THE FORD EXPLORER MAY BE THE #1 SELLING SUV, BUT ITS DESIGN AND OPERATIONAL COST MAKE IT ONE OF THE WORST VEHICLES TO BUY.

THE HARMONIC BALANCER FAILURE IS A PAIN IN THE ASS AND IS INDICATIVE OF THE CHEAP ENGINE COMPONENTS USED BY FORD.

THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING LEAKING PROBLEM IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF POOR FORD WORKMANSHIP. IT IS A PROBLEM IN THE 2004 FORD EXPLORER. THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING IS MADE OF A COMPOSITE PLASTIC, NO WONDER!

THE REAR HATCH DOOR ALSO IS A VARY COMMON PROBLEM, IT CRACKS THE P[PLASTIC DOOR RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE!

AND THE TRANSMISSION IS ALSO A COMMON PROBLEM MY TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 90,000 MILES AT A COST OF $5,600 BY A FORD DEALER!

THE INTERIOR LIGHTING IS TERRIBLE. IF YOU NEED TO LOOK IN YOUR CENTER CONSOLE, DO WITHOUT ANY LIGHTING. THE CAB LIGHT IS LOCATED OVER THE REAR SEATS.

I LOVE THE CAR, BUT FOR THE MOST PART IT IS MADE WITH CHEAP PRODUCTS. THE POOR GAS MILEAGE IS NOT A GOOD SELLING POINT EITHER! IT CREATES A BIT OF A QUANDARY, I HATE FORD, BUT I LIKE THE EXPLORER, SOMEWHAT.

I purchased this vehicle-used in January 2011. Prior to my purchase, this vehicle had gone through a "used vehicle inspection" where plugs/wires, serpentine belt, gas filter assembly, battery, oil and filter, and drive belt tensioner had all been replaced. Less than ten months from my date of purchase, my vehicle suddenly began to have a chirping sound and would make a "weird" sound when I started it. Dealer-Service Department said that my Crank Shaft Pulley was not functioning properly and that if I did not get it repaired immediately, my belt would eventually come off and do further damage to my vehicle.. An investigation/recall should take place regarding the Crank Shaft Pulley on 2004 Ford Explorer 4.0 litre engines due to the fact that there have been a highly unusual number of instances where these pulleys show evidence of being defective and pose a danger to whoever owns the vehicles with this problem. There should be a lifetime warranty on these part(s). Ford needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing and have a recall on this defective part.

I was on a trip out of state, in route to Ohio driving through the Pennsylvania mountains with snow coming down when my Harmonic Balance/cam shaft pulley separated and the serpentine belt knocked out the crank shaft pulley position sensor. The belt also cut into my A/C manifold line. I have always kept this car, and all my cars, in good shape doing all the preventative maintenance, oil changes, belts, tuneups,hoses, etc. I would have never expected that HM to go out like that...this isn't the first problem I have had with this Explorer.

I-Joseph Garcia have owned many vehicles thru my life and this take the cake. I rebuilt my first car from scratch in the fifth grade. There is no reason for these cars to be designed so that the average person can't easily maintain their vehicle. My mom is a senior citizen and the ford explorer went out for a second time in the middle of the highway. Thank GOD she made it to the curb safely. The tech manuals for us civilians to use don't have COMPLETE info on how to deal with the harmonic balance pulley bolt in the center. When she tried to get the answer from the DEALERSHIP the whole dealership was unwilling to give a straight answer. I do realize that all places are not equal when people are involved but why must the quality of the vehicle suffer. GM puts out good product but in this case the harmonic balance pulley is just not up to their usual quality. Find another way to build in profits, please. It makes the U.S. look bad.

This is not my vehicle, it is my daughters 77,000 mile 2004 Explorer and my research so far identified this Crankshaft Pulley failure as a known problem with the Ford 4.0L and of course Ford is not stepping up to the plate with a recall. What gives fellas, this is a no brainer, a crankshaft pulley should last the life of a vehicle unless you have a front end collision. Ford has hired engineers who specifically redesigned a pulley to fail and take other parts out with it. I know this is a 6 year old vehicle and there's been a lot of forced changes in the auto industry the last couple years but if Ford really wants our loyalty, they need to stand by their product and correct their mistakes. I traded my Ford Ranger for a Nissan Frontier which I'm not happy with and had been interested in a 2004 Sport Trac and now I'm second guessing that. I also heard the Dakota is loaded with issues so maybe I should focus on the Tacoma and Colorado. Can anyone confirm if this is just a problem for the 2004 or tell me what years are affected. If/when I pick up a used mid size truck, I will be getting the extended warranty. I was foolish enough to purchase a known Ford problem in the past with their 3.8L Mercury Cougar. Beautiful car as long as you didn't mind replacing head gaskets on a regular basis. I'm really hoping Ford gets the message.

