2020 Ford Explorer Body & Structure Problems

The driver's side pillar (the structural piece between your door and windshield) detached from your vehicle and nearly struck the car behind you. This same issue happened again on 10/22/24, but on the passenger side. Your Ford dealer indicated that 2020 models aren't included in the recall, though earlier and later model years have experienced similar pillar detachment problems.

Vehicle has a water leak inside the cabin. We tried pouring water down the sunroof drains and can hear a gurgling sound inside the cabin and observed water entering the cabin next to the dead pedal. Took vehicle to dealership and they replaced a different part and did not solve the issue. Musty mold smell present in vehicle causing allergic reaction and reducing driver's vision posing an accident risk. Unable to drive vehicle until leak is fixed and mold is remediated.

The panoramic sunroof Rolo shade has malfunctioned and is currently sagging. This condition is expected to worsen over time, potentially obstructing driver visibility or posing a safety risk due to the possibility of entrapment or flammability. The vehicle has been brought to a certified Ford dealer for inspection; however, no additional inspections have been performed by other authorities at this time. There are no warning lights or alerts displayed in the vehicle related to this issue.

See attached document for potential defect petition

exterior review side mirrors cause loud whistle noise when driving.

On the glass panels in between the rear and front side windows, the panels are shattering underneath both sides. When looking up online to see if anyone else has this problem, there’s all kinds of pictures of this problem posted online..I’m including photos of mine. Have included photos of driver and passenger side.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side front end of the hood was lower than normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the failure was not due to a collision because all the bolts were in place. The dealer determined that the driver's side hood adjuster was missing, and the dealer installed a new hood adjuster on the driver's side of the vehicle; however, the hood remained unleveled. The contact stated that the passenger's side front end of the hood was in contact with the fender while there was a quarter inch gap between the driver's side front end of the hood and the trim. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Loose trim in the exterior rear window came loose and flew towards another can the lucky avoided the metal trim

I was traveling down the highway when my vehicles hood unattached and smashed into my windshield causing extensive damage to my windshield and hood. The impact of the hood releasing and shattering my windshield caused glass to enter the cabin of my vehicle. This was an unsafe incident as I had my toddler in my backseat, and I was traveling down a busy highway at the time of the event causing my vision to be impaired by the hood. I safely maneuvered to the shoulder of the roadway and was able to pull the hood down. Following the incident, I was unable to drive my vehicle due to the windshield damage. I have since contacted my insurance agency and filed a claim for the damages. I have had the windshield replaced, totaling $886.85. I have an appointment with my local body shop for damages to the hood.

The sun roof cover has come lose blocking the rear view

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under Customer Satisfaction Program: 22N17 (Power Window Switch Chrome Tip Replacement); however, the failure occurred with the driver's and passenger's side door handles. The contact stated that the chrome paint on the driver's and passenger's side door handles had peeled, exposing a sharp edge that cut the contact’s hand while opening the front driver's side door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance, and the contact was informed that the driver's and passenger's side door handles were not covered by Customer Satisfaction Program: 22N17 (Power Window Switch Chrome Tip Replacement). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,302.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the interior sunroof shade cloth sagged down causing an obstruction of the rear window for the driver. The contact stated that the failure was due to a failed clip to the sunroof panel roller. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 78,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer XLP. The contact stated that his wife received a minor cut from the front driver’s side interior door handle because the chrome wrap on the door handle had started to deteriorate. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the interior door handle chrome was peeling and had sharp edges. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.

As my [XXX] was opening the rear passenger door of the vehicle part of the chrome trim had came loose in turn causing a laceration on his finger. 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 after a hurricane, there was water damage inside the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer to be inspected. The contact was informed that water had entered the vehicle through the rubber seal of the windshield. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 76,290.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the interior panoramic sunshade cover detached from the interior roof headliner and fell inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the sunshade cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 66,000.

