Test drive of 2020 limited seemed jerky

[stevesmith1328]

I currently have a 2016 explorer limited and have had two prior limited models before the 2016. My wife and I are in the market for a 2020 and recently test drove a limited. I was really surprised that during the drive the ride seemed jerky is the best way I can describe it when accelerating and braking. Seemed to be related to the shifting. It just wasn’t the smooth ride that I experienced with my current limited explorer. We made sure the drive mode was in normal and the start stop wasn’t engaged. The drive was just normal city non freeway driving.

We decided to test drive a platinum that same day and were much happier with the smoothness of the ride for the most part. A few weeks later we test drove a limited at another dealership just to make sure we weren’t crazy and had the same drive experience.

Anyone else that has had a limited before find the ride less smooth with the new engine coming standard with the limited? Maybe the 4 cylinder 10 speed turbo engine takes getting used to? Does the ride get smoother as the car breaks in? Just curious what others experience has been. Thanks in advance.

 

[KMB505]

I have the XLT with the I4 turbo (same as the limited) and have noticed a few times the hesitation in the mornings. I'm heading out, up a hill, right out the drive. It doesn't happen any other time. But when I give it more gas it doesn't do it. No hesitation at all. It's almost as if it doesn't want you to take it easy.

I've had the XLT since 7/5 and have 2340 miles on it. I think it's broken in pretty good.

 

[NJDave]

Our 2020 Limited is the same, have heard it is the 10 speed tranny also. But , it is either getting better or I am just getting used to it as we add miles. Not sure if there is a learning process for the drivetrain or not.

 

[buzzard302]

My 2020 Limited is the same. I think it's a combo of how the engine and trans are tuned, as well as low torque from the 4 cyl. engine at low speeds. The 10 speed trans is not the smoothest thing in the world either. I have found plenty of evidence on the F-150 forums of guys complaining about clunky shifting from the 10 speed. It is most noticeable when coming to a stop at 10-15 mph in a neighborhood. At the end of the day, I chalk it up to a characteristic of the vehicle. I really like the vehicle a lot and don't regret buying it, even with these little quirks.

 

[gpz1221]

When we test drove our ST, when we started out it was a little jerky on the first few start stops. However, than it stopped and really hasn't done it since other than the start/stop kicking in on occasion which can cause a minor jerking at times. I chalked up the initial jerking to a new electronic "learning" transmission that I've experienced across numerous brands of vehicles. A potential other contributing factor could be the too high tire air pressure that numerous new owners have reported including my own experience. My tires were 10 lbs+ high when I bought it, after I reduced the air pressure, my ST obviously became far less jarring which may also contribute to a jerky sensation if you're hitting bumps while accelerating ??

 

[stevesmith1328]

I really appreciate y’all taking the time to respond to my posting. I thought about trying to rent a limited or xlt for a weekend and see if I noticed it after driving it for more of an extended time, but most the rental companies here just have the 2019’s. Thanks again.

 

[themishmosh]

ST here. some 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are rough and slower than normal. Seems to pop up randomly.

 

[2011explorer-mom]

I currently have a 2016 explorer limited and have had two prior limited models before the 2016. My wife and I are in the market for a 2020 and recently test drove a limited. I was really surprised that during the drive the ride seemed jerky is the best way I can describe it when accelerating and braking. Seemed to be related to the shifting. It just wasn’t the smooth ride that I experienced with my current limited explorer. We made sure the drive mode was in normal and the start stop wasn’t engaged. The drive was just normal city non freeway driving.

We decided to test drive a platinum that same day and were much happier with the smoothness of the ride for the most part. A few weeks later we test drove a limited at another dealership just to make sure we weren’t crazy and had the same drive experience.

Anyone else that has had a limited before find the ride less smooth with the new engine coming standard with the limited? Maybe the 4 cylinder 10 speed turbo engine takes getting used to? Does the ride get smoother as the car breaks in? Just curious what others experience has been. Thanks in advance.

