On Christmas night my 02 explorer "exploder" started shifting funny, i wasn't sure what was going on, until my o/d light started flashing, my engine light came on as well. i started driving it, shifted out of 1st gear just fine but when it went to shift from 2nd gear to 3rd gear it revved up high and it slammed into gear. thats when i knew i had tranny problems. so i drove it home parked it and didn't drive it for the next 9 months until now. i called ford to asked them what was going on with my tranny, i explained to them my issues they said that i need a new Solenoid pack that that would take care of the problem. so i did and it didn't do a dam thing. while i was under the tranny i saw one of the anchors loose as if one of the bands were broken, so i explained to ford and told them that one of the anchors is loose and they said "its supposed to be like that" what a crock of dodo. i finally decided to take down my tranny and look everything over since i work at a bodyshop i would save lots of money doing it myself. i came to realize that my valve body was gone bad after testing it, both my bands were broken so i replace them with new ones and i also replaced all the seals and torque converter, and i also took out the pump and everything else and they seem to be in working order. so after about $750 with my discounts from ford i replaced all the infected parts and installed everything and added the tranny oil and updated my tranny to latest calibration and everything works so far runs actually really good. i think that ford did not want to help me, i think they were hoping that i would bring my car to them and pay them 3 thousand dollars to fix it. ford sucks im gonna get rid of my explorer for good no more american cars for me especially ford. if you need help with your tranny especially the 5R55W with the 4.0 l tranny let me know i fixed my own rig and it works great.

Friday morning...driving to school...car starts jerking...doesn't want to go. So I call my dad...yes, 41 and still call dad...as I am talking to him, O/D Off light comes on in my 2002 Explorer...never hauled anything larger than the boxes of school supplies I take to my third graders...Dad says okay to drive less than 10 minutes left to school...at the next light, car shoots me forward like a rocket...does this two more times on the way to school...call the Ford dealership...super guy (usually) who handles service...acts at first like he's never heard of this problem...then when I mention the light, his lightbulb goes on...probably the transmission...long story short...talked to him today- $3000 to re-haul transmission or $4000 to replace, give or take he says...what? I ask...do you know if there was fluid in it?...he says the mechanic would have told him if there wasn't...I just got the car serviced at the same place in late June...unbelievable!!! Thanks for letting me know this is an ongoing problem! I shall march in tomorrow with piles of complaints...it's good to know, I'm not the ONLY one here that knows that a car's transmission should NOT go out at 63,500 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 3rd 2008, while driving home from work my O/D light decides to blink on and off very rapidly, then every so often coming out of a stop light it would not shift into 2nd gear, I would have to literally remove my foot from the gas pedal to let the RPM's wind down before trying to accelerate again to get it to slip back into gear. Every so often coming out of a stop light this would happen and it got worse at each light. If I kept my foot on the gas pedal it would shift eventually but Jerk my entire car forward with a hard clunk and very loud screeching noise like medal grinding very hard. I finally took the car into a local transmission shop to have them look at it, $2,700 dollars later I had a rebuilt transmission and $1275 more dollar later I have a Rebuilt Rear Differential. The total cost of the repair...... about $3,975 all without any warranty repair coverage. I am absolutely outraged that FORD would sell a car with these known problems then act as if they cannot do much about it. I have had 3 different Honda's that have lasted over 200,00 miles all with minor issues costing less than 300 dollars to fix, I have had a total of 2 FORD Trucks both have been CRAP and have cost me a combined $8000 in repairs, I was hoping the 2002 model was going to be much better than the older model I have owned in the past. I will NEVER EVER in my life buy a FORD car again and I will never recommend ford to anyone either. FORD trucks are absolute JUNK! I have had people disagree saying... take care of it, change your old service it regularly, I would say those people either are getting really lucky, for as many people that are complaining about this issue FORD should start to listen and provide some type of compensation for their customers who expected to have a Quality Product. I am going to call Ford Customer Service to make a complaint right after this! Im furious!!!!!!

We have 5 Fords right now And have had this Explorer for 5 years and my wife loves it. I was not to keen on buying it in the first place but you know how it goes.

Well in that time it has worked well except for the Rear getting loud about 40K miles and we had it fixed under warranty. Then, without warning 82K miles she tells me, Just past the 75K certified used warranty, it made a loud bang and would not shift into 3rd gear without slipping. Naturally the check engine lite came on and the OD lite was flashing and the trans lite was lit. I checked it out and the shift solenoid was bad so 300 bucks later I could clear the codes but the trans was broke 3rd gear band. I replaced it with a Ford reman trans 2000 bucks and now I'm wondering if I should have got a Trans shop reman because they say they modify the stock 5R55w to shift and work better. The reman Ford trans has a 3 yr/100k warranty. I have had Fords all my life and have not had such bad luck as with this one. I will be in line if a class action suit is filled and I hope my wife finds another AMERICAN vehicle she likes before it takes a sh*t again.

