Spark plug blew out of cylinder head while driving under normal conditions, could have caused fire had to replace the cylinder head instead of a tap kit to avoid metal shavings ruining the engine.
2002 Ford Explorer engine complaints
Page 6 of 8: complaints 131 to 160 of 213, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Persistent quality problems: engine, transmission, power steering, air compressor, and related safety hazards such as defective rear hinge.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving the vehicle 25-35 MPH, there was a sound like an explosion coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to a garage where the garage determined a spark plug had blown out. The dealership determined this was a very common problem with these vehicles. The dealership also informed the contact that once this happens, it keeps happening and eventually the engine will need to be replaced. The coil was damaged when the spar plug failed. Updated 08/08/06.
I just bought a 2002 ford explorer with 74,000 miles on it. I have had it for just long enough to discover a few problems with it, and have done enough research to know that I am not the only one by far with the same problems. I am not sure what causes the problems that I am experiencing, I just know that lots of other people are also having these problems. First of all, there is a leak in my rear differential. My truck is currently in the shop for that now - however, the shop mgr refuses to fix the leak until the rear end breaks.... Which will cost more and cause more repairs than necessary at the current time. My second problem - which the service mgr again refuses to fix until it breaks is with the timing chain tensioner - which leads to transmission problems which are also very costly. I have done my homework on this situation, since I have been forced to, and I am seeing over and over and over again, replaced the rear end on my 2002 explorer (multiple times on the same vehicle), and I am seeing over and over and over again, new transmission on my 2002 explorer (again, multiple times on the same vehicle). I don't know if anyone else knows about this site, or I'm sure that hundreds of the same kind of complaints would be filed with you.... Someone really needs to look in to this problem, because ford is awful proud of their vehicles and I am paying a hefty chunk of money for mine, as are the tons of other people out there with the same problems who just may not know how to go about getting something done regarding this problem... I'm speaking not only for myself, but, for loads of other people with the same problems. Please look into this problem, I beg you!! I don't want to be on the side of the road with my babies (4 & 5 yrs old) praying that the right person stops to help me and not the one with bad intentions!! Something needs to be done about this - ford has got obvious drive train problems!!! Thank you for your attention in this matter!
2002 explorer has problems picking up speed and over use of gas. *ts the consumer also had problems with the transmission, gear adjustment, difficult high altitude driving even after gear change, air suction into the engine and transmission, accelerator and ses light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but they refused to provide any assistance. *nm updated 07/06/06.
On or about november 3, 2005, I purchased a break model used ford explorer xlt 2002 from norm reeves honda car dealer in cerritos, ca. The car had 78,000 miles on it at the time of purchase. I signed the papers and took the possession of the car. It has not been more than 2 months that the car started giving me trouble on the pick up of the speed, transmission, gear adjustment, over use of the gas, difficult high altitude driving even after change of gears, air suction into the engine and transmission, accelerator and signs like service engine soon on the front panel, although I have been getting regular lube and tune on the car after every 3000 miles. While driving the, occasionally, the car gives a thundering noise on the tires as if it is dragging itself and running on the road. This makes me fear that my car is not safe for me to drive! The norm reeves honda super store car dealer knew that the car is defective and they simply wanted to get rid of a used 2002 ford explorer xlt vehicle from the fleet as they primarily sell honda cars and similar vehicles. Despite repeated requests, the norm reeves honda super store and their sister company ford of cerritos refused to provide service on the car since I stopped payments on the car loan. Other ford car dealers have test driven this car and observed the same defects as I have mentioned. My purpose of writing this complaint with the federal safety agency is to request the intervention of the federal safety agency immediately as the questioned vehicle is likely to endanger my life on the local roads and/or on highway/freeways. Due to major defects in the car, I can meet with a serious accident and can be crippled or suffer such pecuniary losses that are irreplaceable and/or I can die also with out any fault of mine. Please recall firestone tires v. Ford motor company case law. Criminal charges against norm reeves honda, ford of cerritos and their ceos to follow. Please contact me and the dealers asap. Respectfully submitted, amardeep singh gill.
Brought in my 2002 ford explorer for routine maintenance - 60k service. In the process of doing service, tech found a bad injector, replaced injector but found there was a bad cylinder. Advised me of this . I gave go ahead to fix. When they went to pull head to send valves off for fix, discovered that the timing chain guides on both sides had holes worn in them all the way through the top and bottom of them. This should not have happened on a 5 year old vehicle w/ 60,000 miles on it.
