2020 Explorer Platinum

[FastHarley]

It was measured at 411hp on a dyno test.
I had that done for two reasons, I wasn't sure myself, and I wanted a baseline before I started adding performance add-ons.

It shows platinum on the tailgate.

Best
John

Hey John,
So, since you don’t have your window sticker, can you post your 411 HP dyno sheet?
Post the sheet, and it will put this issue to bed, and fast. As they say, numbers don’t lie. Sometimes ya gotta walk the talk....
Also, isn’t there a way to retrieve your build sheet off your VIN? If the Dealer really built this vehicle as they told you, gotta be a way to verify it....

BTW, glad you are enjoying that Platinum!

 

[peterk9]

My dealer provided me with the complete build sheet for my Aviator. It's called Detailed Vehicle Specification.

Peter

 

[Stephen Cannon]

Not sure of 2020 but I would hope that the technology carried over from 2018 and may help with the gate opening.

The 2018 had a feature that allowed the lift gate to be opened to a certain point by power. For my case it was about 3/4 open. I used the 3/4 to avoid it getting caught on the garage door when opening. I would manually raise the lift gate the rest of the way.

I was never good at the foot swipe but hope this helps to prevent raising too fat.

 

[jhu8]

Not sure of 2020 but I would hope that the technology carried over from 2018 and may help with the gate opening.

The 2018 had a feature that allowed the lift gate to be opened to a certain point by power. For my case it was about 3/4 open. I used the 3/4 to avoid it getting caught on the garage door when opening. I would manually raise the lift gate the rest of the way.

I was never good at the foot swipe but hope this helps to prevent raising too fat.

Pretty sure that’s available on the 2020 and up. I think I saw it on videos. But yeah, it’s a must have for those who have garages. Glad I found that feature.

 

[Dale5403]

Not sure of 2020 but I would hope that the technology carried over from 2018 and may help with the gate opening.

The 2018 had a feature that allowed the lift gate to be opened to a certain point by power. For my case it was about 3/4 open. I used the 3/4 to avoid it getting caught on the garage door when opening. I would manually raise the lift gate the rest of the way.

I was never good at the foot swipe but hope this helps to prevent raising too fat.

Pretty sure that’s available on the 2020 and up. I think I saw it on videos. But yeah, it’s a must have for those who have garages. Glad I found that feature.

It is available. Detailed on page 76 in the owners manual. I had lowered it some on mine but then kept hitting my head so I raised it all the back up.

 

[jshenry1963]

Some performance dealers add accessories. I added this to my Sport and it added about 60hp:

| LPP631160 | Livernois Motorsports

2020-2021 FORD EXPLORER ST TUNER

www.livernoismotorsports.com

This name is familiar, it was either on my add on sheet or mentioned by the salesman, so maybe that is where the extra awhp came from over the stock. Like I said, the Ford dealership does get 3rd parties to up the performance on some models.

 

[jshenry1963]

The only way it can be disabled in the settings is by disabling the power liftgate itself. Other than that you would have to disconnect the sensors or not have the fob on you when working in the back. I don't know if FORScan can disable it.

Peter

Peter, you are right, there is only one menu option for it, and that is to disable the power liftgate. It will then unlock or lock, but to raise or lower you have to do it manually. Also, I did find that if I leave the fob in the dash, I can work at the back without tripping the hands free, but, I did find that for me, it was best to just disconnect the control board. Located on top of rear bumper lip, passenger side, white wrapped cable, disconnect, cover so it doesn't short (both the cable connector and the circuit board connect), and boom, I'm no longer clamshelled....
For "weatherproofing" the connections, I use a "liquid electrical tape" found at the auto parts store. It worked on my motorcycle for 10 years on connections and opens, and I rode the crap out of that bike, from 100degrees down to 20degrees in all kinds of wet and dry weather. Figured it'd last well on the back of the Explorer in that sorta protected area.

 

[RogueLifter29]

Hey John,
So, since you don’t have your window sticker, can you post your 411 HP dyno sheet?
Post the sheet, and it will put this issue to bed, and fast. As they say, numbers don’t lie. Sometimes ya gotta walk the talk....
Also, isn’t there a way to retrieve your build sheet off your VIN? If the Dealer really built this vehicle as they told you, gotta be a way to verify it....

BTW, glad you are enjoying that Platinum!

Lol,

Yea, and hes smoking chargers and challengers who have faster 0-60 and better handling as well, while the platinum does it in nearly 6 seconds.

