Recalls, complaints, and safety data from NHTSA
The 2020 Ford Explorer has 31 recalls, 1123 complaints, and a 5-star overall safety rating from NHTSA.
31
Recalls
1123
Complaints
★★★★★
Safety Rating
Data source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) · Last updated May 21, 2026
19V859000
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. Over time, the protective sleeve on the vapor fuel line ma...
20V788000
ENGINE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The right hand motor mount fasteners may have been in...
21V154000
SUSPENSION:REAR
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Lincoln Aviator and Ford Explorer vehicles. The rear lower control arm (RLCA) bolts that attach t...
21V735000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Corsair, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with 360-degree cameras. Th...
20V549000
SEAT BELTS: REAR/OTHER:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with second row center seat belt buckles th...
20V693000
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with a 2.0L or 3.3L engine and a 10 Speed Automatic...
20V575000
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and...
20V730000
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer vehicles equipped with 2.3L engines and 19 gallon fuel tanks. The fuel tank inlet check ...
20V497000
AIR BAGS:CRITICAL FASTENERS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The side air bag and/or seat back module attachments ...
19V633000
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Fo...
19V687000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford Explorer vehicles equipped with 2.3L or 3.3L engines. The wiring harness may not have been p...
19V575000
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The Manual Park Release (MPR) cover may not be installed. ...
23V022000
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles equipped with a 360-degree ...
23V069000
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine and 10R60 automatic transmission. An unintenti...
23V199000
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L RWD, 3.3L GAS, 3.3L FHEV, or 3.0L ST powertrain. The ...
23V305000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with a 12.1-inch Integrated Computer Sc...
23V342000
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles equipped with a 360-degree ...
23V626000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Lincoln Aviator and Ford Explorer vehicles equipped with 3.0L PHEV engines. A manufacturing ...
23V675000
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles. The rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and cause the drivesh...
24V188000
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer vehicles. Due to a poor electrical connection, the rearview camera may intermittently di...
24V598000
ENGINE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with the Police Interceptor Utility Package. In the event of an e...
24V852000
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and...
25V093000
SEAT BELTS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer and Aviator vehicles. The seat belt buckle anchor bolts at one or more seating posi...
25V159000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles previously repaired incorre...
25V166000
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 23V-199 or 22V-255. T...
25V393000
SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLY
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Aviator, and Explorer vehicles. The switch for the easy-entry second-row outer seats may bind...
25V442000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 R...
25V685000
EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:ENGINE BLOCK HEATER
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Lincoln MKC, 2016-2023 Explorer, 2019-2020 Fusion, 2019-2024 Ranger, 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsai...
26V117000
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer, Escape, Lincoln Aviator, and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The windshield wiper motor m...
26V123000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2020-2024 Lincoln Aviator, and Explorer vehicles. The image on the c...
26V159000
SEAT BELTS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2026 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The seat belt anchor bolts at the second-row outer sea...
Overall
★★★★★
Front Crash
★★★★★
Side Crash
★★★★★
Rollover
★★★★★
Rating for: 2020 Ford Explorer SUV 4WD
| Date ↓ | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2026 | STRUCTURE | The fabric/plastic/felt under the car is falling to pieces! It's becoming a safety hazard. This comp... |
| May 11, 2026 | SEATS | Safety recall NHTSA 25V093, vehicle at dealership Cutter Ford, Aiea, Hawaii, for appointment to corr... |
| May 10, 2026 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Driver side headlamp low beam has burned out. They are supposed to be lifetime LED headlamps, not bu... |
| May 4, 2026 | ENGINE | Vehicle with 42k miles and regular dealer maintenance suddenly stalled out in traffic, creating dang... |
| May 1, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Sudden transmission issues, no warnings. Ford Explorer 2020 XLT, had sporadic issues while driving o... |
| Apr 30, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | When the vehicle was started this morning, it sounded like it was chugging and did not wasn’t to sta... |
| Apr 28, 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Cruise in vehicle was set to 58 mph. Vehicle shut off going around a curve and would not restart. ... |
| Apr 27, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Driver was responding to a priority call with lights and siren going when the engine RPM's raced to ... |
| Apr 26, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Car starts to jerk all of a sudden when breaking ( from 30-26 miles) . |
| Apr 17, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | CUSTOMER STATES THE CHARGING SYSTEM LIGHT IS ON AND THERE IS A STARTING SYSTEM FAULT, PLEASE ADVISE ... |
| Apr 16, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle stuck in park. But will go in gear but just won’t move. |
| Apr 15, 2026 | ENGINE | My vehicle is experiencing manufacturers defect identical to Ford program 21B35, yet Ford tells me m... |
| Apr 14, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | I am filing a safety complaint regarding my 2020 Ford Explorer (2.3L engine) experiencing a transmis... |
| Apr 13, 2026 | STRUCTURE | The A-pillar trim on the driver's side is pulling away from the body of the car. The previous gener... |
| Apr 13, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Three alerts appeared on my dash after starting my car. These alerts are “Pre-Collision Assist Not A... |
| Apr 12, 2026 | PARKING BRAKE,POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed... |
| Apr 11, 2026 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | Vehicle suffered a catastrophic drivetrain lock-up while traveling at approximately 25 mph. The rear... |
| Apr 9, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | this vehicle has sustained a complete transmission failure at 117,000 miles. There are known issues... |
| Apr 7, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | On Tuesday April 7 as I was driving to work, as I was stepping on the break to pull into the parking... |
| Apr 4, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Thank you for your time reviewing my complaint. I've answered each of your bullet points below. - t... |