2002 ford explorer with a v6 engine, purchased new, maintained, has 77,000 miles. While driving vehicle it became erratic, as if water in tank, drove about 1/2 mile when it died. Now the engine needs to be replaced: according to warranty inspector the "cassette failed due to the hydraulic tensioner and it is clogged with sludge, sludge is getting thicker and it has clogged a pin hole in the tensioner and caused a loss of pressure". Geico will not cover the engine replacement because they claim it was caused by lack of maintenance; however, I provided them with records of the mileage and date of oil changes at intervals between 3k and 5k miles, problem I have receipts for only 75% of those changes. The highest gap between a receipt backed change and non receipt change is 7000 miles. This problem seems awfully similar to the 1996 - 2002 toyota camry engines. I think ford has a lot of explaining to do. Previously, this SUV had to have a transmission replaced at 50k miles and a rear differential at 65k miles, thank goodness they were covered by the warranty.
Suv in service for 40 mths & 33k miles when AC evaporator went. No warranty coverage. Then several months later with just over 36k miles a rear timing chain went. Ford provided some after warranty assistance, but these failures cost consumer over $2k for a vehicle that was just out of warranty and has been babied its whole life.
Driving on I-65 nashville, tn. Vehicle experienced a loud and abrupt sound in the engine with significant loss of power. Narrowly missed having an accident due to the loss of power. We managed to drive the vehicle home where upon inspection, a spark plug had obviously blown out of the left side of the engine (left side of the engine from the perspective of sitting in the driver seat).
I have a 2002 ford explorer with 52,000 miles. I have an extended warranty through ford esp. In august, a spark plug blew out of the left head. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer for repair. The dealer authorized warranty work that would replace the head on the left side. I had the vehicle back for 2 weeks and the same thing happened on the right head. I took the vehicle in and the dealer said that they would not cover the fault. Their reason is that there were autolite spark plugs in the vehicle instead of motorcraft spark plugs. I was told that they did the previous repair without realizing that. Furthermore, they only replaced the one plug originally that blew out, re-using the other 3 plugs (autolites) that were in the vehicle. I have talked with ford in michigan and they are looking into it. First, the fact that they are not honoring the extended warranty because of spark plug brand is something I cannot find written anywhere. Second, if those plugs are so bad, then are they negligent in putting those plugs back in. Third, the fact that this happened and could have pierced a fuel line is very hazardous. My wife was driving the vehicle for half day trip in a desolate area. Should something like this have happened while she was out there, it would have been horrible. Does ford have the right to deny coverage with extended warranty for this reason? Is it negligent on ford's part to simply tell me after the fact that the plugs that are in there are non-standard and that they would not cover the work?
Abs light came on at 19,518 miles, 22,071 miles, and 27,078 miles. More importantly, however, are my issues with the 2002 explorer rear end. 10/1/03: 27,078 miles ABS light came on, the dealer replaced the assembly. Rear differential was leaking, dealer replaced the seals. 7/28/04: 40,541 miles rear end leaking again. Half shafts were worn. Rear locking diff was slipping. The dealer had to replace both halfshafts, seals, and clutch packs. 9/22/04: 43,203 miles rear axle chattering. Replaced whole rear axle assembly. 2/25/05: 54,960 miles rear diff making more noise. Left rear axle bearing was noisy. Replaced left rear axle hub and assembly. On test drive, the dealer found that the bearing they just installed was bad, so they had to replace it again. 8/11/05: 68,000 miles leaking fluid from rear end. The dealer performed the following maintenance: replaced diff seals, replaced timing chain, replaced right front hub assembly, replaced ring and pinion, replaced front end tie rods, replaced both lower ball joints, performed front end alignment. All told, I have had my explorer in the shop at least 10 times. My warranty is about to expire (7,000 more miles) and I'm going to try to get ford to buy the vehicle back. From what I've heard, this is not an easy process and apparently doesn't happen often with such 'high mileage' vehicles. If they don't buy it back I will be forced to take a huge loss on the vehicle. I will then purchase anything but a ford.
