New Unhappy Owner Of 2020 XLT

[LR1228]

Several problems so far with the new 2020 Ford Explorer XLT bought in December 2019. 5,000 miles on the vehicle.
Shortly after purchase, my infotainment screen goes blank. Usually happens with Carplay. I went to the dealership 3 times for this- twice for a master reset and another for a diagnostic fix, which my dealership stated after the 3 separate visits the problem was "fixed". It is not. I have owned the vehicle for 5 months and this has happened a total now between 20-30 times. Just happened this morning on my drive to work.
Also with the infotainment system- the volume switches to prompt volume rather than audio volume when phone is plugged in. Therefore, I cannot control the volume. Frustrating.
A few weeks ago, I was driving and I got a warning message on my dashboard that the Blind spot detection with Cross traffic has failed. It also sent a message to my Fordpass app that " The Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)/Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) has detected a fault and may not function. I took my car once again to the dealership and they kept my car for 3 days. The rental they give me is nowhere near the vehicle I paid for at the dealership and they refuse to give me a comparable loaner. Why did I spend $50k on a car to drop it off at the dealership and get a Ford Fiesta to drive while you try to fix my brand new vehicle? So far after the fix, the BLIS/CTA has been working, BUT OF COURSE! A NEW PROBLEM.
After they fixed the BLIS/CTA, I was driving down the highway last week at a normal speed when the traffic came to a halt. It was a near collision. I realized my PRE-COLLISION ASSIST/ACTIVE BRAKING absolutely is not working. I have had my pre collision assist warning pop up several times on my dash before. I realized though my car has never braked itself using the active braking system. I looked at my settings and it was on. I looked at my Fordpass app and I had gotten one message on April 1st that the pre-collision assist detected a system fault. No further warning message about any system fault since then. It's going back to the dealership for a 3rd problem, 5th trip to the dealer to now look into why the pre-collision assist/active braking is not working.
I have spoken to customer relations and they reviewed my case twice and denied the need to buy back the vehicle even though under MA Lemon Law, I deserve a new car. I have all the documentation regarding all the problems that have happened with the vehicle and my visits to the dealership. I am so disappointed in Ford. This is my first and my last vehicle purchase from Ford. I will be hiring a lawyer and going through arbitration to settle this dispute.

 

[Mbrooks420]

You really shouldn’t be relying on a janky safety system to do your braking. While it *should* work, it also should never have to.

If you qualify to your states lemon law rules, it doesn’t really matter what the dealer says.

Are you here for anything specific?

 

[LR1228]

You really shouldn’t be relying on a janky safety system to do your braking. While it *should* work, it also should never have to.

If you qualify to your states lemon law rules, it doesn’t really matter what the dealer says.

Are you here for anything specific?

The dealership is not the one who makes the call with whether a vehicle can be bought back by Ford. I was in contact with customer relations with the Ford company at the direction of my dealership. The Ford company is not taking into account lemon laws which is why this is so frustrating. The dealership actually agrees with me about having Ford buy back the vehicle.
Also, I never said I relied on it. Clearly, I am competent on braking and avoiding an accident on my own. As I did so in that situation. The point is- the brand new, expensive vehicle is not operating correctly. But thank you for your input!

 

[Mbrooks420]

This is why people are afraid of first model year cars. If you meet your states lemon law rules, they’ll have to buy it back. They’re probably just dragging their feet because they are currently drowning.

 

[LR1228]

This is why people are afraid of first model year cars. If you meet your states lemon law rules, they’ll have to buy it back. They’re probably just dragging their feet because they are currently drowning.

Agreed. It's really unfortunate as my entire family owns Fords. The newer cars are more like computers these days and there are so many software associated problems with Fords. I was looking forward to the new model. I learned my lesson. I'm hoping to get some input on if anyone else has approached this from a legal standpoint or if any further 2020 Ford owners are experiencing similar issues and have had success in fixing them.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Been a few buybacks from members here. Also, lots of complaints on the sync being buggy.

 

[peterk9]

Several problems so far with the new 2020 Ford Explorer XLT bought in December 2019. 5,000 miles on the vehicle.
Shortly after purchase, my infotainment screen goes blank. Usually happens with Carplay. I went to the dealership 3 times for this- twice for a master reset and another for a diagnostic fix, which my dealership stated after the 3 separate visits the problem was "fixed". It is not. I have owned the vehicle for 5 months and this has happened a total now between 20-30 times. Just happened this morning on my drive to work.
Also with the infotainment system- the volume switches to prompt volume rather than audio volume when phone is plugged in. Therefore, I cannot control the volume. Frustrating.

