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.
2.9
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,000 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 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the windshield wipers would independently engage intermittently. The contact stated the failure would occur during any type of weather condition. The wipers also fractured from the vehicle due to friction caused by the dry windshield. The dealer has not been contacted and the vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 111,000.
The windshield wipers on a friend of mines 2002 Ford Explorer XLT are awful. I drive this vehicle from time to time and they do an awful job with snow and rain. Have others ever complained about Explorer in this way?? this is her fourth Ford Explorer over the past many years-she had a 1996, 1998, and 2000 Explorer and they all had awful windshield wipers.
- Lackawanna, NY, USA
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- Bloomington, MN, USA