2020 Ford Explorer Headlight Problems

Mileage when the problem started

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2020 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Smoke started coming from the passenger side visor as I was driving. There was no indication of an issue with warning messages of any kind. Of course I panicked, ran from the car and called the fire department who stated it smelled electrical when they arrived. After a week of being at the dealership, they couldn't find anything; however, 30 seconds after I got into my vehicle, I noticed the cabin lights weren't working. After returning the vehicle within an hour they found that a wire had burned out and shorted out some fuses. 2 weeks later and I still don't have my vehicle. No injuries, just scared beyond belief to have a 2020 ST start smoking!! Even if they state it is fixed, I am still scared to death to drive it after that!! I have had issues with the brakes as well. Those stopped working but apparently that was a recall that was resolved. …

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the front passenger's side headlight intermittently failed to illuminate with the "Check Headlamp System See Owner's Manual" message displayed on the instrument panel. The failure persisted, and the driver's side headlight also failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The contact decided to replace both front headlight modules which corrected the failure; however, the warning message remained on the instrument panel. A week later, the driver's side headlight failed to illuminate as needed, after which the passenger's side headlight also failed to operate as designed. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. …

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at night, the driver's side headlight failed to illuminate as intended and the failure was progressing with the passenger's side front headlight. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed an abnormal buildup of condensation inside the front driver's side headlight. The message "Driver Side Headlamp Out" was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

"CHECK HEADLAMP SYSTEM SEE MANUAL" appears intermittently on the dash with headlights going out. As hundreds of others have reported here and on internet forums, we too are dealing with intermittent headlights. This is a major SAFETY issue while driving at night and your headlights go out suddenly. After bringing our vehicle to a Ford Dealership (who regularly service our vehicle) and paying a diagnostic fee, they could not properly diagnose the issue and said the only fix THEY THINK MIGHT correct the issue is to replace the entire headlamp assembly at an over a $3500 cost. The problem is Ford does not know that this will correct the issue. If it truly was a headlamp issue wouldn't our headlamps go out completely after approximately a year of experiencing the headlights going out intermittingly, especially when they are supposed to last the life of the vehicle. …

In early 2023, I discovered micro-fractures in the side of the left headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer ST. As the 3/36 warranty was still in effect, Ford replaced the defective headlamp. However, just a few months later, after the warranty had expired, I discovered much more severe micro-fractures in the right headlamp lens assembly. This time however, the micro-fractures are located in front of the light source, thus they are diffusing the light as it passes through the lens. There is also a fracture appearing at the lower inside corner of the assembly. The dealer attempted to get Ford to replace the second headlamp assembly, but Ford will not replace the $1800 part under warranty. The vehicle has never been in an accident and is garaged 90% of the time. Even now at over four years of ownership, the vehicle has just over 44,500 miles on the odometer. …

My headlights and turn signals continue to go out and come back on. Multiple people with this exact same model explorer are also having this same issue. I truly think this should be a recall with the 2020 ford explorer platinum as this is a huge safety concern. Please see linked Reddit post for proof of multiple people reporting the exact same issue. This issue has been addressed by the dealership, and I was advised that the entire headlight module would need to be replaced. My driver side was replaced under warranty and the headlight is now functioning, but my driver turn signal continuously goes out every month or so now after the replacement. This issue started mere months after I purchased this vehicle directly from the dealership brand new. Please see this attached Reddit post for multiple people with the exact same car complaining of the same issue. …

Getting random notifications on my dashboard to "Check Headlamp System" however I'm not seeing no any problems. I'm no mechanic by any stretch but from my perspective, the headlights work just fine. I have searched online for similar owner complaints and have found numerous forum posts from other ford explorer platinum owners. All of them stating they have taken it to the dealership. The common factor amongst all of them is that the dealer (bottom line up front) could not find the problem despite their numerous attempts to diagnose. Some dealers have gone as far as to suggest total replacement of the headlight module, which is a very costly part. Majority of customers after replacing it are stating it did not solve the problem. I do not want to fall into the same rabbit hole of buying parts I don't need, only to end up in the same situation I'm in now. …

Both my passenger and driver headlights have failed. I have paid to have them replaced. The drivers side has failed twice. The passenger side has failed 3 times. I have taken it to the dealership and they "fixed" the issue but it keeps coming back months or weeks later. The low beams are what is failing. The message on the dash says "check headlight assembly see manual" This is a safety risk to me and other people on the road. They have failed while driving. If I am driving early in the morning or late at night I can not see if there are no street lights. People also can't see me coming. This is a major safety risk. I bought the car in August 2024. Headlights have failed 5 times since then. The dealership helped me with my first four failures. On this last failure, they said it is not covered under warranty and that I need to pay $3000 for the headlight. …

Over the past few years, the headlights will intermittently go out when driving. The problem usually resolves itself the next time the vehicle is started. However, over the past couple weeks, both drivers side low beams have gone out and stayed out a well as one passenger side low beam. This happened while my wife was driving through a snow storm, so you can imagine how fun that drive was. I've contacted ford, as I can see this is a known problem with these LED headlights by reading forums and talking to other owners. Their answer is simple, pay us 5k to replace the headlight! No thanks, this is a known issue with their product and shouldn't be placing the onus on the consumer. To make it worse, it's obviously a HUGE safety risk to be driving without headlights!!! Since the latest incident, the lights have not come back on, forcing us to not use our main family vehicle at night. …

My passenger side low beam Headlamp stopped working in Nov 2022. I had a "check headlamp" warning light. I took it to the dealer on 12/09/22. They stated that they found code B155A:96 requiring replacement of the LED control module, requiring part #JX7Z-13C788-L (total cost $1112.25). Headlamp was operational approx 1 week. Returned to the dealership 12/16 with a non-functioning light. They installed RT Headlamp asset, performed calibration, and adjusted horizontal position. Requiring part #MB5Z-13008-AG (total cost $1750). The headlight remained operational for approx 6 months. The "Check Headlamp" warning light has come on again and I will need to have further repair. Having an intermittently functioning or non-functioning Headlamp makes driving at night or in the rain both unsafe and illegal. The cost of this repair was not covered by warranty.

Headlight complaints in other Explorer years