Most common 2020 Ford Expedition problems
Share of the 425 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Expedition complaints by model year
Best Expedition years: 2014, 2013, 2012. Years to avoid: 2019, 2020, 2024, 2017, 2018. Compare all years →
2020 Ford Expedition recalls (18)
Power train › Automatic transmission
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in park system damage.
Remedy: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, and inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary, free of charge.
Structure › Interior panels › Center console
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2024 Expedition vehicles. The chrome plating on the center console may bubble and peel, resulting in sharp edges.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the center consoles as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed June 16, 2026.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed June 8, 2026.
Engine
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. A short circuit within the battery junction box can cause an engine fire while driving or parked.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles, until the remedy is performed.
Back over prevention › Software
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023 Aviator, Transit, 2020-2024 Explorer, 2021-2024 Bronco Sport, and…
Remedy: Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Electrical system › Body control module › Software
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Expedition and Navigator vehicles that were repaired incorrectly under recall 20V262. The Pre-Collision Assist features, such as forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, are not functional due to a software error.
Remedy: Dealers will update the body control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Show 12 more recalls
Seat belts › Pretensioner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard.
Remedy: Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C39.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently deploy and lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors, as necessary. Additionally, dealers will install an HVAC drain tube elbow if it is missing. Repairs will be performed free of charge.
Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with third-row seating; and 2019-2023 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 SuperCab vehicles. The owner's manual does not include instructions for adjusting or removing certain head restraints.
Remedy: Ford will mail the Owner's Manual addendums that describe how to adjust and remove the head restraints for the center seating positions, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2023.
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Linkages
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 F-150, Expedition, 2020-2022 Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, and 2020-2021 Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The windshield wiper arms may break, causing the windshield wipers to fail.
Remedy: Dealers will replace both front windshield wiper arms, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed on May 24, 2022.
Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus and Corsair vehicles. Due to a poor electrical connection, the rearview camera may intermittently display a blank or distorted image.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2020. Remedy became available on February 1, 2021.
Seat belts
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Expedition vehicles. The seat belt tension sensor may incorrectly classify a child occupant as an adult.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat belt buckle, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Seats › Mid/rear assembly
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The attachment bracket for the driver's side second-row seat headrest may not have been sufficiently welded to the seat frame.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace it as needed, free of charge. This recall began July 8, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Forward collision avoidance › Automatic emergency braking
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with camera-only Pre-Collision Assist feature. Vehicles built with the optional radar-plus-camera Pre-Collision Assist system are not affected.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram software for the Body Control Module, Antilock Braking System, Instrument Panel Cluster and Headlamp Control Modules, and reset the Tire Pressure Monitor System, free…
Seat belts
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Expedition vehicles. The front passenger seatbelt buckle's Belt Tension Sensor (BTS) may malfunction and may result in the seat occupant being misclassified.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seatbelt buckle, free of charge. The recall began May 11, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Gear position indication (PRNDL)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ranger and F-150 vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions and certain 2020 Expedition vehicles equipped with a "police" package.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the shift cable locking clip installation, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 27, 2020.
Seats › Mid/rear assembly
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recliner mechanisms.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 2 possible defects involving the 2020 Ford Expedition:
Seat Belt Retractor Pretensioner Inadvertent Deployment
On November 22, 2023, the O ce of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE) PE23021 to investigate complaints of front seat belt retractor pretensioner inadvertent deployment in model year (MY) 2019 Ford Expedition vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company.
Rearview Camera FMVSS 111 Noncompliance
On September 23, 2020, Ford Motor Company (Ford) filed a noncompliance recall report under 49 CFR Part 573 (NHTSA Recall No. 20V-575), recalling 620,246 Model Year (MY) 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus and Corsair vehicles for a noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 111, Rear Visibility.
What 2020 Ford Expedition owners say
Transmission & drivetrain all 266 →
The contact's husband owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at 65-70 MPH on cruise control, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted, skipped a gear, and lurched forward several times. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle would skip from 3rd gear to 5th gear whenever she would depress the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired; however, upon picking up the vehicle from the dealer and driving home, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle inadvertently decelerated instead. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the RPM of the vehicle was jumping between 2,000 and 3,000 RPM. …
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH the "Power Train malfunction" warning light illuminated on the instrument panel as the vehicle went into LIMP mode. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the first time the failure occurred she pulled over had the vehicle was towed to an unknown Ford dealer as she was out of town. The contact stated that she was unaware of the diagnostic test result or repair. The contact stated that the failure had occurred multiple times. However, on the most recent failure after picking the vehicle up from the dealer the vehicle failed to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle rolled into the parking lot next to the dealer and the contact had to turn the ignition off to stop the vehicle. …
Engine & cooling all 55 →
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at 10-20 MPH a week after purchasing the vehicle brand new, the vehicle started jerking. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving. However, the failure recurred while driving the entire day. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was normal as she had just started driving vehicle. The failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. Additionally, the contact stated that there was steam coming through the AC vents. The contact also stated that the check engine warning light illuminated, indicating that the catalytic converter was damaged. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. …
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while depressing the lock panel with the numbers on the driver's side door, the seat unintendedly moved forward, and the seat belt retracted, and the driver was squeezed in the seat. The contact turned off the vehicle and seat belt to returned to the original position. The contact stated that coolant was added to the coolant reservoir; however, the vehicle was leaking coolant. The contact was unsure if the cap was positioned correctly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 26V344000 (Seat Belts) and 26V368000 (Structure). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and remained for five days. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the seat needed to be adjusted. …
Seat belts all 39 →
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving in the rain at 50 MPH, a vehicle hydroplaned and crashed into both the contact's vehicle and another vehicle. The contact stated that air bags did not deploy , the seat belts did not lock and no warning lights appeared upon impact. The contact and her daughter both sustained a headache and other aches to their neck and shoulders. A police report was filed. Despite the failure, the contact managed to drive the vehicle back home despite front end damage to the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified of the failure and both referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V197000(Seat Belts); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 40 MPH, the front driver's side seat belt retracted and tightened unexpectedly, and then detached. Additionally, the front driver's side air bag deployed unexpectedly. The contact's wife sustained bruises and a head injury; however, no medical assistance had been received. The insurance company assisted in towing the vehicle to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer related the failure to the recall and confirmed that the recall parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. …
2020 Ford Expedition engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5L 6-cyl turbo | 10-speed automatic | RWD | 17 / 23 / 19 |
| 3.5L 6-cyl turbo | 10-speed automatic | 4WD | 17 / 22 / 19 |
EPA ratings. Class: SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2020 Ford Expedition a good car?
Based on 425 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2020 Expedition rates avoid: 2.2× as many complaints as a typical year of the Expedition at the same age. It is one of the Expedition years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2020 Ford Expedition?
The transmission & drivetrain — 266 complaints, 63% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the engine & cooling (55) and seat belts (39).
How many recalls does the 2020 Ford Expedition have?
There are 18 recalls for the 2020 Ford Expedition, the most recent from June 24, 2026 (automatic transmission). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Expedition?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2014, 2013 and 2012. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2019, 2020, 2024, 2017 and 2018. See the full Ford Expedition years comparison.
At what mileage do 2020 Ford Expedition problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 63,000 miles; 32% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.