2020 Ford Explorer Brakes Problems

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced intermittent starting failures, and upon starting the vehicle and shifting into gear, the vehicle shut off. No warning light illuminated. Additionally, the electronic parking brake was unintendely engaged. The contact replaced the battery; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11754954

Incident

Jul 22, 2026

Mileage

100,000 mi

I experienced catastrophic brake failure on July 14 2026. Total loss of brakes that led me to narrowly miss several vehicles. The Ford Dealership in Manor TX stated it needed the brake booster replaced and program reset. After researching this is a problem with my VIN that was offered free replacement until 2022 this should be a total unexpired recall. I could have lost my life or someone eles! It’s part of the Customer Satisfaction Program 20B51:

NHTSA ID

11753747

Incident

Jul 14, 2026

Had recall for parking brake fixed, soon after I’d be on interstate or intersection and it would lose power wrench and check power train system light came on. Took to dealership and they said it was parking pawl sylenuod. Had repaired left the shop didn’t even get home and it did the same: Mechanic said it was gas pedal sensor repaired that and same thing happened it may go real fast or not go . I worked for uber and lyft and have been out of work for a few months. Car setting at dealership and the say I need to pay for a new power train module because my cars lost it brains. So I got recall fixed and my cars went to hell in a hand basket. Now another recall is issued but no resolution. It is a huge safety issue when your gas pedal gets a not responsive to your foot touching the pedal then it accelerating without touching the gas pedal. I’m lucky I didn’t die in it. This year model just needs to be lemoned out. Oh also when it starts messing up airbag not working driver assist not working all the safety features go haywire. I feel 💯 sure this is all related to the recall and ford will be hearing from me or a lawyer one.

NHTSA ID

11748657

Incident

Nov 29, 2025

ABS and parking brake. Was confirmed by the dealer & tow truck driver. No warning when I parked it, only after putting it into reverse. There were flashing ABS & Parking Brake lights plus a beeping sound.

NHTSA ID

11744539

Incident

Jun 11, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that after pulling over, an unknown warning light illuminated. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal, the message to activate the electronic parking brake was displayed due to a critical fault within the shift lever and parking system. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000.

NHTSA ID

11732456

Incident

Apr 12, 2026

Mileage

124,000 mi

front end axle actuator failing and causing all safety systems to turn off, loss of power and can lead to seized up front end

NHTSA ID

11731028

Incident

Jan 1, 2026

I previously reported a safety issue re. Brakes not working in park. Vehicle rolled back and car almost hit mom and young daughter walking behind vehicle in parking lot. When I brought it to BellFord in [XXX] they told me it was not covered under the recall since it wasn’t being caused by rear axle. Instead they wanted to charge me $3,000 to diagnose their manufacturing defect. In addition when I notified Ford rep who never said anything other then I must get car diagnosed and pay for it and then “we will see .” Ford complaint XXX and I believe this is the NHTSA Complaint # XXX. Here is my initial Ford complaint Cxh-XXX was closed without explanation no one could tell me why no one had contacted me. I am very concerned that Ford is not taking responsibility for defective cars. My car now has only 47k. Brake issue. I had to replace front boots due to leaking and front axle was leaking. I had that fixed and now rear back up camera isn’t working. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11725306

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

Vehicle was engaged in park with parking brake on, I put my foot on brake applying pressure & shifted out of park to drive. As I disengaged parking brake vehicle pushed forward 10 feet forcing me to take my foot off brake & reapply pressure to stop vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11676020

Incident

Jul 15, 2025

Parking brake won't disengage. Cannot drive or reverse

NHTSA ID

11675146

Incident

Jul 21, 2025

The Abs failed and my car break system went out while on the highway with two small kids. Very dangerous

NHTSA ID

11666447

Incident

May 23, 2025

Electronic brake booster has failed. Ford has issued a customer service bulletin to address however ended the program in 2022. This needs to be turned into a recall as it could easily lead to a fatality if not addressed and replaced. Speaking with ford they have done numerous replacements of these.

