2013 Ford Explorer Transmission Failure at 70k

[nightowlz]

My Explorer has been hesitating from 2-3 since I bought it and everyone told me it was 'the way it was' and it got worse and worse and now 3rd is gone and dealer quoting me 8k for tranny because .... there is metal everywhere and teh solenoid is shot.

I posted this to facebook as now I'm 9 days without my car and its the one season I drive family around alot in and prefer not to do it in a 20k sedan. Ford really *** the bed on this one, their customer service and dealer relations are that of a basic car company and trying to support the needs of a luxury price SUV.. It's really frustrating cause I was giving them a chance and they disappointed me.

FORD - GO FURTHER - (JUST NOT MORE THAN 70,000 MILES)
My 50k Explorer Limited now has a failed transmission at 70k from a problem I reported over and over and even at their Engineer event in Mahwah - to a factory engineer.
Simply Ford no longer stands behind its products - and hides behind its warranty. Seriously. Maybe someone at corporate will realize that. Go Further - Further where - into my pocket?
You know denying and hiding problems usually doesn't turn out well (see GM and Volkswagon about that)
Apparently Quality is no longer job #1 . Denial is job #1 .
I had two Mustangs, they had their issues (the constant light switch failure circuit in the 1988 Mustang) but most cars did then here and there. Now it's 2015 and though I was shopping Jeep, Infiniti (which I had the FX35) something about the Explorer was drawing me - fit well, technology and a perception of quality was back. Well yes the technology (sans the horrid Ford MyTouch/Sync), worked well - lane keeping, collision detect, etc.
However they forgot the basics - fit and finish, and now at 70k and the transmission failed, the keypad on the door - cracked because of the cold last winter which the glass was shattered by the shrinking metal or epoxy around the hole. The third row seat head cover - well that has come off since day 1. The GPS - sometimes takes 10 minutes to lock a signal (seriously a $25 gps can lock faster). The autofolding seats come off the track.
Simply speaking the Explorer is a 50k car that has the quality of a 20k car. I'm sorry I bought it. My previous 2003 Infiniti FX35 has 230,000 miles on it and still no transmission problems... Leather even still looks good. Sad thing is that I was looking at buying the Platinum edition, but now I have to tell everyone RUN away from Ford. This is Ford trying to make shareholders happy and not customers.
Here's the full story, I have a 2013 Ford Explorer limited (50k variety), and have brought the car to the dealer because of a hesitation during acceleration multiple times over the past 3 years. I have changed oil regularly and dealer did all service.
I rather liked the car, technology was good, Sync we all know sucks but they are fixing that in 2016, but the fit and quality of the car simply didn't compare to other 50k cars (Acura, Infiniti, MB).
The Disaster:
Suddenly last Monday the transmission stops, 3rd gear - the gear that was hesitating is now gone!! First I got a light for terrain management failure, then the 3rd gear drops and I lose all gear power on the road. Hmm maybe it's one of the 'tech' glitches I've gotten. Pull over, turn off car, let computer reset turn on... nope third gear is gone...
Limped the car to the dealer and left it Monday night, parts 'ordered' and it's a solenoid assembly for transmission and they would contact the local Ford Rep about the stress crack on the pad (I reported it long ago). However once they get parts they open up the solenoid area to find lots of shredded metal, looks like something in the transmission well disintegrated.
Dealer quotes 8k for new transmission. I am insistent that this is the exact problem that was reported before. They suggest I contact National Customer Service.
I reached out to Customer service - Called the National number for customer service - too bad you are over 60k. Yes but this has been a problem reported under warranty that has now degraded into complete failure - so you are saying Ford is designing it's card to fail just over 60k miles???
Now, In April 2014 the dealer was told about this hesitation problem - 3rd gear. Ford Customer Service told me ..... the dealer should have taken apart the whole transmission then. Really? What dealer tears down a transmission to look for a hesitation - I'm sure Ford wouldn't authorize that. And at that time apparently they didn't.
Called "Customer Service" - Ford's answer - too bad, 5 years 60k miles!!! I tell them check the log, April 2014, reported the problem - you couldn't find the problem ... and I reported over and over every oil change finally becomes catastrophic and they are saying too bad.? I told them that every time I showed them this they said that's just the way it shifts... - well apparently it isn't. It's a sign of failure.
The dealer properly noted the problem and see what happens and yes --FORD-- your transmission has problems. Perhaps you should talk to a transmission shop about the undersized covers for actuators and how common metal shavings are in this transmission fluid. And the number of failures.
The local service manager Haldeman Ford in NJ told the NY/NJ Area Rep about this (Apparently his name is Rich ??). The rep was contacted last Thursday - 4 days later (workdays) never calls the dealership.
Instead the service manager calls him and essentially Rich says he isn't going to do anything - too bad out of warranty.
So apparently if you are FORD your cars are designed to last just over 60k miles that way you can try to charge 8000 to replace a transmission. A 50,000 dollar SUV should not have a transmission fail at 70,000 , hell even 100,000 miles. It's all highway miles, no offroading, no stop and go.
NOW - I have no SUV for comforable travel for me and my children over the Holidays - THANK YOU FORD.
Instead I have a 20k sedan - do they not realize that SUV people buy SUVs because they need them? The loaner should be an SUV for SUV and sedan for sedan. They clearly should go to an MB or Infiniti dealer (go to Ray Catena they know how to treat a customer).
Since your regional Ford agent, didn't bother to even call the dealership and furthermore made it clear he is going to slowball the case just to sweep it under the rug, I feel obligated to let everyone know the "quality" of Ford Products and the "quality" of your Ford field teams in supporting your customers.
"Rich" Ford's local rep is sticking to the too bad you reported it under warranty but the failure didn't happen until 70,000. Ignoring the fact that I reported the hesitation over and over (and obviously now a system slowly failing).
IF you buy a FORD be very clear that Quality is no longer job 1.
And FORD please go back to selling cheap cars, cause that is apparently what you know. You have no business competing in the field with Audi, Infiniti, MB, Acura. They know how to build a quality car and if they have a problem they fix it, they don't stand behind a paper saying "whew it just make it past 60k".
If you are going to sell a 50,000+ car then act like a company that respects its customers and keeps its promise to quality. Else go back to selling 15,000 Escorts
FORD knows very well this transmission has an issue and this Christmas I have no SUV to drive. The one time of year I like to drive comfortably. I am very disappointed in Ford and I hope all of you don't make the same mistake I did.
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CAS-8389786-G4V5C8