Check out this thread and possible solution; AppleCar Play disables volume - switches to "prompt" volume Turns out the issue is with the phone's software. Not the vehicle.

A few weeks ago, I was driving and I got a warning message on my dashboard that the Blind spot detection with Cross traffic has failed. It also sent a message to my Fordpass app that " The Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)/Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) has detected a fault and may not function. I took my car once again to the dealership and they kept my car for 3 days. The rental they give me is nowhere near the vehicle I paid for at the dealership and they refuse to give me a comparable loaner. Why did I spend $50k on a car to drop it off at the dealership and get a Ford Fiesta to drive while you try to fix my brand new vehicle? So far after the fix, the BLIS/CTA has been working, BUT OF COURSE! A NEW PROBLEM.

Cross Traffic / B.L.I.S. Fault

So my B.L.I.S. / Cross Traffic shows a fault after driving in a rainstorm yesterday. It showed up on the dash with the faults as well as a message in the FordPass so I'll have something to show the service department on Monday. Truck has sat all night in the garage so I'll see if it is cleared...

www.explorerforum.com

As for the loaner, your Warranty Guide says that Ford is under no obligation to provide one. If you do get one, it is at the dealer's expense.

After they fixed the BLIS/CTA, I was driving down the highway last week at a normal speed when the traffic came to a halt. It was a near collision. I realized my PRE-COLLISION ASSIST/ACTIVE BRAKING absolutely is not working. I have had my pre collision assist warning pop up several times on my dash before. I realized though my car has never braked itself using the active braking system. I looked at my settings and it was on. I looked at my Fordpass app and I had gotten one message on April 1st that the pre-collision assist detected a system fault. No further warning message about any system fault since then. It's going back to the dealership for a 3rd problem, 5th trip to the dealer to now look into why the pre-collision assist/active braking is not working.

Page 265 of the Manual shows that there are 3 levels of functionality in the Pre-Collision Assist system. Alert, Brake Support and Active Braking. It seems the 3rd level didn't kick in unless the system didn't feel a collision was imminent. Some may confuse this system with the Forward Collision which only warns/alerts but does not provide braking. Per the Manual; Active braking may activate if the system determines that a collision is imminent. Note it says MAY

I have spoken to customer relations and they reviewed my case twice and denied the need to buy back the vehicle even though under MA Lemon Law, I deserve a new car. I have all the documentation regarding all the problems that have happened with the vehicle and my visits to the dealership. I am so disappointed in Ford. This is my first and my last vehicle purchase from Ford. I will be hiring a lawyer and going through arbitration to settle this dispute.

Please let us know how it goes with the buy-back. BTW, did Ford say why they refused your request?

Peter

 

[1Neptune]

There aren't many places that can handle repairs on all the recent radar/computer related systems on modern day vehicles. Any time and every time a vehicle has a ADAS problem. Every thing HAS to be calibrated. These procedures take some serious equipment and space to perform. Lets not even get into the training and skill set of the techs that work there. I know that this isn't helping your specific problem, but I wanted you to know all the car companies are experiencing those problems. It is going to take a few more years for repair facilities to com up to speed with all the ADAS stuff. Good luck

 

[peterk9]

ADAS

 

[Dale5403]

ADAS

Advanced driver-assistance system - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I had to google it.

 

[1Neptune]

Advanced driver-assistance system - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I had to google it.

I'm sorry not to have spelled it out. In short it is all those acronym driving aid features that are now present in automobiles. Nice when they work. Hell when they don't. The last 3 yrs before my retirement I maintained a fleet of self driving fully automated trucks at a ford facility. Constant calibration issues. We are now at the tip of the iceberg for consumers.

 

[peterk9]

I have had a 2011 Limited, a 2014 MKT, a 2017 Platinum and now a 2020 Aviator and have had very few issues in regards to the "driving aid features".
The only common one to all of them was the rain-sensing wipers. Not that they didn't work, but rather that every now and then they would do a swipe when there was no reason for it. It's true that the vehicles of today are more prone to issues and it is likely to get even more so. On the other hand, they have reduced fatal accidents and injury as the article points out.

Peter