Common problems by year...

[Majisto]

Re: stuff

Originally posted by mrorayus
Same ol shizz id imagine:
Broken seat recline lever (welded back on)
Howling noise (plugged IAC filter)
Bad gas mileage (who cares)
Tires too small (got bigger ones)
Retarded running boards that drag on stray nickles
(taking them off)
Totally gutless (need gears)

I am pretty happy with my explorer. No big probs so far (87k) and I am REALLY suprised nothing has broken yet with all the wheeling I do. Good job ford! Built tough? No kidding. (except my clutch is going, but thats becuase i beat it really hard) Good thing I have a 5speed. I feel sorry for all the at guys. Those things suck.

Nah, only the A4 sucks 5R has some upgrades to make it stronger and the V-8 AT is very durable.

 

[eggsplorer]

'94 Ex with 123,000 miles on her.
The only probs I have thus far:

bad gas mileage
air conditionar hasn't worked for 2 years
need bigger tires

other than those things, she has ran perfectly

 

[mrorayus]

Ok. Now I am experencing the fabled blend door problem. I am not very happy about this one. I do not think tearing apart a 5 year old truck to replace the heater plenum is very reasonable. Oh well.
Whats worse is that Ford parts network is backordered on the plenum indefinitley. Wheeeee. Now I get to pay the dealer 300 bucks for one. That rules. I am very happy.

 

[Vozar]

I have a 98 4x4 4.0L SOHC with 89,000

I havent had any problems except the cam timing chains/tensioners which have to be replaced but the dealer has had the part backordered for like a month or two now. Other than that its pretty good.

 

[Vozar]

Hey Majisto, I know what you mean when you got vibration in your petal in overdrive, I got it too

 

[N2MUDN91]

91-transmission shot the craps,while passing in overdrive.
-a couple broken belts.
-fuel pump.
-one of my battery's blew up, not a ford default, the connections were really corroded and they were coming loose.
built ford tough

 

[farkum]

94 Exploder
when I first bought it I had to have the electronic 4 wheel drive hubs fixed. Just yesterday I stripped them out again. Going for manual hubs this time, the electronic ones are ****.

 

[Sid Daley]

1997 XLT Door Handle ( Internally )

Mechanism that allows door to open from inside
broke on rear passenger door, some plastic gear
like part. Another design flaw, the second poorly
designed part I've encountered..

Sid

 

[91'explorer 2wd]

just in 6 months

first off had 2 replace the rotors n bearings in front after like a week of owning it.
had the a/c compressor replaced. broke after 2 weeks of it on. got that one replaces again and that one lasted 3 weeks. and i have no a/c again. don't buy ur air compressors at O'reilly's cause they $uck.
some fuel line that runs from motor 2 gas tank that can only be conviently bought at the dealership(100 some bucks)

and it's not even a year that me and muh baby have been 2gether.

 

[Tony H]

1991

Previous owners experience and mine. 183000 on the clock.

Replaced Trani.

Door hinge sag.

Leather seats are cracked and ripped wayyy premature for my liking. I have older cars that look 100% better.

Radiator. Plastic tanks on aluminum fins. I don't know..Volvos hold up fine with 230000K.

Rear door hydraulics shot.

 

[Sid Daley]

Re: 1997 XLT Door Handle ( Internally )

The other poorly designed part I reffered to is cable and holder for the gear indicator. Plastic part broke and had to replace entire assembly $40..

Poor Design..

Sid

Originally posted by Sid Daley
Mechanism that allows door to open from inside
broke on rear passenger door, some plastic gear
like part. Another design flaw, the second poorly
designed part I've encountered..

Sid

 

[checkedout]

1996 XLT 4X4 4door 182,000miles

front hubs-3
Thermostat
IAC
Transmission
transfer case
rear wiper relay
shocks
brakes and rotors
battery
O2 sensors
Plugs and wires
Getting ready to replace the heads and rocker arms, sway bars and white faced gauges.

 

[TheJMan]

1993 Ford Explorer 79,000 miles, these are problems I've had with it

- A4LD Tranny (been rebuilt)
- A/C Compressor (replaced)
- Positive Battery Cable (replaced)
- 4WD Shift Motor (still needs to be fixed)
- Rear gate support shocks (replaced)
- Airbox screwholes stripped (needs to be replaced with KKM)

Other than that, just routine maintenance on this one.

 

[jsun]

99 SOHC Sport

So far...