April 04 purchased 2002 ford explorer; just over 60,000 miles. No longer under warranty;sold as is. Day after purchase, noticed knocking sound. Returned to dealer. Stated sound coming from the rear AC. Repaired, did not hear after repair. Approximately one week after purchase, noticed delay in gears engaging when going from park to drive , park to reverse also gear shift seemed to be loose. Returned to dealer; told it was normal for this model. Advised to keep in overdrive. Late july 2004, noticed delay seem to be getting longer and jerking suddenly when finally engaged. While driving ,od light flashed on and off erratically. Problem with od light intermittent. Spouse took the car to the dealer; told that it wasn't under warranty, but we could make a service appointment. Spouse took the vehicle to a shop had done business in the past. Thought that it could need transmission fluid. Checked fluid levels not deficient. Problems continued; had them look at it a couple of months later. Could not determine problem, advised to take to a transmission specialist if continued. Problem persisted. Seemed to get worse as the weather turned colder. Late december 04, delays in engaging gears worsened; now making a loud clunking noise and lunges when engages, od light flashed erratically on a frequent basis and engine service light on and gear shift seemed to be coming out. January 2005, spouse took the vehicle to a transmission shop for diagnostic. Transmission shot. Rebuilt at a cost of $2900. Found out that the vehicle had been repaired twice before, while under warranty for the same problems described. Its obvious from the number of complaints that this is a known design defect. When a company sells defective products they should be held liable, especially when they do so knowingly. I stopped making payments on this junk and will notify the lender so that they and ford can fight it out. Any owner who wishes may contact me at 703‑998‑5510.
Driving and heard engine noise engine stalled wouldn't start in the middle of rush hour traffic...I was going downhill and able to roll to the side out of traffic and to safety. Engine froze while driving with no warning, no signs...in the middle of traffic endangering myself and my daughter. My car sat 2 weeks at the ford dealer as they received 5 cars with engines frozen and couldn't get to my car until 7/8/05 cause they had to replace engines. When engine was torn down I was advised a valve spring broke and dropped into the cylinder tearing up the engine and now I need a new engine. Ford motor will not back up their product.
I have a 2002 ford explorer with 60k miles on it. It recently blew a spark plug out of the cylinder head while on the highway resulting in loss of power and alarming noise. The failure occurred on the chesapeake bay bridge and could have resulted in an accident. This is a common problem that does affect safety of the vehicle with ford v-8 and v-10 engines that has not been properly addressed by ford. Estimates to repair this defect in the cylinder head threads range from 2500 to 3500.
2002 ford explorer experiencing problems with the 4wd, the over drive light illuminates on the dashboard and the vehicle is giving off a rotten egg smell. *mr there were front end problems. The 4wd module wasn't working. The driveshaft and both front wheel bearings were replaced. The rotors were out of round. The service engine light illuminated along with the over drive light. The transmission experienced the same problem on two occasions and possibly a third time. A large puddle of transmission was found under the vehicle. The torque converter was noisy. The acceleration pedal would pull back. When the vehicle was accelerated, it would whine. The left rear wheel bearing was gone and caused damage to the axle, brakes and the tire was barely holding on. The error code for the service engine soon light was due to the solenoid which had been changed before. The A/C was inoperative. *sc
I have a 2002 ford explorer 4.6l v8. Within the last month 3 spark plugs have been blown out of the cylinder heads. Each time its a different cylinder. Ford motor company has denied our claim to repair the stripped out threads in the cylinders, with a 75,000 mile extended warranty.
1. Rear end howling noise (3/18/2005) - hear noise when accelerating between 40 and 65 MPH. When letting off of accelerator, noise goes away, comes back again when accelerator is pushed again. Dealer service dept replaced rear carrier bearings, cup, seals, and spacer in rear differential. Noise now occurs between 65 and 70 MPH. Was taken back to dealer service dept on 4/11/2005. Was informed 4/20/2005 that rear differential was adjusted with new spacer, but noise is still there. Service manager has another ford explorer on lot and test drove it. This explorer has same noise between 40 and 65 MPH. One of the techs (who used to work at a ford dealership) told service manager that alot of 2002 ford explorer owners have been having this problem. Ford has no solution or cure. 2. Noise in timing chain area. Ford has a tsb on this. I can hear this rattling noise coming from this area and told dealership to look into it. They could not duplicate the noise, although when test driving it with assist. Service manager, I could still hear the noise, but he could not. I had my local mechanic check this out, and they can hear the noise that I'm talking about. This problem has yet to be fixed. 3. Vibration coming from front end on interstate that starts at around 70+ MPH. When climbing a steep hill on interstate and transmission downshifts, can feel a grinding noise in powertrain. Dealer believes that the fluid in the transfer case might need to be changed,causing clutches inside to stick. Will find out tomorrow (4/21/2005).
Vehicle was parked in the garage when it caught on fire unexpectedly. The sounds of fire trucks at about 3:15 am before consumer knew their garage was the one on fire. The ford explorer was completely destroyed as well as the other 1992 gmc. The fire came from under the hood of the ford explorer.
