2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine problems

19 complaints (11% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 92,000. 1 crash reported.

owner complaints: 19
of this car's complaints: 11%
typical mileage: 92,000
crashes: 1
recalls: 0

Which part fails

Engine
3
Exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)
2
Engine: gasoline
2
Exhaust system
1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k

25k-50k

50k-75k

75k-100k

100k-125k

125k-150k

150k-175k

175k-200k

200k+

Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine problems in other years

Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Stalling 5

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Related investigations

Spark plug ejection from cylinder headOpened September 22, 2005, closed January 4, 2006

On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.

DP05005

What 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed May 18, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 136,000 miles · TX

Car takes about 3 to 5 tries to start. I replaced gas pump, plugs, cables, temp sensor, still takes long to start.o/d off light started flashing, and now it has a rough gear change I believe from 2nd to 3rd

Filed Dec 4, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 170,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that the vehicle randomly failed to start upon turning the key numerous times. The dealer (pegues-hurst ford, 200 tx-63 spur, longview, tx 75601, (903) 758-6211) was contacted and indicated that they would need to determine if they could replicate and diagnose the failure. The contact was advised to schedule an appointment with the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer issued 12 technical service bulletins (tsbs) for the electrical system, 52 tsbs for the engine, and 3 tsbs for the fuel system gasoline, but the contact was uncertain as to which part caused the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

Filed Dec 18, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 202,556 miles · GA

On sunday the night before the incident the vehicle was used that day. In the afternoon around 3 pm it was taken to get gassed up for the work week. The next morning was chilly and it was started to warm the vehicle up. However, the vehicle didn't start at all. The dash lights, interior-exterior lights all have power to include power locks and windows. The battery tested good, the starter and solenoid tested good. The wire to the solenoid from the battery has power. The vehicle had not shown signs of faulty starting. Two to 3 times before this incident none of the lights would work but then miraculously work again. When the lights would work I'm mean the headlights, left and right turn signal, etc. It seemed the one way to get them to work again would be to adjust the steering wheel but that didn't always work. Why is this vehicle not starting when the day before is was working just fine and had not given any signs of failure?

Filed Apr 11, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 129,001 miles · CA

The rising price of gas discouraged me from using my sport trac (st) often, so it was garaged during the work week. On the weekends, I usually drove the st to run errands around town. On jan 28, 2012, I drove less than a mile when my st began losing throttle response and an unfamiliar clattering can be heard generated in the engine bay. I quickly realized that this was not normal, so I proceeded to pull over. I then took the truck to a mechanic near my location. The mechanic after extensive diagnosis determined that the timing chain tensioner had failed, along with timing chain guides which shattered into multiple pieces (photos available). The timing chain and its components are suppose to last for a lifetime of the vehicle, and hence ford provided no information or provision for its maintenance. The repair was expensive, because it required the removal of the engine which is based on the sohc design having its right camshaft driven by a timing chain located behind the engine near the firewall. A recall of the timing chain guides and tensioner should be made because of the common problem this has been for this engine design, sohc 4.0l after the removal of the engine and timing chain guide replacement, my vehicle began to experience transmission failure. The transmission registered an error on my dashboard, and after consultation with an expert, required a transmission rebuild. The cost of the engine and the transmission rebuild has been very expensive to say the least. The unpredictable nature of this failures would compromise safety during high speed operations. I hope the federal safety agency will review complaints regarding timing chain and transmission failures, which should reveal a pattern of design failures at ford. Interestingly, ford had issued a recall for the timing chain tensioners and engine removal to repair chain guides in the past.

Filed May 26, 2011 · Engine · 172,000 miles · CT

Ford 2001 sport trac spark plug blew out of head.

Filed Feb 13, 2011 · Engine · TX

I am the owner of a 2001 explorer sport trac. 3 different times it has ejected the rear spark plug from the engine. I've spent a lot of money getting it reparied. Each repair has failed. Each repair shop has been very familiar with the problem. This certainly cannot be safe. Ford should do something for such a poor design of its engines.

Filed May 12, 2008 · Engine · 70,000 miles · OH

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that his check engine light illuminated. A diagnostic was performed and the dealer stated that the egr sensor failed. The dealer and manufacturer stated that there were no open recalls available pertaining to his VIN; therefore, it was excluded from recall number 02m01s6. The contact is responsible for the repair costs. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Apr 9, 2007 · Engine · 84,000 miles · PA

Tl*- the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer sport tract with a failure mileage of 84,000 miles. The contact was driving under wet conditions at about 35 MPH when the vehicle made a hard jerk and then lost power. The contact tried to restart the vehicle, but it would not turn over. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic, who found that there was water in the engine and the timing gear had failed. The contact had been to the dealer several times about this problem before the failure happened. The contact had the engine replaced, and found that the engine's failure was due to recall 00m12 concerning the timing chain of which the federal safety agency had no record. *ak the consumer states that even though the truck is a 2001, it should be listed on the recall because it was manufactured in august 2000. The consumer has provided the repair invoice. Update 05/04/07

Filed Mar 19, 2007 · Engine · 92,000 miles · OH

Ford explorer sport trac timing belt tensioner broke at 38,000 broke again at 92,000

Filed Jun 12, 2005 · Engine · 57,260 miles · NY

Purchased the truck from backus ford on the 15th of feb and noticed it had a rough idle and when turing the truck right or left in the idle speed it would almost stall. It has been back to the dealer four times to solve this problem but it is still there and does the same thing .it acts like it is missing. Backus has gone thru all specs on it and cannot find the problem. I think it might be a chip or computer problem but they (the dealer) does not. Has any one else had this problem

Questions about the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine

Does the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac have engine problems?

Owners have filed 19 complaints about the engine of the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 11% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 92,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engine?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Ford Explorer Sport Trac have bad engine?

The Ford Explorer Sport Trac model years with the most engine complaints are 2002 (24 complaints), 2007 (21 complaints) and 2001 (19 complaints).