While driving the rpm needle dropped under 1 and would not accelerate. And while slowing down the car jerks. The wretch light showed up. The codes was read at a service center that it was powertrain control specifically the transmission temperature gauge and pulley system. Currently being diagnosed at the dealership.
2020 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 14 of 18: complaints 371 to 400 of 507, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Cars jerking while upshifting or downshifting at regular speed.
Shifting is hard shifting up and down
1. My 2020 Explorer has about 75,000 miles. 2. The car rolled back while in park during the week of 7/24, and the emergency brake stopped the car from rolling. 3. I called Ford Customer Care and my local dealer to see if my model was included in the current transmission recall (23v06900), it is not. 4. On 7/28/23, the car would not go into park. The emergency brake kicked in. The screen shows a message that says "Park not available apply brake before exiting". 5. Car is currently at the dealership in need of a new transmission. Vehicle still will not go into "park". Car remains in place due to the emergency brake, only.
When the car starts all warning lights come on. Hill start assistance, pre collision assistance, all assistance. There is no cruise, no safety collision assistance at all. First appeared on June 13 2023. Ford Dealer is currently trying to fix the problem. They are unsure why it’s doing it. It puts all occupants life at risks as the car doesn’t have any safety assistance.
I had an oil change at the Feldman Ford Dealership on or around 3/7/2023. On 4/14/2023 at or at round 5-6 pm; I was traveling southbound on I-75 when my 2020 Explorer suddenly slowed down from 70 miles per hour to around 40 miles per hour while I’m in the farthest lane and it wouldn’t go pass 45 miles per hour almost causing the vehicle behind to rear end me. The dash displayed a reading stating the oil pressure is low and to get engine serviced. I put on my hazards and safely made it to exit off of the freeway. I stopped at a gas station because the engine was making a loud screaming noise. I called my salesman from Feldman Ford and explained what was happening and what the dash was saying so he asked me to shut off the engine and to check the oil. So when I opened the hood I saw oil everywhere and the engine was so hot that the heat was burning my face. The dipstick was indicating that the oil was low to empty. He stated that’s impossible you just had an oil change 4-5 weeks ago and the engine appears that it’s not cooling. So he advised me to put in 2-3 quarts and get on my knees to see if any oil is leaking underneath and there was no leak after I put in 3 quarts of oil. So he asked how far was i from home i told him no more than 15 minutes, then he asked me to start the car to see if the noise diminished and it was not as loud so he said to see if I could get the car home because I had my 1 month old grandson and my daughter with me and he will have a tow truck to come and get it. I made it a block from my home then the car shut off and wouldn’t start. So I had family to come get my daughter and grandson and I stayed with the vehicle until 930/10 pm when the tow truck arrived and my vehicle has been at the Feldman Ford service lot ever since 4/14/2023 and it has not been fixed or worked on. I was told that the oil pump failed causing 2 or 3 seals to go bad in the back and front of the motor. The Ford app displayed engine issues 2 months prior to my purchase.
Car hesitates on acceleration; almost hit by oncoming traffic. Dealer reports a broken axle on 4 wheel drive assembly. Apparently there is an open investigation on this?
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and started losing motive power. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. During a test drive, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the "WRENCH" symbol was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was still running however, the vehicle failed to shift to park(P) or drive(D). The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that metal shards were found in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
2020 Ford Explorer ST (FAILED 5/27/2023) Vehicle started shifting erratically, down shifting very hard when decelerating. Then within two to three days it would not engage in drive or reverse at all, or it was slow to engage and would engage very forcefully and intermittently. There were no warning lights that I recall. The vehicle could not be controlled and is undrivable with 37,386 miles on it. Currently the vehicle is sitting at the dealership waiting two to three weeks to diagnose the problem. The Service Advisor described the problem as "The vehicle delayed getting into gear when put into drive, not shifting properly when driving. When vehicle in reverse there is an extended time to engage and does not feel like it's engaged all the way, feels like it's grinding" Ford acts like they have no idea that they have a transmission issue with the 2020 10 speed automatic transmission. The dealership is going to have my explorer for 30 to 60 days with no compensation, loaner car or rental car. this is the second Explorer that we have had with major issues. I also have a 2020 Ford F-150 with the same mileage and the same transmission that is experiencing delayed shifting issues.
