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Transmission Slips, Upshifts Hard Occasionally
2003 Ford Explorer (Page 2 of 3)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Ford dealer.
CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2003 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 2002-2003 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.
7.7
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $2,300
- Average Mileage:
- 82,000 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 42 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- replace transmission (18 reports)
- not sure (17 reports)
- possible replace fluid body valve (3 reports)
- replace transmission solenoid body (2 reports)
- had inspected - suspect air in line (1 reports)
- replace servo motors (1 reports)
transmission problem
Helpful websites
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Noticed that the gears seemed to clunk when going from 2nd to 3rd. Then the gears seemed to slip and car was going nowhere. I don't drive this car hard at all! This is my baby ... only 3 payments to go! Now I have to shell out another $2500 to repair the friggen transmission!!
- Jackie S., Arvada, CO, US