@ 72K Kilo's, engine was removed to replace the timing chain guides, cassettes, and the problem is slowly coming back @ 98K Kilo's.

@ 80K Kilo's, Combo switch was replaced/rewired due to electrical shorting...

All was replaced and paid by Ford!!! @ their expense after Warranty. Includes free wash and cleaned interior too...

Also...

- Lower Ball joints were recently ID of requiring replacement
- Noise in driveline? (Can be heard from rear while driving)
- Rear Wiper contact prob (bent arm to fix)
- Power Seat has play in mounting
- The Mono Leafs rear azz sag
- Pass sun visor will not fold down w/out hitting r/view mirror
- Odd intermittent dim in stereo lighting
- Pass door hinge needs adjusting (door closes poorly)
- Element opened on cigarette lighter
- Rear hatch indicates "door open" on cluster the odd time (but isn't)
- Peeps in the back can barely get out unless someone from the front helps them open the door and pull the seat forward.
- Slip yoke requires grease (normal maint.)

Overall I am happy with my ride, but had wished I had read this discussion before I had proceeded with the purchase!

Cheers,
J-sun

 

[rfuree11]

164000 miles-
Replaced Fuel Pump
ECU changed under warranty
Left front hub/bearing assy. changed
Tensioner pully broke off on me 100 miles from home (my fault- when i changed the belt, it seemed fine, so i didnt change it like youre supossed to)
Transfer case leak- fixed for free


A lot of you seem to be having problems with the rear door handles- we brought ours to the dealer with the same problem with about 100k miles and they fixed it for free.

 

[Jeff]

'97 XLT with SOHC

There aren't enough 1's and O's to describe the problems I've had. I'm not even going to tell you how much I've spent on repairs not covered by the warranty but here's a quick list of what has gone wrong.

The highlights:

1. Crankshaft snapped - new engine cost $5k

2. 4WD engaged while on the freeway owing to short circuit in engagment sensors - $1.2k

3. Drivers door solenid broke away from the door. Haven't fixed that yet.

4. Blend door - will be fixed on this coming Tuesday for $900.

5. Seat recliner on passenger door - covered under warranty.

6. Water pump at 40k miles - $400

7. Timing chain and leaking intake gaskets - warranty

8. Tailgate right hinge on passenger side is breaking/cracking from the truck body. I have no idea what it will cost.

9. Buzzing from the steering column when using the turn signal. This is the dreaded short. I haven't fixed this yet.

10. IAC - I don't remember what I paid to have this fixed.

11. Annoying buzzing and flapping noise coming from under the dash. Dealer tried fixing but still is a problem. Warranty work.

12. CD player quit right after the warranty expired.

Do you all see the pattern? This doesn't include all the annoying little things such as cracked leather, fingerprints inside the gauge consule, having money from the ashtray stolen at the dealership while there for repairs, more than a thousand dollars in rental car fees, other recalls, shocks that were leaking at 50k miles that have to be replaced, oil on the carpet after repairs and if I got out all the paperwork I'm sure that there are others.

I can categorically say that despite my best maintenance efforts, this is the worst vehicle I've ever purchased and I regret doing so. Funny thing is that a Ford official just sent me a letter offering me some huge discount and great financing on a new Explorer because I'm a loyal customer. I wrote back and said that I'm not loyal to Ford because Ford hasn't been loyal to me. I invited him to look up my VIN and asked if he wanted the vehicle back. He didn't respond and I'll take that to mean that not even Ford officials want to drive their own POS vehicles.

 

[Sid Daley]

Did they fix under warranty, if not how did you convince them to fix it for free..

Sid

Originally posted by rfuree11
A lot of you seem to be having problems with the rear door handles- we brought ours to the dealer with the same problem with about 100k miles and they fixed it for free.

 

[Sid Daley]

Power windows not functioning..

They work but they only work from the main control.

Update Feb20: Windows now work, fixed themselves.


Sid

 

[rfuree11]

our dealer- Williams Ford in West Hartford is really good- they were doing some routine maintenance and noticed that it was broken, we picked it up later in the day and noticed that it worked, it was pretty sweet.

 

[MonaLeMoo]

1995 Explorer Sport, with Expedition Package

I've had it for less than a a year. I've replaced-

The Transmission (The trucks..second rebuild)

The Brakes, front and Back.

Ball Joints

Now they're saying I need an ew ransfer case....and a rear end.

Seems crappy for this to all happen to me..considering YOU guys all go off roading..and Id on't lol