We bought this ‘17 Ford Explorer directly from a Ford Dealership in 2020. It had 32k on it. Plagued with odd issues that we were continually told were ‘odd’ or ‘rare’ by the dealership, we tried to keep up on the issues the best we could, totaling thousands of dollars. This latest issue began around 60k. The vehicle had trouble shifting, most often on hills. Eventually clunking noises were heard. When we took the vehicle in for its 60k service, at ~63k, which also resulted in brakes, rotors, etc. we complained about this issue and asked the dealership to investigate. They told us our transmission was ‘fine’, because there were no identifying codes-but had neither investigated it further OR driven it on hills, as requested.
These issues continued to occur intermittently and primarily on hills. We drove it carefully and no lights, warnings, etc. accompanied these issues. We figured if the dealership wasn't concerned-we shouldn't be? Then, it got worse. It was occasionally having trouble shifting (and moving) in both drive and reverse. We tried to make an appointment with another local dealership to investigate, but who was months out. We started calling around and it was the same answer. No one could see us for months.
Then, 1 morning the vehicle (on a flat surface) started acting like it couldn’t go forward. It did pop into gear but would not accelerate. Suddenly the wrench light came on indicating a powertrain issue. We were luckily able to limp it back to our house the distance. We had it towed directly to the dealership. When we reminded them about our prior complaints, they dismissed them because no codes registered to that issue! Had they tested the fluids, they would have found flakes in it and saved our car. The dealership then quoted us 7600 to replace the transmission as a result of this issue. In the process they told us it needed a control arm, for a total cost of 8,260 on a 5-yr vehicle with 72k miles.
Why did a 5-yr old Ford Explorer lose its transmission??? Why were there no other warnings until full failure? We owe only a few more thousand on it then the costs to fix it. The dealership didnt listen, and now we lost our car AND our trust in Ford products.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
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We bought this ‘17 Ford Explorer directly from a Ford Dealership in 2020. It had 32k on it. Plagued with odd issues that we were continually told were ‘odd’ or ‘rare’ by the dealership, we tried to keep up on the issues the best we could, totaling thousands of dollars. This latest issue began around 60k. The vehicle had trouble shifting, most often on hills. Eventually clunking noises were heard. When we took the vehicle in for its 60k service, at ~63k, which also resulted in brakes, rotors, etc. we complained about this issue and asked the dealership to investigate. They told us our transmission was ‘fine’, because there were no identifying codes-but had neither investigated it further OR driven it on hills, as requested.
These issues continued to occur intermittently and primarily on hills. We drove it carefully and no lights, warnings, etc. accompanied these issues. We figured if the dealership wasn't concerned-we shouldn't be? Then, it got worse. It was occasionally having trouble shifting (and moving) in both drive and reverse. We tried to make an appointment with another local dealership to investigate, but who was months out. We started calling around and it was the same answer. No one could see us for months.
Then, 1 morning the vehicle (on a flat surface) started acting like it couldn’t go forward. It did pop into gear but would not accelerate. Suddenly the wrench light came on indicating a powertrain issue. We were luckily able to limp it back to our house the distance. We had it towed directly to the dealership. When we reminded them about our prior complaints, they dismissed them because no codes registered to that issue! Had they tested the fluids, they would have found flakes in it and saved our car. The dealership then quoted us 7600 to replace the transmission as a result of this issue. In the process they told us it needed a control arm, for a total cost of 8,260 on a 5-yr vehicle with 72k miles.
Why did a 5-yr old Ford Explorer lose its transmission??? Why were there no other warnings until full failure? We owe only a few more thousand on it then the costs to fix it. The dealership didnt listen, and now we lost our car AND our trust in Ford products.
- Aimee H., Bath, US