 

[blwnsmoke]

This is the first transmission failure that has been reported on here so although I know you are angry with Ford, they do not have problems with these transmissions.

The only problem they had was a 5/4 downshift at around 42mph that was fixed with a reflash.

I completely disagree with how they are handling it.. a reported problem under warranty should be covered if they could not duplicate it.

However, many of your comments just aren't true. Obviously you are angry and you are ranting on the forum but Ford just like any other manufacturer does NOT design their vehicles to fail at 70,000 miles. If you want people to be on your side, state accurate information without embellishing or exaggerating to make your side look better then it is.

Just as an example, my sister who has a 16 year old who lives in a wheel chair (can't walk, talk or eat) got a Dodge minivan with wheel chair ramp outfitted. They have a little over 60,000 miles on it and guess what.. their transmission went out as well and they were told basically the same thing. I don't believe it needed a new transmission but needed to be rebuilt to the tune of $3.800.

It happens to every vehicle.. Jeep is having a ton of issues with their 9 speed tranny being reported all over the net.

But I will go back to my 2nd comment.. they should be handling this different because it has been reported several times.

Do you have work orders that show the complaints? If you have proper documentation showing the complaint in detail then this would be one of those circumstances where I'd take them to small claims court.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Do you have work orders that show the complaints? If you have proper documentation showing the complaint in detail then this would be one of those circumstances where I'd take them to small claims court.

Sounds cut and dry to me. 5 bucks says if they get a summons, they would settle out of court.

Better yet find all social media accounts for ford and post copies of these recorded issues along with the quote for fixing it and tell your story.

As soon as you start giving bad PR, they start to listen better. Just don't state opinions only state facts that you can back up.

