Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Ford Explorer submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 25 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
When putting the car in reverse and moving backwards start to feel the vehicle look drive power and knock sounds. Sounds likes and feels like gear teeth or not aligned. When putting the car into drive the vehicle jumps a little and you hear a lout pop noise.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle for regular service, he was made aware that the driver’s side CV axle was leaking. The contact was informed that the driver’s side CV axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 54,000.
Experiencing issues with power steering after battery replacement. Taken to two Ford dealerships (Fayetteville, GA & Morrow, GA) . One unable to diagnose (Fayetteville) and the other reset battery settings (Morrow). Issue still persistent with intermittent power steering failure while driving. Very dangerous and scary! Errors that appear: service advance trac, steering assist fault service required & pre-collision assist not available.
After maintaining a speed, accelerating just a bit, the steering wheel vibrates until i increase the speed. Twice I have had it into the shop after I purchased it and the Ford dealership said there is nothing wrong. It cost me the 2nd time. There is a recall on a bolt on the rear axle on mine and a steering bolt on another 2020 vehicle. Another mechanic said it could be the transmition not working properly. It drives down the road good except when accelerating a little. It sometimes has a hard shift into drive or reverse. Thank You
Front axle boot defective and leaks grease causing steering instability and possible powertrain failure. Dealer charged $475 to fix/replace the part. Upon further research on-line, it is apparent that thousands of 2020 Ford Explorers exhibit the same problem and the manufacturer should be fixing this problem free of charge.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH and driving over a slight deformation in the road surface, the vehicle was swaying to the left and right with the Electronic Stability Control warning light illuminated. The contact slowed down and regained control of the vehicle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V093000 (Seat Belts) which linked a failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V493000 (Steering) in the summary; however, the failures were unrelated. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.
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.
The car pulls on the left when driving. And ticking noise
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering assist and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to steer. The failure occurred while the contact was driving home from a trip. The contact made several attempts to have the vehicle inspected for the failure; however, there were no local dealers available. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a failure with the steering. The contact was advised to safely drive the vehicle to his destination and then take the vehicle to a dealer. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a power steering control module failure. The contact was informed that the power steering control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The manufacturer agreed to cover 50% of the repair cost. The failure mileage was approximately 67,900.
Vehicle is giving a code C0631 and C0632 also has a wrench light indicator on it has something to do with the AWD the vehicle will become hard to turn stall completely will not move and a loss of power occurs
Upon starting and before driving (still parked) steering column started making vibrating, creaking, cracking, screeching noises when adjusting to proper driving position and seems to be beginning to fail. This is worse when the vehicle has been heated by hot summer temps. I have video with audio too. I've attached Ford's TSB 22-2144 and the NHTSA ID# 10210476
Acceleration issues because of transmission slippage. Transmission slippage, upon acceleration transmission, vibration in slippage. Slipping upon acceleration, low speeds, and high speeds. Clutch plate engaging issues. When putting the car from drive into park On a slight incline, car will bounce back-and-forth roughly 1 inch before stopping.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the back over prevention camera malfunctioned and intermittently displayed a blue screen. Additionally, while driving, the display screen would erroneously activate and cause the steering wheel to momentarily vibrate and shake. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a software update which corrected the failure; however, after a second software update was performed, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 37,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to simultaneously accelerate and make a left turn, the steering wheel forcefully turned in the opposite direction. During the failure the message "power steering fault, service required" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the 12-volt battery was faulty and performed a reprogramming of the steering system. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure was still present. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.
The vehicle steering wheel felt loose, took the vehicle to a local Ford dealer where they found that the steering wheel bolt was loose almost to the point of falling off. They tightened up the bolt and sent me on my way.
While driving at 70 mph the vehicle experienced the following issues all at once, the power steering shut off, all brake pressure was lost, the pre- collision system was turned off, parking brake engaged(at 70 mph) traction control system turned off, engine light turned on and all of the warning lights on the dash activated. This has happened 3 times and almost killed me twice. Ford has tried to repair this vehicle all three times and still have not corrected the issue. Ford has also refused to replace or buy back the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 55 - 75 mph, the contact was switching lanes and felt the vehicle was swerving. The contact stated that there were vibrations felt coming from the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer test drove the vehicle and diagnosed that there was no failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,999.
