Common problems by year...

[MonaLeMoo]

Originally posted by 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

Forget to mention the recline lever on the drivers side fell off too LOL Good thing it was at a good spot lol

 

[BadBrad]

'98 5.0 XLT AWD, 83K miles

Used for occasionally towing a racecar, ski trips, bad weather, etc. It has been a good truck.

Problems:
- ABS module failed after 1 week, replaced under warranty
- Idle air control valve failed at 60K miles
- ABS wheel sensor failed at 75K miles
- Radio display failed
- Various squeaks and rattles

From the posts here, it appears that the V8 Explorers are more reliable, but it just may be that there are a lot more V6 ones sold. I know folks that used V6 Explorers as tow vehicles, and they seemed to replacing transmissions every 20K miles. Mine is still going strong at 83K.

BB

 

[PghBill]

97 XLT

'97 XLT OHV 4x4 Automatic 86K miles

(Big) Problems since buying used in '02 @ 56K miles

Blend door broke/fixed
Lower ball joint/replaced
Front wheel bearing & hub assembly/replaced
Brake pads/replaced twice
Rear parking shoes - mechanism rusted/replaced

 

[keith h]

96 5.0 XLT. Had to replace the rack and later the power steering pump also. 122k miles. Thought the rack was odd, that was only at about 70k. Fuel pump at 100k.

 

[shadow]

2002 EDDIE BAUER 4x4

4x4 low not engaging / wiring harness fell from trans tunnel onto driveshaft and chewed the loom and three wires. easy fix 42,000 miles

rear end whining at 55-60mph on accelleration, needs gears since new / ford says no problem would not fix.
I am an ex ford mechanic, and say bullxxxx!!!!!!!!

plastic trim across bottom edge of glass for the liftgate cracked right down the middle.
you say big deal, its glues to the glass itself, its about 6 or 7 inches tall and has the blue ford oval right in the middle of the crack / the fix? replace the glass liftgate

 

[shadow]

2002 EDDIE BAUER 4x4

4x4 low not engaging / wiring harness fell from trans tunnel onto driveshaft and chewed the loom and three wires. easy fix 42,000 miles

rear end whining at 55-60mph on accelleration, needs gears since new / ford says no problem would not fix.
I am an ex ford mechanic, and say bullxxxx!!!!!!!!

plastic trim across bottom edge of glass for the liftgate cracked right down the middle.
you say big deal, its glues to the glass itself, its about 6 or 7 inches tall and has the blue ford oval right in the middle of the crack / the fix? replace the glass liftgate NO THANKS

METAL TO METAL squeaking popping coming from left front under drivers foot / loosen and adjust body mount and then tighten the ever living xxxx out of the bolt and no more squeaking.

 

[Rodeo Joe]

1997 XLT 4.0 SOHC

We've owned this for about 2.5 years now. We are the third owner, bought it from my wife's sister who bought from a Ford dealer with 30K miles and it just turned 95K. She was pretty good on the maintenance and had all the recalls taken care of. But of course we have the wear and tear issues to deal with. I transferred the extended warranty, best $30 I ever spent!

Replaced brakes all around
Replaced tires
Replaced the battery
Replaced the IAC (starting issue)
Replaced plugs and wires
Rear end rebuilt
Replaced upper and lower control arms (warranty)
Replaced all 02 sensors (warranty)
Replaced rear wiper motor (warranty)
Replaced tranny - twice! (1 under warranty)

Now it needs shocks and I'm getting a thumping, binding noise in the front end on right hand turns. Shop can't seem to find it, says everything looks good. Wife is sick of the money pit, but I like it!

Joe

 

[mrmoose000]

What fun

Could you imagine if we all had Toyota's? We would have nothing to talk about except the fact that we were never able to take a wrench to our rides

94 Explorer Limited

-Front brake calipers done 3 times (going in this weekend for number 4...new Ford ones this time)
-Armrest broken to all heck
-Door hinge busted (doors about to fall off)
-Inner door handle came flying off when I closed the door
-Blew all my speakers
-MAF sensor
-Tranny something or other (not much $$$)
-"7" Flat tires in 2 years (world record?)
-Auto to Manual hubs
-Alignment always sucks
-Locking mechanisms on doors make noise and some don't unlock

Through all of this I have to say I love my explorer...its like a hot woman...you know if it looks good it has to be HIGH MAINTANENCE...the Explorer is the only car I will ever buy

 

[Koolhand]

2002 XLS bought used with 27000 miles.

*Timing chain tensioner TSB

*Tranny PCM reprogrammed to newer calibration.
to fix hard engagement.

*Solenoid Body replaced in tranny to fix "slip". NOT!!!

*Valve Body "serviced" to fix "slip". Better, but still does it sometimes.

*Both Horn's replaced.

*MAF replaced.

*Engine decarbed to fix spark knock condition. NOT!!!

*New cooler line to fix tranny leak. NOT!!!

Get to go BACK to the dealer so they can try it again.

