2020 Explorer ST - Lots of hassle and work done at 35k miles - any success stories welcome

[jgclark05]

Hi all,

Writing here as a last hope before trading in my 2020 Red Explorer ST. I bought it in 2020 at 250 miles and couldn't be happier. Now at 3.5 years and 35k miles, car had all the signature recall problems: exhaust leak, cam phaser shaking on cold start, front driver axle shaft leaking grease, etc. I took my vehicle in for repairs on 1/8/24. After a lot of hassle with dealership, they informed me they would repair all the recalls under warranty (axle, cam phasers, exhaust leak issue with converter, etc). Aside from that, they informed me my Pirellis were out of round and down to wear line (ridiculous at 35k miles!).

All that said, I just got call yesterday (1/31/24) to pick up the Explorer. I had 8 pages of repair work (ridiculous for 35k miles), the pic attached of how big the job was (completed dropped my engine!), and new yokohama 275/45R21s put on since they had 50k mile warranty. I drove the car for 5 min and noticed it was pulling left bad. Took it back, got alignment done and tire rotation, still pulling left. It actually feels like the driver assist is also aiding in the pulling which seems dangerous. The dealership now gave me another rental and said they would call me when they have an update...

Has anyone else had this much trouble at 35k miles? Any ideas what the pulling left problem is? Also, any hope in the durability of this vehicle going forward? Any comments on similiar problems experienced and success stories after are welcome.

Thanks,
Garrett

 

[UWN]

Sorry to hear about some of your issues, I have about 33,000 on her. She is the family hauler and have taken multiple trips with her and haven't truly seen any of these issues. I will say the one issue that tends to be the most annoying is the applecar play doesn't want to connect at times (usually when we need to use it). I have tried different cables, usb-a and C. I guess one other "issue" is the transmission tends to hunt around as well at times. I mostly catch it in slow parking lot and traffic situations where it doesn't know if it wants to upshift or downshift and it just doesn't feel "smooth" or it almost lunges forward to get into that gear. I'm at a crossroad with this vehicle long term, while I love the space and performance of the car... I don't know if we will keep it as long as we usually keep vehicles but a lot of things on the market don't provide this type of performance three row wagonish SUV. Of course this is all my opinion..

 

[mcfarlrm]

Pure speculation here but it almost sounds like improper suspension/steering linkage reassembly. You would think that after all of that work the least they could do is take it for a test drive. Had the same issue with mine pulling to the right after the transfer case was replaced. Ended up being the steering linkage not being properly reassembled. Nothing but issues with my 2020 and getting rid of it as soon as the extended power train coverage expires.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

The lane keeping system always like staying on the left side of the lane.

 

[Cdubya]

Well, you certainly have experienced most of the big ones. MY2020 is almost certainly going to have 1) downpipe (Cat) exhaust leak, 2) front axle boot leak (both sides), 3) midpipe flex section leak/failure (both sides), 4) front axle disconnect actuator leak, and 5) multiple modules needing firmware updates to correct problems/quirks, 6) axle speed sensor failure, 7) bottom undercarriage flapping from plastic retainers, 8) rear axle spline "TINK!" sound when moving from a standstill, 9) window control "chrome" flaking off. ALL of these are a matter of when they will occur, not if.

I will also add AWD module grounding problems for certain builds (9/2019-12/2021), but this is not a given.

 

[jgclark05]

Thanks for your comments guys. It is very disappointing to pay a premium for this vehicle and experience so many problems with it early on. @mcfarlrm appreciate the comments on the steering linkage. I will point the mechanics there (crazy I have to do that), and I agree that I can't believe they didn't check this to begin with. I also agree they should've taken it for a test drive. They told me they did but clearly didn't since the car pulled left immediately.....smh......I honestly feel like these guys are told to have a reactive based approach where they only fix the complaints a customer has. It's disappointing Ford doesn't take a holistic approach to ensure a seamless customer experience. I guess somewhere down the road the company started getting greedy....

Please feel free to add any other possible causes, experiences, and success stories as you get them.

