NHTSA Complaint #11544646 — 2020 FORD EXPLORER

Purchased this vehicle used exactly 2 months ago and put 1500 miles on it (now 56k miles). Within the last couple days, the vehicle started downshifting hard, similar to a punch type shift, under 35mph. After driving for a few minutes, it begins to shift the same while upshifting at similar speeds. While trying to go up a small hill on a curvy road, the vehicle decided it didn’t want to shift, began slowing down, and began making a grinding sound. The sound last a couple seconds before stopping then started again for a second. Vehicle doesn’t appear to have issues at a steady speed above 45mph due to not shifting at the time. I had both kids in the car with me at the time this was going on and the issue could have stalled us in the road and caused us to get rear ended due to the semi blind turns. We had a similar issue in a different vehicle but no where near as bad, especially instantly, where the throttle body had to be replaced. The vehicle drove fine after that. Diagnostic is a week out and the beginning of any transmission repairs approximately a month out. Vehicle is still under factory powertrain warranty by a couple thousand miles and covered under the extended warranty. However, the extended warranty only covers a max of 5 days rental although we could be without a vehicle for a month plus. I would not trust this car to go 5 miles down the road at this point, which is sad for something purchased 2 months ago from a reputable dealer.