2020 Ford Explorer: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Oct 19, 2026 · Transmission · SC

I was driving to work on XXX. My explorer slipped out of gear while driving. I was a minute from work so I went and parked it. The vehicle wouldn’t shift out of gear or into park. The symptoms seemed to be tied to recall 26S48 / the federal safety agency Recall 26V402 so I had the car towed to a ford dealership. The service guy said it would be diagnosed in 1-2 weeks. It was finally diagnosed 3 weeks later. The service person told me I’d need a new transmission and it would cost 9800 to replace. I asked for the mechanics notes and diagnostic codes. They sent this: “Concerns verified, no crank no start the vehicle is stuck in park setting dtc P07E4. Found ssm 49685 and checked ground G210 and G214. Both grounds are not loose continued normal diagnosis. Completed work shop manual pinpoint test I. Found no issues with PCM or transmission harness wiring. Removed the transmission fluid pan for further testing. Found that the transmission fluid is black in color and is contaminated with metal debris. Found large chunks of steel within the transmission fluid pan. With further inspection found that the park pawl actuator rod has broken and has caused damage to the parking pawl causing the vehicle to hang in park. Dtc P07E4 sets because the vehicle cannot physically shift out of park. This failure has caused fluid contamination and has caused further damage to the transmission. Catastrophic failure is present. Transmission replacement is recommended along with replacing the transmission fluid cooler as fine metal debris may not be able to flushed from the cooler. -- [XXX]” I believe that the park pawl breaking is exactly the recall issue. I called ford corporate and they said they can’t do anything until the final remedy notice letter comes out at the end of this week 10/23 and can’t do any interim repairs until the recall is finalized. I texted the dealership to hold the vehicle until the letter is released. I’ve been out of a vehicle for a little over 3 weeks and frustrated. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Filed Oct 15, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · TX

My transmission had been getting increasingly jerky (was never a smooth ride since it was new). At 55k miles, I was driving down the road and my car started to jerk roughly and would not shift gears. It would go and jerk, hard, like I hit something. We made it home but the next day it was even worse. I noted it was jerking around 25 mph and randomly at other speeds. I drove it to Ford, where we were under the impression there was an upcoming transmission recall, but we also thought our extended warranty was still in effect. Instead, they realized the transmission recall is for something different and we were lied to about our warranty, so it had been backdated and covered the 2 years prior to purchase, not the life of the loan as we had been told, and what we went in to do. The employees, mechanics, and forums, if you type (2020 Explorer transmission) quickly painted the picture that this is a VERY common issue and a KNOWN issue at that. Rough jerking. Rebuild transmission. Aside from knowing about this EXACT problem, and it being repeated everywhere, and acknowledged from FORD employees that they see it several times a day, I found that there was a huge buyback in 2020 for this reason. There was also a bulletin released talking about the issue in 2020. [XXX] The fact we are now in 2026 and these vehicles are still doing this and there is no recall is both outrageous and concerning. Had we been on the highway or a busy street, it could have been a much worse outcome. Ford says they gave us a discount. $3,500. Our receipt says 0.00 across all fields, but handwritten $3,500, which is the going rate for a rebuilt transmission. I saw there is a class action lawsuit, but we are a few months out of range to sign up. It's unreal how many people and employees are aware of this, and Ford does nothing but continue to push these cars to the public. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 24, 2026 · Engine · TX

I drove to work with no issues, lights or warnings. I parked and worked for 7 hours. Upon leaving and cranking the engine, it immediately showed overheated and went into limp mode. I drove it less than 100Ft, parked and called for a tow. There was no puddles or other indications of an issue. Upon towing to the closest dealership, I was informed the oil cooler failed putting coolant into the oil and "scorching" the engine and I need an entire new engine. The dealership confirmed there wouldn't be any warning lights of this happening.

Filed Jul 14, 2026 · Transmission · 127,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his daughter was depressing the accelerator pedal to drive from a stop, the vehicle failed to respond, and the transmission failed to properly shift to the next gear and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was out of warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

Filed Apr 16, 2026 · Transmission · DE

Vehicle stuck in park. But will go in gear but just won’t move.

Filed Mar 23, 2026 · Acceleration, Transmission · MS

Since purchase as a preowned vehicle, we noted this vehicle is equipped with a faulty transmission/tcm software design that is dangerously unpredictable and creates erratic driving conditions. This passenger SUV Is equipped with a 10 speed automatic that (once at operating temperature) the gear shifts and operation become highly unpredictable, often causing severe safety issues navigating in traffic, slowing down to sudden stops, and any acceleration, frequently getting stuck in 1st gear or neutral while attempting to accelerate on roadways from a stop. The (10r60E) has nearly caused several accidents severe accidents while under normal use as our primary family vehicle. The Ford dealerships I contacted were aware the problem was concurrent on every vehicle equipped with that Transmission and deemed it normal operation. This is highly concerning there hasn’t been some sort of safety recall implemented as it is a known flaw that creates very unsafe driving conditions on a vehicle marketed to families.