Hes hesitant to post the vin for a search, hesitant to post the dyno numbers spreadsheet, wont reply to users asking for it......I think we know where this is going.

Great suv, but stop making things up. You didnt get a "special edition" package.

 

[jshenry1963]

For those asking, I don't feel comfortable giving out the VIN, but, I will check with the dealership to see if they can provide me with a reprint of the factory Window Sticker and the add-on sheet. I will also ask for the reason it shows up so well on the dyno vs what ya'll say it should be showing given that it is a platinum and not an ST. And let y'all know what I find out.

Also, I didn't reference smoking a lot of things, just a friends 360hp hemi charger, easy to blow things out of proportion.
And I'm not online 24 hours a day to answer all of the queries immediately.
I'll let you all know what I find out when I get back to the dealership.

This dealership does offer special performance upgraded vehicles that I don't find at some others in the area. I'm sure many of you are aware of those as well, stryker versions of the F150 that run >$100k, etc. They also have some local shops do performance and handling and sound system upgrades as well. Mine isn't one of these stryker or similar versions, but there was a pretty hefty add on sheet past the factory sticker.
I'm not blowing smoke or nothing, just stating it like it is with mine, if you don't want to believe it, well, that is your prerogative.

 

[jshenry1963]

Hey John,
So, since you don’t have your window sticker, can you post your 411 HP dyno sheet?
Post the sheet, and it will put this issue to bed, and fast. As they say, numbers don’t lie. Sometimes ya gotta walk the talk....
Also, isn’t there a way to retrieve your build sheet off your VIN? If the Dealer really built this vehicle as they told you, gotta be a way to verify it....

BTW, glad you are enjoying that Platinum!

"Dyno sheet", like I said, a friend of mine did this casually one evening at his local facility. I just have the numbers he wrote down. It wasn't like he was doing this for a performance upgrade for someone, just fun info for me and him.
But it sounds like just hand written numbers won't settle this for some. And quite frankly, I don't care.
I'm beginning to get annoyed though (not at you), this wasn't some overly momentous exaggeration or whatever, I was just saying how much I enjoy the new vehicle, and what the dealer said it was, what they had done to it, what was on the sheets I can remember. It isn't like I'm saying I have a 1000hp pinto stock from the factory, geesh.
Beginning to wish I had never posted anything....

 

[Danad813]

Hello Everyone, newbie post.

Bought the 2020 Explorer Platinum about 6 months ago.

So far, very happy with most of it, the twin turbo really gets up and runs when in sport mode. Gas mileage is so so ok. The "turn into direction" headlights are great, they help see "ahead to the left" when running at night and turning left (same for right)... Great look ahead. Wish they were angled just a tad higher, in the hills in East TN sometimes I can only see the hill starting to go up just 50 ft in front of me, then pitch black because the hill is ramping, and the headlights are not. hmmm, something to look into. This model has the twin turbo ecoboost with 400hp, so it is a real monster when set to sport mode. Wow, and hang on. Left a 360hp hemi charger looking at my tail lights, he he he, and yes, he was romping it hard. Was a friend, and we wanted to see on a straight country stretch of road, I normally don't drive that way. He was ticked though.
The seats are exceptionally comfortable, and help my wife tremendously with her back issues when we go on long trips. The combo massage and heat are exceptional.
I did forget to lower the lift gate when I pulled out of the garage once, ouch, won't do that again, 4 weeks and a new rear window later, got it back, and good as new. The problem was the rear window wiper is the highest point when the lift gate is up, it grabbed the garage door, and the garage door won, shattered the rear glass, argh.

So far no real issues.
Just a few though, nagging things to learn....
The computers in it are a bit over taxed, have to wait for them to boot up and show a good solid display before trying to turn on or off the camera, etc. Been locked up a few times and had to turn off the engine, and restart and wait. And sometimes when you press a button on the touch screen, it sits there, looks at you, and about 10-15 seconds later it might turn blue, and then 10-15 seconds after that it goes to what you selected. Doesn't happen all of the time, and not always the same button, just learning to be patient with the slow processing speed, argh.

