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

While driving my 2020 Explorer a couple of weeks ago I noticed it was down shifting really hard when I would slow down to stop at a light. There were no warning lights or check engine lights of any kind. It continually got worse over the next few days so I made an appointment with our local Ford dealership. When I called they told me it was probably just a computer issue and they could reset it. On my first appointment I was having them change the oil as well as “reset” the computer. When they came out to talk to me they said they had a technician “reset” the computer but the actual “transmission guy” wasn’t there and I would probably have to bring it back. He told me it would probably drive different to me now because it has an “adaptive” transmission and it would have to adjust to the way I drive. I called and made another appointment that same day after I saw it was still doing the same thing. Well the next night I took it on a trip to the next town that was about 20 minutes away. It started “driving” very strangely and I began to smell a hot or chemical kind of smell. I actually pulled off to the side of the highway at one point. I was able to make it home and didn’t attempt to drive very far until I had it looked at again. We’ll I took it back today and they’re now telling me it has to have either a new transmission or that one rebuild. Whichever Ford decides. Luckily it’s still under warranty or I’d have a bigger problem. After researching I’ve discovered thousands of other people who have had the exact same issue with their 2020 Explorer, all at different mileages. I feel Ford should have already issued a recall for this known problem by now. This is absolutely a safety issue because if your in traffic or pull out into an intersection and the car doesn’t want to shift it could cause a serious wreck. I’ve already had to have the backup camera replaced(before they issued the recall)and the drivers side power window motor replaced. Definitely regret buying.

NHTSA ODI 11451420

Has burning smell of wires when heat is on, only has heat on drivers side, blows cold air on passenger side, had Avis Ford Dealership look at it, said it was the heater core and they don't know when it will be in stock.

NHTSA ODI 11450570

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera inadvertently turned blue. There were no warnings lights were illuminated. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer who updated the Image Processing Module software; however, the failure reoccurred 1-2 weeks later. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who advised the contact that the rearview camera needed to be replaced and the repair would be completed at her own expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and followed up with the dealer. The manufacturer then called back but offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.

NHTSA ODI 11449317

Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning . The systems did not perform as they where designed to. No the problem was not looked at by the company.As far as I know Ford never looked at the vehicle. No warning of any kind showed up on the vehicle before the collision.

NHTSA ODI 11448856

The vehicle steering wheel felt loose, took the vehicle to a local Ford dealer where they found that the steering wheel bolt was loose almost to the point of falling off. They tightened up the bolt and sent me on my way.

NHTSA ODI 11448223

The vehicle has been in the Ford Dealer 3-times to replace the sunroof/moonroof wind deflector. It has fallen off while driving two times interfering with traffic and one time it detached on one side only. Fortunately, no one was injured or any damage done other than the deflector was damaged by traffic after it detached. It was replaced just a few weeks ago for the second time and it just detached and fell off again while driving yesterday. I notified Ford Quality and Customer Concerns of the situation but no reply, apparently Ford, nor the dealer appear to care. However, besides the cost someone is going to get hurt. The first time the wind deflector came off was in April 21 and the second time October 22, the third time was yesterday, 01-14-22.

NHTSA ODI 11447605

A police officer dropped this SUV off complaining of an exhaust smell coming through the vents in the vehicle. upon opening the hood ,a strong odor off exhaust from the right side of the motor could be smelled .No visible leaks or sounds were noticed. The vehicle remained out of service until our local Ford dealer could service this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11447278

This vehicle has been “repaired” by Ford dealer per recall instructions but the backup camera is still intermittently blue. Recall “fix” offered by Ford does NOT fix this problem

NHTSA ODI 11447387

While driving in regular weather. The dash flags a red box that say pre Collison alert, and beeps. For no reason nothing around me. I know the sensor is located in the front end of the vehicle. Scares everyone in vehicle thinking we are going to have an accident and put o

NHTSA ODI 11446832

I have this 2020 Ford Explorer with about 15k miles on it. It suddenly started down shifting hard, getting hang gears, and having multiple issues. I took it to my local Ford dealer who refused to even do a diagnostic because my vehicle had warranty work done on the head gasket about two weeks after it was purchased. They are claiming it is similar to the issue I am having now. I am now trying to work with Ford to get it repaired. I checked online and this seems to be a pretty common issue on the forums that I went to and people were describing identical experiences that I had with my car. One example is that when I applied a small amount of pressure to the gas pedal, my car wouldn’t shift, got up to 7k rpm, and then finally did a hard shift that felt like I hit something. The hard downshifting would happen even when I was coming to a complete stop or anytime I was slowing down.

NHTSA ODI 11446694

Adaptive headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer Platinum AWD has failed twice in 2-years. First, upon receiving the vehicle, the passenger side had to be replaced (dealer was unable to fix the problem, so had to replace the whole headlamp assembly which requires a complete removal of the front bumper). Now the driver side headlamp has failed - and I haven't even had the car 2-years yet (will be 2-years in a few weeks). The headlamp failure is complicated by the long lead time to get the replacement part for the whole headlamp assembly - so now I am WEEKS without being able to have a headlight and am forced to drive without it.

NHTSA ODI 11445577

The chrome plating on the interior door handle is peeling away from the handle structure, creating a sharp edge that has the potential to lacerate a person's finger(s) as they pull the handle to open the door. This defect cut my middle finger on my left hand fairly deep, causing bleeding, but did not require stitches.

