2020 Ford Explorer

Front axle disconnect actuator on my 2020 Ford Explorer 2.3L AWD is failing. The vehicle stores DTC C0631-7E (Actuator Stuck On) and previously stored C0631-7F (Actuator Stuck Off). When the fault is active, the wrench light comes on and the following safety systems are disabled: AdvanceTrac, Pre-Collision Assist, and Hill Start Assist. Ford has issued TSB 25-2373 / 25-2568 for this exact issue requiring replacement of the intermediate shaft with revised part N1MZ-3A329-A and AWD module reprogramming, but there is no recall. Owners must pay for the repair. The problem is intermittent and has been confirmed with a scan tool. This is a known design defect, not normal wear, and it affects safety systems.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V402000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue.

My 2020 Ford Explorer previously received a safety recall repair under Ford Recall 23S23 for the 360-degree/rearview camera system. Unfortunately, the camera system is malfunctioning again following that repair. The 360-degree display intermittently shows solid blue/teal or black areas instead of properly displaying the vehicle’s surroundings. The camera images also become washed out, distorted, or unusually dark, reducing visibility when reversing. Additionally, my instrument cluster displays the warning “Reverse Brake Assist Not Available – See Manual.” These problems raise serious safety concerns because the vehicle’s camera visibility is compromised while another safety system reports that it is unavailable. This creates potential risks when backing near children, pedestrians, other vehicles, or obstacles. I have photographs documenting the camera malfunctions and dashboard warning. Ford subsequently issued Recall 25S27 after discovering that certain vehicles previously repaired under Recall 23S23 may not have received the correct remedy, even though the repairs were recorded as completed. I have not yet received confirmation whether Recall 25S27 applies to my specific vehicle. On October 8, 2026, I visited Mullinax Ford of Olympia regarding the recurring safety problems. The dealership advised that I would have to pay out of pocket for a diagnosis. I subsequently submitted a written request asking for the recurring defect and applicable recall coverage to be reviewed, but received no response. I escalated the matter to the dealership’s General Manager on October 19, 2026. The underlying cause has not been determined. I am concerned that the original camera safety defect may not have been adequately corrected and that the vehicle continues to experience a related safety risk. I request that NHTSA review these recurring malfunctions and the adequacy of the previous recall remedy.

Vehicle is trying to put it self into park while in motion

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 / NHTSA 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 (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on more than one occasion, the vehicle stalled while driving. The contact stated the vehicle experienced difficulty shifting into gear. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where diagnosis confirmed the transmission failed and required replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V402000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was 72,000.

Safety recall 26S52 / 26V451 for the 2020 Ford Explorer. The passenger side second row seat will collapse while driving. It has been an ongoing issue for months. There is no part remedy at this time. I have asked to get this taken care of as I transport kids daily and just avoiding the seat is not feasible at all times. They state they hope you have this handle by September, they have no pushed it back till January 2027.

Headlight went out.

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)

When I am driving, every now and then there is a grinding/electrocution noise that my vehicle makes. When that happens, I lose all acceleration power until the episode stops then it seems like it kicks back into gear.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle was shaking excessively, with severe vibrations throughout the cabin of the vehicle. The failure was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while approaching a stop sign or a red light and depressing the brake pedal, the RPM was rising and the vehicle failed to stop as intended, causing the vehicle to crash into a pole in a parking lot, causing a dent to the front grille and scratches in the paint. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but the technicians were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V402000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Train Malfunction" was displayed. Additionally, the vehicle rolled backwards while in park(P). The contact engaged the parking brake to stop the vehicle from rolling. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.

Power steering doesnot work , steering was hard also antilock brake failure

on the highway it was raining heavily, and my 6 years old was in car back seat. Suddenly wipers stopped working, Steering wheel wasn't working, indicator was not working, I was getting multiple warnings on my screen. We would have ended up in a major accident.

On [XXX], while driving on the freeway with my family, my 2020 Ford Explorer ST violently and unexpectedly commanded a severe transmission downshift on its own. Upon stopping the vehicle, the transmission completely failed to engage Drive or Reverse, entirely immobilizing the vehicle and rendering it a severe hazard. The vehicle had to be towed 142 miles away to Diamond Ford in Lancaster, CA. Diamond Ford has officially diagnosed the failure as a broken parking pawl actuating rod. This mechanical failure perfectly aligns with the mechanical damage dynamics explicitly described in active Safety Recall 26S48 (NHTSA Campaign 26V-402), where faulty transmission logic causes temporary park pawl engagement while the vehicle is in motion, destroying internal park components. I am filing this safety violation complaint because both Ford Motor Company Corporate Support and Diamond Ford are refusing to honor the safety recall remedy mandated by federal guidelines. Under Campaign 26V-402, the official remedy explicitly states that dealers will "inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary, free of charge". However, a Ford Corporate Case Manager explicitly stated on October 5, 2026, that because the software patch portion of the recall remedy is delayed until 2027, Ford will not cover the physical component replacement. They told me I am required to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for a new transmission right now and apply for a refund years later, and they proceeded to unilaterally close my corporate case (Case #[XXX]) Forcing a consumer to pay out of pocket to fix a physically broken, catastrophic component caused by an active safety defect violates federal recall mandates. I request that NHTSA investigate Ford Motor Company’s refusal to execute component-replacement remedies on immobilized, defect-damaged vehicles under Recall 26S48. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Drivers side low beam intermittently does not operate. Becoming more and more common. Now, passenger side lamp is doing the exact same thing, and both shut down while in motion at night. These lamps should not fail like this. There is an existing recall for 2026 vehicles with the exact same issues.

Both headrests in the third row have broken. Neither headrest will stay up in the locking position.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The transmission independently shifted into neutral(N) and later shifted into park(P), and the vehicle jerked. The contact stated that the power train warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact's husband, who was an independent mechanic, diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V402000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was contacted by phone, and a case was filed.

"CHECK HEADLAMP SYSTEM SEE MANUAL" appears intermittently on the dash with headlights going out. As hundreds of others have reported here and on internet forums, we too are dealing with intermittent headlights. This is a major SAFETY issue while driving at night and your headlights go out suddenly. After bringing our vehicle to a Ford Dealership (who regularly service our vehicle) and paying a diagnostic fee, they could not properly diagnose the issue and said the only fix THEY THINK MIGHT correct the issue is to replace the entire headlamp assembly at an over a $3500 cost. The problem is Ford does not know that this will correct the issue. If it truly was a headlamp issue wouldn't our headlamps go out completely after approximately a year of experiencing the headlights going out intermittingly, especially when they are supposed to last the life of the vehicle. The dealership printed out the detailed list of codes on our vehicle going back to January and it confirms the headlights intermittently going out. Besides the dealership, we have spoken to Ford corporate multiple times and they are unwilling to help us in any way nor do they want to address this dangerous issue. An investigation needs to be opened into this matter before a serious accident occurs and Ford needs to answer why this issue is happening to so many vehicle owners and create a recall. NHTSA has helped me before with a problem/recall I had on my Dodge Durango many years ago and I am hopeful that we will be helped on this issue as well.

Several sensors starting going off all at once, car would lose power, if I tried to reverse it wasn’t able to get in gear for 5-10 seconds. It was around 78k miles. Of course my warranty ended at 75k. It was happening randomly then became more frequent. I took it to the dealer they said they think it is “dtc C0631 present referred tsb 25-2373 need to replace frontIntermediate Shaft Assembly . cost to replace is $1400.00 . then retest after.”. I was shocked to find that this was a known issue for years before it happened to me. I do not understand how this is not classified as a safety issue, or at the very least a manufacturer defect.