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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 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 2002-2005 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.
8.0
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $590
- Average Mileage:
- 93,900 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 45 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (15 reports)
- fix blend door motor is slipping or blend door is broken (12 reports)
- replace blend door actuator (11 reports)
- replace blend door (7 reports)
AC / heater problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2004 Explorer problem yet. Be the first!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
It all started one day when I got into my Explorer on a cold winter night. Went to start up the heat after driving a few minutes and my dashboard started cracking and thumping and making so many weird noises I thought there was a live animal in there! Pretty sure I jumped out of the car and everything....Unfortunately for me, I was just my blended door actuator! I was able to diagnose my issue by viewing a YouTube video that someone had posted of their same issue. I never received an estimate to repair but had heard of reports of it costing around $700-$800 to fix and I was not about to drop money like that.
The person who made the video also showed how to do a rigged up fix yourself, which I didn't follow exactly, but I do enough to make it work. Now, all winter and all summer I have to keep my temperature gauge on full heat or full a/c, there's no moving in the middle ground. If I remember right, when fall comes and I no longer need my a/c, I am able to stick my hand behind the dashboard through the glove compartment and manually push this little lever down to switch over.
When spring comes, I believe the door thumps its way over to where it needs to be on its own when I switch to a/c. All in all, its most inconvenient in the spring and fall when the weather is up and down and I cannot easily switch from heat to a/c.
God Bless the man who posted that YouTube video!!
- Cara I., Belle Vernon, PA, US