I began hearing what sounded like a chirping noise from under the hood of my Explorer. The man who had just replaced my solenoid for $500, which is an entirely different story, said it sounded like a belt and recommended a mechanic who could look at it for me. Well, he looked at it an said it was the Crank Shaft Pulley. He said it was just about ready to fall off. He fixed it and that cost me $271.55. This is just ridiculous and so irresponsible of Ford not to acknowledge these problems. I will never in my life time own another Ford. I will make sure noone in my family owns a Ford. I will tell my story of the solenoid and the pulley to everyone I know. I do my best to make sure people I know do not fall into this problem with Ford.

This is ridiculous. This is a common problem with the 2004 Ford Explorer and it should be recalled and repaired at no charge. I am a loyal Ford driver and always take my truck to the dealer for service. But more and more I am beginning to feel like I'm getting stroked by the dealership. I had a Lexus and a Jeep and put 200,000 miles on both without having any major problems. If this is what I can expect from a Ford that gets regular maintenance at 164,000 miles I won't be buying another one. Where is the recall? I want to be reimbursed!! I was stranded on the shoulder of 495 in 30 degree weather with no heat. Luckily, I was in the lane next to the shoulder when my truck decided to shut off.

First of all I want to thank all that contributed to this forum. The crankshaft pulley was the last thing I would have choosen and didn't until I read these complaints. I bought the replacement from the Ford dealer realizing right away that it was different. It took me about 6 hours to remove the crankshaft pulley but that included running to the autoparts store for a chain-wrench. It took me about 3 hours to reassembly the vehicle. The majority of that time was re-installing the radiators, what a lousy design.

The pulley was very near failure, the outer ring had already moved position and rubbed a hose and rubbed the speed sensor.

I drained the radiator and removed the belt. Then I removed the Then I removed the radiator. I had to use a chain-wrench to hold the pulley while I loosen the bolt on the crankshaft pulley. I used a simple hook type wheel puller using the partially loosened bolt for the center bolt to rest on. I had to continue loosening the bolt as the pulley came off. The replacement slipped in with just a few taps of a hammer aginst a board on the pulley. The new pulley is 1 " larger in diameter then the old one, so the tensioner had to be pulled back farther to install the belt. The car runs well now. Thanks.

It started about a month ago as a belt squeal. My local mechanic replaced the serpentine belt and the noise went away. A month later while we were on a road trip about 600 miles from home we began to hear and feel an occasional "clunk" as we were driving. Within a few miles the car would stall repeatedly and two warning lights came on, the service engine light and a symbol of a wrench. We managed to limp home to my daughters home about 30 miles away. We took the car to a reputable mechanic the next morning who got stuck test driving the car. Had to be towed back to his shop. Turns out the crankshaft pulley separated from the rubber damper and it protruded enough to also wipe out the speed sensor which caused the engine stalling. The crankshaft pulley part cost $184, the speed sensor $48 and the labor was $425. Total cost of repair with taxes $703.62. I saved the original parts. I've never heard of such a problem in all my years. A crankshaft pulley should last a lifetime. Obviously a defect. I will pursue with Ford but I do not expect any satisfaction from yet another lame American auto company. I need to replace my 1999 Camry soon and if I don't get any satisfaction from Ford they can forget me as a customer. And my taxes may have to bail them out!!!

I also had the crankshaft pulley fail on my 2004 Ford Explorer. I had just replaced the belt as a routine maintenance item, but within 1 week I started hearing a chirp coming from one of the pulleys in the system. The next day, the new belt came off of the tensioner pulley and was destroyed. When I started to install another new belt, I noticed that the outer crankshaft pulley had separated from the inner damper and was not in line with the other pulleys. I had the vehicle towed to my local Ford dealer for repairs, do not know the cost of repairs at this time.