gatzdon
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- July 17, 2007
- Messages
- 347
- Reaction score
- 15
- City, State
- IL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Exp XLS 4WD V6 OHV
Let me just say this up front, this sucks and I'm pretty frustrated.
In May of 2000, I bought a brand, spanking new 2000 Ford Explorer XLS 4WD OHV 6 cyl. I still have all the paperwork (33 miles on the odometer, half of which were from us test driving the vehicle).
Wife and I loved it from Day 1, and we drove the hell out of it.
Other than routine maintenance:
We had 26,339 miles on it by the FireStone recall.
Hood latch replaced at 63,511 miles.
At 167,000 miles, I replaced a single solenoid in the trans
At 185,000 miles, she spontaneously overheated while diving across Canada at 90+mph and it was almost 100 degrees out.
At 230,000 miles, a spark plug lost its positive electrode
Everything else, was expected maintenance at a reasonable age.
After 150,000 miles is when the non-routine maintenance starting rolling in (with most being after 200,000), but nothing unexpected for a vehicle with that age (upper/lower ball joints, tie rods, brakes, struts/shocks, heater valve, ECT sensor, thermostat, hub bearings, Intake manifold gasket, EGR tube, etc...)
She now has over 260,000 miles on her and she has definitely seen better days, but I STILL drive her, especially when there is snow on the road. 4WD still works, no DTC's, and even passes emissions. Power steering and oil leak a little bit, but we definitely got our money's worth out of her. I did all work and maintenance myself and have been pleasantly surprised many times at how it was engineered to make many of the repairs easy. I replaced the hub bearings only this past year and despite quite a bit of rust, it only took me less than an hour each side.
When we decided on the 2012 Explorer Limited, it was an easy decision. I grew up with Fords. I bought my '95 F-150 with only 7 miles on it and got well over 230,000 miles out of it with minimal repairs/maintenance up until the very end (even drove her to the junkyard when she needed new bearings in the rear axle, but decided it wasn't worth the time/cost).
I don't know what changed at Ford, but it has been a real shocker and my wife still teases me about our new Ford purchases (We bought the '12 Ex and a '13 Focus).
Our 2012 Ex has spent quite some time at the dealership, more than I expected.
Cooling Fan Recall
Broken Windshield Washer Sprayer (sucks when you needed it)
Broken Seat Belt (won't pull out)
Cut my hand reaching into the seat back on a metal strap from the seat heater (dealership had to disassemble seat and adjust)
Door Keypad shorts out (can't open the door)
Airbag Seatbelt's cover falls off
36,000 miles passes and the bumper to bumper warranty is expired.
39,752 Rear Brakes and Rotors (went from 6mm at 34,000)
39,752 Power Steering Recall
41,243 Brake Booster Vacuum Pump Leak spews oil all over my engine, transmission, and driveway (this they did cover under warranty)
44,778 New Battery (Seems odd to need a new battery so soon)
49,400 Check Engine Light. Pull DTC P144C. No Warranty Coverage. Troubleshoot myself and determine cause to be excessive plastic flashing on the Air Intake Duct EVAP Port. Repaired it myself.
51,741 Door Handle Recall (at least this was 'free' other than time)
51,741 Other Airbag Seatbelt's cover falls off. After three trips to the dealership, Dealership determines it's not covered under warranty. Seems odd since it's part of an airbag and it's clearly a manufacturing defect.
I didn't jot down the mileage, but I also have the following issues currently unresolved and not covered under warranty, but clearly a manufacturer's defect.
Huge hole in the roof sealant. Didn't know about it until I read it here in the forums. I pulled the interior trim back and could see the water was draining inside. This was a mold situation waiting to happen. Of course, because I didn't "notice" it before 36,000 miles, not covered under warranty.
Driver's side door split right down the fake seam stitching. I talked to the dealership about it, but they stuck to the 3year/36,000 mile warranty. Over $400 if I were to let them fix it. Since the door is black and the foam is yellow/white, it stands out pretty bad.
You try to 'group' issues together to minimize trips to the dealership, but obviously some repairs just can't wait. Even with appointments, it's still quite a bit of personal time wasted. Then of course, the dealership has to 'verify' the concern before they can order the parts, so it takes two trips to get resolved.
And then of course is the big miss that we call the MyFordTouch. I know there are people here that love theirs, but I'm still jealous of the $300 aftermarket unit in my '98 Escort that seems out outperform my MFT in every way. Only thing my Escort is missing is the steering wheel buttons. I guess I should be happy I no longer have to pull over, turn the vehicle off, open/close the door, and restart the vehicle; just to get the Bluetooth working.
