CarComplaints.com Notes: 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.
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.
3.0
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,746 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.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While driving 65 mph the rear axle seal started leaking and he could smell the fluids. He continued to drive to his destination. The vehicle was later taken to an authorized dealer. The dealer advised him that the rear differential needed to be rebuilt. He stated that the failure became worse over time. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 57,732 and the current mileage was 66,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While driving 55 mph, the contact heard a high-pitched whining noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the gear and pinion set failed. Repairs were made. The current mileage was 93,800 and failure mileage was 89,000. Updated 01-14-08. Updated 12/12/07.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. While driving 40 mph he heard a loud grinding noise and noticed that the vehicle would wobble. He stated that the rear hub pressed into the bearing. He replaced the bearing approximately two days ago. The dealer has not inspected the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 65,000.
: the contact stated while driving at no specific speed all the windows went up and down, the driver seat moved forward and backward, the radio came on and went off, and the air conditioner came on and went off. Also, while attempting to apply brake pressure the brakes vibrated and a clunking noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle. The dealership inspected the vehicle and unknown repairs were made; however the repairs did not remedy the problem. The manufacturer has been alerted.
The consumer owns a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT. The vehicle was just purchased about two weeks ago and she heard a low howling noise. When she purchased the vehicle, she thought it was the tires because they where not use to driving a SUV. She finally decided to take the vehicle to another Ford dealership and they told her that they needed to replace the pinion in the rear end. The dealership said that they were not planning on doing a recall for this vehicle at this time because all of these vehicles are currently covered under warranty. The repair job was about 2000 dollars. This is a frequent problem with these 2005 Ford Explorer because they do not realize that this noise is a problem. They tolerate this because they think it is just the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ontario, OR, USA