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EnginePart report

2020 Ford Explorer Engine Problems

Complaints
117about this part
Share
9%of 1,244 total for the year
Median mileage
8,000miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 117 complaints about the engine of the 2020 Ford Explorer, 9% of the 1,244 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 8,000 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved and 4 a fire, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I was driving going to get food and when I press on my break to slow down, I had a huge jolt, like it was shifting gears not correctly(it's an automatic)the jolt would occur when I would hit over 46mph and when I would slow down to 26mph. I brought my Explorer to the dealership and I had to have my transmission replaced by the dealership.I have heard of 3 other people who had a Ford Explorer 2020 this happened to!”

NHTSA complaint #11340186, filed 2020-07, 1,100 miles

“2020 Ford Explorer st with approximately 1,927 miles. I started the vehicle and put it into drive and it started to roll forward even though my foot was on the brake. Regardless of how hard I pushed the brake, the car continued to inch forward until I fully depressed/repressed the brake. I shut off the vehicle, waited a few minutes, and attempted to restart. Upon the attempted restart, all lights on the dashboard began flashing and the engine failed to turnover. …”

NHTSA complaint #11339014, filed 2020-07, 1,927 miles

“I have had this vehicle since february and it has been in the shop 5 times for various things! There is a jolt when it changes gears and when hitting brakes. I have a delay when I put the car in reverse which has almost caused accidents. It rolls forward, even with my foot on the brake and the jerks hard when it finally catches up and goes in reverse. Corporate will not get me out of this vehicle, even after it broke down and had to be towed while I was out of state on vacation!”

NHTSA complaint #11352507, filed 2020-09, 9,000 miles

“Vehicle stalled when pulling out from a stop light onto a highway (65mph). It took several attempts to restart. The vehicle once put in drive jerked forward/backward when I hit the gas. The rpms went up but the car was not driving well. It stalled again. I had to repeat this process 4 more times. It finally began to drive and then the engine light came on. The Ford pass app gave me an error code. Malfunction indicator lamp. The vehicle has 109 miles. The car is with the dealer less than 2 days after purchase.”

NHTSA complaint #11301763, filed 2020-01, 109 miles

“I was driving to work and suddenly heard a strange soft repetitive noise. There were no indicator lights/warnings on the dash. I was going approximately 40 MPH and thankfully decided to pull over into the service lane. The vehicle struggled to pull over and then stopped moving. An engine malfunction indicator light then came on. The vehicle was towed by the dealership. I was told later that day that the engine was end of life, in other words, dead. My 2020 Explorer had 7,038 miles. I finally got my SUV back 1 month later.”

NHTSA complaint #11325510, filed 2020-05, 7,038 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026614%
202587%
202415%
2023109%
20223011%
20215011%
20201179%
2019196%
20189613%
201724114%
201638216%
201522713%
201419812%
201322510%
20127910%
2011837%
20101412%
2009412%
20082114%
20072813%
2006589%
2005173%
2004443%
2003222%
2002491%
200162%
200091%
199940%
199860%
199740%
199620%
199520%
199310%
199230%

Other parts of the 2020 Ford Explorer

Transmission and drivetrain
502 complaintsOther or unknown
212 complaintsElectrical system
188 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
104 complaintsBrakes
88 complaintsForward collision avoidance
72 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
69 complaintsExterior lighting
56 complaintsBody and structure
45 complaintsFuel system
42 complaintsSeats
41 complaintsSuspension
36 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2020 Ford Explorer

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology