on my vehicle I have received a notice mentioned above and I have experienced the problem mentioned in the recall notice a number of times. The Phil Long Ford Dealership in Colorado Springs on Motorcity .Drive have worked on the vehicle four times since the 1st of January and still have not repaired my vehicle. I would think that since this is a recall that they should have a fix by now. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

NHTSA ODI 11458695

Mar 22, 2022Brakes

This has happened multiple times. Start the vehicle and put into drive while the brake pedal is fully depressed and the car will move forward. While it is in motion you can hear what sounds like the anti-lock system activating. You have to pump the brakes as I assume the master cylinder has lost pressure. It does this randomly and is not repeatable. If this ever happens and someone or another car is around it could be a very bad day.

NHTSA ODI 11457823

Mar 21, 2022Lights

We reported the driver's side headlamp as going out intermittently on Jan 4, 2022 to the dealership (Ford of Boerne, Boerne, TX). When they could not resolve the issue, we reported the problem to Ford. The light is out mostly full time now. We first realized the problem when driving at night when it would go in and out.

NHTSA ODI 11457677

Mar 2, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge backwards when shifted into reverse. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated after each failure, she turned off and restarted the vehicle, and she was then able to reverse without any further issues. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed the contact that the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,500.

NHTSA ODI 11454826

Mar 2, 2022Brakes

I was driving down the road and several sensor malfunction warnings started to pop up including an antilock brake fault. I was in traffic and needed to slow down but the brake system was non responsive when I applied normal pressure to the brake. I had to attempt braking with all my force before car slowly started to brake. I nearly was in an accident but fortunately was able to pull off to the side until car was able to fully stop.

NHTSA ODI 11454934

Feb 24, 2022

The driver's side door doesn't unlock. The locking mechanism gets stuck in the locked position and the door will not open as it won't unlock. Has happened 9 times in the past 48 hours during a total of 7 outings. It puts the driver at risk if they need to quickly get out or get in the vehicle. I took it to the dealership today and it would not unlock for me to exit the vehicle. They tested the mechanisms involved and all function so not parts replaced. There are no warnings when this happens. First started on 2/22/2022. In my online research, it is happening for others with this type of vehicle including police vehicles which is a huge safety issue for them if they can't exit the vehicle when necessary.

NHTSA ODI 11453857

Feb 21, 2022Backup camera & sensors

My rear camera works less than 50% of the time. It even goes out while backing up. I get a blue screen and my rear brake assist becomes inactive.

NHTSA ODI 11453211

Feb 20, 2022Backup camera & sensors

The rear back up camera area is blue and you are unable to see behind the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11453066

Feb 17, 2022Electrical system

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the instrument panel would remain inoperable, resulting in a loss of speedometer and tachometer functions. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the instrument cluster replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

NHTSA ODI 11452438

Feb 17, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

When this vehicle is put into reverse it does not engage the transmission at times. You either have to put it back in to park and back in reverse and/or floor it in essence push the throttle all the way down for it to engage. As that happens and it finally engages you’re going way too fast in reverse. Also when it does not engage it acts like a stick shift and that you are in neutral and you’re either rolling forward or backward depending on the incline. Very frustrating I’ve taken it into the shop two different times specifically for this they say they have a work order in place and the last time they said it was a chip and they ran their diagnostics and corrected it. It still did not get corrected and is still a problem . I am not pleased at all with this failure in the transmission as far as the engaging of reverse is involved. Thank you

NHTSA ODI 11452572

Feb 16, 2022Visibility & wipers

I was driving my car in the afternoon & heard a pop. My windshield randomly cracked. It cracked at the base of the car about 2 inches up from where it meets the frame. Then it cracked across 3/4 of the windshield

NHTSA ODI 11452240

Feb 15, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

2020 FORD EXPLORER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERE VIBRATIONS AT CERTAIN SPEEDS AND AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER BREACHED IT'S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION BY FAILING TO PROPERLY AND TIMELY REPAIR THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11452145

Feb 13, 2022Brakes

It has happened several times over last year. When car is put in reverse the brakes barely work and car doesn’t stop well. Almost like no power brakes. Once put in drive, the brakes work correctly.

NHTSA ODI 11451783

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How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2020 Ford Explorer Police Intercept verdict →