From the carfax report But I signed when I bought this vehicle Said that the transmission was fixed, It's sleeping and making a loud clinking noise !!! The Ford Explorer has been in the shop for almost a whole year for the same issue That was said on the car factory port was supposed to be fixed Well before I bought it from this car lot.. I would like to know who's the liar carfax are this dealership !!! Do I hold you are responsible for the false Information that I was led to believe are the dealership ZECK FORD !! I'VE BEEN SOLD A LEMON and want to know to whom due I Hold responsible for selling me a unreliable undependable Piece of junk that is currently in the dealership right now and ZECK FORD It's refusing to service it Which is the dealership I purchased it from also got your car fax from!! I'm making payments on this vehicle and also paying for a rental car all out of pocket and I'm tried of playing games and also done with this LEMON 🍋 I'VE BEEN SOLD!!! Look at the carfax report and see for yourself ZECK FORD has called my family and me Liars July 2022 up to now still broke down
The transmission will hold on to a gear longer than it needs to. The transmission stays in a lower gear longer than it should and causes some serious noise to come from the engine as a result. When this happens, the car will not accelerate. This has been especially concerning when crossing streets, merging into traffic.
Acceleration issues because of transmission slippage. Transmission slippage, upon acceleration transmission, vibration in slippage. Slipping upon acceleration, low speeds, and high speeds. Clutch plate engaging issues. When putting the car from drive into park On a slight incline, car will bounce back-and-forth roughly 1 inch before stopping.
On April 6, 2023, I put on brakes and my car jerked extremely hard. I then proceeded to the next red light and when I had to put on brakes again it jerked extremely hard again. I pulled in to a local tire shop because I was afraid to drive the car and they drove it and said it needed to go to the Ford dealership as they thought it was my transmission. I drove to the closest Ford dealership and they drove it but told me it would be a 3-week wait to diagnose my car. I drove my car to the dealership in my town and they started the process of diagnosing my car. From the invoice: Found a snap ring on intermediate A clutch piston had come dislodged and causing damage to clutches." I have noticed a Very Large amount of other vehicles with the same problem, the 2020 Ford Explorer & the 2020 Lincoln Aviator manufactured before 2019. There needs to be a recall. My vehicle has 62,652 miles and is EXACTLY 2,652 over the mileage warranty and this is unacceptable.
Transmission shifts hard, clunks and jerks forward on occasion. Have to accelerate very slowly and cautiously to avoid the jerking forward. Constant whining when I accelerate from a stop, noise tends to stop when accelerated to 40 mph, below that speed, constant annoying whining. Was not noticeable when I purchased automobile, but started constantly around February, 2023. Only have 51,000 miles on the car, daily driver, few long trips. When accelerating to freeway speeds, the whining is constant until I pass 40 mph. Transmission does not seem reliable at all. Have not been able to get a mechanic to look at the issue as of yet due to scheduling availability. Have not had any warning lights come on regarding the transmission. Have had to replace oil right after purchasing vehicle as I noticed oil on the garage floor was quite a lot and then twice within a year due to faulty plastic cap, that if not put on properly allows the oil to leak. Never had this experience with previous Ford models (2007 Ford Edge)
Transmission and transmission cooler have to be replaced on 2020 Explorer with 65,000 miles
When stopped at a light the engine suddenly accelerated forcing a hard braking action to prevent an accident. after 2-3 seconds it went to idle still in gear. This has happened 3 times the third time 2 witnesses said that it was not caused by braking with their foot on the accelerator. In reviewing the three episodes I noted that the air-conditioned switch was engaged all three times when this uncommand occurred. This never occurred when the car was moving only at a stop. It seems that the air conditioner was called to turn on by the body control module which cause the engine RPM to decrease which cause the power train control module to react increasing the demand to the throttle body which either stuck high or was over commanded in not reacting in a fast enough manner to satisfy the power train control module. When this occured I thought we were going to hit the car in front of us. I think this is correctable with some changes in the power train control module programing.
The transmission is extremely rough. When my vehicle shifts gears, increasing or decreasing speed, it jerks and sometimes takes a few seconds to shift at all. Very clunky and unreliable. This has happened many times- I am currently looking for a mechanic to look at my transmission as my vehicle is out of warranty. I JUST purchased this vehicle and it has acted up at least 20 times in a month and a half. I did own an explorer in the past that had 130000 miles and it was perfect. I never had issues with it!
