2020 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1983478
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP filed April 15, 2024
NHTSA complaint #1983478 (ODI reference 11583062) concerns a 2020 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on April 15, 2024. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 10, 2024. The vehicle had 46,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to North Carolina based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 3, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD EXPLORER cohort independently describe similar service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2020 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
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. Th
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1983478 |
| ODI Number | 11583062 |
| Date Filed | April 15, 2024 |
| Failure Date | April 10, 2024 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8HC4LG |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.