Started noticing extra road noise at speeds above 45mph... over course of a month or so noise gradually increased to where it was obvious something was amiss... tires had ~46000 miles so thought it might be them, had them replaced, same noise...

Ford Dealer repair shop said both front wheel bearings and wheel hubs were shot. Luckily, covered under extended warranty. Tomorrow they will replace those, and investigate whether the differential bearings also need replaced. Seems ridiculous to have such problems at 46000 miles.

I took my car for a new set of tires at America's Tire (Discount Tire). After changing the tire, one the technical noticed I have a "loose hub assembly" on my left rear wheel and he suggested that I should get that fixed immediately because it's a safety issue. There is a possibility the wheel may come off at freeway speed.

I took my cars in to my mechanic the next day, and he jacked up my car. The mechanic put one of his hand at 12 and the other at 6 o'clock on the tire, and rocks it. The tire was wobbling back and forth when he did that, which suggested a bad wheel bearing, or possible bad hub assembly. At the end, it was determined that I had a bad wheel bearing, which was replaced for $400.

Usually a hub assembly/wheel bearing should still be in good condition at 52,000 miles. I guess because it's a FORD. I have many problem with this vehicle, the rear right window sometimes doesn't work, the fuel tank system malfunction (changed it under warranty), the "service engine soon" light comes on every 5,000 miles. I'm not buying another Ford. I thought American cars' quality is now comparable to the Japanese, unforturnately they're still lagging.

I took my car for a new set of tires at America's Tire (Discount Tire). After changing the tire, one the technical noticed I have a "loose hub assembly" on my left rear wheel and he suggested that I should get that fixed immediately because it's a safety issue. There is a possibility the wheel may come off at freeway speed.

I took my cars in to my mechanic the next day, and he jacked up my car. The mechanic put one of his hand at 12 and the other at 6 o'clock on the tire, and rocks it. The tire was wobbling back and forth when he did that, which suggested a bad wheel bearing, or possible bad hub assembly. At the end, it was determined that I had a bad wheel bearing, which was replaced for $400.

Usually a hub assembly/wheel bearing should still be in good condition at 52,000 miles. I guess because it's a FORD. I have many problem with this vehicle, the rear right window sometimes doesn't work, the fuel tank system malfunction (changed it under warranty), the "service engine soon" light comes on every 5,000 miles. I'm not buying another Ford. I thought American cars' quality is now comparable to the Japanese, unfortunately they're still lagging.

Both front wheel bearings were defective and replaced at 45,500 miles. The dealer was absolutely untrustworthy - also diagnosed defective ring and pinion gear which is not the case. Had the bearings replaced at an independent shop. Ford Motor Company unresponsive as no recalls, warranty ... in place.

Explorer has a history of engine, transmission and running gear issues +++ which should have taken the vehicle out of production. I had great experiences with the previous 5 Fords I purchased new like this one. I figured Ford had enough time to get the Explorer fixed, but I guess not. Apparently , Fords now are unreliable across the line and Ford's issues prevent it from backing up its product. Add my name to the "never again" Ford Motor Company list.

First it started with the ABS lights on. I didn't think much of it because in NJ we have had snow, ice and slush for the past 2 weeks. My husband started noticing that the wheels would lock when we shifted into reverse and the truck would jolt. He thought that the brake pad needed replacing. However driving on the highway back from NY he started to hear serious grinding and rubbing coming from the driver front wheel. Also he felt the steering loose as he was starting to have trouble when going 65mph and had to slowdown to 20mph on the NJ Turnpike. Thank God we (the 2 children and my husband made it home safely. The next day he took it to Pep Boys to get the brakes fixed since that is where he got it done on Sunday during the summer. They said that the vehicle is not fit to drive and should be towed to a repair shop. We brought it to the Dodge dealer where we bought it used May 2007. They said the drivers wheel hub/bearing was GONE and axle. Also the brake pads needed to be replaced and the rotors need to be shaved down. We couldn't believe it. We understand that nothing is forever and these things go but COME ON. It's not even over 100K in mileage. How can they create and manufacture should horrible parts. I forgot to mention that the service manager said the passenger side was bad and soon would have to be replaced.

And Detroit is getting a bailout for products like this? We should have gotten a Honda or Toyota instead.

Rear passenger wheel bearing failed, while on a cross-country commute.

Got it fixed at 3M Auto, West Plains, MO. Bearing was rusted in. Mechanic Mel, had a hard time pressing it out. Hub assembly was not replaced. Cost was $160 ($84 for bearing parts). He felt bad for the delay in work due to the difficulty in extracting the bearing, but felt that replacing the whole hub was unnecessary expensive. And mentioned that this was the second one in a month of lower mileage explorers needing bearing changes.

It just keeps getting better.. First at 40k miles as previously reported needed new front wheel bearings. Noise returned. Now I need rear wheel bearings both sides. Now it gets interesting. They can not replace the rear wheel bearing because the threads on the axles have rusted off. Thus I have to replace both left and right rear axle. Wait there is more. I also have to replace the center part of the axle, some limited slip clutch parts and bearings within that center part of the axle. Dealer admits this is common on 2002 and newer explorers. Did I mention this is a late 2004 model with less than 50k miles? For another $2,000 it will be road worth again Incredible....... Did I mention I just paid to have the hood repainted because it simply separated from the primed surface under neath?

I had traded in a 1991 Ford Explorer for this 2004. I never had to replace the wheel bearings. My 1991 had 246,000 miles on it. I had to replace front wheel bearings on this 2004 and it only had 41,000 miles on it. I had to replace rotors because of corrosion issues. The motor on rear window has died; the seat warmer button does not work; numerous of other little things do not work now that my 3 years, 36,000 mile warranty is up. I have read through all the the complaints about the newer Fords. Obviously, Ford is not making its cars the way they used to. I also have the slippage in my transmission when I go into reverse and then put the gar in gear to go forward -- I get a 20 sec hesitation.