 

[William Schumacher]

1) 00M12 {cam chain tensioner}
2) 2 bad hubs,one done under warranty.....the other wasn't.
3) IAC valve replacement. { after my warranty eneded}
4) upper ball joints "both sides" again not covered,
decided to also do the lowers when the uppers were being done with Moog parts. they now have grease nippples. {both the uppers did not happen at the same time....the left went then 7 months later the right side went}
5) horn replacement under warranty
6) rear wiper motor/arm replaced under warranty
7) rotors replaced,went with slotted ART all around due to warpage in the front 2.

and the biggy....this just happened recently
#8) Tranny Overhaul at 61k, again not covered......
ford wanted $3k for the job,I got ahold of a local place that rebuilt mine for $1700.took a week to complete.

I've been pleased with my truck up until the latest tranny job....and the fact that ford doesn't include a decent power-train warranty....
at least do a 7/70 like dodge does....
this will most probably be my last ford due to poor warranty coverage on the power-train.

 

[Sid Daley]

1997 XLT Door Handle ( External )

Still haven't got around to fixing the broken internal door handle, now my drivers door handle broke and has no feel to it although the door will still open with it. These type of issues are simply poor designs and cost cutting as to the quality of the parts. I've never had these types of issues with other vehicles and frankly Ford's "Quality Is Job One" slogan is marketing cr@p.


Sid

 

[ohfugit]

1993 sport manual 127k

Being that this was a high milage vehicle I went through it before putting it into service.

Both door hinges sag (1 fixed)
ign switch replaced
loose front wheel bearings
speed sensor
r&r transfer case shift motor
arm rest missing
ac compressor missing clutch(not fixed yet)
ac vents missing vanes
engine leaks a small amount of oil
1 rust spot on door opening
loose tie rod end.
bushing on clutch pedal
shifter r&r
Radius arm bushings

other
Changed all fluids from front to back, brakes,clutch, ps, all of them.
EE sway bars
K&N and chrome tube
cargo lock rear mat setup.
Apten switched chip (on the way)
Almost all of this with the exception of the allignment and RA bushings I did myself.

 

[Katmandu]

Originally posted by ok89
1998 XLT 4x2 SOHC Automatic
Problems:
The Engine Recalls
Rear Wiper no work
Radio Display no work

will update as more arise.

Yup. Mine has the SAME issues.

Plus the following...

- Idle Pulley failed at 65k miles.
- Power driver's seat rocks
- 00M12 Intake gasket recall
- Crappy Goodyear RT/S tires replaced with Revos

Main thing that sucks is the handling. Steering is extremely sensitive to inputs and oversteers bad. Alignment is right on BTW.

Other than that, it's been a GREAT truck!

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

1996 4x4 4.0 ohv 83,000 miles

stuff that will be fixed before i start to drive
need's a windshild
need's a good Alignment
need's tires
need's a battery(stock OEM motorcraft with 83k on it)

stuff that's gone..but not when i owned it..i have the
entire history on it and this is what all it's had go

blend door(under warrenty at 33k)
tranny(replaced in Aug 2003)

 

[jaydublyew]

2000 Sport 4.0 SOHC 4 x 4

Rear wiper with a mind of it's own.
Cold idle issues.

 

[Brian97V8]

1997 XLT V8 AWD

No real problems so far.

 

[Reggie Newton]

'99 XLT 5.0L AWD

So far with 102,000+ miles

* Dealer damaged the front end when a fan fell on it, they fixed.
* was supposed to take it in to the dealer to replace all of the window seals, but warranty ran out
* Had the seat 6-way adjuster replaced under warranty
* Had the windshield replaced from when I sprayed cold water on it in the sun.
* replaced the battery
* replaced the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel
* Put Goodyear tires on it when Firestones were recalled, they went to hell, so I put my Jeep YJ GY's on it, no trouble since.

 

[dudewhtsup]

03

03 back lift window replaced 2 times due to faulty rubber garrments that keep popping off causing the window to rub with the lift gate the damn X only has 15000 miles on it. all replaced under warrenty.

 

[ddenton749]

Sounds like a lot but...

1993 XLT 200,000 miles. Bought the car in 1997 with 40k miles

LR Power window switch
Window master switch fusable link (Recall)
Front brakes every 6-8 months
Two batteries
Rear brakes once
Heater core twice
Fuel Pump
Air by-pass valve (Probably not needed)
Transmission torque converter
Intake manifold gaskets
Cooling fan (cracked)
Cooling fan clutch
Tailgate door support brackets (Recall)
Water pump
Replaced all cooling system hoses (PM)
Replaced fan belt three times (PM)
Left lower ball joint
Drivers door hinge
Brake light switch four times
A/C conversion to R134 (W/ accumulator)
4WD motor
Transmission Vacuum modulater
Radius arm bushings
All three brake hoses (198k miles)
Alternator (198k miles)
Radiator (197k miles)
Transmission pan gasket

In spite of all this, it has been a great car and I'll drive it into the gound. I do all of my own work so it's still cheaper than a car payment.

 

[sailorman3]

1992 XL

256,000 Km

Had this truck since new.

Replaced clutch (only twice)
Complete front and rear brakes (twice)
rear shocks
front shocks
rebuilt front drive shaft
front end pinion seal
A/C needs charging
Small area of rust around back gas cap (getting painted tomorrow)

And thats it besides regular tune ups, oil changes etc...