NHTSA ID

11663652

Incident

May 22, 2025

The wiring is faulty. We have had electrical issues since buying this vehicle. The car is not old- I turned my car on put it into reverse and all these lights popped up saying there’s electrical issues and it can’t work and the brakes legitimately did not work. We almost went into traffic from a business with no ability to break. For a 4-5 year old car this should not even be a thing I feel like. And it should not be having this serious electrical issues. Everything electrical in the car is not working and the fuses are fine according to the mechanic. Si we are going down the list of issues that could be an issue. But he is saying the wiring could just be faulty. Which is scary because it almost cost me and my oldest child our lives.

NHTSA ID

11655683

Incident

Apr 20, 2025

We had an issue where the abs light came on going down the road. If you applied the brakes the dash would say release parking brakes and then the vehicle did not want to stop when I actually needed too.

NHTSA ID

11653935

Incident

Mar 28, 2025

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - driveline, brakes, acceleration, and steering. Ford and 2 dealerships now refuse to take my complaints seriously even though I’m willing to pay diagnosis fees for them too try to figure out what the issue is. Yes available. How was your safety or the safety risk? - delay and at times complete lack of braking and acceleration, being unable to steer, accelerating when braking and vehicle moving when in park. The vehicle shakes, wobbles, vibrates and chimys. Vehicle warning lights have flashed only to be gone in 2 seconds. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer? Yes and no. Initially many parts in the driveline including the transfer case was replaced. The vehicle went into the dealership multiple times because the symptoms kept returning. However, now the same dealership refuses to take the vehicle back because they couldn’t figure out what the issue was and now the second dealership is trying to push back and even accepting my money to take a look at the vehicle. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The manufacturer including ford engineers. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The warning lights seem to appear and then disappear as quickly as they show up. I have tried to log some of them, but sometimes I do not get to see it in time as when starting the car I’m closing my door and out putting my seat belt on. There have been multiple cars for this vehicle, including customer satisfaction programs. The most recent one a steering torque sensor failure posted on the NHTSA site as well as Ford. However on Ford’s website, it is being misrepresented as a loose seatbelt (see attachment). I don’t believe they are being transparent. There are recalls that I believe are excluding VINs purposefully.

NHTSA ID

11649371

Incident

Mar 19, 2025

Driving down the highway 65mph, cruise on, car makes an abrupt violent jerk forward, tires squeal, and car starts fishtailing across all lanes of traffic. Seems as if car spontaneously slammed on the brakes. Nothing crossed in front of the vehicle, nothing in the road, both hands were on the wheel, feet resting on the floorboard. Nothing displayed on the console. Once control was regained car drove per usual, no issues.

NHTSA ID

11625421

Incident

Nov 13, 2024

The vehicle is equipped with electric power brakes which will intermittently stop working resulting in no power brakes. It doesn't warn you that the pump has stopped working just a very hard brake pedal and no braking effort, failure to slow down.

NHTSA ID

11621117

Incident

Oct 1, 2024

When slowing down around 27mph car downshifts so hard it jerks. If someone would have been behind me they would have probably hit me.