The right windshield trim is separating from vehicle. Ford has recalled 2011-2019 vehicles for this due to safety risk of trim molding coming off in traffic. My vehicle is a 2020 and seems to have same issue.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to open the front driver’s side door from the inside, the chrome plating fractured, causing the contact’s hand to get struck. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle for the failure. The contact was instructed to contact the local dealer for the repair and to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

Our 3rd car (used by our daughter) has started to smell like mold. I then noticed the back seat behind the driver side was wet. All windows were up and fully closed - never left open. I soaked up the water. Days later the water returned. I did some research online and found this is a recurring issues were weld joints breakdown and then leak. In that same forum the post referenced water built up where the spare tire is keep. I just opened up the spare tire area and noticed 3" of water and the mechanism for holding down the tire is rusty, suggesting the water has been there for sometime. As reference, here is the forum I mentioned above: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t51317_ds819498

1. The Explorer spontaneously went on fire while being driven damaging the entire front of the vehicle 2. The vehicle could have exploded affecting other vehicles as well as injured or killed the driver and passenger 3. No. Insurance Company immediately declared vehicle totaled. 4. No. Once again, vehicle was immediately declared a total loss and assigned salvage company to take possession 5. No warnings. First sign of anything wrong was flames coming from under the hood

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the trim on passenger’s side windshield had detached from the windshield. The contact stated that the trim on the driver’s side windshield had also detached. The vehicle was diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while approaching a stop, the vehicle's upper center console detached from its housing causing the contact to crash into another vehicle due to the failure. No one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 48,123.

Over the last two years, the lift gate has closed in excess of 20 times without direct actuation of the lift gate button located on the lift gate, in the driver compartment or from the key fob. A significant amount of time this includes no sounding of the lift gate closing chime. This happens when the lift gate is open, and you are standing at the rear of the vehicle. The lift gate has closed and caused the person to quickly duck out of the way to avoid getting hit in the head by the door. This action is suspect of the movement of something below the bumper to trigger the hands-free opening / closing sensor. The vehicle in question was brought into the local dealer for troubleshooting and no defects noted. A software update was performed, and the condition still exists.

At a speed of approximately 30mph, I heard a cracking noise from the rear of my vehicle. After looking into my rear view mirror, I saw the rear window was shattered, and caving inward. It was around 90 degrees that day at 1:30 pm and I was driving on an open road. There was a co-worker driving behind me that was witness. Nothing came down and hit the rear window.

Worked until 11am Friday 11/5/21, went back out to work night shift 10:40 ish at night to start the vehicle up to warm up (he believes that he had turned on the heat). As the officer was outside walking his dog he heard noises of glass cracking. He walked up to it and noticed the entire rear window was shattered. No point of entry or notice of vandalism.

Officer was sitting in vehicle while it was running with AC on, he pressed the Max defrost button for a couple of seconds then turned it off. After about a minute or two he heard a what a loud noise and looked in his rear view mirror to see his rear window completely shattered.

I have a serious safety issue with my 2020 Ford Explorer. The tailgate has unexpectedly closed when loading or unloading items from the cargo area. This is due the foot activation function. When loading/unloading heavier items you must stand close to the bumper. In so doing the foot activation closes the tailgate. This has happened at least 6 times including closing on my wife and grand children. The attached photo shows a skin scrap I sustained in blocking the tailgate from closing on a grandchild. I have talked to the dealer about deactivating the foot function. They responded it cannot be done.

We were going down the Hwy about 65 no cars around our sunroof exploded we had the headliner closed and it was full of glass. We thought at first we had a blow out but we saw all the glass in the middle of the sunroof no object or mark on car

INTERIOR FLOODING, IN SPARE TIRE WELL AND ALL FLOORING AREAS. SIX GALLONS OF WATER REMOVED. WAITING FOR FORD DEALERSHIP TO INSPECT. THEY BELIEVE A WELD HAS GONE BAD.

DRIVERS DOOR LOCKS AND WILL NOT LET YOU ENTER AND/OR EXIT VEHICLE AT ITS DISCRETION . I AM HANDICAPPED AND CANNOT CLIMB OVER SEATS TO EXIT VEHICLE. ONLY HAPPENS TO DRIVER'S DOOR. WOULD BE SAFETY ISSUE IF IN AN ACCIDENT AND/OR FIRE.