2020 FORD EXPLORER Visibilitywiper Problems

Sunroof shade failed during normal operation. It is hanging down and obstructing the back window.

Vehicle: 2020 Ford Explorer XLT Date of Incident: October 24 2025 Approx. Mileage: 82000 Affected Component: Visibility / Defroster / Rear Window Glass Description of Problem: While the rear defroster was on, the rear window of my 2020 Ford Explorer XLT suddenly made a popping noise and began to spider-crack from a point near the defroster grid. There was no external impact to the glass. The cracking continued slowly across the entire rear window after the noise. The event occurred on October 24 2025. The vehicle was parked outdoors in normal fall weather conditions in Pennsylvania, and the rear defroster had been turned on to clear condensation. This appears to be a rear defroster thermal event, similar to issues described in Ford’s Customer Satisfaction Program N192265660, which addressed defroster overheating and rear-window damage in certain Ford vehicles. The defect presents a safety concern, as the rear glass integrity is compromised...

Panoramic sun shade flap sags greatly, causing visibility issues to the rear viewing window as well as causing blind spots on both passenger sides

The moon roof shade came down, completely blocking the rear view

The panoramic sunroof Rolo shade has malfunctioned and is currently sagging. This condition is expected to worsen over time, potentially obstructing driver visibility or posing a safety risk due to the possibility of entrapment or flammability. The vehicle has been brought to a certified Ford dealer for inspection; however, no additional inspections have been performed by other authorities at this time. There are no warning lights or alerts displayed in the vehicle related to this issue.

Sun roof Sun shade drops down blocking rear view when open.

Sunroof shade drooping down causing visibility issues for the rear view mirror.

Sunroof shade has failed and blocks view of rear of car including rear view mirror.

Sunroof shade sagging Preventing rear visibility and potential injure to rear passenger

The screen that covers the moon roof has let go, it flows in the current of the AC within the car. When the roof is open, it is hanging down so that I cannot see out my rear window with my rearview mirror. I can only assume, the next thing is, it will let go on one end of the other and hang down all the time and allowing constant sunlight on myself and passengers.

Sunroof fabric clip broke when opening causing the fabric to hang down and obstruct view out of the rear view mirror.

The sunroof shade sags when opened. This creates a hazard for the driver due to lack of visibility to the rear of the vehicle.

Water has been leaking on my passenger side front floor, and now the blower motor has completely seized. Ford quoted me over $1,000 for a blower motor! I have requested asking for satisfaction warranty for this to be covered via email, with no response. Blower motors should not go bad this soon. I have no way to defrost or defog my windows. This is a major safety concern

The sunshade for sun/panoramic roof stopped retracting. When I pressed the button to open it, the shade rolled back about two inches and as it’s continuing to go back the shade then became loose and hanging blocking my rear view. As this was happening I was in the process of backing up, so at this point it affects the safety of me, and my kids, including others around. No warning or indication that it would malfunction ever came. Now it’s just sagging and loose it’s no longer tight.

Ford Explorer has a panoramic roof cover that has a small plastic part that breaks and and creates a fold in the material - the window retracts but the material doesn't and fold down. This is a safety risk, because with the shade sagging down it blocks your view of the rear. According to others posting on online forums, a small plastic trim piece that is breaking and the cost to repair is around $1800. Repair shops has to pull the headliner and replace the fabric and new plastic bit. Apparently there is no way to make this repair without removing the entire sunroof window. What a design flaw!

This vehicle is equipped with a panoramic sun/moon roof which has a cover inside that retracts to keep the sunlight out. Something has failed in the mechanism that retracts the fabric cover and it is causing it to sag down and block the rear view mirror visibility. Ford Motor should issue a recall on this as it is a design flaw and a common failure point in these vehicles. This part can fail without warning, at any time and block the driver's view through the rear view mirror and cause a dangerous visibility issue to the rear of the vehicle.

The sunroof shade on the explorer just dropped blocking my rearview mirror view.

Sunroof cover no longer fully retracts causing the fabric to hang and block rear visibility.

THE SUNSHADE IS FALLING AND I CANT SEE OUT THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. DURING REVERSING THE VEHICLE AND TRYING TO CHANGE LANES WHEN LOOKING BEHIND ME I CANT SEE ANYTHING WITH IT FALLING DOWN. IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY A DEALER THAT WASNT FORD. NO WARNING LAMPS MY KIDS TOLD ME ABOUT IT AFTER WE WENT THROUGHT THE CARWASH WHEN I HAD IT OPEN FOR THEM TO WATCH THE COLORED SOAP. I CLOSED IT AND DROVE AWAY AND THEY SAID IT WAS FALLING IN ON THEM

Sunroof is sagging and blocking rear window/rearview mirror. Hazard for visibility and could possibly fall during driving.

