I bought a 2003 Ford Explorer Limited used in 2007 and have had nothing but problems with it. After having spent more than $3,000 in the past nine months on various problems--including a valve and wheel bearings, my transmission now needs to be replaced at a cost of $3,600. The O/D light keeps flashing and the transmission slips when I accelerate. Ford should have recalled this transmission, judging from the number of complaints I've seen. I still owe money on the vehicle and it has drained my savings. I am done with this vehicle and I am done with Ford, which is a shame because I have owned Fords for 40 years and WAS one of their biggest supporters. What's more, I bought a brand new 2000 Explorer and never had any problems with it in the seven years I owned it. My son has a 1995 Explorer that still runs. The 2003 was definitely a lemon.

So we were driving along the same stretch of highway as we were 6 months ago when or engine seized and this time without warning we heard this big clunk and then the truck jerked us all forward and the O.D light started blinking. As we had a very bad experience when the engine seized in this same SUV only 6 months ago costing $4000 to repair, we pulled over and called CAA right away. After redding the owners manual and talking to the tow truck driver we knew we made the right decision.Our children were terrified when it broke down the first time as we were stranded on the QEW and our cell phone was dead so we had to walk to a phone, 3 kms.Now this with the transmission and after reading all he crap on this site and hearing that ford wont do anything about it I am pissed. This is bullshit, I am contacting a lawyer. I would rather pay the 3500 to a lawyer and make ford pay for the new transmission and possibly help others with the same problem in the process!!!!!!

I cannot believe what I am reading. I have a 2003 Explorer with the same problem. O/D light flashes and the check engine soon light is now lit. I am getting a hundred different answers on how to get this fixed, non of which are cheap or have any kind of guarantee to them. I cannot afford such an expensive repair and I only have highway miles on my vehicle. What do I do?? I have children and a job that relies on me every day. I called Ford and they wouldn't help me at all and had the nerve to e-mail me a questionnaire form after that to see how my experience was. You know what I wanted to tell them. My family owns two Fords at this time and it will be the last.

I HATE THIS TRUCK! loved it at first...door sensors went bad, battery dead after like a week of having it, by reverse sensor doesn't work...all which worked when i purchased it. now the transmission is out and get this i have had it for 6 months and 3 weeks and the powertrain warranty expired 3 weeks ago!!!! This is truly BS. i would love to sue the pants off the people for continuing the sale of this model knowing that it is a problem. When i went to the dealership they never even mentioned that this was a possibility of problem that would occur. needless to say i will never buy another one!

One day on my way to work in my very nice 2003 Ford Explorer the O/D light started to flash. The next day I took it to a transmission expert and found out that the transmission had to be repaired at the cost of $2000.00+. I went on the internet and found that this has been a know problem with this type of vehicle. I spoke to a representative from Ford Motor Company and found that they will not stand behind this problem. I know of two other people with this type of vehicle who are also experiencing the same problem. I think that as long as Ford has said that they are aware of the problem they should stand behind there product and pay at least half of the cost. This vehicle has always been taken care of with regular maintenance and has only 98600 miles. This is the second Explorer I have owned and I will never buy another Ford now that I know they are just in it to make money and won't stand behind there product.

Ours is a one driver explorer, & although it's a 2003, it has only 55,560 miles on it. There is absolutely no reason for the transmission to go out on the vehicle. Ford is apparently aware of the problem, but won't fix it. The vehicle owner has to foot the bill!! We have driven explorers since 1996, and we're about to leave the Ford "family" for good. It's really bad when a company knows about the problem & refuses to help the owner. I wish they'd gone bankrupt and stayed there. Unfortunately, they have come out on top, and have, in the process, become totally unconcerned about the "lowly customers" who put them there.

Like every other day, I started the SUV a few minutes before I had to leave to let it warm up because NY is cold, and then left to run some errands. I realized right away that the truck sounded a little funny when accelerating, so the radio went off so I could listen. I found that when shifting from first to second, in this automatic vehicle, the overdrive was kicking on prematurely. Then the O/D light started flashing. I came home and started researching it and found hundreds of complaints, so here I am, in the same boat as everyone else, about to look up numbers to transmission specialists because the dealer is definitely not going to make any money off of my with this one.

Please everyone, go to the following sites and register your complaints.

http://www.autosafety.org

yea on 2/13/11 my o/d light starts flashing tranny is now slipping i took it to ford they said it was tranny failure and it had to be replaced for 3,860 i ask to get it rebuilt they said no so why doesn't ford know if tranny falling apart help the owners on repairs but they don't care they said they would have to put it on dig to find out why its doing it they knew why it was flashing when i came in ford needs to do a recall on them big time for real a class actin suit big time

Update from Feb 18, 2011: yay ford after i spent 2,012 bucks my tranny wont fail now thanks ford for ur ford tough built tranny yay

Well another that is probably going to join the club my o/d light started flashing this morning. I called ford but since its sunday i have to wait till tomorrow to take it. but after reading all this complains im not going to give them my 90 dollars. In the mean time im not going to drive it. My explorer is in good condition never had a problem with it till now. ive always took good care of it, gave it good maintenance im really disappointed in ford after reading all these complaints .I'll have to wait till tomorrow. im going to take it to a different shop to see what they tell me. I'll post again tomorrow what they told me.

well this started about two weeks ago. No one can tell me what it is. They said it was the speed sensor and that it would be $636 to replace it. I called a parts store and they said that the part was only $47.00. So why so much then? So i called another transmission place and he said it sounds like the transmission and that they could rebuild the transmission for me. But with only 6 month guarantee. He suggested that i just put a new transmission in it. Well who has that kind of money? I think Ford should be responsible for it and fix their mistakes. And it's like you just can't afford to go buy a new Ford every time one tears up on you... But if some one knows how to fix the problem please let us know.We are having the same problems every one else is with the o/d off blinking on and of and the trans slipping and no way to check trans fluid which did not know that at the time i bought it please please let us know thank you

Transmission fluid and filter were replaced at 25,000 and 50,000 miles.I always maintained my vehicles to avoid problems. Not the case with this garbage! I will never get screwed by Ford again. Last Ford I will ever buy! I traded my 96 Windstar in because it had problems prematurely. I thought the Explorer would be a more durable vehicle. Never again! Ford will continue to lose market share with this obvious disregard for long term brand loyalty. Repeat customers used to be the foundation for a strong company. I guess they don't care. Plenty of suckers out there, eh?

Same problem as everyone else. O/d light started flashing, followed by the transmission light. Will be looking into a class action lawsuit. If anyone knows of one already established for this issue, please let me know.

First paint peeling on hood, then the passenger side window quit working, now this....o/d light and transmission problems. Ford needs to recall the transmission....it is obvious that it is junk. With no way to check your tranny fluid you are bound to have nothing but problems. Screw you FORD!! My heart goes out to all of you with this same problem. We shouldn't have to deal with this!!!

Same complaint as everyone else. My 2003 ford explorer o/d light started flashing followed by a check transmission light. This is B.S,!!! Ford needs to step up to the plate and issue a recall. I will be doing my own research about finding/starting a class action lawsuit.

First the paint on my hood started peeling, then the passenger side window quit working and now this. Will NEVER buy a ford again...nothing but problems!! If anyone hears of a lawsuit that has already been established, please let me know. Thanks! Good luck to everyone who is going through this same problem. It's not fair! screw you ford!!!!!!!!