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.
Ford will not stand behind their product and kept bouncing me between the manufacturer and the dealer as well as the used dealer where we purchased it. Nobody will help even though we are low income and we bought it less than 3 months ago! Ford acknowledged this is a known issue and still would not do a thing to help not even discounted parts or anything!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Ford will not stand behind their product and kept bouncing me between the manufacturer and the dealer as well as the used dealer where we purchased it. Nobody will help even though we are low income and we bought it less than 3 months ago! Ford acknowledged this is a known issue and still would not do a thing to help not even discounted parts or anything!
- Kimberly M., Gridley, CA, US