O/D light spontaneously came on. Can not be turned off. Transmission takes off slow. First gear slams into second, with slow takeoff causes cars behind me to stop short because my takeoff is very slow.

- Rhinebeck, NY, USA

I keep reading about 2 complaints that people need to know about and Ford should take action on; the first being the back tail gate... Ford do the right thing. The second has to do with the transmission, overdrive light, the parking brake and the cruise control. I use the cruise control when driving long distances and while on a few trips the overdrive light would come on for no reason, at least I thought, I then found out that I had an ABS problem and wheel bearings problems. All happening at the same time? as if that wasn't enough my transmission was dripping fluid on my new driveway! this was while I only had only 70,000 miles, it wasn't right, I checked out the brakes, they had been replaced before however when I pull off the rear drum / disk to check the parking brake that's when I found the problem. I never use my parking brake, it rotted and delaminated and was dragging hence the od light, the overheating of the transmission which blew out the seal, the excessive brake dust which was partially the cause of ABS sensor malfunctioning. The last part impacts the bearings, when the ABS sensor malfunctions it can apply the brakes as in skidding or in tire slippage adding to early unnecessary wear on bearings and again overheating of the transmission. Ford needs to install a few "smart" sensors, one which could track parking brake malfunctions, also one for fail safe temperature readings for the transmission. (that is before it is compromised.) do the right thing Ford, your sales depend on it.

- Chanhassen, MS, USA

Own a 2003 Ford Explorer the air bag light blinks then stays on constantly while the car is running. I am concerned about my safety whether my air bag is actually working or not. After searching the internet apparently several other Ford owners are having the same problem. Also I have a cracked panel on the back hatch, I have seen several Ford Explorer with the same crack and at the same location, took the Ford dealer in clarksville Indiana was told it was due to weather, was told several Ford Explorer owners are complaining about the same problem but unfortunately Ford is aware of the problem but not doing a recall. Was told would cost around $300 to replace the panel the Ford dealership instructed me to file a complaint because they have seen too many themselves.

- Clarksville, IN, USA

Brake pads completely disintegrated when inspecting pads, front edge of rotors have completely rusted. Pads were in good shape thickness wise in some areas and rotted in other areas. Pads and rotors were replaced now 5 months later it's starting again. Parking brake pads delaminated again. ABS light came on during trip for no reason?

- Chanhassen, MN, USA

We were involved in a motor vehicle accident on the below date. A person went through a red light and hit our 2003 Ford Explorer on the right rear wheel area at approx 40 mph. There was over $ 6,000 in damage on our vehicle. When our vehicle was released to us from the body shop 6 weeks later, our heater, when turned on was making a loud banging sound. It sounded like something was knocked loose from the impact. It is now April 2007, and we have been trying to get our insurance company to fix this. We took our 2003 Ford to capital Ford in carson city, Nevada where we bought 3 new Ford vehicles. Capital Ford told the insurance company that this is a common problem with this vehicle. Allstate, our insurance company told us that we would have to pay "at our own expense" to take the dash apart on this vehicle to see if this was accident related, at 10 hours labor at $ 90 per hour! I have checked all recalls with this vehicle, and called Ford directly, and have found no problem with this heater. Please help us!

- Minden, NV, USA

Re: second (mid-section) seat - driver's side 1. seat belt became lodged behind seat release causing back of seat to jerk forward and strike my child in back of neck. 2. facts: A) when my daughter (12 years; 89 lbs.) leaned forward in her seat, pressure was placed on seat belt causing release to engage and jerk forward; B) my daughter was still in seat belt when I pulled off the side of road to check on her; C) I was repeatedly unable to get the back of her seat to "lock in" place; D) upon further investigation, I found seat belt to be lodged securely behind seat release and each time my daughter moved forward and placed pressure on seat belt, the release was engaged; E) this incident wasn't the result of an accident; E) brakes weren't being used at time; F) she was seen in emergency room due to pain in her neck. Back and head; she was diagnosed with a cervical strain and had to wear a neck collar for five days. 3. contributing reasons for occurrence: A) seat belt is secured to side of vehicle; B) when a person gets into third row seat, it's easy to get caught on the seat belt causing it to hang behind seat release; (C) if seat belt doesn't retract properly, it catches behind seat release; D) it can also catch on front of release. 4. additional concerns: A) second seat release is a two step release: If this was a situation where the brakes had to be applied quickly and firmly, second part of release could have potentially engaged causing my daughter to be struck from behind and throwing her forward causing her to strike the front of her head on the back of the driver's seat which impact could have quite likely caused me to lose control of the vehicle. 5. this is a very serious situation which could cause catastrophic results if not corrected in all Explorer equipped with this type of seat belt and seating arrangement. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to a response in this regard.

- Mineralwells, WV, USA