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:
33 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
36 / 2
Average Mileage:
83,303 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.
2002 Ford Explorer airbag light has been on. I took it to the dealer and they said it needs a pretensioner repair kit installed for $650. I declined service. I looked on the internet and their are lots of complaints; in July 2001, Ford issued a special service message announcing that some air bag clockspring devices may produce noise when the steering wheel is turned full left or right. Ford was aware that some clocksprings may have been improperly installed. The improper installation may also cause an open circuit and the air bag warning light to illuminate. Starting with vehicles produced in September 2001, Ford adding length to the clockspring wire to reduce the likelihood of damage from improper installation.
2002 Ford Explorer, wheel bearings went out (pre-maturely as on thousands of this model car)and airbag disconnected (Ford made cable too short under driver's seat.) lucky we caught it before wheel flew off and airbag didn't deploy!
On my 2002 Ford Explorer SUV I have had to replace 3 of the 4 wheel bearings and hub assemblies(approx $250 each), with the 4th not far behind. I have also had to replace the 4-wheel drive module(approx $400-$500). I have had problems with the rear window motors going bad and having to replace these too. The air conditioning unit has stopped working. The passenger air bag dummy light has come on for no reason. The seat belt warning chime often comes on and will not go off, even though you have buckled your seat belt. You have to slam the buckle into place for it to go off and sometimes this does not work either. The transmission is now making a lovely clunking sound when shifting from park to drive and when you try to put it back into park, it does not want to. You have to put it up to park as far as it will go then go back to neutral and then into park from there. We have replaced the emergency brake shoes on both sides because they were completely worn off even though we do not use the E-brakes. These problems are just piling up one after another. I went to an internet site that has complaints about vehicles and found that there are hundreds of others with the same problems on their 2002 Ford Explorer of all kinds (XL, eddie bauer, special edition, etc.). why hasn't Ford done any recalls for these problems" does it require multiple injuries or even death for them to take responsibility??"
We got in to a head on collision and the airbag did not deploy and we hit at about 45 M.P.H. on impact and nothing deploy soon after the crash the airbag light flashed for several days till we got the repair and they just reset the computer in the truck and now the airbag light is flashing only a week after they reset it and the Ford company here has no reasoning or answer to why this happened and they refuse to help us on this situation so we have to turn to you and get this problem resolved quickly before someone gets seriously injured or killed.
On 12/23/07 my in-laws were involved in a rollover crash of a 2002 Ford Explorer. My wife and I witnessed the entire accident as we were following my in-laws home from church. A cardboard box was in the roadway, and my mother-in-law took action to miss the box. She steered around the box, but when she tried to correct the vehicle it got sideways and the front driver's side tire assembly broke away and the vehicle began to flip. The roof crushed about 15 inches, the airbags did not deploy and of course the front wheel had broken away. My father-in-law escaped with a few broken ribs, but my mother-in-law is in intensive care with several injuries. I know you have had several complaints about Ford Explorer, but isn't it time to do something about it before someone else gets seriously injured or even killed?
- Town Creek, AL, USA
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On the Ford Explorer 2002-2003 there is a passenger restraint fault where the airbag light comes on indicating that the passenger restraint and or driver restraint SRS system is at fault. This is concerning me simply because it appears to me that this could cause the air bag to deploy while I am driving.
Had air bag light come on. It was a $44 harness that the dealer had a service bulletin telling him of the problem. It cost me 247 dollars to get the vehicle back. I have talked to several other 2002 Explorer owners and they have had the same harness replaced at about 60000 miles. A complaint has been sent to the dealer for the labor charges which were or seemed excessive.
My husband and I own a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT. The problem is with the airbag. The airbag light has stayed lit and needed repairs on 2 occasions. The first time this occurred was a year ago. At that time, we took the car to a Ford dealership and were told the safety harness needed to be replaced and this was covered under the warranty. The airbag light has recently come on again. Again, we took the car to a Ford dealership and this time are told that another harness needs to be replaced and a wire under the seat is not working and the repairs (which are not under warranty) will cost approximately $370. I complained to the service manager that I feel I should not have to pay for these repairs as this problem occurred previously while under warranty and their previous repair should hold some guarantee. I was told this is not the case and that I would have to pay for these repairs. I find this completely unacceptable. I have no choice but to have the repair done as a non-functioning airbag is a serious safety concern. I am notifying the NHTSA and the consumer product safety commission of this serious safety issue that seems to be a recurring problem with my 2002 Ford Explorer.
: the contact stated while driving 35 mph the vehicle was hit on the passenger side by another vehicle, spun around and flipped side to side several times. The air bags did not deploy in the vehicle. The vehicle was equipped with side curtain and frontal air bags. Seat belts were in use however minor injuries were sustained. A police report was filed at the scene. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop for inspection. The manufacturer has not been alerted. Updated 7/13/2006 -
2002 Explorer with 95K miles: Power windows, airbag and front/rear wheel bearings. Dealer was not surprised by these problems at all. $3K estimated repair cost.
First of all I have a humming sound coming from the rear of the vehicle I notice it most when we are traveling on the hwy at at least 55 mph or more. In Oct. My brake light came on for no reason and now in Feb. My air bag light came on for no apparent reason.
2002 Ford Explorer, well serviced, less than 54000 miles on it. Last week airbag light came on, flashed, then stopped. It didn't come on again until this week. Took it to the torrance power Ford dealership & they told my husband that it was a faulty spring that was sliding & coming in contact with the cruise control wire & probably shorted out. Cost to fix, $467, called the Ford co & they said airbag system was not under warranty & that there were no recalls. Funny thing is, I am not the first person with a Ford Explorer that has had the same problem. We also asked if not serviced would the airbags deploy? they said they didn't know.
: the contact stated the air bag light intermittently illuminates. The vehicle was seen by a dealer. The service department determined both front seat belts needed to be replaced due to the integrated air bag/seat belt system. The entire front seat belts were replaced accordingly but the air bag light later illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The service department suggested replacing the seat belts again. Updated 3/3/2006 - the consumer has also had to replace the rear washer motor, odometer and has had problems with the automatic door locks.
The consumer stated while traveling 55 mph on a busy highway, a truck in front of the consumers vehicle started loosing debris all over the road way. The vehicle started to swerve; this in turn caused a four vehicle accident. This was a frontal impact on the driver's side. The airbags did not deploy. Seat belts were in use.
Airbag light switched on, as a result of pre-tensioner failure from movement of the passenger seat. This also happened twice to a friend of mine with a 2002 Explorer. ABS light sensor failed. **
The consumer's father was in accident yesterday, July 12, 2005 at about 10:00 am. Consumer says that vehicle was struck on the driver's rear corner panel breaking off the rear wheel on the driver's side. The air bag did not deploy.
My 2002 Ford Explorer front driver side airbag deployed when my wife started the car my 2 year old daughter was in the car also. We have a police report. My wife is terrified to get back in the car now. The people at Ford want to charge me to fix the car, which is crazy. I am trying to find out if this has been reported before.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Denver, CO, USA