I recently purchased a 2020 XLT and the city driving is terrible! I liken it to riding the Blue Streak at Cedar Point. Very jerky, choppy, and not at all smooth. I did test drive (another) XLT and didn't notice the lack of smoothness in the ride. This vehicle lurches forward at times when advancing from a stop, and when going to slow down the downshifting is noticably ridiculous. At first I thought the brakes were touchy, but I've had it now for over a month and it hasn't gotten better. If I had known how choppy the city driving was going to be, I would have never purchased it. I traded in a 2017 XLT and did not have these issues. Very concerned about how its going to handle the snow. Was considering trading it in for Durango or Traverse, but I see they have 8 and 9 speed transmissions too.

 

[SteveAZ]

This problem has also found it's way into the Platinum series. I second the thought that had I known about the choppy tranny I would never have purchased it. I've had the car in the shop a half dozen times *****ing about the tranny AND the rattling front suspension. On my last visit to the dealer they "flashed" the transmission computer so that I could "teach" my tranny some manners. The venture was not completely successful but the drive is now better and I think I'll be able to live with it.

 

[peterk9]

I recently purchased a 2020 XLT and the city driving is terrible! I liken it to riding the Blue Streak at Cedar Point. Very jerky, choppy, and not at all smooth. I did test drive (another) XLT and didn't notice the lack of smoothness in the ride. This vehicle lurches forward at times when advancing from a stop, and when going to slow down the downshifting is noticably ridiculous. At first I thought the brakes were touchy, but I've had it now for over a month and it hasn't gotten better. If I had known how choppy the city driving was going to be, I would have never purchased it. I traded in a 2017 XLT and did not have these issues. Very concerned about how its going to handle the snow. Was considering trading it in for Durango or Traverse, but I see they have 8 and 9 speed transmissions too.

Have you had the dealer check into it?

Peter

 

[Camel24hrs]

I currently have a 2016 explorer limited and have had two prior limited models before the 2016. My wife and I are in the market for a 2020 and recently test drove a limited. I was really surprised that during the drive the ride seemed jerky is the best way I can describe it when accelerating and braking. Seemed to be related to the shifting. It just wasn’t the smooth ride that I experienced with my current limited explorer. We made sure the drive mode was in normal and the start stop wasn’t engaged. The drive was just normal city non freeway driving.

We decided to test drive a platinum that same day and were much happier with the smoothness of the ride for the most part. A few weeks later we test drove a limited at another dealership just to make sure we weren’t crazy and had the same drive experience.

Anyone else that has had a limited before find the ride less smooth with the new engine coming standard with the limited? Maybe the 4 cylinder 10 speed turbo engine takes getting used to? Does the ride get smoother as the car breaks in? Just curious what others experience has been. Thanks in advance.

We have a 2020 limited with about 1800 miles on it. Test drove both the limited and Platinum. Biggest difference we noticed was the Platinum had a more throaty engine noise.

Steering was very tight compared to the Mazda 6 my wife had been driving. And it took a couple of hundred miles to get use to it.

My wife actually preferred the Limited over the Platinum. To her she preferred not hearing the throaty engine noise. It’s her car so I got what she wanted.

Only issue we had was the wipers do not wipe well and the sync is a little buggy. They are supposed to change the wipers and reflash the sync this coming Friday. Oh yeah and it did not have a towing eye. It was missing and they since replaced it. The platinum model was not only missing the towing eye but was also missing the cargo wind deflector that goes under the liftgate area.

Getting 24.5 MPG all around and got 27.4 on a trip using eco mode. We love it.

 

[mw40xlt]

I bought the 2020 XLT May 1st (now have 1,024 miles) and didn't notice the driving issues on either of my test drives. Though I've said I likely was so in love with the Explorer having waited two years, that I might have missed it. Sadly, I now absolutely hate my Explorer. The jerking is terrible pulling up to stop sign/lights and when taking off. Once I'm on the highway I like my car again

I truly wish I had noticed this before on the test drives as it's making for a bad experience. I am taking a test drive tomorrow (I posted about this on a thread of my own as well) with the dealer but they already said it's how the Explorer is. Clearly they have others bringing it up. Pretty bad when my other household vehicle is a Buick Encore with the same image and Ecoboost has a better ride.

