CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 Ford Explorer is hands-down our worst vehicle 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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
24 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
13 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,424 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.
On date of accident, I was driving on 12 mile approaching intersection of orchard lake road. I'm coming to a complete stop, going about 1-2 mph, when the engine surged. My foot was on the brake, and I could hear and feel my engine accelerating, and to avoid rear ending the car in front of me, I turned the wheel and went up the curb, and finally stopped when I hit an interstate sign. The event took place in about five seconds. On the Monday following the accident, I took my truck to jerome duncan Ford and explained what happened. I also informed them that on 2 ocassions my car would not start. The diagnostic showed that my PCM need to be replaced. It could not bring up any missing codes for the surge of my engine. The PCM controls the engine and is the drive train. I don't believe for one second the defective PCM isn't the cause of the accident. I never relased my foot from the brake! my car is still at the dealer, and I refuse to have the PCM changed till a field engineer looks into it. I told them I don't want the truck back till they find what caused the surge, and that the car is unsafe to drive. The service drive manager said that this Monday (2/25/02) he would take my truck out and wait for it to surge on him. They are not taking this as a serious matter! they told me I could start some "legal" action paperwork (where there will be and investigation, and a Ford field engineer will look into it) and I told them that I was willing to start paperwork. They explained it could take up to 4 months, I told them that is not an issue, my truck is unsafe to drive. A detail I forgot to mention was the service manager started to say that they already changed my PCM, then told me they didn't. so called him 2 minutes after our conversation and told him that I did not want it changed until someone from Ford looked at it. He said "oh you don't want it changed, I was just going to have it changed." I said do not change it!
Speed control suddenly accelerated from 65mph (where cruise control was set) to 95 mph. It was full throttle and increasing speed when I hit the brake and it stopped accelerating. Dealer says there is nothing wrong and does not know why it did this. I'm still working with them to solve the problem becuase I no longer trust it. I was not touching any controls or pedals when the car began accelerating.
After engine was started and gear shift indicator was in park position vehicle started rolling backwards unexpectedly for a short distance before brake system stopped the movement. Dealership has not examined vehicle for this problem. Please provide any additional information / documentation.
- Staten Island, NY, USA
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- Sterling Heights, MI, USA