Thanks

 

[mcfarlrm]

Thanks for your comments guys. It is very disappointing to pay a premium for this vehicle and experience so many problems with it early on. @mcfarlrm appreciate the comments on the steering linkage. I will point the mechanics there (crazy I have to do that), and I agree that I can't believe they didn't check this to begin with. I also agree they should've taken it for a test drive. They told me they did but clearly didn't since since the car pulled left immediately.....smh......I honestly feel like these guys are told to have a reactive based approach where they only fix the complaints a customer has. It's disappointing Ford doesn't take a holistic approach to ensure a seamless customer experience. I guess somewhere down the road the company started getting greedy....

Please feel free to add any other possible causes, experiences, and success stories as you get them.

Thanks

Steering linkage would most likely cause your steering wheel not be dead center when cruising straight down the road. Forcing it dead center would cause a pull to one side. Pull due to suspension components, especially if you let your hands off the wheel or feel the vehicle forced in one direction could be a sign of an issue. Had to bring mine back immediately to the service dept on numerous occasions after they "fixed" an issue. I finally found a good Ford service dept in the area after striking out on two others. This is the most problematic vehicle I have owned the past 20 years. If it wasn't for all the issues, I would say it's the best vehicle I have ever owned based on performance, comfort, etc.

 

[bmidd]

We

Well, you certainly have experienced most of the big ones. MY2020 is almost certainly going to have 1) downpipe (Cat) exhaust leak, 2) front axle boot leak (both sides), 3) midpipe flex section leak/failure (both sides), 4) front axle disconnect actuator leak, and 5) multiple modules needing firmware updates to correct problems/quirks, 6) axle speed sensor failure, 7) bottom undercarriage flapping from plastic retainers, 8) rear axle spline "TINK!" sound when moving from a standstill, 9) window control "chrome" flaking off. ALL of these are a matter of when they will occur, not if.

I will also add AWD module grounding problems for certain builds (9/2019-12/2021), but this is not a given.

We're at 62k miles and have all of these except the AWD module problem, plus we've gone through 2 oil pans before they managed to fix the leaking. All of this between 50 and 62k miles. Had to finally replace the whole exhaust, because the passenger muffler was rotting apart on the inlet side. Extended warranty doesn't cover exhaust, so we went 3" Thermal.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Thanks for your comments guys. It is very disappointing to pay a premium for this vehicle and experience so many problems with it early on. @mcfarlrm appreciate the comments on the steering linkage. I will point the mechanics there (crazy I have to do that), and I agree that I can't believe they didn't check this to begin with. I also agree they should've taken it for a test drive. They told me they did but clearly didn't since since the car pulled left immediately.....smh......I honestly feel like these guys are told to have a reactive based approach where they only fix the complaints a customer has. It's disappointing Ford doesn't take a holistic approach to ensure a seamless customer experience. I guess somewhere down the road the company started getting greedy....

Please feel free to add any other possible causes, experiences, and success stories as you get them.

Thanks

It is all about the dealer. A great dealer makes all the difference. We had a 2020 originally and a bad half shaft that made it drive weird. That could be it too.

 

[jgclark05]

Hi all, I wanted to provide an update. I got the car back after 1 month in the shop. I still think the car wants to pull left but the foreman and service advisor confirmed the vehicle is aligned according to the spec. Not sure what else to do at this point besides chase down lemon law or trade in, so just brought the car home for now.

Aside from all this mess, does anyone ever hear a bubbling noise coming from the engine after you turn the vehicle off? Sounds like coolant bubbling or water in the radiator or something. If you drive around for a few minutes then turn the car off, stay in the car and listen for it coming from the engine. Any concerns with that? Really hoping I don't have to take the damn thing back again

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Have had that. No concerns with it though.

 

[mcfarlrm]

Hi all, I wanted to provide an update. I got the car back after 1 month in the shop. I still think the car wants to pull left but the foreman and service advisor confirmed the vehicle is aligned according to the spec. Not sure what else to do at this point besides chase down lemon law or trade in, so just brought the car home for now.

