2020 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #2156201
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:LOCK filed December 10, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2156201 (ODI reference 11704326) concerns a 2020 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on December 10, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 10, 2024. The vehicle had 95,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Colorado based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as latches/locks/linkages:hatchback/liftgate:lock, 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: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. 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 latches/locks/linkages:hatchback/liftgate:lock 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 owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the system then resumed normal functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that an unknown sensor had failed. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact stated that recently the liftgate failed to function as intended. The contact used the key fob to open the liftgate, and the liftgate failed to function as intended. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited to restart the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The contact was able to open the liftgate after fifteen minutes. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact stated that one year ago, there was an abnormal sound coming from the powertrain. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where unknown sens
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2156201 |
| ODI Number | 11704326 |
| Date Filed | December 10, 2025 |
| Failure Date | December 10, 2024 |
| VIN | 1FM5K8HC0LG |
Similar LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:LOCK Complaints for 2020 FORD EXPLORER
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact discovered that the rear hatch had failed to open. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear hatch closed without driver input. The contact stated that the buttons were inoperable and failed to open the hatch as needed. W
The rear hatch opens unexpectedly with no command given. It happened twice while in Drive pulling out of my garage. There was no audible or visual warnings the hatch was opening. The hatch impacted th
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.