NHTSA Complaint #11646260 — 2020 FORD EXPLORER

Approximately 2-3 weeks ago (around time car hit 100,000 miles), I began noticing hard downshifts when my car was slowing down between 30-20 mph. It felt as if I was being rear ended every time I came to a stop, with a very forceful physical jerking sensation. I had my husband drive it to confirm I wasn't being paranoid, then had my dad drive it (who has been a mechanic for 40+ years) to get his thoughts. He determined likely a transmission issue and recommended I take it to my local Ford Service Center. Ford confirmed I had a P2704 code and recommended a full replacement of my transmission. I took it to an independent transmission center who confirmed the diagnosis (test drove to confirm hard shifts between 8-7 and occasionally 4-5), but did state the transmission could be rebuilt or repaired instead of fully replaced. On 3-4 occasions, I was attempting to accelerate but the car would not go forward, this occurred while trying to merge onto an interstate/parkway. Additionally, once, when I had my foot off both the gas and brake pedals (coasting), the engine aggressively accelerated on its own and I was in stop and go city traffic, which was terrifying. No lights ever came on the dashboard and no warnings were sent to my FordPass app. There has been a TSB issued (23-2250). I have 2 small children (ages [XXX]) in car seats and I am afraid to drive them around in my car. Thankfully, I have found someone to fix the issue, but it seems it's a very common problem with the 10R60 transmissions from 2020-2022 based on forums and speaking to mechanics. We have been a Ford Family since the 1970s, but this experience has made me never want to buy another one. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)