First of all, Ford sends their appologies. Yep, I emailed them and they did respond. I knew they weren't going to help me pay for this. I'm very disappointed it happened to me!

My O/D light was flashing. My transmission stopped working because the overdrive gear broke and part of it or a bearing was clogging the filter. Shutting the engine off for a few and restarting would let me go a few miles, but if I had to come to a stop, I had to let it rest. My mechanic says these are one of the best transmissions out there. I looked. There were nearly half a million of these vehicles built. He says a few hundred complaints out of half a million isn't bad. Whatever! My original estimate for a rebuild was 1900.00, but they found this and that and couldn't get things to work right. Final cost. 2744 and some change. I get it home to discover the 4WD no longer works.. I take it back to find that SOMEHOW the 4WD Module has gone out on it. Really? The damn thing worked fine 2 weeks ago! I was given $250 - $300 estimate to fix. Final fix price= Over $400. I think they told me $450 something. Really? @##$$ #(*$#@. Now I've got more in it than it's worth. Looks like its going to become a hand me down to my son. I'm buying a freakin horse. And if he needs fixed... well you know how that goes!!!

OH, and then I find this... http://www.fordproblems.com/Explorer/transmission-failure.shtml

Someone is saying Ford may offer to help. I don't see it happening, but at least try it.

Like so many others, my 2002 Ford explorer started experiencing the blinking O/D light..then it simple stalled and inched forward barely moving... I'd been told that ford was experiencing many issues with the failing transmissions in the 2002 model. I had this issue repaired for the hefty some...correction rebuilt for the hefty charge of $2868..My Repair shop extortionist told me that he'd received several other explorers with similar issues..however my vehicle had burnt out almost everything surrounding the tranny... This was all very foreign and frustating for me. He went on to inform me that out of the four explorers being rebuilt mine was the worst and most costly.. surprise surprise..

Ford should really step up the way Toyota is attempting to do and recall or assist in the high end robbery of repairing an issue that they knew about all along... I feel a little better knowing others out there are voicing their concerns maybe Ford will take notice... thought i'm not holding my breath....

under 50,000 three wheel bearings, cost, $197.00 a piece for the bearing, 247.00 a piece to have them installed, (have to be pressed off and on) great Ideal from ford! Fourth wheel bearing at 62,000, around the same price. I have not ever had this suv off road the only thing I have pulled with this car is my 18 foot pontoon boat, only in the spring to put it in the lake and in the fall to pull it out, what i am getting at is both rear coil springs broken! Go figure! Four wheel drive module went out, cost, $489.00 at 85,000. and now the transmission went out at 89,000, $2700.00.

Called Ford on all the problems, guess what? Nothing covered under warranty by Ford, so much for the 100,000 drive train warranty HUH? I had a 1997 Explorer put over 135,000 on it and not one problem, this 2002 has some major problems, and ford will not stand behind any of them. My first Ford was a 1959 Fairlane, I think this 2002 Explorer will be my last.

I bough my 2002 Explorer a year ago.. never had a problem with it.. until black Friday.. yea that is right.. i have 2 kids i love dearly and on my way xmas shopping for them and my family.. what do u know. my o/d light started blinking a bout 5 mile after i left my house... then it stopped shifting and kept jumping into natural.. as we got further down the road it wouldn't go at all had to have my dad come tow me home.. now i am having to take xmas money and buy a new transmission and have it put in.. looks like xmas this year for a single hard working mom with 2 kids wont be as great as i thought.. Also the person that i am having change the transmission says it looks like this is not the 1st time that transmission has been changed in this car..

My Daughters dream car just had to be a 2002 FORD Exploder! I have been a FORD fan (owned a '68 Ford Van, '76 Mustang Cobra, '91 Explorer, '98 Expedition, '01 Excursion)...and now an '02 Explorer. Ford Company, this is the last time I will visit your car lot or service group. It's absolutely shameful that you know of big serious dangerous and expensive problems like the 2002 transmission on the FORD Explorer...and your dealership allowed my 18 year old daughter to drive it off the lot. My daughter (I co-signed the loan) saved for a down payment & insurance...had a picture out of a magazine on her desk. Eddie Bauer, loaded, sleek looking, comfortable, sounds good...but you knew that the transmission would probably break real soon (I see many complaints posted with similar issues). She's had it 4 months...only 4 months! Sure as heck, 2nd gear is gone and it shifts like a kick in the ass going into od. Catastrophic failure...codes PO733 & PO745...and according to the hundreds of inquiries I have performed over the last week, the only real fix is a rebuilt transmission at over 4000 dollars. Any attempt to do the individual part replacement will only prolong the next portion of the degrading transmission's failure...next week or 3 months down the road. And, the new tranny probably won't make it past 80,000 miles...what kind of product is this? I can't let my daughter pull out into traffic with that uncertainty in the drive train. I'll pay the bill (at a local shop) because that's what dads do when needed. FORD has lost my future business...and I'm sure my kids won't step foot on your car lots either.

when we first test drove the explorer we noticed the shifting was harsh and mentioned to the sales rep. that if we were to buy the truck the transmission needed to be fixed or replaced he told us he would get it in their shop and see about it. A couple of days later we were looking at a Durango and i received a call from the ford dealership they said that was normal for that transmission and there were no problems with so we went and with it and it was the worst choice of my damn life that truck has been nothing but a pile of sh*t since the first month we owned it. Now we are out of a vehicle and my wife is a rural mail carrier and is having to depend on my family or hers to supply a vehicle to us when she works until we can afford an expensive piece of sh*t transmission that ford apparently didn't pay attention as to what the hell they were doing. Bottom line I will never give ford another red penny from my damn pocket but of course they already have all of them.