Vehicle shut off at a stop light and was unable to be restarted. Vehicle had full power but would not start when pressing engine start switch. Vehicle was stuck in the middle of lanes blocking traffic and putting me in danger of being hit by other drivers. Police had to respond to block traffic until a tow truck could arrive. Dealer states the vehicle exhibited loss of communication to the PCM and there is a TSB #22-2145 for a neutral out condition. Vehicle is at dealer awaiting repair.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle was jerking. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle warranty had expired. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked while depressing either the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal after coming to a complete stop. The contact stated there was no warning lights illuminated during the failure. The contact called a local dealer and was scheduled an appointment. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Several electrical issues from day of purchase. Dealerships have looked at codes,but have been unable to repeat conditions or find an issues. Recently, on a random basis,the vehicle would become unresponsive & the accellerator pedal would not engage & for 10-20 seconds the vehicle wouldn't respond. At a point it reset itself and continued as if nothing had happened. This occurred on 6 or 7 occassions from June 2022 to Dec 2022. In Sept I took to dealership to check, they were unable to recreate condition & therefore no repair was made. In Dec the front brake pads went metal to metal. I decided to replace them myself. I put the Electronic Emergency Brake (EB) into the Maintenance Mode & changed the front pads and rotars. When I started to jack the front end up the car moved, so I immediately lowered the vehicle & verified the car was in park. At this time I discovered that the car, in park, could be moved by pushing it. I moved the car about 5 to 6 feet in either direction. I believed this was due to the EB being in the maint mode. I blocked the rear wheels & completed the repairs with no further incident. When I attempted to return the car to normal & take the EB out of maint mode, I was unsuccessful. I then bleed the brake system to ensure I hadn't inadvertently gotten air in the system. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore EB to normal, I contacted my local dealership for help. I was informed that even the site tech's had difficulties getting system into normal. I had AAA tow car to dealership, which then replaced the rear brakes, flushed brake fluid & renewed & restored sys to norm. When tech moved car to parking lot, they placed car in park and upon exiting car, it began rolling. When i contacted for pickup, I was informed of issue and gave permission to diagnose problem. Inspection of transmission found pin for parking mechanism broken, metal shavings in transmission. Need for extensive repairs or replacement of transmission.
Transmission has been fixed twice, but it is still causing issues. It shifts hard and sometimes shutters. No dealership takes it seriously anymore. It is a known manufacturer defect that isn't being corrected promptly, probably to skirt by until warranty expires. The auto-hold system sporadically stops working. It will pop up on the dash that it is not available, but it will work after restarting the car a time or two. The info screen will randomly be a black screen after startup. The backup camera sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Rarely, there will be no sound from any speaker. Radio, phone, turn signal, nothing works through the speaker like it should. The turn signal will make a strange noise through the dash that doesn't match normal sounds.
Drivetrain failure. Vehicle rolled forward while turned off, in park, while on a hill. Break did not respond while rolling (passenger who was still in car tried to lean over the seat to depress the break). Driver ran from behind the vehicle, hopped in (while car was moving!), turned car on, applied break and veered the vehicle right to get the car to stop. Vehicle nearly collided with three pedestrians and a nearby parked car. We have brought this car in to a Ford Dealership today. We reported a shuttering that occurred during peak torque while in for service last year - but dealership said they could not replicate.
While driving at 40 my vehicle started jerking. Drove maybe another couple Miles and stopped at red light and the vehicle would not engage. This is a 2020 ford explorer with 41,000 miles. I brought it to ford and have been waiting 1 month still for the parts. I keep asking what’s wrong with it and they just keep reviewing the rental. Also brought it in last year for a recall on the brakes-they fixed iit in 5 minutes where now my emergency brake is engaged all the time
The first incident happened in the fall of 2021. I was going down the interstate and came to almost a dead stop when my car down shifted. I was able to ease it to the next exit where I had it towed to ford. They “replaced” the part. Fast forward to Jan 2023. My husband and I were again driving on the interstate when the car again downshifted when we were in bumper to bumper traffic in the left lane. Luckily we were not hit and my husband veered into the median. Its now in the shop again since Jan 4th.
We are a law enforcement training center and received a recall notice on two Ford Interceptor Explorers in July of 2022. When we contacted our local authorized dealer (Asheville Ford), we were told it wouldn't be until October of 2022 before they had the parts in stock to make the necessary repairs. We contacted them in December of 2022 and set an appointment to take both vehicles in on January 23, 2023. They kept both vehicles until January 25, 2023 and returned the vehicles stating on the work order "Unable to perform campaign at this time". We are concerned about utilizing these vehicles under the high stress we put them in in a training environment until the necessary repairs can be made.
We are a law enforcement training center and received a recall notice on two Ford Interceptor Explorers in July of 2022. When we contacted our local authorized dealer (Asheville Ford), we were told it wouldn't be until October of 2022 before they had the parts in stock to make the necessary repairs. We contacted them in December of 2022 and set an appointment to take both vehicles in on January 23, 2023. They kept both vehicles until January 25, 2023 and returned the vehicles stating on the work order "Unable to perform campaign at this time".
trans shifting when cold
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went into Limp Mode. The contact stated that the vehicle alerted her that the power train malfunctioned, pre-collision assist was unavailable, and the tire pressure malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and produced codes: P0E76 and P0E74 indicating that the half-shaft speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact referenced Ford Technical Service Bulletin Number: TSB 22-2145. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact inquired about a buy back and provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 24,186.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V255000 (Power Train). The contact stated that after the transmission was shifted into park(P), the parking brake was inadvertently activated. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle performed as intended under the recall repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2020 Ford Explorer?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history