2020 Ford Explorer: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Mar 3, 2026 · Acceleration · 26,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH with cruise control activated, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

Filed Oct 17, 2025 · Engine · ID

I was driving down upper pleasant ridge road caldwell id . Had cruise control on doing 50 and all of a sudden car just stopped in the middle of the road. No warning, no noise, no smoke , no check engine light nothing. I was in the middle of the road ,in the dark. Had to call the canyon county sheriff out to help me not get hit by a car waiting on the tow truck. Put jumper cables on battery my new battery bought in jan 2025 started smoking what ever happen fried my battery . Took it to dealership waiting on info

Filed Sep 26, 2025 · Driver assistance, Suspension · MI

The first component that fails and gives a warning is a 4WD failure. Once this warning occurs it cascades into a failure of collision assist, a sudden loss of adaptive cruise control, traction control and lane assist component. When this first occurred and my vehicle would suddenly slow down on the highway, because the cruise control would suddenly shut down and swerve due to the lane assist also shutting down. these warnings and failures did not reset immediately when you shut the car off and would last for days at a time. this would also happen randomly either on the highway or local roads. This is a known issue to Ford and they have issued TSB 23-2174 in regards to this.

Filed Sep 3, 2025 · Electrical, Transmission · CA

On [XXX], after starting my vehicle, I received multiple safety warnings, prompting the check engine light and a wrench icon on the dashboard. The alerts included issues with the anti-collision system, hill assist, traction control, lane departure, and adaptive cruise control, as well as my drive modes which were also unavailable. I contacted Raceway Ford in Riverside, CA, and dropped off the vehicle that day, reporting the errors. The dealership informed me the next day that the Half Shaft Speed Sensor had failed and would cost $870.52 to replace. Since the warranty had expired a month earlier on [XXX], this was no longer covered under the drivetrain warranty. I agreed to the repairs. After installing the new sensor, and conducting a test drive, additional errors appeared. After two weeks in the shop and multiple follow-ups, the dealership concluded that the AWD/FWD sensor had also failed and replaced both sensors. The repair documentation references TSB 21-2270, SSM 49045, and C0631. I believe this raises serious safety concerns and should warrant a recall, especially since other vehicles are experiencing similar issues just a month after warranty expiration. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 23, 2025 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · WY

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several DTC were displayed. The contact stated that the messages “Service 4WD”, “Service Advancetrac”, “Cruise Control not Available”, “Collision Alert”, and “Traction Control” were displayed. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The contact stated that several months ago the vehicle was repaired for the same failures. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed Feb 10, 2025 · Acceleration · 72,000 miles · IN

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle occasionally exceeded 85 MPH and accelerated independently. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

Filed Jul 7, 2024 · Seat belts, Transmission · CA

Our explorer has had cascading warnings each time we drive the car for the past 7 days. Sometimes it takes a mile, sometimes it is immediate. The safety warnings include: 4-wheel drive fault, passenger air bag fault, forward Collision avoidance not working, powertrain malfunction, restraint indicator light warning, pre collision assist- . Not all appear each time, and some change ( 4wheel drive fault/ power train malfuntion- restraint warning/ airbag seem to alternate. Power train shows with restraint. 4 wd malfunction shows with airbag). Each time it occurs the airbag warning illuminates. Dealer cannot work on it until July 16th. Sounds like tsb 23-2174, but have been unable to codes when I stopped by a dealer Before July 1 we had no warnings. 48,582 miles. When faults appear- most systems appear to work, have tried 4wd and other modes and they appear to work. But cruise control, seatbelt chimes and others do not work.

Filed Jul 6, 2024 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

I have put my 2020 ford explorer platinum in the ford shop several times because my cruise control has never worked properly. While using the cruise control it will reset to 85 mph whenever it chooses. This is a dangerous issue. Sames Ford dealership has looked at this issue 4 or so times with no fix. This issue needs to be addressed as my car is not the only one with this same issue.

Filed Sep 1, 2023 · Driver assistance, Transmission · NY

Warning that the cruise control function was not working. The the car would not go more the 5 miles an hour until it had switched out of 1st gear, it kept changing gears. I was scared to death of driving it. I had to use my emergency blinkers everytime I had to slow down and the try to regain speed. The transmission was making a clunk noise and the engine was reviving like crazy. I was afraid of being rear-ended or someone crashing into my car because I could not get out of the way. The car is at the dealership right now, they will not have time to look at it until after the holiday. I was 600 miles from home and terrified.

Filed Aug 2, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · MI

2020 ford explorer st-about 55,000 miles. Dealer: preferred ford in grand haven, mi. Issue is sometimes a multitude of warning lights would come on when traveling. They include shutting down the cruise control when in motion, the forward collision sensor would stop working, all wheel drive and hill assist lights would come on and stop working. This happens whether a short trip, 10-15 miles into town, or on a longer trip. Only way to potentially reset it was to stop, turn vehicle off for a minute or two and restart. Sometimes this worked and sometimes not. This is a safety hazard when operating on a roadway, usually at highway speeds, especially in winter road conditions or an occasional trip through the mountains to the southern states. Had a computer update, which cost $540.00, still not solve it. Finally able to get into dealer with all warning lights activated. Dealer stated has to do with drivetrain. Now today (8-3-23), was advised by dealer a new ford engineer internal service memo stated that is not the total fix. Total repairs cost is in/around $2000.00. If ford knows this is an issue and with the many ford explorers on the road today, this needs to be addressed so the consumer can have confidence in driving their vehicles.

Filed Sep 21, 2022 · Driver assistance, Transmission · TX

While driving on normal suburban roads, error messages appear on the instrument display every two to three days: 4WD Fault Service Required, Pre-Collision Assist not available, Service Advance Trac. The check engine light or wrench icon appears on the instrument display, and the stability trac icon appears on the instrument display. When this happens, the adaptive cruise control does not function. Safety of the vehicle and driver are impaired by major safety system(s) do not function, such as the stability control and the collision avoidance feature. I have brought the Explorer in to one dealer one time, and another dealer two times. A repair to the half shaft speed sensor has been performed twice, however the problem still persists. This problem first appeared on the vehicle in July of 2022 at 44,000 miles.

Filed Jul 20, 2021 · Driver assistance · SC

On two separate occasions while using the cruise control, the vehicle continued to receive warnings on the dash that the 4-wheel drive, hill assist, emergency braking, etc. were all unabled and service would be required. The cruise control then also disabled and I was unable to use it again until I pulled over, stopped and re-started the vehicle. Upon doing this, the system seemed to reset and all warning lights went off. I contacted a local Ford dealer about this issue and was told that their loaner 2020 Explorer has the same issue and they're unable to pinpoint the problem. They've had it in and out of service for 4 months. Their machine is unable to find any errors. They feel like it may be something to do with the body control module. Since my vehicle is apparently not the only 2020 Explorer experiencing this issue, I thought it would be worth reporting.