Filed Jan 28, 2026 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was shifting roughly while upshifting or downshifting before slamming into gear. Several warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that the failure persisted and worsened. There was transmission fluid odor coming from the vehicle and entering the cabin of the vehicle through the A/C vents. The contact stated that the engine unexpected revved while driving on the freeway. The contact stated that when the transmission slammed into gear, the vehicle felt like the parking brake was activated. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact stated that the repairs were put on hold until the warranty had ended. Most recently, the contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was shifting roughly while upshifting and downshifting before slamming into gear. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. The contact was called for assistance and went to where the vehicle was pulled over. The vehicle was driven back to the residence in LIMP Mode. The vehicle was towed to another dealer, where it was confirmed that the transmission had failed. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact stated that the failure was more predominant during colder weather. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Filed Jan 12, 2026 · Transmission · IL

I was driving my vehicle that was just over 5 years old with just over 38,000 miles on the highway out of state for a family wedding with my 3 children and wife. There were no safety lights or indications of any malfunction, but upon acceleration the transmission “was not engaging” and it would not shift up to increase speed. I pulled to the far lane and upon down shifting the vehicle was jerking forward. After getting off the next exit, the vehicle would not engage between gears and speed up. This put my family with 3 kids under 7 at extreme risk and left us stranded out of state with minimal options. The car needed to be towed and arrangements needed to be made for our family and all belongings packed in the car. It was determined that the transmission was in need of full rebuild or replacement and advised to contact Ford as it may be under warranty. My powertrain warranty was 5yrs and 60,000 miles and Ford after 2 weeks of trying to get someone to contact me back stated it’s no longer under warranty and there is nothing they can do - even with a vehicle with 38,400 miles. I received a few quotes and Ford wanted nearly $11,000 to replace. I chose to have the transmission rebuilt due to the cost and still making car payments on the vehicle. This is a known issue with this transmission. Ford has sent out reimbursements for other Explorers, but my VIN is not included in them.

Filed Jul 3, 2025 · Electrical · OH

Back latch is getting stuck in secondary position when released. Module is intermittently not communicating.

Filed Jun 9, 2025 · Transmission · KY

Transmission harsh shifting and sometimes going into limp mode where vehicle will not accelerate even on the highway and at highway speeds- according to ford dealer their is no recall for this- vehicle has 64k miles but it’s a 2024 and apparently out of warranty- sometimes it will shift down to 1st gear at 55mph. No help from ford- dealership wants $180 just to diagnose problem.

Filed May 28, 2025 · Transmission · VA

As I was driving down the road I heard a pop and a loud grinding sound. I pulled over to check and was immediately stuck in park (in a turning lane on rt1 with a 4yr old and a 8 month old) even though the car was still in drive. The gear shifter would not come out of park no matter what you shifted to, they just flashed. I got the vehicle towed to a shop because I couldn't get ahold of anyone at the dealer. After describing to them what happened and a little research on their end, they discovered that this matched a recall that ford had already released in 2023 for the plant and year model that my car is. The recal number is 23S05. The warning light states that "park not available" even though it's stuck in park. Unsure why it didn't include my vehicle in the recall but being that im having the same problem as this recall, it should be included. Everything in the recall letter matched what had happened to my vehicle.

Filed Jan 26, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · FL

I have recently have experienced engine failure with the 2020 Ford Explorer 2.3 ecoboost engine. I was driving on a 4 lane highway, specifically on a bridge, and I experienced loss of power and acceleration. At that time, the engine light came on. I managed to get home, with the vehicle seemed as if in limp mode. I had my vehicle towed to the Ford Dealer ship. The service manager stated that they believe it is complete engine failure. He believes the failure is in the cylinder walls which is due to coolant intrusion in cylinders 2 and 3. His suggestion is to change the "long block" at the costs of $12,284,51. Also, he expressed a concern with the transmission. It might be an issue with the computer, or wire harness. Which would be $1091.81. Plus, a couple sensors, spark plugs. In all The total repair costs are $16,904.16. I owe about $9,500. Prior to this, in 2022 the Turbo went out. It was replaced under the warranty at that time. This was at 90,000 miles. After doing some online research. There has also been a class-action lawsuit involving the 1.5L, 1.6L, and 2.0L EcoBoost engines. Owners of these engines reported issues such as coolant leaks leading to engine overheating and, in some cases, engine failure. The lawsuit claims that Ford was aware of these defects but did not take adequate steps to address them. There are some fantastic videos on youtube that explains and illustrates the reasons for the manufacture defect and engine failure. [XXX] I am a high mileage driver of highways and interstates. I understand that vehicles will have normal wear & tear. I now have 190,000 miles and no longer under warranty. However, based on my investigation, and other similar complaints about the 2020 Explorer with the same or similar issues, I believe there could be a defect with the Cylinder head just like the other ecoboost engines. Other ford explorer owners will likely experience the same as the add miles INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)