Also go ahead and file a BBB claim.

https://www.instagram.com/ford/

https://www.facebook.com/ford/

https://www.facebook.com/FordExplorer

 

[blwnsmoke]

Sounds cut and dry to me. 5 bucks says if they get a summons, they would settle out of court.

Better yet find all social media accounts for ford and post copies of these recorded issues along with the quote for fixing it and tell your story.

As soon as you start giving bad PR, they start to listen better. Just don't state opinions only state facts that you can back up.

Also go ahead and file a BBB claim.

https://www.instagram.com/ford/

https://www.facebook.com/ford/

https://www.facebook.com/FordExplorer

Exactly. That is why I had said about not exaggerating etc. Have to take the emotion out of it and state facts only to be taken seriously if one is going to pursue this.

 

[1995E]

I'd sue the hell out of Ford if I was you. Several times I went to the dealer for the transmission shifting hard/slamming into gear but they wouldn't look at it. It eventually went away but it's still concerning. My power-train warranty is going to end in less than a month and now I'm scared if this will happen to me.

 

[nightowlz]

Do you have work orders that show the complaints? If you have proper documentation showing the complaint in detail then this would be one of those circumstances where I'd take them to small claims court.

Dealer has exact notes on the shifting problem which I told them about every time I took it in. In fact I was invited to a 'Explorer' event and had the engineer from that event in the car and showed him the slow shift and he said it's due to the way the 'car works'. Having driven another explorer I can confirm that it isn't the way it is, it was a bad setup from the go.

But no dealer can get authorization to tear down the tranny for hesitation... and yes there are problems, likely since Ford is ducking their warranty, I will have to take to a Tranny shop that I know they guy for 20 years, and we will photo and post everything. He is the one that told me that car has issues with the housing on the solenoids shredding and dropping aluminum into the fluid. The solenoid failed from metal particles, so where did the metal particles come from? A long and gradual failure. This was a highway car, 90 miles at 65-75 daily with 10 miles of regular road driving. Not a tough task for a tranny.

And yes I'm pissed since I told them about this over and over and it finally fails it's "JUST" out of warranty.

 

[nightowlz]

I'd sue the hell out of Ford if I was you. Several times I went to the dealer for the transmission shifting hard/slamming into gear but they wouldn't look at it. It eventually went away but it's still concerning. My power-train warranty is going to end in less than a month and now I'm scared if this will happen to me.

I'd run to the dealer before warranty is up - you could call corporate customer service they are the ones that told me the dealer should have taken the tranny apart completely.

To elaborate on the issues, the tranny guy told me that there have been multiple updates on this transmission to fix the housing shredding but there is no recall at this point. Metal in the transmission is something he finds alot.

And to prove my point I will get and post photos.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Dealer has exact notes on the shifting problem which I told them about every time I took it in. In fact I was invited to a 'Explorer' event and had the engineer from that event in the car and showed him the slow shift and he said it's due to the way the 'car works'. Having driven another explorer I can confirm that it isn't the way it is, it was a bad setup from the go.

But no dealer can get authorization to tear down the tranny for hesitation... and yes there are problems, likely since Ford is ducking their warranty, I will have to take to a Tranny shop that I know they guy for 20 years, and we will photo and post everything. He is the one that told me that car has issues with the housing on the solenoids shredding and dropping aluminum into the fluid. The solenoid failed from metal particles, so where did the metal particles come from? A long and gradual failure. This was a highway car, 90 miles at 65-75 daily with 10 miles of regular road driving. Not a tough task for a tranny.

And yes I'm pissed since I told them about this over and over and it finally fails it's "JUST" out of warranty.

I think before you let someone else tear it open you need to start escalating this issue. Do like I said above and start getting their attention.

As far as the engineer from the event, was he/she even a powertrain engineer? There are 100's of different engineers that work for Ford. He may have been an exterior commodity engineer and didn't know crap about the powertrain.

Also do you have the tow package? Tow package has a beefier transmission.

 

[gatzdon]

OP,

Take a breather and step back.

I feel for you on the Ford Customer Service and Quality. It's been atrocious for me and I couldn't imagine having the trans fail like that at 70k miles.

My suggestions on how to start over.