Aside from all this mess, does anyone ever here a bubbling noise coming from the engine after you turn the vehicle off? Sounds like coolant bubbling or water in the radiator or something. If you drive around for a few minutes then turn the car off, stay in the car and listen for it coming from the engine. Any concerns with that? Really hoping I don't have to take the damn thing back again

Most techs I've dealt with regarding my pull didn't think outside the box. They always resorted to an alignment, which didn't fix the issue even though the alignment came back within spec. I insisted that they needed to check my steering linkage and suspension components. Lo and behold, after insisting that they check, the issue was found and corrected. Service advisors and techs tend to treat their customer like individuals that have no knowledge of vehicles whatsoever and brush them off. Persistence pays off once you show them you know a thing or two.

 

[legacy404]

31k miles here, 2020 non- street pack. Livernois tuned since purchase about.
1.Dealership just replaced front axles due to leaking grease. Took one day so happy with that. Also fixed DP rattling.
2. Replaced driver seat heating element as it stopped working a year ago. Paid as it was out of warranty.
3. Replaced EGR purge valve, did myself $60
4. Rear camera blue screen issues, they replaced the whole thing, havent had problems with it in years since

Replaced brake pads and tires as part of reg maintenance. Otherwise good.

 

[bluesnake01]

2020 Platinum Owner Here, Almost 40k miles

- Replaced Passenger Boot Leak
- Replaced Passenger Massager Module, Stopped Working
- Fixed Water Leak Coming From Rear, Possibly Clogged
- Fixed Sagging Sunroof

Thats it, everything has been perfectly fine. Had issues with the rear blue camera but IDK if a Sync update fixed it or what not, have not had any issues with that anymore for over a year. I keep receiving recall notices for it but if its not broken why fix it?

Aside from the horrible slow POS Sync 3, no major or annoying issues.

 

[jgclark05]

Most techs I've dealt with regarding my pull didn't think outside the box. They always resorted to an alignment, which didn't fix the issue even though the alignment came back within spec. I insisted that they needed to check my steering linkage and suspension components. Lo and behold, after insisting that they check, the issue was found and corrected. Service advisors and techs tend to treat their customer like individuals that have no knowledge of vehicles whatsoever and brush them off. Persistence pays off once you show them you know a thing or two.

What was root cause of your pull? The steering linkage, suspension components, or both? Was that all covered under powertrain I assume? Also, does your vehicle drive straight now?

Appreciate your help!

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Just popped in my head too. It could be the foam inside the tires causing misbalance on the tire. It has happened to quite a few people.

 

[jgclark05]

Just popped in my head too. It could be the foam inside the tires causing misbalance on the tire. It has happened to quite a few people.

I think thats what it was with my Pirellis but I had them replaced with Yokohamas

 

[mcfarlrm]

M

What was root cause of your pull? The steering linkage, suspension components, or both? Was that all covered under powertrain I assume? Also, does your vehicle drive straight now?

Appreciate your help!

Mine was due to improper steering linkage reassembly when my transfer case was replaced. It did not cause a pull per say but my steering wheel was not dead center when traveling straight down the road. When positioning my steering wheel centered, it listed to one side. Worn or defective suspension components can definitely cause a pull. Be it defective idler or pitman arm, tie rod ends, upper or lower control arms, etc. Or, worn bushings within any of these components.

 

[Eljaber]

Hi all, I wanted to provide an update. I got the car back after 1 month in the shop. I still think the car wants to pull left but the foreman and service advisor confirmed the vehicle is aligned according to the spec. Not sure what else to do at this point besides chase down lemon law or trade in, so just brought the car home for now.

Aside from all this mess, does anyone ever hear a bubbling noise coming from the engine after you turn the vehicle off? Sounds like coolant bubbling or water in the radiator or something. If you drive around for a few minutes then turn the car off, stay in the car and listen for it coming from the engine. Any concerns with that? Really hoping I don't have to take the damn thing back again

I get the bubbling sound after turning off the car as well, so far no issues lol... 2020 ST.

 

[mcfarlrm]

Just thought of this as well. Did they check your brakes to make sure they weren't sticking? A stuck piston in the caliper will cause a pull. Especially noticeable when applying the brakes.