CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 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 2002-2005 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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
124,900 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.
Rear panel cracked in the shed. I have had to replace my transmission a year ago replace front hubs several times. And just last week I had to replace the back wheel bearing again. I don't understand why Ford has not done a recall on these things.I see a lot of Ford with the same crack on the back hatch.this is just crazy. If I new we couldn't check transmission fluid I would have never got this truck.I will never buy a Ford again. We also have a 1994 diesel that we had to put a transmission in at 80,000 miles it sits in the shed and now my husband drives a Chevy.our Ford diesel only has 134,000 on it what ashamed. It will not even crank when its cold. Bad work Ford!!!!
The car is in parking condition at work and after a long awhile it would not start even the full battery. I have attempted to make lots of checks for all component like relays, fuses and wiring connection they are all fine, in good condition. But finding out the starter relay had no power, no current flowing through it. I belief that the faulty is ( PCM unit ) power train control module that blocked a current from the starter relay.
The transmission failed early on at about 88000 miles, we purchased and replaced this. My husband had been in auto repair and parts for over 20 years, so him and my son done the repair, without counting anything for labor the total cost for the repair was around $2000. From that point on we have had lots of major problems that had to be repaired or parts replaced. The intake and parts cost us around $700, no charge for labor. The timing C+hain failed and we choose this time to take it to the repair shop which cost us $1100!!! now at 156000 miles the transmission has failed, this one has around 68000 miles on it. We have never had one dime in help from Ford on anything. This is the third Explorer we have owned in the past 15 years. We also own 3 F-150's and a mustang. We have never had this kind of problems with any of the other vehicles. I can honestly say we are very disappointed in this 2004 Explorer and I feel we will most likely not purchase another Ford vehicle in the future!!!!!
This is the second occurrence of this event. First one failed at 90,000 3 years ago. This was a rebuild Ford transmission installed by the dealer. It failed again, this time the car was able to get safely to the side of the road, safety was an issue as it was not a movable car and stranded on side of busy road.
I was at a stoplight and when the light turned green my car would not move. The car was in drive and it would just rev. The cars behind me started honking. I put it in the lower gears and finally started moving forward and drove it to the dealership. As I was driving to the dealership in the lower gears the car shifted out of gear while in traffic, I put it in neutral and back into 3 and it started moving forward again. This is very dangerous since the car will just shift in and out of gear and stop moving forward. At the dealership the car would not move while in drive or reverse. They told me the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $4,200, this is after I just had the throttle body replaced two months ago at a cost of $1,800. Ford need to do a recall in these transmissions it could lead to an accident.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
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When I shift into reverse it takes a few seconds to shift gear and when it shifts into gear it feels like the transmission fell on the ground. There's a big jolt right before it shifts into reverse.
Exact dates are various, vehicle has 39000 miles on it presently, have multiple vehicles, drive over the road truck driver... changed brakes and rotors twice, emergency brake not working, had fixed, had to have ekg replaced and some exhaust sensor, tires wore out at 29000, exhaust system replaced, both ball joints replaced, pinion gear gasket leaking from rear end, both cv joints leaking, appears right cv joint needs replacing, gets 14 mpg ( 4.0 liter ) paint peeling from roof for quite awhile now, rusting around fuel tank door, as all are...... vehicle has been a nightmare, getting rid of this at 39000 miles, Ford has a better idea, buy another one !
Every since we've financed this lousy SUV 08/2012 we've had a clicking noise from the rear and still cant figured out what that is, but the transmission has been slipping and shifting hard, we have replace front left wheel bearing and ABS sensor just a few months ago and the bearing is bad again and the front right wheel has a bad ball joint and the visibility thru windshield is horrible, always have a hard time seeing, cna only see a few inches ahead!!! this car needs serious recalls the air conditioner stopped working in less then a yr!!! and we bought this car with only 68,506 miles!! we already spend over a grand for a fuel pump!!! this car sucks!!! plz help we still owe thousands and everytime we blink an eye it's not safe to drive because of wheel problems!!!!