I've also been logging mileage and it's nowhere near the posted numbers. If you can tolerate the jerking, the Explorer is beautiful.

 

[RogueLifter29]

When the car is cold, it will kind of jerk from 2nd-3rd gear, but then disappears as the transmission warms up. Im over it and just adjust my throttle response, which mitigates it.

I guarantee this is a tuning issue from the factory and can be resolved once transmission tunes become available
or the SUV. Im already going to order the Palm Beach tune for the 2.3, not really happy with the power from it (kind of goes stale from 4k rpm up) when Im speeding up on hwy ramps

 

[peterk9]

I bought the 2020 XLT May 1st (now have 1,024 miles) and didn't notice the driving issues on either of my test drives. Though I've said I likely was so in love with the Explorer having waited two years, that I might have missed it. Sadly, I now absolutely hate my Explorer. The jerking is terrible pulling up to stop sign/lights and when taking off. Once I'm on the highway I like my car again

I truly wish I had noticed this before on the test drives as it's making for a bad experience. I am taking a test drive tomorrow (I posted about this on a thread of my own as well) with the dealer but they already said it's how the Explorer is. Clearly they have others bringing it up. Pretty bad when my other household vehicle is a Buick Encore with the same image and Ecoboost has a better ride.

I've also been logging mileage and it's nowhere near the posted numbers. If you can tolerate the jerking, the Explorer is beautiful.

I'm sure this isn't normal and I think that if the ones you took for a test drive did the same you would have noticed it then. Did you have the dealer do the FSA that is mentioned in the other thread you posted in?

Peter

 

[mw40xlt]

I posted yesterday about going to the dealer to have someone ride along with me. The tech was really nice but basically after a long drive with me driving and then switching to the tech driving, the verdict is I'm an "aggressive" driver. It seems I have to adjust to not having a v6 engine. The tech did experience the jerking taking off from a stop sign/light. But thinks it's because I press too hard on the gas pedal on takeoff, which is causing the jerk. I will say the engine is such a change for me. Between the loud engine and now the sensitive coddling it requires, I miss the v6. I'm committed to loving my Explorer. As the tech suggested, I'll take the next two weeks to be mindful of how I drive. If it's still doing it, he said to come back. He also mentioned, the 19 avg on the gas could be my drive style too. I shall adjust my drive style to the Sunday driver and hope things improve.

I would encourage anyone looking at the Explorer to really pay attention to your test drive.

 

[RogueLifter29]

I posted yesterday about going to the dealer to have someone ride along with me. The tech was really nice but basically after a long drive with me driving and then switching to the tech driving, the verdict is I'm an "aggressive" driver. It seems I have to adjust to not having a v6 engine. The tech did experience the jerking taking off from a stop sign/light. But thinks it's because I press too hard on the gas pedal on takeoff, which is causing the jerk. I will say the engine is such a change for me. Between the loud engine and now the sensitive coddling it requires, I miss the v6. I'm committed to loving my Explorer. As the tech suggested, I'll take the next two weeks to be mindful of how I drive. If it's still doing it, he said to come back. He also mentioned, the 19 avg on the gas could be my drive style too. I shall adjust my drive style to the Sunday driver and hope things improve.

I would encourage anyone looking at the Explorer to really pay attention to your test drive.

Tech did the same with me, left them the car overnight so they could trouble shoot it, said they couldnt. I got in with him and had the issue immediately.

Whatever, I like the car, my wife does too, and if it has any issues, then we create enough "repair tickets" to eventually get it bought back/swapped for something else. Not my first go round with dealers and faulty cars (dont get me started on BMW's...)