None - just driving and engine stops without a sputter on highway at 55-65 MPH or just idling, 2/3 dealer determines idle air bypass defective, 2/3 - driving home from dealer it does the same thing, 2/8 - dealer gets vehicle back and reprograms power control module, now it runs rougher than before and dies out more frequently. 2002 ford explorer 49k miles [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Just recently purchased 2002 ford explorer from a dealer. Kept scheduled maint. Has been off lot for six months. Noticed a loud engine knock from front of the engine. Took the car to the dealer!, they said I had blown a rod bearing. Has to be something with the engine. Engine doesn't even have 60,000 miles on it. No sign of an oil leak, sludge,etc. Dealer said the engine was clean.
Vehicle was running like it was out of gas. Consumer took the vehicle to dealer for repairs where it was discovered that timing chain was defective.
Transmission failure in a 2002 ford explorer, timing chain guide failure (4.0l previous ford recall) ford replaced trans. Now that trans is failing. Replaced timing chain and gear set.
Truck well maintained at 59,000 miles truck broke an engine rod need new engine, cost $4800.00, replacing engine. I think ford should pay for this.
While driving 65 MPH the vehicle completely lost power without warning. As a result the vehicle failed to accelerate. The dealer stated they were unable to duplicate the problem. Please provide additional information. *jb this has accured 5 times. Ford can not find the problem.
While driving about 30-35 MPH, the car completely lost all engine power. I was able to pull over to the side of the road. There, I restarted the engine and drove home. This same incident had occured to my wife the day before, so I dropped off my two sons and took the car to the dealer. The car also lost all engine power on the way to the dealer. After having the car at the dealer for 5 days during which they put 50 miles on my car, they could not duplicate the problem, and therefore did not fix anything.
My wife was driving the car at approximately 30 MPH. She tried to accelerate, the RPM reading dropped to zero, and the engine lost all power. She pulled to the side of the road, was about to call me, and tried to turn the engine back on. It restarted and she drove home. My three young children were in the car with her.
Today, 9-2-04, while driving approximately 25-30 MPH the engine abruptly stopped and lost power. The radio remained on. The engine started again, but one minute later, stalled again. It became difficult to turn over, started, and stalled yet again. This occurred one more time, and I drove it home to drop off my wife and children, and to take the car to the dealer, ford galpin in north hills, california. This is the 3rd seperate occassion this has happened, and its 2nd trip to the dealer. It is currently being inspected at the dealership.
I own a 2002 ford explorer xls and it has been into the ford service-repair shop a total 0f 37 work hours -10 documented service days for an annoying ticking noise coming from the front dash-console-engine area that can not seem to be repaired. It doesn't matter whether or not that the engine is cold or warm, the weather condtions hot-dry or humid and wet, it still ticks intermitently for sometimes around 8 minutes or can go on for 20 at that moment. When it starts it sounds like a toggle switch going on and off and then makes a rubbing ,squeaking , ticking noise that starts off low and then gets so loud that you can hear it with the radio on set at a slightly high volume. It does not matter whether the air is on or off, the radio-cd is on or off or the heat is on or off. All conditions have been tested . The front dash has been removed numerous times and reinsulated, a new radio has been put in, the winshield replaced, vents and glove box removed and wiring checked. Once the sound starts, bumpiness in the road seems to produce the sound louder and more often. Also while turning the steering wheel on a winding road that is somewhat bumpy also produces the sound. It is not a pleasure to drive this vehicle and it has been serviced as I stated for this problem ever since 2002. It was purchased in july of 2001. The dealership and many diffferent techs. Ca not find or repair the problem. I would get rid of it if it wasn't for the fact that I could not honestly sell a lemon in good faith. This vehicle body wise is is excellent condition and only has 27,000 miles on it. As I see it, I have only had a perfect vehicle for 1 year out of the 3 years I have owned it. I have been faithful to ford and that is only what I have owned the last 28 years and currently own 3 other ford vehicles. My father worked and retired from ford motor co. His whole life and none of us have ever experienced such disappointment in one of their products.
The ABS activated while on a dry pavement andthe vehicle lost braking power. The consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer, who kept insisting there was nothing wrong. However, the consumer felt differently about the dealers evaluation. *ak the consumers brother verified that something was wrong, but could not take it apart to check it out because of warranty issues and the engine experienced a miss. The master cylinder was found bad. *sc
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