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear wheel wells and frame were rusted. And the rear hatch was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. Updated 09/30/14 the consumers stated the transmission jerks into gear. Updated 02/25/2015
When accelerating the SUV shakes, it has a hard time sometimes going from one gear into another. I started the truck today and it made a thumping sound. The transmission is going on it and I take care of it. I have a hard time getting the truck to go into gear to go in reverse.
TL * the contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle would decelerate automatically to 20 mph and not regain speed. The vehicle would also not shift into reverse. The failure occurred twice over a six year period. The vehicle's transmission has been replaced twice. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 22,000.
While driving my Explorer down the highway, the transmission blew with out much warning with my baby in the car. The vehicle went from drivable to not moving within one day. It started with a hard shift and acceleration being delayed when trying to make a turn. Then the O/D light came on and the vehicle lost all power within ten miles of my home leaving us stranded in the dead of winter on the highway with very little room to pull over so we could have been hit at high speeds.
While parked, I started up my vehicle and put the truck in reverse. However, the truck would not reverse. I was able to drive forward and took my vehicle to mechanic. He stated that the Ford were "well known" for having bad transmission due to certain pieces not fitting, especially the 2002-2006 models. I searched online and realized this problem is a lot bigger than just "a few" cases. This is an epidemic of neglect! additional issues include the throttle body for which your establishment has already investigated but limited the "recall" for years 2009-2013. This should be extended further to cover all incidents within a certain mileage. Mine started around fifty thousand miles until I had it replaced for $650! I request an investigation on the transmission failures, specifically with the inability to reverse.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 10 mph, the transmission failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle independently shifted from first to second gear accompanied by an abnormal noise from the transmission. Additionally, the contact experienced resistance when attempting to shift from park to reverse. The contact would have to shut off the engine and restart the vehicle before the vehicle would engage. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.
This is the second Ford Explorer I have owned and both of them had the same transmission problems. Yet Ford has no recall or even anything to fix them except $3,000 to a dealer out of you pocket for their mistake. I guess since no one has been proven to have gotten injured or died due to this issue, then there won't be a recall made on it. This is totally unsatisfactory for the Ford Motor Co. Because they have workers that screw up, the consumer ends up footing the large bill of repairing it. There is a known problem with the transmissions of these Explorer from 2000 - 2005 yet no one seems to want to address it. Ford motor should be ashamed of putting such faulty vehicles out on the road and endangering another humans life for their profit. This is the last time I will buy and Ford product and I will encourage everyone I know not to buy Ford either. I wonder how Ford would like the media exposure for this issue. No good customer service or product.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the gear lever would not shift in and out of gear until after several attempts. In addition, the transmission would slip gears while driving. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The contact was advised to rebuild the transmission and replace the torque converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 89,456.
Just bought a 2004 Explorer eddie bauer edition with 105,000 miles on it as soon as I got home the transmission started to slip. It lunges hard when put into reverse. This is a well known problem with Ford. They refuse to do a recall. I'm sure someone will have to die before its dealt with. I pray it's not you or yours.
I was on my way to work on a Tuesday morning with my son who is a college student at my school on August 20, 2013. I work at a community college and it was the first week of the fall semester 2013 starting. I arrived about 10:15 a.M. and could not find parking. I found a parking stall in the staff parking lot. I put the Ford Explorer in reverse and was going backwards to park in the stall. When I moved the shift gear handle to put the truck into drive into the parking stall, the gear shift was just broke off. I couldn't believe it! I had to act quickly and hit the emergency brake and turn the ignition off from the car to make it stop. I was really scared! luckily, I dropped off my son so he can go to his first class. I had to have the car towed to banning, California and have my mechanic fix it. Still to this day, Ford cannot provide a part to fix the steering column shift level. Ford says its on backorder, no one has the part. They don't know when I will have the part to fix my truck. I need help, I hope you can issue a recall on all 2004 Ford Explorer with gear shift level breaking off. Very upset need your help to get my truck fixed. This matter has made me sick with high blood pressure and would appreciate someone to investigate this matter right away.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cleveland, NC, USA