This car should be called the Ford ExploDer! This car has horrible transmission problems. the car makes clanking noises when shifting gears. I am Never buying a ford ever again! I had to get the transmission fixed three times!! I have a car note on this truck.The first time I brought it to Ford's attention, my warranty had just expired the month before. They said they could not do anything to help me and that I should look at their inventory and buy another one of their cars!! Are they crazy!! why would I buy another Ford after what they did to me!!!

I have read thousands of complaints about this issue and did some investigation. I called Fords main office and gave the lady on the phone my information. I asked about issuing a recall and she told me that I needed to go through National Traffic and Safety Administration to file a complaint. If anyone wants this issue to become a recall, I urge you to call Fords head office (800-392-3673), and then go to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm and fill out the online form. it takes about 10 minutes.

I don't think I can add much more to the words already posted about the 2002 Explorer. The transmission was replaced at 45,000 miles and had a 2 year warranty but of course it expired just before the transmission went out AGAIN! This time I have an estimate of approximately $2400.00, or $2650.00 will include a one year warranty, to get the transmission repaired. Overall I'm very disappointed in the quality of the Ford Motor Company. At 90,000 miles now, the truck should have a lot of life left and should be recalled. I am leary about purchasing another Ford at all at this point.

same as everybody else. I was driving down interstate and o/d light started to blink. I stopped cut ignition off and started again.Transmission started to slip until I would have to pull over several times and cut car off and restart. It was a terrible experiance being that I was alone and several miles from home. I managed to make it home but have not attempted to move it since.From the looks of this site I will not be able to financially be able to move it for a while.If anyone comes up with a way we can get ford to make this right count me in!

Problems started right away. We've owned the truck for just about 3 years now. Bought it with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

1. Passenger Door completely off track - wouldn't close - covered under warranty. 2. 4X4 failed. Loud creaking noises when turned on 4X4 high - covered under warranty. 3. 1st Spark plug spit out of engine - not covered under warranty. Didn't have Ford replace due to high cost - found effective spark plug rethreader kit at auto part store that worked - total cost to fix $250. 4. Wouldn't stay on - problem with the accelerator - which caused us to drive the truck like a 5 speed, with a foot on the gas and the break at the same time. Found a simple solution - banging a wrench on it worked! Something was junking up in there and needed to be pushed along - however, the shop wanted to charge me about $500 to fix!

5. 2nd Spark plug spit out of engine - not covered under warranty. Didn't have Ford replace due to high cost - found effective spark plug rethreader kit at auto part store that worked - total cost to fix $250. 6. 3rd Spark plug spit out of engine - not covered under warranty. Didn't have Ford replace due to high cost - found effective spark plug rethreader kit at auto part store that worked - total cost to fix $250. 7. 4th Spark plug spit out of engine - not covered under warranty. Didn't have Ford replace due to high cost - found effective spark plug rethreader kit at auto part store that worked - total cost to fix $250. 8. O/D Light started blinking - then trouble switching gears - then trouble going in reverse - transmission failed - not covered by warranty - total cost for a Rebuilt transmission - $1300.00 9. 5th Spark plug spit out of engine - not covered under warranty. Didn't have Ford replace due to high cost - found effective spark plug rethreader kit at auto part store that worked - total cost to fix $250. 10. Rocking noise heard after correcting 5th sparkplug incident. (Currently at 118,000 miles) Found out that Piston Arm was bent and would cost thousands to replace - so, NEW ENGINE (one with 72,000 miles) was purchased. Total cost - $1750.00 (This is currently being worked on)

Lucky for us - a very good friend is our mechanic and does the majority of the work for us - with the exception of rebuilding the tranny. He warned us at the beginning to get rid of the truck - but owing so much on it, there was no way to do so. When the tranny was going, we looked into trading it in and the most we could get was about $3000 - considering we owed $7,500 at the time - it was impossible - now, we owe about $6,200 so, it's still not an option. Hopefully with the new engine - we'll be in the clear for a while.

What a crappy product. Absolutely hate this car and Ford altogether. Never will buy Ford!!! Tried to support the economy and bought American, WTF! I wish I've seen this page before I bought this crap. Like all the other hundreds and thousands of unlucky Explorer owners, my transmission has problems switching to 3rd gear. Will cost several thousand dollars. Have been delaying the work for a year. One day, I guess I might just die on the road. But what can i do until I have extra thousands to spare? Seeing this many number of complaints, Ford should really consider recalling/exchanging. Surprised that no one started a legal complaint. Wish I knew anything about law.