Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer sport. The contacted was driving 35 MPH when white smoke emitted from the fender of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and discovered flames were coming from under the hood. The vehicle was destroyed. The police and fire departments were contacted and reports were filed. The failure caused no injuries. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and the current mileages were 126,000.
2001 Ford Explorer Sport engine problems
21 complaints (11% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 50,000. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 21
- of this car's complaints
- 11%
- typical mileage
- 50,000
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine: gasoline5
- Engine4
- Exhaust system: emission control3
- Exhaust system2
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe1
- Exhaust system: emission control: catalytic convertor1
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 engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
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 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
At 2100-2300 RPM on acceleration a pinging sound is heard that sounds like spark knock (detonation). The actual cause is from defective timing chain guides which allows slack in the timing chains (4.0 engines has one in front and one in rear) and is causing it to rattle and eat away at the guides. This is commonly known as the "rattle of death" on the ford 4.0 engines because once the plastic on the guides gets eaten away by the loose timing chain, it eats into the metal support and create metal shavings throughout the engine which will cause failure, if the chain does not fall off first. This is a well known and well documented problem due to cheap timing chain guides.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford explorer. While driving at speed at 15 MPH, the vehicle lost electrical power and the engine stalled. The steering became very difficult to maneuver and the contact was unable to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over as a result of the failure. The police arrived on the scene and the driver sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was taken to a local body shop to be serviced. The failure recurred intermittently and was then taken to an authorized dealer for service. The failure continued to recur intermittently. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 1,500 and the current mileage was 40,000. Updated 05/21/10.*lj the consumer stated the failure would happen when first starting to drive. Updated 10/14/10
Vehicle caught fire. Vehicle was not running at the time. Vehicle destroyed by fire.
This is a 7 year old vehicle and it seems as though recalls continue. This vehicle has a chain guide problem that seems to be major. We now either need a new motor or we have to have it replaced for 2,500.00 everywhere we check. Major problem. Not that old of a vehicle.
Check engine light on and running a little rough in cold wet weather.
Dt: owns 2001 ford explorer, both driver and passenger are pregnant. Had just entered interstate and was driving about 70 MPH and tried to slow down to about 65mph. Tried to tap brake but heard engine rev up and it immediately sped back up. Tapped brake again and knew something was wrong. Engaged hazard lights and tried to pull off road. Down shifted to 2nd gear,then to 1st, and slowed to about 50 MPH. Tried to engage emergency brake with no luck. Was using both brakes while traveling in the grass uphill. When it slowed to about 15-20 MPH passenger jumped from vehicle. Vehicle continued to rev up, driver let off brake while trying to escape and was slung from vehicle. The explorer went back and crossed 4 lanes of traffic, entered onto service road where it struck a tree. From there the vehicle accelerated up the tree up-rooting it. The tires caught fire and bystander tried to put out the fire with an ice chest and again it caught on fire.
While driving 40 MPH, the SRS light, ABS light and check engine light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. Suddenly, the front wheels locked and the vehicle flipped over. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. The cause has not been determined at this time. Please provide further details.
Problems with tire equipment on 2001 explorer sport.*mr while driving the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the emissions sensor needed to be replaced. The technician indicated that the cost of the repair would be $240.57 and that the replacement would take about 45 minutes because the sensor was difficult to get to. The consumer requested that the old part be returned to him. When the consume got home he opened the hood and saw that the sensor was extremely accessible on the top right of the engine. The consumer fells the cost of the repair was not reasonable.
Intermittently while driving at 55 MPH vehicle stalled and hesitated. A mechanic determined that the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced.
Questions about the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport engine
Does the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport have engine problems?
Owners have filed 21 complaints about the engine of the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport, 11% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Explorer Sport engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 50,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford Explorer Sport have bad engine?
The Ford Explorer Sport model years with the most engine complaints are 2001 (21 complaints), 1998 (12 complaints) and 1999 (10 complaints).
Other 2001 Ford Explorer Sport problems
Suspension 32Body 30Transmission 26Seats 15Acceleration 14Brakes 14Airbags 13Tires 12Electrical 9Seat belts 8Steering 8Visibility 8Lights 4Locks 4Fuel system 1
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