2020 FORD EXPLORER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,189 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (384 complaints · 32.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 35
  • Fires 11
  • Injuries 38
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2019 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 384 of 1,189 owner complaints (32.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 384 complaints, 32.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 384 · 32.3% · 5 crash reports BACK OVER PREVENTION: 89 complaints, 7.5% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 89 · 7.5% · 7 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 81 complaints, 6.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 81 · 6.8% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports ENGINE: 80 complaints, 6.7% of reports ENGINE 80 · 6.7% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 54 complaints, 4.5% of reports VISIBILITY 54 · 4.5% · 2 crash reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 51 complaints, 4.3% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 51 · 4.3% · 3 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 46 complaints, 3.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 46 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 36 complaints, 3.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 36 · 3.0% · 2 crash reports STRUCTURE: 29 complaints, 2.4% of reports STRUCTURE 29 · 2.4% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 403 complaints, 33.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 403 · 33.9% · 21 crash reports 6 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 384 32.3% 5 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 89 7.5% 7 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 81 6.8% 1 crashes · 3 fires
ENGINE 80 6.7% 2 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 54 4.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 51 4.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 46 3.9% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 36 3.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 29 2.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 403 33.9% 21 crashes · 6 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2019. 2019-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2020-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2020-Q3: 33 owner reports 33 2020-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 2021-Q1: 55 owner reports 55 2021-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2021-Q3: 39 owner reports 39 2021-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2022-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2022-Q2: 24 owner reports 24 2022-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2022-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2023-Q1: 38 owner reports 38 2023-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2023-Q3: 62 owner reports 62 2023-Q4: 52 owner reports 52 2024-Q1: 54 owner reports 54 2024-Q2: 47 owner reports 47 2024-Q3: 45 owner reports 45 2024-Q4: 56 owner reports 56 2025-Q1: 65 owner reports 65 2025-Q2: 101 owner reports 101 2025-Q3: 103 owner reports 103 2025-Q4: 48 owner reports 48 2026-Q1: 48 owner reports 48 2026-Q2: 55 owner reports 55 2026-Q3: 45 owner reports 45 Owner reports Oct 2019 Jul 2026 Investigation RQ21002 ● Investigation RQ21002 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation RQ23002 ● Investigation RQ23002 Investigation DP25001 ● Investigation DP25001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2019-Q4 Owner reports 7
2020-Q1 Owner reports 29
2020-Q2 Owner reports 17
2020-Q3 Owner reports 33
2020-Q4 Owner reports 32
2021-Q1 Owner reports 55
2021-Q2 Owner reports 20
2021-Q3 Owner reports 39
2021-Q4 Owner reports 22
2022-Q1 Owner reports 21
2022-Q2 Owner reports 24
2022-Q3 Owner reports 18
2022-Q4 Owner reports 20
2023-Q1 Owner reports 38
2023-Q2 Owner reports 33
2023-Q3 Owner reports 62
2023-Q4 Owner reports 52
2024-Q1 Owner reports 54
2024-Q2 Owner reports 47
2024-Q3 Owner reports 45
2024-Q4 Owner reports 56
2025-Q1 Owner reports 65
2025-Q2 Owner reports 101
2025-Q3 Owner reports 103
2025-Q4 Owner reports 48
2026-Q1 Owner reports 48
2026-Q2 Owner reports 55
2026-Q3 Owner reports 45
Defect investigation 1 RQ21002
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 RQ23002
Defect investigation 1 DP25001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 1,189 complaints · page 1 of 48

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources