What problems has your Ex had?

[Dave 1955]

The most comprehensive list you will find.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/

Pretty neat site.

 

[colintrax]

I've repaired/replaced more than I care to think but its always got me home and that poor truck has seen hell you can't even imagine

 

[Joe in NY]

ugh.. great... Well I asked my uncle to see how much it would be for his tans guy to put a transgo reprogramming kit in... My uncle said biggest killer is that because of no fill tube or DIPSTICK people neglected the 5 speeds and that killed em... Guess I'm too used to Chevy, they give everything so you can service you truck lol

 

[jremington59]

When I'm looking for Explorers I don't even consider the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 or 2006. Somehow Ford blew it bad after 2001.

 

[1992fordgreen]

1996 Ford Explorer 4x4:

Tie rod ends broke off
Transmission failed at 200k then was overhauled
Radiator cracked at least once
Rear lug studs broke off

No timing chain rattle or anything, engine is spotless.

*EDIT had it for a year (all of these things happened)

 

[Joe in NY]

When I'm looking for Explorers I don't even consider the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 or 2006. Somehow Ford blew it bad after 2001.

Huh, yeah. It seems ford blew it with a lot cars... Our friends are having absolute rotten luck with their 2005 Eddie Bauer Expedition. It only has 120K and is garge kept. It already has a brad new fuel system from in the in the tank up to the motor. A BRAND NEW 5.4L 3V triton and just more and more seems to be going wrong. On top of that the roof is rusting bad! Our 2007 Suburban is kept OUTDOORS has 137K miles on it and we off road with it. No a single bit of rust on the roof (the underside however...) and compared to our friends we have had it easy with our 07 Burb, we are very lucky though, the motor should have been rebuilt by now due to it being the first year of the GEN IV motors...

Friends Expedition:

also, every day that my explorer sits waiting for me, my uncles friends and landlord want to buy it more. So far I have been offered $7,000 cash for it. I only paid $5,600... If the price goes up, I might consider the offer...

 

[66427]

The whole front suspension has to be done every few years.
but considering that the truck has been through 17 Canadian Winters with salt on the roads, QUOTE]

I understand the cold and salt...I've driven enough VT Winters, but a new front end every few years???

I've got 13 years and almost 160k and it's starting to look like a new set of ball joints.

Maybe.

 

[66427]

Waterpump at 130k, exaust leak between the head and manifold that I used as an excuse to put on headers.
And the CD changer quit working.

 

[DjDom]

The whole front suspension has to be done every few years.
but considering that the truck has been through 17 Canadian Winters with salt on the roads, QUOTE]

I understand the cold and salt...I've driven enough VT Winters, but a new front end every few years???

I've got 13 years and almost 160k and it's starting to look like a new set of ball joints.

Maybe.

By whole suspension I mean Shocks, Ball Joints and Tie rods. So yeah.

 

[JimMadsen]

Ford blew a lot of things over past 10 years. How many ford ambulances are you seeing that are new? Police cars? Taxis?

Ford had those markets locked up with a dozen padlocks. Now..... Not so much.
Ambulances had a bad tranny with the engine. Think the mechanics claimed something like half the life.

 

[Joe in NY]

Speaking of which, have you seen any of the new propane buses? I looked them....

They take the Ford 6.8L V10 which was so so to begin with, convert it to propane, then take the light duty 2500 series transmission for the V10 and throw it into a 30,000lb school bus! When I was in high school I asked one of the mechanics and he told me all about them... The mechanics are not allowed to service the buses because they are propane, not diesel, so they have to go to the dealer for almost everything, second the transmissions are already showing signs of great stress, my school only had them for one year at the time, third the motors will not last long, here in up state NY we have hills, some big hills, and the motors rev about 4,500~5,000 rpm to climb those hills... That will sure make the motor and transmission last long...

Also, I must say, that I am sad to see the crown vic going away. They were so cheap to fix, I can already imagine the police departments needing bigger budgets for the Tahoes they keep buying and uni-body cars that die easy...

Its a great example of a good ol' American car: Big 4 door car on a real frame, V8 under the hood, a transmission with less than 4 speeds (we don't need more than that lol), rear wheel drive, and a floater... just missing a Big Block and a 5,000lb+ curb weight haha...

