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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,767 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
When stopping or slowing down, intermittently the vehicle stalled when turning left, there was a knocking sound coming from the front left wheel. The heat vents that blew directly on the consumer did not work. These problems have occurred at least three times in one month. The manufacturer and the dealer were not aware of the problem.
While changing the oil in the vehicle consumer noticed that several driver side motor mount bolts were loose. Manufacturer was informed of the problem, and informed the consumer that maybe the problem occurred at the factory.
Consumer states that while driving at any speed and without warning vehicle will stall, and it will be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. Dealer notified.
On one occasion the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration, and the second occasion, while driving at highway speed the vehicle all of a sudden shut down.
My 2002 Ford Explorer sometimes stalls when starting my vehicle. It has also hesitated and acts like it is stalling when driving. This has happened on more than one occasion, I have almost been hit from the side with 4 small children in my car when it has decided to hesitate.
- Loxahatchee, FL, USA
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The engine stalled twice in 3 days, last Friday I was driving at 70 mph, suddenly the engine stalled and I had to move over 3 lanes to stop at the shoulder, called the police, policeman checked the battery, no problem, the car just wouldn't start, he called the tow truck. I got curious, tried starting the car, it started back up. I then drove to the dealership, the technician said no error code and therefore no problem with the car. Today (Sunday), my car stalled again, this time I was driving 20 mph, the car started back up. What is causing this? I have small children riding with me! please give me some information about this!
Consumer states that while driving and no warning the vehicle jerks and will lose power and it will be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. Dealer notified.
The consumer noticed that oil was leaking from the vehicle. The dealer replaced the oil pan gasket but the leaking persisted. The dealer then replaced the oil pan but oil continued to leak. The dealer eventually had to glue the screws to the oil pan to sop the leaking. The consumer was not satisfied with this repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Trenton, NJ, USA