TRANSMISSION WAS GRINDING AND STOPPED PULLING AT APPROXIMATELY 17,000 MILES. HAD CAR TOWED TO DEALER. THERE WAS A TRANSMISSION LEAK. IT WAS REPAIRED AND 6 QUARTS OF FLUID ADDED. SINCE THE REPAIRS, TRANSMISSION IS HARD SHIFTING AND JERKING. I'VE HAD THE CAR BACK AT THE DEALER FOR STEERING ISSUES 3 TIMES. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (65MPH AND ABOVE) THE CAR WANDERS ALL OVER THE ROAD, LIKE THERE'S SLACK IN THE RACK AND PINION. THE DEALER SAYS THE ALIGNMENT IS OKAY AND REFUSES TO LISTEN TO MY COMPLAINTS. HAVE ISSUES WITH THE SYNC. THE RADIO WILL RANDOMLY NOT LET YOU ADJUST THE VOLUME AND HAVE HAD THE BACK-UP CAMERA REPLACED. ALSO, RANDOMLY WILL NOT SYNC-UP WITH IPHONE.
STEERING WHEEL SHAKES AND ENGINE SOUNDS AS IT IS GOING TO STALL AT SPEEDS BETWEEN, 35 AND 45 MPH. FORD HAD VEHICLE FOR TWO WEEKS TOTAL AND CONFIRMED ISSUES. THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TP FIX. THEY SAID VEHICLE IS WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS'
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE LOSS MOTIVE POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE SLOWED DOWN AND REGAINED CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,440.
PURCHASED NEW 2020 FORD EXPLORER ST AND THE STEERING FAILED 3 TIMES IN 5 MONTHS. RETURNED THE CAR TO THE DEALER EACH TIME FOR REPAIRS. IN ALL CASES SOME OR ALL STEERING WENT OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE. ON JUNE 15TH I HAD A SEVERE WRECK AND TOTALED THE CAR AS I TRIED TO NAVIGATE A SLIGHT CURVE IN THE ROAD.
ON SATURDAY AUGUST 22, I DROVE MY 2020 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TO WORK IN MY COMPANY PARKING LOT. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO LEAVE WORK TO GO HOME, AFTER STARTING THE CAR, I RECEIVED A SUCCESSION OF WARNING NOTICES - HILL START ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE / REVERSE BRAKE ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE / PRE-COLLISION ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE / SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC / STEERING LOSS - STOP SAFELY. THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW, NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD AND HAS ONLY 7,000 MILES. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO SUMMIT FORD IN SIVERTHORNE COLORADO ON AUGUST 23 WHERE IT HAS BEEN FOR TWO WEEKS. IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS THAT A RELATIVELY NEW CAR WOULD HAVE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE STEERING SYSTEM WITHOUT WARNING LEAVING ME WITHOUT A VEHICLE FOR OVER TWO WEEKS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT BUT THEY NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE THEY HAVE CAUSED ME WITH THIS OBVIOUSLY INFERIOR PRODUCT.
MY 2020 FORD EXPLORER ST POWER STEERING WENT OUT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ON A FREEWAY DOING 70 MPH GOING DOWN A 6% GRADE AT 6,000 FT. (CAJON PASS) WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING NEARLY CAUSING A MAJOR ACCIDENT.
WHEN OUTSIDE TEMP IS BELOW MINUS 5 DEGREES STEERING IS HARD, AT SLOW SPEED STEERING LOCKED HAD TO JERK IT TO CONTROL. ABOVE 60MPH STEERING OK. HAPPENED AT PARKING LOT SPEED (LOCKING UP) AND BELOW 60MPH HARD STEERING.
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAYTHE 'STEERING FAULT SERVICE NOW LIGHT' CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD WHILE TRAVELING 75 MPH MILES ON ODOMETER 900. AFTER STOPPING THE CAR AND RESTARTING IT THE 'STEERING LOSS STOP SAFELY' MESSAGE POPPED UP ON THE DASHBOARD I HAD TO DRIVE TO THE DEALERSHIP WITH NO POWER STEERING OR ANY TRANSMISSION OPTIONS LIKE SPORT, ECONOMY, REGULAR, DEEP SNOW, NO ASSIST FOR UPHILL OR DOWNHILL PARKING
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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