NHTSA ID

11609285

Incident

Aug 18, 2024

2020 Ford Explorer purchased in January 2021. Since owning this vehicle, we have experienced numerous (10+) situations where at a light or entering traffic with our foot on the brake pedal and waiting to proceed the car starts to acerate on its own and jump forward 4'-6' before it stops. I have visited my dealer Jones Ford in Charleston, SC and reported this issue a couple of times over the past few years. As usual they were unable to replicate the issue in shop or find a service code that relates to this problem. On Thursday, [XXX], 2023, while horizontally parking my vehicle in Georgetown, SC in front of an electrical pole (with support wires holding it in place), with my foot on the brake pedal coming to a stop, the engine accelerated and jumped the curb hitting the steel wires causing damage to my front and right side. The following Monday, [XXX] I brought the Explorer into the dealer to investigate the problem since it was still under an extended warranty. After spending a week at the dealer, they return the vehicle unable to find anything wrong and charged me over $200 for a service inspection (Invoice Included). At that point I contacted Ford Customer Service directly and after numerous calls and emails they denied that anything was wrong with my Explorer and closed the case (email included). Since January 2024, I have incurred 5 additional occurrences, and the last one was last week while I was parking the car in reverse...it jumped and struck the parked vehicle behind me. Thank goodness there was no damage to either vehicle. Over the past weekend in continuing to research this problem I came across an AP Article from June 2023 discussing this problem with 2020-22 Ford Explorers (article included). This is why I am lodging this complaint; Ford was well a where of this dangerous situation that my wife and I faced over the years. When the vehicle would accelerate it was very scary, and you honestly were not positive the car would stop. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

NHTSA ID

11589627

Incident

Nov 16, 2023

The contact owned a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the advanced traction control, 4-wheel drive pre-collision assist, and drive mode assist warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while it was raining. The contact lost control of the rear of the vehicle and the rear of the vehicle and crashed into a rail. The vehicle then crashed into a guard rail, crossed a two-lane highway, and bounced off of a concrete slab before the vehicle stopped. The contact's two children were in the vehicle. The contact and the contact's children received medical attention on the scene and were taken to the medical center. The contact and the contact's children were all treated for whiplash and concussion. The contact was also treated for nerve damage. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The contact stated that the failure had occurred previously, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer had informed the contact that there was an unknown recall with a similar failure description, however, the VIN was not associated. The vehicle had an upcoming service appointment with an independent mechanic. The contact stated that the independent mechanic was very trustworthy and served the contact's vehicle regularly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11583062

Incident

Apr 10, 2024

Mileage

46,000 mi

The lift ajar lights came on, lift wont lock so it goes back up umless i push it down manually but the warning light “lift ajar” keeps going on everytime i turn the engine on.im afraid that the lift would open up while im driving .

NHTSA ID

11582885

Incident

Apr 14, 2024

On [XXX] I was driving my 2020 explorer east bound on [XXX] just past the [XXX] intersection in Aurora, CO when all kind of warning lights lit up on the dashboard. (Parking brake engaged, pre collision prevention system failure, ABS light, check break system and other warning lights as well) the vehicle had a hard time stopping when I applied brakes almost caused a collision. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11580357

Incident

Mar 22, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the passenger’s side rear brakes were scraping. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The vehicle was repaired; however, the brake failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11568717

Incident

Jan 30, 2024

Mileage

40,000 mi

We turned the vehicle on and a parking brake error came up on the dashboard followed by the dashboard lighting up with a lot of warnings. The vehicle was turned off and back on but continued with the error. Because we were out at a store and not home, we tried to drive it. We placed it in reverse and when put in drive, the brakes did not work with engaged. There was a small bumped that was able to stop the vehicle. I called Ford and they offered to run diagnostics on the vehicle for next week but could not guarantee a paid rental for the length of time needed for the repair. After exiting the vehicle, letting it rest for 5 minutes and restarting again, we were able to drive home with the brakes working again.

NHTSA ID

11567941

Incident

Jan 25, 2024

The rear left brake caliper locked up and caused damage to the wheel, tire, rotors and most of the brake assembly. Ford service thought that maybe a bolt fell out. The vehicle has ~36000 miles. I purchased what was called a bumper to bumper warranty from the dealership but was told it did not cover the problem. The damage is $3200. I looked at online forums and found numerous entries about the brake caliper issues. A parts employee at a dealership told me the part (L1MZ2B511C) was on national backorder due to a "Quality" problem. Ford customer service said they would not cover the repair because there is no recall.

NHTSA ID

11564689

Incident

Dec 31, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. The brake pedal was engaged and continued to depress independently. After turning off the vehicle, an abnormal sound was detected. The contact stated that while driving, there was a line on the screen. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was referred to the local dealer. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ID

11561087

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

Mileage

50,000 mi