I guess it could be worse. My '13 Focus has already spent over 38 days in the shop and it doesn't even have 36,000 miles on it yet.
In May of 2000, I bought a brand, spanking new 2000 Ford Explorer XLS 4WD OHV 6 cyl. I still have all the paperwork (33 miles on the odometer, half of which were from us test driving the vehicle).
Wife and I loved it from Day 1, and we drove the hell out of it.
Other than routine maintenance:
We had 26,339 miles on it by the FireStone recall.
Hood latch replaced at 63,511 miles.
At 167,000 miles, I replaced a single solenoid in the trans
At 185,000 miles, she spontaneously overheated while diving across Canada at 90+mph and it was almost 100 degrees out.
At 230,000 miles, a spark plug lost its positive electrode
Everything else, was expected maintenance at a reasonable age.
After 150,000 miles is when the non-routine maintenance starting rolling in (with most being after 200,000), but nothing unexpected for a vehicle with that age (upper/lower ball joints, tie rods, brakes, struts/shocks, heater valve, ECT sensor, thermostat, hub bearings, Intake manifold gasket, EGR tube, etc...)
She now has over 260,000 miles on her and she has definitely seen better days, but I STILL drive her, especially when there is snow on the road. 4WD still works, no DTC's, and even passes emissions. Power steering and oil leak a little bit, but we definitely got our money's worth out of her. I did all work and maintenance myself and have been pleasantly surprised many times at how it was engineered to make many of the repairs easy. I replaced the hub bearings only this past year and despite quite a bit of rust, it only took me less than an hour each side.
When we decided on the 2012 Explorer Limited, it was an easy decision. I grew up with Fords. I bought my '95 F-150 with only 7 miles on it and got well over 230,000 miles out of it with minimal repairs/maintenance up until the very end (even drove her to the junkyard when she needed new bearings in the rear axle, but decided it wasn't worth the time/cost).
I don't know what changed at Ford, but it has been a real shocker and my wife still teases me about our new Ford purchases (We bought the '12 Ex and a '13 Focus).
Our 2012 Ex has spent quite some time at the dealership, more than I expected.
Cooling Fan Recall
Broken Windshield Washer Sprayer (sucks when you needed it)
Broken Seat Belt (won't pull out)
Cut my hand reaching into the seat back on a metal strap from the seat heater (dealership had to disassemble seat and adjust)
Door Keypad shorts out (can't open the door)
Airbag Seatbelt's cover falls off
36,000 miles passes and the bumper to bumper warranty is expired.
39,752 Rear Brakes and Rotors (went from 6mm at 34,000)
39,752 Power Steering Recall
41,243 Brake Booster Vacuum Pump Leak spews oil all over my engine, transmission, and driveway (this they did cover under warranty)
44,778 New Battery (Seems odd to need a new battery so soon)
49,400 Check Engine Light. Pull DTC P144C. No Warranty Coverage. Troubleshoot myself and determine cause to be excessive plastic flashing on the Air Intake Duct EVAP Port. Repaired it myself.
51,741 Door Handle Recall (at least this was 'free' other than time)
51,741 Other Airbag Seatbelt's cover falls off. After three trips to the dealership, Dealership determines it's not covered under warranty. Seems odd since it's part of an airbag and it's clearly a manufacturing defect.
I didn't jot down the mileage, but I also have the following issues currently unresolved and not covered under warranty, but clearly a manufacturer's defect.
Huge hole in the roof sealant. Didn't know about it until I read it here in the forums. I pulled the interior trim back and could see the water was draining inside. This was a mold situation waiting to happen. Of course, because I didn't "notice" it before 36,000 miles, not covered under warranty.
Driver's side door split right down the fake seam stitching. I talked to the dealership about it, but they stuck to the 3year/36,000 mile warranty. Over $400 if I were to let them fix it. Since the door is black and the foam is yellow/white, it stands out pretty bad.
You try to 'group' issues together to minimize trips to the dealership, but obviously some repairs just can't wait. Even with appointments, it's still quite a bit of personal time wasted. Then of course, the dealership has to 'verify' the concern before they can order the parts, so it takes two trips to get resolved.
And then of course is the big miss that we call the MyFordTouch. I know there are people here that love theirs, but I'm still jealous of the $300 aftermarket unit in my '98 Escort that seems out outperform my MFT in every way. Only thing my Escort is missing is the steering wheel buttons. I guess I should be happy I no longer have to pull over, turn the vehicle off, open/close the door, and restart the vehicle; just to get the Bluetooth working.
I guess it could be worse. My '13 Focus has already spent over 38 days in the shop and it doesn't even have 36,000 miles on it yet.
