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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
49,226 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.
While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to the dealer. Mechanic informed consumer that the problem could not be duplicated.
While driving smoke began coming from the engine compartment, the engine bogged down and the engine stalled. The engine ran roughly and smoke emitted from the vehicle. Since the repair the consumer noticed a hissing noise coming from the air conditioner. Air coming through the windshield was the reason for the noise coming from the air conditioner. The winshield was removed and resealed.
Loud pop from rear-end. ABS light, wrench, and check engine light came on. Found to be a bad speed sensor and defective rear-end. SUV has been in the shop for 2 weeks and no rear-end in sight.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- National City, CA, USA