I was traveling down the highway when my vehicles hood unattached and smashed into my windshield causing extensive damage to my windshield and hood. The impact of the hood releasing and shattering my windshield caused glass to enter the cabin of my vehicle. This was an unsafe incident as I had my toddler in my backseat, and I was traveling down a busy highway at the time of the event causing my vision to be impaired by the hood. I safely maneuvered to the shoulder of the roadway and was able to pull the hood down. Following the incident, I was unable to drive my vehicle due to the windshield damage. I have since contacted my insurance agency and filed a claim for the damages. I have had the windshield replaced, totaling $886.85. I have an appointment with my local body shop for damages to the hood.

The sunroof screen blocks the rear window view due to sagging. The Ford Explorer has a common issue in which the fabric retractor spring fails causing the sunroof shade to not retract. Once engaged it blocks the rear window view. Additional since it won't retract, it continues to sage due to lack of tension. This will eventually block the rear window.

The cloth cover for the panoramic sun roof came off the tracks. Now when you retract the cover, it all comes down into the cabin seriously blocking drivers visibility to the back. I am unable to get the cloth cover back into the track mechanism.

Sun Shade: Sunroof shade guide has lost the bolt securing it to the shade, will need bolt to re-secure. When retracted back sunroof Sun Shade sags, blocking rearview window. Causes driver to be unable to see out back window. No warning lamps. Problem has been inspected by ford dealership. According to ford the bolt that secures the Sun Shade to the sunroof has come out.

The sunroof fabric covering the glass sags down and does not work properly. This is a known issue on 2020+ Ford Explorers with the sunroof option. The sag blocks visibility out the rearview mirror and causes a distraction to drivers.

The button to adjust rear view side mirrors malfunctioned. The side mirrors no longer adjust or respond to the button.

Panoramic sunroof shade began sagging over night and now can fall and block view of rear view mirror out of the back of vehicle.

Sun/Panoramic roof cloth sags if the clips that hold it in place break as they are very brittle. Happened multiple times already. Rear visibility is blocked due to it and cannot use the rear view mirror.

The sunroof fabric fails to retract. When opening the sunroof, the fabric sags and blocks vision in the rearview mirror. I’m overseas active duty military and have not had it inspected. No warning lights are displayed.

Sunroof liner out of line with track, when opening blocks rear visibility including blind spots. Dealer confirmed multiple reports of sunroof issues with no identified fix besides replacing it with an identical mechanism that’s currently failing. Passengers in middle row are completely covered by drooping sunroof and have to lift it out of the way

My back window shattered. It made a horribly loud noise and shattered from one side to the other. There was no visibility out the window. I had just parked my car and was stepping out when it exploded. I can’t imagine the reaction I would have had if I had been driving. There was not any warnings or anything pertaining to the window and my vehicle has not been inspected at this time. I will be taking my vehicle to have the back window replaced, and it could be inspected anytime prior to that.

Sunshade will not retract and blocks vision to see out the rear view mirror and back window

The defroster lines are peeling off of the rear window. In the Winter season it make visibilty difficult to see. Dealer stated there is no fix or warranty for this repair to reach out to insurance. Ford needs to issue a recall for this safety issue.

When putting the vehicle in reverse the backup camera will cut out to a blue screen randomly. A recall was issued in May of 2023 and it is now October with no fix at all.

Good Afternoon, the problem that I have encountered for is is that the rear camera does not work all the time a blue screen appears and I am not able to see what is behind me and that can cause me to have an accident. I do not feel safe

17 recalls, multiple recalls for the same thing with the rear view camera Currently have another recall on the rear view camera with no exact date on when remedy will be available. Sounds like a qualifying lemon to me.

My vehicle has had 3 software updates to try correct blue screen issues. Recently under a blue screen i was backing up in a parking garage and hit the wall as i could not see with the screen being blue. Fortunately I was going slow but it did scrape my bumper from hitting the concrete wall. Mostly It scared my kids and had an abrupt stop. I had read a pin on the connector was left uncapped leading to corrosion resulting in faulting screen. Why is ford trying to fix with software update? They should of been replacing connector pins or cameras. I have been experiencing this for over 2 years.

