CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2003 Ford Explorer one of our worst vehicles 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.
6.5
fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,837 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.
On three separate occasions the gate lift of my Explorer opened on it's own. This happened when the vehicle was quite new. I reported it to Ford and they could not find the problem. They said that unless it malfunctioned while they were in possession of it, they could not remedy the problem. I now tie down the gate when carrying precious cargo, my dogs.
Structure, body, hatchback/liftgate, hinge and attachments. I was closing my hatch on my 2003 Ford Explorer VIN#[xxx] when the left hinge broke free from the body of the vehicle. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On several occasions, the liftback on the vehicle unlatched itself. In all but one occurance, this was not noticed until after the vehicle was in a parked position. The most recent occurence was March 9, 2004.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fair Lawn, NJ, USA