Get the printouts for all dealership service visits, including oil changes and what not. This will likely require the cooperation of a service writer at the dealership. Do your best to give them the impression you don't blame them and that you understand they did what they could within the parameters of corporate policy. Dealerships are less likely to help you if they feel you are throwing them under the bus too.

Write a one line summary of each relevant visit where you complained about the issue. Keep it short and state facts only.

This "short" summary is your starting point for any complaints and request for assistance. Opinions sound great in blogs, but do nothing but create distractions in written complaints. Once you have this, now you can start to move forward on your complaints again. That summary would have been a much better way to start this thread requesting help.

As for the transmission, if I were paying for it, I would make sure I got nothing less than 2year/unlimited mile warranty. I wouldn't let a shop rebuild it in house either. Some things just aren't worth going too cheap on, and you can't beat the quality of a company that professionally rebuilds transmissions. Many of them are going to 3 year/unlimited mile warranty with labor covered should the rebuilt trans fail.

 

[nightowlz]

I think before you let someone else tear it open you need to start escalating this issue. Do like I said above and start getting their attention.

As far as the engineer from the event, was he/she even a powertrain engineer? There are 100's of different engineers that work for Ford. He may have been an exterior commodity engineer and didn't know crap about the powertrain.

Also do you have the tow package? Tow package has a beefier transmission.

Actually I do have the Tow Package. I never used it once though.

 

[nightowlz]

OP,

Take a breather and step back.

I feel for you on the Ford Customer Service and Quality. It's been atrocious for me and I couldn't imagine having the trans fail like that at 70k miles.

My suggestions on how to start over.

Get the printouts for all dealership service visits, including oil changes and what not. This will likely require the cooperation of a service writer at the dealership. Do your best to give them the impression you don't blame them and that you understand they did what they could within the parameters of corporate policy. Dealerships are less likely to help you if they feel you are throwing them under the bus too.

Write a one line summary of each relevant visit where you complained about the issue. Keep it short and state facts only.

This "short" summary is your starting point for any complaints and request for assistance. Opinions sound great in blogs, but do nothing but create distractions in written complaints. Once you have this, now you can start to move forward on your complaints again. That summary would have been a much better way to start this thread requesting help.

As for the transmission, if I were paying for it, I would make sure I got nothing less than 2year/unlimited mile warranty. I wouldn't let a shop rebuild it in house either. Some things just aren't worth going too cheap on, and you can't beat the quality of a company that professionally rebuilds transmissions. Many of them are going to 3 year/unlimited mile warranty with labor covered should the rebuilt trans fail.

Actually the shop I'd bring it to I've known for 20 years, my family knows them and they rebuilt a Saab tranny once, along with a few truck ones for my family. Not just a flip in the yellow pages.

The dealer has twice failed to give me any updates for over 24 hours at this point my car has been there 10 days.

They are pretty much asking to be thrown under the bus.

 

[gatzdon]

I'm not saying go with the dealer, I'm saying only get a rebuilt transmission with 24 month/unlimited mile warranty (or better).

I also highly recommend against letting a shop rebuilt in house. I know this is just opinion, but equipment to perform highly specialized inspections and quality checks is very expensive. The smaller the shop, the less they can do. A shop can do good work, but the inspection and quality checks won't be the same.

Regardless of where the trans is rebuilt, I wouldn't settle for less than 24 month/unlimited mile warranty.

 

[Jman13]

So I am not sure if I should post this here or in a new thread, but my 2013 XLT with 72,000km now has a shot transmission. Now, so far the vehicle has been gone for a week. They are covering my rental car which I appreciate. But, I just feel like I have the right to be pissed about this. A four year old, $40,000+ vehicle that has been driven very normally should not have any transmission problems.

The vehicle would shudder when accelerating (I assume when trying to shift). I would almost feel like when you are in a manual and you don't quite get the clutch, throttle combo quite right... you don't stall but you jerk along. I called them after four days (dropped off on a thursday, called tuesday) and they said they swapped out the solenoid(s) and it didnt fix it. So now they are seeing what is "next". My honda sitting in the driveway has 165,000km and no problems. I suppose the "bright" side is that it is under warranty... ARG.