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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 Ford Explorer is hands-down our worst vehicle on record. "Avoid like the plague" is putting it lightly.
The 2002-2005 Explorer has a very well-established record of expensive transmission failure at under 100k miles. The Explorer has an enclosed transmission which is typically replaced with a rebuilt transmission at a cost of almost $3,000.
Another common problem for the 2002-2003 Explorer is wheel bearing failure at around 90k miles, with a typical repair bill of $500 to $1000 depending on how many wheel bearings failed.
Adding insult to injury, the 2002-2005 Explorer also has a massive problem with the rear panel cracking. While it's a minor annoyance compared to transmission failure, ironically the crack usually goes right through the Ford logo.
7.8
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $280
- Average Mileage:
- 103,800 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 52 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (33 reports)
- wd-40 spray door lock mechanism@door jam,open & close door`s (7 reports)
- replace all door sensors (4 reports)
- bypass the switch and save you some money! (3 reports)
- beat it with a sledge hammer (2 reports)
- replace the gem module (2 reports)
accessories - interior problem
Helpful websites
- Owners Manuals Online Downloads Available - On this website I found the manual for my truck. I described the autolock feature and exactly how I could deactivate it. This helped stop the alarm from sounding intermittent ly. Baking soda, scraping the battery terminals was also helpful, i believe, thanks to a tip from another poster on this site.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Electrical gremlins started on My explorer 3 or 4 years ago. At first it was only the radio that was possessed. It turned on & off on its on. It changed radio stations, spit out cds changed fade and balance front & back,and Left to right, and about a year ago my cd player quit working altogether, but then it started telling me what station & song I'm listening to. I have had the SUV since 2005 and had never seen it do that. Then this past fall the door ajar started flashing. At first I blamed it on that a deer hit my driver side door & shop replaced with another used door. I had door adjusted and sprayed it worked short term. Then about a month a go it has become more frequent and I thought it happened more on extreme weather changed but it happens anytime all the time now. I check each door. when I leave the driveway used to be the worst. Now it seems in the middle of my 1 hour commute. It is annoying. To add insult to injury about two weeks ago. My car alarm started going of between 12:30 am & 5:30 am. My neighbors. love this. Now this week it goes off several times a day while I teach at school where I can visually see the car from classroom window. It even went off during Easter church service. I had battery replaced and door sprayed and 2 latches replace. problem still exists. The current mileage is 150,000. I have had many cars in my driving life time. I have had the best luck with fords. Dodges always were cold and noisy, Kia was the worse lemon. I bought it new only had it a year and was at the shop bimonthly and could have killed me in roll over during rainstorm and it refused to go up hill in 2 in. of snow. I lost $6000 and traded for this explorer. I had a 2004 taurus i bought and had very few minor problems I finally laid it to rest with 250,000 miles on it. Truth be told I could have put a new transmission in it and still be driving it.
- Kerri M., Nokomis, IL, US