2002 Ford Explorer Sport transmission problems

Filed Sep 13, 2015 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · CA

The transmission of our 2002 explorer started slipping, jumping, jerking' surging, refusing to shift, shifting slowly and other associated things approximately 4 years ago. There is no consistency, it does it whenever it wants, regardless of the speed, outside temperature, driving distance. I feel ford owes me a new, redesigned transmission with installation. I would like to know what ford is doing about the problem with the transmission which was installed in this model and year explorers.

Filed Feb 7, 2015 · Engine, Transmission · 80,000 miles · WI

Started my vehicle it made a clunking noise then died. The timing chain broke and broke all the valves off the motor.

Filed Jan 15, 2013 · Steering, Transmission · 138,156 miles · CO

When trying to shift car from drive into park, the gear shift lever broke off inside the steering column and fell of in my hand. The car was still in drive and I turned off the ignition. The key could not be removed and the car was towed to the dealership. To repair this linkage part, the entire steering column had to be replaced, at a cost of over $1800. I called ford to report the incident and was told that they have no record of something like this ever happening before. They said they would add the incident to their database. I told them that I felt this was a serious safety issue and that this needs to be referred to engineering or quality assurance for investigation before someone gets injured or killed. I got the impression that ford was not going to do anything with this information.

Filed Sep 7, 2011 · Body, Suspension · 90,500 miles · FL

I just purchased a used 2002 ford explorer sport on 08/06/2011 so that I had a vehicle that I could take the kids on camping trips. On 09/04/2011 on our way to daytona beach I noticed the car was pushing and swerving in both directions, I had just put brand new tires on it and replaced both the upper control arms and all 4 ball joints and had an alignment done, I thought that it's a bigger vehicle than what I'm used to and had been a slightly windy. On the way home on monday 09/05/2011 it was even worse, I could feel the body rolling the car pushing ect.. I pulled over and checked the front suspension. There appeared to be nothing wrong. I crawled home a nervous wreck. When we unload the car at home I noticed the car was sagging in the left rear.I crawled under the vehicle. I noticed 2 big issues, 1st the coil spring is broken were lucky it didn't pop out and shred a tire, and 2nd all of the body mount bushings are completely crumbling or just plain gone. Talk about dangerous. I went online and there seems to be thousands of complaints for the 2002 explorers on blogs and ford forums and tons of sites for complaints for automobiles for all models of this vehicle for the exact same things. I have also seen numerous other complaints on this vehicle for other equipment failures one of them being a whining noise coming from the rearend of the car which I thought was the tires, but apparently it is an improperly engineered differential that ford will not fix or admit that there is a problem with although there are a couple of technical bulletins out on it. They are just lucky that my children were not injured. How dare they not accept any responsibility to take care of these vehicles that they engineered and sold, used or not. If you manufacture an unsafe vehicle and a defective vehicle you should be responsible. Is it gonna take a father and his children being killed.

Filed Aug 3, 2011 · Transmission · 128,796 miles · IL

Overdrive light began to flicker on and off, and the transmission would not shift properly. Would stay in a lower gear during acceleration as the RPM continued to climb. Had stored codes diagnosed with the following: p0732 (gear 2 incorrect ratio), p0733 (gear 3 incorrect ratio), p0734 (gear 4 incorrect ratio). Was advised not to continue to drive vehicle. Required complete transmission rebuild (by an independent including upgrades) including the replacement of the torque converter due to excessive metal filings throughout. Total cost $2581.60. The vehicle has never been used for towing (no hitch) and is not abused. . Investigation on the web reveals this transmission failure to be quite common, citing weaknesses in the original design. Creates a potentially hazardous driving condition because the failure can occur at any time at which point the erratic behavior could lead to an accident.

Filed Sep 8, 2010 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · NY

2002 ford explorer. O/d light blinking. Slow gear shifting. Random jerking of car. Have read this on many websites and even people that have had a rebuild or solenoid replaced, just happens again. Is also dangerous, because once changes gears, MPH jumps very high, very quickly with no control over it.

Filed Jul 20, 2010 · Transmission · VA

Driving my 2002 ford explorer with my daughter in the back seat, when the o/d light starts to flash and the car becomes jerky, then locks into gear so I brake put it in park and turn the car off for a bit , turn it back on and the o/d flashes and I managed to make it home but only going slow as concerned for the safety of myself and my child. I let the car sit for a few days and had my husband drive it around the neighborhood and it got stuck in gear on him twice. We've contacted a transmission shop and they said in this year and model it has been very common for the transmission to be rebuilt or replaced. They recommended to have it repaired and either put the car up for sale or repair it as in their experience they transmission will probably go again in a year or 2.. Ford need to accept that there is an issue and own up to their mistakes, they can't expect people to just sit back and accept it. Something needs to be done about the issue, if I was traveling at a higher speed when it first started who knows what could of happened, I may not of been able to keep control and something serious may of been but luckily it wasn't, but we don't want to read about the person who couldn't keep control.

Filed May 4, 2010 · Transmission · 104,000 miles · AZ

My 2002 explorer sport o/d light began blinking when I bought it in feb 09. The car has about 104,000 miles on it. Soon after I bought the car, the transmission slipped. I took it to the mechanic and they could not reproduce the problem. About a year later, 4/29/10, the o/d light began blinking again. I had the transmission serviced and a diagnostic test ran on the transmission. This cost about $300. On 5/3/10 I took my explorer in again because the light came back on. They ran another test and told me I would have to get the transmission replaced or rebuilt but it should last me a little while longer. That same evening my car would not shift into gear. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on to get it into gear. I could not go over 5mph and my RPM's were unnaturally high for the speed I was traveling. By the time I got up the hill I was on I could go no further. My car would not go into any gear. I finally had to park on the side of the road in the middle of the night and walk home. I have read numerous complaints (over 300) on the 2002 ford explorer transmission and their poor performance or lack thereof. A recall would be much appreciated, as this defect in the transmission is due to poor vehicle construction, not typical wear and tear. All my family drives is ford, however after this incident I do not have much faith in ford. Given the opportunity, I would rather go with a foreign car next time.

Filed Mar 10, 2010 · Transmission · 88,397 miles · AZ

Transmission o/d light started coming on and blinking periodically with hard shifting or slipping and car lurching forward before shifting. O/d stops working after o/d light starts blinking. Had transmission solenoids adjusted last year but only helped slightly then back to slipping again. Only have 88,000 miles on vehicle with good care and no towing ever.

Filed Mar 3, 2010 · Transmission · 133,000 miles · NC

O/d light comes on and care will not go into gear (transmission). Pulling off from a stop light is a major problem and on the highway the car does not seem to want to go. Cars are flying by and all I can do to keep from causing an incident was to let up off the gas and press down on the gas hoping it will change the gear. I almost caused and accident on the first experience with the transmission.