I do have two questions, will figure out where to post them
1 - How the heck do you turnon/off the rear cargo area light on the right side panel? Tried it in a pitch black garage (opening the lift gate, and having interior lights on), etc. etc.
2 - How does one turn off the blasted hands free lift gate open/close action? I want the button on the liftgate to still work, but not the bumper kick hands free option. I can't count on my two hands how many times it has been open, I'm leaning in to get groceries out, or other stuff where I have to reach in and have to have my legs up against the bumper, and the stupid thing starts to close. Seen a lot of references to a "hands free" option in the settings menu, but been through all of the paths, and can't find it, only the feature to enable/disable the auto liftgate (meaning the raising/lowering). argh.
I'm tempted to disconnect the unit (that is if I can find it, just need to figure out where it is, what wires, etc)

I'm in East TN, so, Y'all take care,
John

Did you figure out the liftgate? Mine had to have new sensors and a latch Replacement. It would close on me all the time and open randomly when I’d walk by, no feet under the bumper. It’s also flipped out and refused to close, just going up and down, all the way and part way chiming a bunch. It started happening again a few months after the fix so I’d love to be able to just turn it off. It never opens with that method when I want it to anyway. Glad you’re happy with yours, I regret my purchase.

 

[jshenry1963]

Did you figure out the liftgate? Mine had to have new sensors and a latch Replacement. It would close on me all the time and open randomly when I’d walk by, no feet under the bumper. It’s also flipped out and refused to close, just going up and down, all the way and part way chiming a bunch. It started happening again a few months after the fix so I’d love to be able to just turn it off. It never opens with that method when I want it to anyway. Glad you’re happy with yours, I regret my purchase.

Mine wasn't acting up like yours. I think it was working like it was designed. Meaning, when the fob was near the rear bumper, and it senses motion close to the bumper, it activates.
The fix for my issues was me.
1 don't work on things in the cargo area with the fob in my pants pocket.
2 I went one step further and just disconnected the sensor. Because I know I will get groceries, it will be raining, and I will rush to get the groceries dry, and end up activating it.

 

[RogueLifter29]

No man,

Its an exaggeration. 411hp to the wheels? That means your Explorer is closer to 480hp. After the drivetrain power loss and what not, youd be closer to 310-325 to the wheels with the true factory numbers from Ford (remember, advertised HP numbers are PEAK, not standard)

You dont have the paperwork from the dealer, you dont have a dyno sheet (your buddy could print one for you in 2 sec, all dyno systems save the recording) AND you keep deflecting.

Its not a big deal, Ive been on forums long enough to know when a ridiculous story pops up and they all go the same way. Deflection, deflection, deflection. Enjoy what you have, its a nice suv, but dont dress it up further than what it really is.

 

[jshenry1963]

No man,

Its an exaggeration. 411hp to the wheels? That means your Explorer is closer to 480hp. After the drivetrain power loss and what not, youd be closer to 310-325 to the wheels with the true factory numbers from Ford (remember, advertised HP numbers are PEAK, not standard)

You dont have the paperwork from the dealer, you dont have a dyno sheet (your buddy could print one for you in 2 sec, all dyno systems save the recording) AND you keep deflecting.

Its not a big deal, Ive been on forums long enough to know when a ridiculous story pops up and they all go the same way. Deflection, deflection, deflection. Enjoy what you have, its a nice suv, but dont dress it up further than what it really is.

Well, I'm not the expert on the calculations, what "to the wheels" really means vs awhp vs hp vs..., etc., just relaying what my friend said he measured, calculated, estimated etc 411hp. I don't know if he saved it or not, this is all new to me. I'll ask and see if he has it or not. It was just an evening after work hours at his place comparing a run he made with his versus a run he made with mine.

I'm not deflecting, not exaggerating, just reporting what I have seen, been told, etc.
If it is the wrong wording, or all of the sources backing me up are wrong, then I'm sorry.
But I'm not posting a ridiculous story to prop it up, I am just posting I'm very happy with it, and reporting what others have said about this one. I didn't think anything I mentioned was outlandish. I had hoped to use this forum to figure out things that I can't find in the manual, or to get advice on performance enhancements when I'm ready, replacement parts, etc., but I'm beginning to wonder...

Again, I'd prefer we all just drop this, To me, it's not a really big deal, but I don't doubt the multiple sources here that are giving me this info.

As said in multiple other replies, this week, if I can get the factory window sticker from the dealer, I'll let y'all know what it says. If I can get a copy of the add-ons sheet as well, I'll do the same.

John

 

[jshenry1963]

This discussion does lead me to a realization though ...
I need to know exactly what I have before I ever consider doing any kind of performance upgrades.

I see references to a program called FORSCAN in several threads.
Will it give me some insite?
I'm guessing if my Explorer was tuned in any way, then there would be differences in some of the programming compared to a stock Platinum. Does FORSCAN show these values at all?
If so, would anyone on here know roughly by looking at them if they were just "calibrated factory" values or if they were indeed modified?

