CarComplaints.com Notes: 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.
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:
5 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
65,970 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 2005 Ford Explorer XLT. While driving in reverse out of a parking space she lightly placed her feet on the accelerator pedal and suddenly the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle. The parked vehicle was pushed into two other parked vehicles. She stated that her vehicle does not have floor mats. There were no injuries. The insurance company will investigate the failure. The vehicle's body was repaired. The police report number is 09-19790. The current and the failure mileages were 52,287. Updated 11/18/09.lj updated 11/19/09
Vehicle: 2005 Ford Explorer; mileage 62,300; system malfunction indicating service was needed; diagnostic codes indicate the brake pressure switch for deactivation of speed control needs replaced. Current NHTSA/Ford recall does not apply to 2005 model year vehicles. Call to Ford customer service center indicates lack of interest in problem.
This morning, as I was in motion of (64mph). My cruise control was on and I pressed the off button on wheel to disengage. My truck completely shut down, the gas pedal felt like the truck was not on- it did nothing, the steering wheel was almost impossible to turn, the brake pedal very hard to push and would not bring the truck to a stop, the dash lights dimmed very low. After wrestling with these obstacles, I put the truck in park and turned eng. Off, then back on and I haven't tried the cruise since.
Car was parked and off out in front of garage, all doors locked. Approximately one hour we noticed the car was on fire outside. Fire was coming from inside engine hood. Fire department showed up, put out fire and kicked in the windows. Damage was severe and life-threatening; large fire almost caught the entire apartment building on fire. The fireman said that this seemed due to an electrical problem and not arson due to the way the fire came from the engine, all doors and windows of the car were closed with no evidence of break-in. This problem seems to be similar to the recall for scds the cruise control deactivation Ford made on SUVS and pickups 1998-2002 but this occurred on a 2005 Ford Explorer. Please help! people almost died due to this terrible hazard Ford has not fixed.
05 Ford Explorer has repeated (engine throttle control) light warnings. The vehicle, while moving, loses power and then stalls. I shut the vehicle off, the problem seems to reset and the vehicle then runs fine. This has happened on (2) occasions and now feel the vehicle may not be safe.
- Vail, AZ, USA
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My gas pedal is sticking. I initially thought my brakes were going. I just had my rear brakes replaced and my car passed inspection. I was told I'd need new front brakes in the next six months. Three times, I've had the gas pedal stick. When I try to apply brakes, it barely slows down the car and the motor gets really loud.
While driving the vehicle at any given speed and no matter how much gas I have the vehicle shuts off and all powerwas lost. I was able to restart vehicle only if I cae to a complete stop and put vehicle in park, then vehicle re-started and acted normally. This happened sometimes 3 to 4 times a day or not for a month. I was told by my Ford dealer that they could not duplicate the problem despite driving the vehicle home and hooking up the computer to it. The last advice I received from Ford was to get the vehicle towed in when stoppage occurs. Thatwas not that easy when you need the vehicle to get you to your destination or you were stuck in a bad area. This occurred 1 year after purchase. Also, I have a noticed that the vehicle surgesd when the brakewa S applied as if the gas had been applied.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle automatically accelerates at random and without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the failure occurred again while driving into the service bay at 5 mph. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. The engine size is unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 23,000.
Ford Explorer with a defective accelerator/brake pedal customer states that the brake pedal acts like the gas pedal sometimes* the consumer stated the surge always happens while driving at low speeds. 4/23/07
: the contact stated the vehicle stalled on 3 occasions while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle has not been to a service dealer and the contact was unsure of what caused the problem.
: the contact stated when activating the cruise control and the speed set at 70 mph, the cruise control deactivates itself with no interaction from the contact. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection; however the problem could not be duplicated. Vehicle speed control deactivated 3 times while in use. In February 2006, after speed control deactivated it took 3 to 5 minutes to turn it back on. Dealer found no problem. In March 2006, it deactivated once.
Speed control on 2005 Ford explored will accelerate when coast button pushed. Can be turned on by pressing off button. Operates ok for some of the time and is unpredictable when will malfunction. Occasionally only tap brake will turn off speed control. Off button does not work. Will accelerate after speed control off several minutes later. Unintended acceleration by speed control.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. When stepping on the accelerator there is a delayed throttle response of 3-5 seconds before one feels any acceleration. The contact noticed this after he bought the car in 8-05. He took it to the dealer, and they agreed with him. They test drove another 2005 Ford Explorer and it did the same thing. The dealer called Ford, and Ford said they knew about this, and they allowed the transmission to shift before it accelerated. They will not allow the dealership to change this. It happened whether the cruise control was on or off. It happens at any speed.
While turning around in a large driveway at low speeds, my 2005 Ford Explorer suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated causing it to run into a fence causing damage to the front end of the vehicle (minor) also ripping off the running board after running over a large log. This car has also failed to start at times and once the engine died while driving on the freeway for no apparent reason.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Morrison, IL, USA