NHTSA ODI 11445191

Our radio/navigational/climate control screen will go completely black while driving the vehicle. This has happened approximately 15 times since the purchase of the brand new car in August of 2020. Therefore, I lose all of my controls and my GPS. This will not come back on until the car is turned off and is given time to reset. This reset time varies from 30 minutes to 1 hour. The first time this occurred was one month after purchasing the vehicle. So, after three different visits to Ford dealerships, Hopkins Ford, Manning Ford and Dundee Ford, not one technician can duplicate this problem so it is still happening. Recently, I was in Columbus, Ohio and the screen went black while I was driving in an unfamiliar area. I'm aware that Ford had a massive recall on this very issue but somehow our VIN number is not included in this. I frequently travel across the Midwest because my fifteen year old daughter is in travel volleyball. I cannot afford for safety reasons for this to happen to the two of us when we are driving in unfamiliar places. This is a huge safety concern for my daughter and I.

NHTSA ODI 11445259

1) Powertrain - 10 speed transmission will not shift properly. When down/up shifting, The transmission slams into gear. It started at 54000 miles. Dealer repair shop stated that there were zero codes and was unable to ascertain the problem. Problem continued and only got worst. On another visit, the mechanic was able to duplicate the sound and still no codes. It was stated that I should return the vehicle on Monday and Ford technical would be contacted. Vehicle was returned on a Monday. i spoke with the Mechanic. he now stated that he could not duplicate the slamming. I recommend he ride with me. We took a four- mile drive. Within 3/4 mile, the slamming was back. The vehicle was kept until Friday of same week. The factory Rep recommended that dealer should reset the computer and drive for 500 miles. The dealer Rep/Dannelle stated Ford should assumed the cost of replacing the transmission and not the dealer under my Extended Warranty. Now the dealer's Repair shop will not return my phone call. 2) I also called in report and request an appointment regarding my electric windows will not go up or down. Zero return call. After driving approximately 300 miles and stopping for fuel, the windows started working again.

NHTSA ODI 11445164

Inlet exhaust leak and rattle, the vehicle sounds like a diesel truck. Transmission jerking into out of third gear.

NHTSA ODI 11442766

I own a 2020 Ford Explorer (Platinum edition). A recall was issued for the back-up camera. My car had been having issues of intermittent camera problems prior to the recall. I took my car into Sam Pack's Five Star Ford of Lewisville (1144 N Stemmons Fwy, Lewisville, TX 75067) for the recall repair. . . I drove the vehicle for about thirty minutes after completion of the recall repair at which time I parked the car. Unfortunately, when I did so the "Blue Screen" returned. The was the reason for the recall. . . This is the same as prior to the recall "repair". Also, when this happens a warning pops up "Reverse Brake Assist Not Available" (this may be because the camera is malfunctioning). The camera does not do this all of the time. There is no rhyme or reason as to when it is going to fail. After turning the car off for a while (as when eating at a restaurant or grocery shopping, etc.) the camera works when you put the car into reverse (with the one exception noted above). It appears that the "fix" for the recall is insufficient to stop the camera errors from recurring. The incident date listed below is the date of the supposed recall repair. I have uploaded a PDF File showing pictures of the camera errors. If you would like any other information, or pictures of the blue screen errors, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached by email at [XXX] or by phone at [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11442732

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

Rear backup camera incorrectly sensed an obstruction behind vehicle and caused emergency braking with no visible obstruction. We were unable to pull out of the parking spot and had to jump a curb to leave. No further incident has been experienced,

NHTSA ODI 11441564

A computer system fault caused the inability to start, move, turn off, turn on, lock or otherwise do anything with the vehicle with manual buttons or the remote. The drivers screen flashed through fault codes but would not allow any action. After discussing with the dealer on the phone, who mentioned something about a bad battery cell, I decided to disconnect the battery terminal, waited a period of time, and reconnected. The computer system reset and everything functioned correctly with no fault codes. At the time the vehicle was in a company drive lane causing a major hazard to the vehicles passing through. The vehicle was brought straight to the Dealer Service department who said they could not find anything wrong.

NHTSA ODI 11441565

While driving at 70 mph the vehicle experienced the following issues all at once, the power steering shut off, all brake pressure was lost, the pre- collision system was turned off, parking brake engaged(at 70 mph) traction control system turned off, engine light turned on and all of the warning lights on the dash activated. This has happened 3 times and almost killed me twice. Ford has tried to repair this vehicle all three times and still have not corrected the issue. Ford has also refused to replace or buy back the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11441511

Suv was banging and stalling when braking down a hill or going up a hill. Driving on the interstate it totally lost power. It happened at various speeds. First dealer near where it happened refused to look at it for a month after I told them I lost power on the interstate and stalled out. Had it towed to the dealer I bought it from and no recalls are showing up even though I got the wrench and transmission alert of total failure. It has been sitting there over a month and they have torn out the transmission-issue also with clutch seals.

NHTSA ODI 11440313

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

When using the defrost or air conditioner or just having the fan on, exhaust fumes enter the cars cabin. Its very troublesome that when I took it to a Ford dealer and they checked it out and said the catalytic converter was cracked but told us Ford had no fix for it. Its very dangerous especially in the morning time when you need to use the defrost you have roll all the windows down and freeze you butt off.

NHTSA ODI 11438221

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse the vehicle, the backup camera failed to function as designed. The contact stated that the backup sensor non-functional message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and was diagnosed IPMB updated and repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was repaired under the recall but continued to experience failure. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11437629