I'm grasping at straws, but I need to understand if it is just stock, and the stuff I'm told was fluff or the calculations were wrong, .... or if it has been modified in anyway.

Thanks for any info, links, etc. in advance,
John

 

[peterk9]

Not sure of 2020 but I would hope that the technology carried over from 2018 and may help with the gate opening.

The 2018 had a feature that allowed the lift gate to be opened to a certain point by power. For my case it was about 3/4 open. I used the 3/4 to avoid it getting caught on the garage door when opening. I would manually raise the lift gate the rest of the way.

I was never good at the foot swipe but hope this helps to prevent raising too fat.

That feature was on my 2011 Limited. For some reason the 2014 MKT was the only one I had that didn't have it.

Peter

 

[Dale5403]

This discussion does lead me to a realization though ...
I need to know exactly what I have before I ever consider doing any kind of performance upgrades.

I see references to a program called FORSCAN in several threads.
Will it give me some insite?
I'm guessing if my Explorer was tuned in any way, then there would be differences in some of the programming compared to a stock Platinum. Does FORSCAN show these values at all?
If so, would anyone on here know roughly by looking at them if they were just "calibrated factory" values or if they were indeed modified?

I'm grasping at straws, but I need to understand if it is just stock, and the stuff I'm told was fluff or the calculations were wrong, .... or if it has been modified in anyway.

Thanks for any info, links, etc. in advance,
John

Here's the thread on Forscan. 2020 FORSCAN Discussion
A lot of reading and I doubt it would tell any thing about tuning. Good luck.

 

[RogueLifter29]

Well, I'm not the expert on the calculations, what "to the wheels" really means vs awhp vs hp vs..., etc., just relaying what my friend said he measured, calculated, estimated etc 411hp. I don't know if he saved it or not, this is all new to me. I'll ask and see if he has it or not. It was just an evening after work hours at his place comparing a run he made with his versus a run he made with mine.

I'm not deflecting, not exaggerating, just reporting what I have seen, been told, etc.
If it is the wrong wording, or all of the sources backing me up are wrong, then I'm sorry.
But I'm not posting a ridiculous story to prop it up, I am just posting I'm very happy with it, and reporting what others have said about this one. I didn't think anything I mentioned was outlandish. I had hoped to use this forum to figure out things that I can't find in the manual, or to get advice on performance enhancements when I'm ready, replacement parts, etc., but I'm beginning to wonder...

Again, I'd prefer we all just drop this, To me, it's not a really big deal, but I don't doubt the multiple sources here that are giving me this info.

As said in multiple other replies, this week, if I can get the factory window sticker from the dealer, I'll let y'all know what it says. If I can get a copy of the add-ons sheet as well, I'll do the same.

John

Glad you're happy with it, and heres how you wont go so much "heat' on a forum in the future for your stock platinum with no tune on it.

"Hey guys, I took this picture last night. My Explorer has a "ST" Tune from the factory and its a 2020 Platinum (This is where you insert the picture, screenshot, Dyno run sheet, anything). Also, Im having issues with my liftgate"

Thats all.

 

[jshenry1963]

Glad you're happy with it, and heres how you wont go so much "heat' on a forum in the future for your stock platinum with no tune on it.

"Hey guys, I took this picture last night. My Explorer has a "ST" Tune from the factory and its a 2020 Platinum (This is where you insert the picture, screenshot, Dyno run sheet, anything). Also, Im having issues with my liftgate"

Thats all.

I still don't know if it is tuned or not. But am trying to figure out how to find out. I have some positive info from others on what to do. Direct so they don't get the negativity.

Positive help would have been appreciated as I have received in other forums. Rather than bashing and made fun of.

I have no pictures to post, otherwise I would have by now.

I don't think there was a factory ST tune now, from what I've learned. If it has one at all then I'm guessing that the dealer had it added, which they had others on the lot about 6-7 mos ago. I asked about 2 I saw that day, and the salesman said this one would have better performance. Both were Platinums.

All I know. But I am no liar as some are inferring.

 

[peterk9]

Hi John. Because this seems to be a one-of-a-kind Explorer on this forum, it is only natural for people to be skeptical. A posted copy of the paperwork involved with this situation would likely put an end to it. Sending your VIN by PM to the member who inquired about it shouldn't be an issue. Also, all personal info on any documents can always be removed/hidden. I'm not saying that I don't believe you, but on the other hand, I am also very curious about this.

Peter