Just purchased a 2020 Platinum and noticed after the first day, a subtle noise coming from the front end when going over slight bumps at lower speeds. This noise can be replicated by opening the hood, and gently banging on the strut brace that connects the strut tops when the car is stationary, engine off. Its the black brace that spans across the engine. The noise appears to be coming from the front bumper area, and appears to be coming from the lower drivers side area. Its currently in the shop now for this, plus the illuminated door sill on the drivers side does not light up, and a piece of the "R" on the illuminated sill on the passenger side writing is missing.
I am in complete agreement with many on this board, that the price paid for the quality received is lacking in certain areas, but not all thankfully. I am however becoming less impressed with whats happening at Ford under the current leadership of bean counters that appear to be influencing the part quality in favor of larger margins. We also have a 2018 Ford F150 Platinum 3.0L Diesel truck. The quality of this truck completely meets its price tag expectations. Cant say that for the new Explorer unfortunately.
We have however on the F150 most certainly noticed the absence of several previous luxuries such as the lack of multi colored ambient lighting (which is now only blue), but the multi-colored ambient was present in 2017's and before. Removed on the 2018's. On my 2018, it has a CD player...on the 2019...that went away although the price increased. I am thinking that the general public don't notice these removals...but we do. What else have they robbed that we can't see?....
Well, its becoming easier to see..... the latest 2020 edition of the Explorer, even the platinum has been substantially cheapened out compared to previous models. The doors when closing have a cheap rattle instead of a nice 'thunk'. The lower parts of the door trims are cheap ass plastic, with no soft inserts like before. These are a few elements we noticed..... I am trying to keep a positive outlook for this vehicle, but it does bother me a lot that Ford is trying to pear down to save costs and to increase margins, but now...we can actually see through what they have done with this model....to the point of it being blatantly obvious on the eyes.
I will update on the front end noise, and am committed to finding the source of it, even if the dealership can't. Other than that, it does drive really nicely, and I am hoping that it will be as good as I think it could be, despite the damage done by the bloody bean counters so far.
Thanks for letting me join the forum. Regards /m