 

[The Captain]

I think Ford Explorers get a bad rep because of they are a family wagon truck and allot of people who own them don't maintain them.

I've own 3 Explorer's A 92 4x4 w/ the optional off road mags, 1996 2WD V8 and my current wheels 2000 Limited AWD.

I've noticed is they go through radiators quick (my 96 went through 3 in 5 years?), Endlinks and shocks. I've never had to replace a Tranny but then again I've very gentle with my transmissions and keep them happy.

What I've notices is you either get a really awesome one which is super dependable or you get a Lemon that becomes a money pit. My 96 was a v8 but that thing went through 2 Timing chains, 3 radiators, 2 water pumps and the wiring harness was really spooky. The Explorer once shut off completely when I was driving on the freeway at night?

My favorite one has to be my 92. LOVED that one. I didn't have to do anything except replace the radiator and tires. Super dependable. I wish I kept it.

My current one which is a Limited has every option known to man on that this. I'm not to huge on AWD but it does great in the snow and rain. With the seats I feel like I'm sitting on a couch. Weird little things have been going out mainly electronic gizmos like the MPG gauge and the computer thing are little off and the rear windshield wiper went out.

 

[koda2000]

there are a list of common problems, but most of them are simple fixes.

overhead console display goes blank
Mach radio display goes blank
SOHC V6 timing chain issues
V6 transmissions are a bit weak
radiators, especially if you don't flush your system and install new with a new rad cap
SOHC plastic thermostat housing cracks/leaks
OE ball joints wear out pretty fast (not grease-able and boots rot/rip)
AWD/4WD cheap aftermarket front hub assemblies don't last very long
OE front sway-bar end links break
interior and exterior door handles break
the rear wipers never work and don't work very well even when they do
water pump bolts tend to break during removal on V8's
window and lock wires break in the driver's door jam and the pink/grn wire going to the RAP module corrodes at the splice near the back seat.
front map light foil tape breaks when changing bulbs
everything else is just normal stuff that wear out on any old car. I still love them.

 

[J_C]

I guess I've been lucky but mine is only at 100K mi.

Recall Work (no problems with these things at the time of replacement): Throttle body replacement, Cruise Control, Secondary Hood Latch, Firestone Tires, Left Front Seat Bolt

Warranty Covered Work vs mileage

Thermostat 22K mi.
Steering Squeak (don't remember what they did to fix this) 25K


After warranty or warranty excluded:

2nd Thermostat 36K mi.
AC Accumulator and Recharge 37K
Hood Struts 51K
Driver Door Latch (spring) 59K
Rear Door Latch spring - ??K - never repaired, worked still after lubed
2nd pair Hood Struts 71K
Exhaust Hanger + pipe heat shields rusted loose, had to be strapped down 75K
Fr. Sway Bar Links 85K
Blower Motor Resistor Module 85K
Rocker Panel +, Rust Repair 87K
Door Hinge-Boot Wire Broken ~ 90K
Radio Noise on AM started (never fixed, don't listen to AM much, disconnected and cleaned antenna connectors with no improvement) 95K
Sagging Rear End, Load-adjust coil-over shocks 95K
Muffler starting to tell me it wants to retire 100K

... and the other usual things. Batteries, brakes/rotors, tires, wipers, shocks, belts, filters, bulbs, etc., though I may be forgetting something.

 

[rkh58]

Intake manifold gaskets
Brake lines
2 Mufflers and 1 Tailpipe
A couple of Power Window Switches
I've been really lucky seeing how this is a daily driver with over 184,000 miles on it.

 

[wisconsin5.0]

97 XLT 5.0 AWD, 242k!
ball joints, and more ball joints! upper cont arms shocks(front & rear)
Spindle/hub assy's L&R front sway bar links & mounts twice, all brakes,
power stearing cooler, fan clutch, tensioner, serp belt, alternator, upper gaskets, egr cleaned, water pump, timing chain, harmonic balancer, fuel pump, filter, trans flush, tranfercase flush, rear end flush, rear seals.

Keep in mind most of these were prior to any thing catastrophic. Also after a month and a half of going up and down the wiring, after finally finding another thread, I will be replacing the PCM( for 30 bucks at the bone yard I shoulda done this first ) oh well hope it works shes been down for a while