The rear defroster is peeling off the window, causing the defroster to fail. In icy conditions, it elimates my ability to see out of the rear window. I took it to the dealer, and they told me other Explorers had the issue but that they wouldn't fix it and that I should file an insurance claim.

On multiple occasions the wipers have stop working while raining. The bounce back and forth about an inch. This on at least 4 separate occasions forces us to pull over on the side of the road, including the highway. With not being able to see the shoulder well, we had to slow way down causing a potential hazard for other vehicles on the road as we try and navigate to the side of the road. Restarting the vehicle does not seem to do the trick. Sometimes stopping the wipers, picking them off the windshield and letting them smack on the window. This sometimes works. This increases the risk for severe injury on the side of the road outside the car in less than ideal driving conditions. I have taken the car to the dealership multiple times and they refuse to do anything because they cannot duplicate the issue. I showed...

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while activating the windshield wipers, the driver’s side windshield wiper was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the driver’s side windshield wiper was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic stated that the bracket had sunk into the vehicle causing the wiper to not function correctly. The mechanic stated that an additional screw would be added for the wiper to function as needed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 48,000.

My windshield washer tank is leaking. Brought to Ford and they changed the tank. Still leaking and looks like still coming out of new cap. Go thorough a half gallon a week and only leaks when driving. Car is at Friendly ford now. They drove another 2020 Explorer with the same miles and was also leaking when driving. they said seems to be normal. Its not normal and dont want it leak out in winter and have no fluid and get in a accident cause cannot clean windshield. Need help with this.

Reverse camera has displayed very dark once. Reverse camera has displayed solid, bright blue multiple times. Gauge cluster displayed warning message that reverse assistance is unavailable.

WHEN REVERSING CAMERA WILL SHOW BLUE SCREEN AND NOT GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL WARNINGS SINCE NOTHING CAN BE DETECTED. THIS IS AND ON AND OFF ISSUE SO CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME. I'VE ADDED PICTURES TAKEN AT DIFFERENT DAYS AND TIMES. I'VE JUST PUT TODAY'S DATE BECAUSE I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW LONG AS THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR.

SEVERAL TIMES WHEN THE REAR CAMERA JUST DOESN'T WORK - NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT IT'S JUST OUT. IT USUALLY RESUMES NORMAL OPERATION AFTER SHUTTING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING BUT SOMETIMES I'VE HAD TO SHUTDOWN AND RESTART MORE THAN ONCE (SEE PICTURE FROM MOST RECENT ISSUE). THE EMERGENCY BREAKING SYSTEM, PARTICULARLY WHEN MOVING IN REVERSE HAS ENGAGED UNEXPECTEDLY NUMEROUS TIMES WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT ANY DANGER OR OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE WAY OF MY CAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED IN MY DRIVEWAY WELL BEFORE THE SIDEWALK AND WHEN THERE HAVE BEEN NO PEOPLE ARE ANIMALS ANYWHERE NEARBY. THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED AT OTHER TIMES AND PLACES BEYOND MY DRIVEWAY AND I'VE HAD THE EMERGENCY BREAKING SYSTEM ENGAGED WHILE IN DRIVE AND STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER UNUSUAL ELECTRICAL ISSUES WHERE THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY SAFETY RELATED BUT MIGHT INDICATE A BROADER ELECTRICAL ISSUE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE RADIO OFTEN DOESN'T...

STARTING ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF JULY MY NEW 2020 EXPLORER ST STARTED SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES IN REVERSE, WITH NO OBJECTS NEAR BY. THEN IT STARTED THROWING A FAULT FOR THE REVERSE BRAKING SYSTEM. I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES FOR THE SAME ISSUE. AFTER THE SECOND TIME IT HAD MORE FAULT CODES FOR HILL ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION, AND ADVANCED TRAC. AFTER THE THIRD TIME AT DEALER THEY ASSURED ME THE ISSUE WAS FIXED. NEEDLESS TO SAY IT IS HAVING THE ISSUES AGAIN. I HAVE ALSO HAD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON AND THEY DETERMINED THE TEMP SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FLEX PIPE IS MAKING A HORRIBLE NOISE AS WELL AND THE SOLUTION WAS TO PUT A CLAMP ON IT AND THE SOUND IS MUCH BETTER BUT STILL THERE! THIS VEHICLE SEEMS TO BE A LEMON.