The way things are going I don't see Ford being in business much longer with selling the wrong products and a total lack of integrity in the cars and service in there products. Sorry for the long rant and I can feel for all of you in the same boat. Good Luck

Hey everyone, i bought a 2002 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.6L, about 4 months ago and have had nothing but problems with the tranny. First i tok my truck to Ford for the torque converter noise and was told that there is nothing wrong with it, i mean i didn't even want to stop at a stop light because the noise was so loud, but Ford told me that it was "Operating as designed" WTF do you mean "operating as designed"? So i argued with the service manager, which as you all know doesn't get you anywhere. Anyways i was so pissed off i just left. The next week i went in for the same problem but spoke to the manager of the dealership. He told me he would look into it so i left my truck there for the day. They called me right before they were about to close and told me the truck is " Operating as designed".

I bought a 3 year extended power train warranty with it so i have had the tranny rebuilt but 3 weeks later it is still sliping and starting to make more noise. Come on now you would think that Ford would see this problem and fix it but i guess that would cost too much. I guess 500 complaints are not enough.

I took another's advice and emailed Ford about this. The following is my initial complaint, Fords response, and my rebuttal:

I am thoroughly disgusted with Fords ignorance of a very prevalent problem, primarily with the 2002 Explorer. The transmission has failed on countless models right around 80,000 miles or less (needless to say, mine has also failed). Several people have complained to Ford and are basically told something to the effect of "that's just too bad". If you think I'm full of it then check it out yourself at http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2002/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml and you'll see what a problem this is. This is just ONE website that can in no way reflect all actual failures out there. A bad word travels further than a good one, and I'll certainly support that cause at this point. I'm frustrated and tired of this. I grew up around Fords and have never owned anything other than Fords but after I get this lemon out of my way, I'll never buy another ford again.

Dear Kirk, Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding your email. Feedback such as yours allows us to examine our practices and policies to ensure that we meet or exceed the expectations of our customers in the future. We regret that you have not had a favorable experience, and appreciate the time you have taken to write us. If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.

Sincerely, Marie Customer Relationship Center Ford Motor Company

Marie, Ok so Fords idea of "addressing the problem" is your politically correct way of saying "too bad, so sad". Rest assured that your ignorant response will be forwarded out to anyone I can think of who can fog a mirror, and all of the facts posted on every vehicle forum list I can come up with.

Good riddance.

This al started with a rattle that seemed to come from the torque converter area. I took it into several shops that couldn't find anything wrong with it. They all said ignore the noise because the vehicle drives and functions perfectly. Well, the tranny took a dump on me last night. I backed out of a parking lot and went to drive and it just reved. Went to 1st, no dice. Back to reverse, dead as a doornail. Had to have the POS towed home. All you have to do is google explorer transmission failure and more $* comes up than you'll have time to ever look at. I've actually heard two other Exploders with the same damn noise just in passing traffic! This transmission is obviously a problem but it looks like Ford is never going to address the problem. This site reports 190 failures but do you really this this can account for even a fraction of them? I say we all sue the crap out of ford!

I know this is the same old sob story, but I want anyone who owns this dreadful car or may buy one used to know that this is a really dangerous car to own. I have had problems with this car from day one, and I bought it brand new with only 92 miles on it. Where to start? An electrical problem started almost immediately that caused the car to turn off WHILE DRIVING. I had to bring it into Ford THREE times before they fixed this one. And they actually accused me of turning the car off on my own for a "thrill." I was 8 months pregnant at the time and I almost killed the mechanic who said my "hormones" were affecting my driving capabilities. Then two years later the transmission went..as in I cannot shift gears and I am about to be rear-ended. That was at a whopping 54,000 miles. I have complained verbally and wrote a letter of complaint, and all I got was a certificate for a free oil change (which they claim costs 50 bucks when most places will do it for under 20 dollars). Constant rip-off!

My advice? Don't buy Ford. Ever. And when you buy a new car that is not a Ford, send a copy of the bill of sale for your new Chevy, Toyota, etc. to the Ford Headquarters, and let them know that not only will you never buy a Ford again, but you will also tell all 170 of your friends not to but one either. Lawyers won't work on this one. But word of mouth, and putting them slowly out of business, just might.

We bought our Explorer in July of 07 loved it only had 65000 miles on it, great family car with the third row seat, then the o/d light started flashing and the check transmission message came on. At first it would still shift from 2nd to 3rd if you let up on the gas, now third gear is out completely, and we need a new transmission that is going to cost at least 2000 dollars. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know that so many people have this same problem and Ford obviously needs to recall something. I called Ford and they told me they would document my problem and told me thanks. Now we have an explorer we are making payments on but we can't drive it.

Just like the hundreds of other Ford Explorer 2002 owners, my transmission failed.

I have always liked the Ford Explorer�s but this is enough to make me buy something else (between mechanical/electrical failures and the dealership playing "dumb" about everything).

I am thoroughly surprised there has never been a class action lawsuit on this issue with this model/year.

It is rated the worst vehicle since 1998 and knowing the only thing I can do is stare at my bank account and shake my head.

My husband had purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer as a surprise gift for me. Boy, was I surprised. This vehicle has been a headache since we've had it. It took the cake when my O/D light started flashing at about 77,000 miles and I was told it was my transmission. After reading all these complaints, I am surprised that something has not been done about this. There are so many people speaking out about these problems and no one seems to care. Ford company fails to realize when we purchase their vehicles we are looking for dependable transportation. I have always heard that Ford stands for FOUND ON ROAD DEAD. Now I am a firm believer in that. If I do not do anything else, I will never buy another FORD.