2020 Ford Explorer: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 1,169 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 33 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
1,169
Complaints
33
Recalls
35
Crash reports
10
Fire reports
37
Injuries
42.4
Severity index
Severity index 42.4 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 103 2020 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2020 Ford Explorer ranks 64 of 103 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 38% of its model-year peers. See the full 2020 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 457 | 39.1% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 198 | 16.9% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 179 | 15.3% |
| ENGINE | 111 | 9.5% |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION | 104 | 8.9% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 81 | 6.9% |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 67 | 5.7% |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 54 | 4.6% |
The single most-reported system is POWER TRAIN, cited in 457 of 1,169 complaints (39.1%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 110 |
| 2021 | 136 |
| 2022 | 85 |
| 2023 | 186 |
| 2024 | 200 |
| 2025 | 318 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 127 |
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.1x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19V859000 | 04/12/2019 | 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 may chafe through the plastic liquid fuel line and cause a fuel leak. |
| 20V788000 | 17/12/2020 | ENGINE | Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The right hand motor mount fasteners may have been incorrectly tightened, and may loosen over time. |
| 21V154000 | 10/03/2021 | 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 the rear lower control arms to the wheel knuckles may not have been heat-treated, which could cause them to break. |
| 21V735000 | 22/09/2021 | 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. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying. |
| 20V549000 | 10/09/2020 | 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 that may not be properly secured to the seat. |
| 20V693000 | 10/11/2020 | 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 Transmission with the All Wheel Drive package. The drive shaft may fracture along the weld seam. |
| 20V575000 | 23/09/2020 | 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 Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus and Corsair vehicles. Due to a poor electrical connection, the rearview camera may intermittently dis |
| 20V730000 | 24/11/2020 | 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 valve may not be fully welded to the fuel tank shell. |
| 20V497000 | 21/08/2020 | 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 may not have been properly tightened in the front seat backs. |
| 19V633000 | 28/08/2019 | 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 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recline |
| 19V687000 | 30/09/2019 | 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 properly secured and may contact the air conditioner compressor (A/C) pulley, potentially damaging the harness or the A/C belt. |
| 19V575000 | 05/08/2019 | 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. In addition, the vehicles may be in Factory Mode, which disables warning alerts and does not display the transmission gear selecte |
| 23V022000 | 23/01/2023 | 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 camera. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying. |
| 23V069000 | 10/02/2023 | 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 unintentional powertrain control module (PCM) reset may occur while the vehicle is in motion and result in park system damage. |
| 23V199000 | 24/03/2023 | 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 previous powertrain control module (PCM) update completed under recall 22V-255 did not include the automatic electronic parking br |
| 23V305000 | 28/04/2023 | 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 Screen (ICS). When the Display On/Off Button is used to turn the display to "Off" prior to placing the vehicle in reverse, the back |
| 23V342000 | 12/05/2023 | 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 camera. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying. |
| 23V626000 | 08/09/2023 | 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 defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit and battery failure. |
| 23V675000 | 06/10/2023 | 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 driveshaft to disconnect. |
| 24V188000 | 08/03/2024 | 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 display a blank or distorted image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety St |
| 24V598000 | 10/08/2024 | ENGINE | Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with the Police Interceptor Utility Package. In the event of an engine failure, engine oil and fuel vapor may be released into the engine compartment and accumulate near ignition sources such as |
| 24V852000 | 08/11/2024 | 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 Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply |
| 25V093000 | 14/02/2025 | 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 positions may be improperly secured. Additionally, vehicles may have an improperly secured seat belt retractor anchor bolt and/or sea |
| 25V159000 | 14/03/2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE | Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 23V-342. The video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying. |
| 25V166000 | 14/03/2025 | 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. The rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect. |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.