I bought a 2002 ford explorer with 19,000 miles on it also thinking what a great deal I have had the truck for 3 years it now has 76,000 miles on it. The check engine light has been coming on and the o/d light will start blinking I tow a boat so I took it to a transmission shop they said it was very common for this to happen with the year of truck that I have. They said the cause was servo piston bore what ever that means they also said that if I don't repair it for $2,400.00 that the lights will continue to come on and the truck will continue to slip. The other weird thing is I'll be driving and I hear a ding you know the sound you have when you leave your keys in the truck but I'm driving my truck when this happens and the door lock will go off like I'm locking the doors. I really love my truck the body is in excellent shape I still owe on my truck so buying something new isn't an option. The sad thing is I tow a boat every weekend and I'm worried that something might happen.
2002 Ford Explorer locks complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 50, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My SUV was parked in the driveway. I pushed the rear window release button to open the rear window and it exploded. Glass fragments were found up to 12 feet in all directions. The noise it made was loud, like a shot gun had gone off. A professional auto mechanic told me that my rear window regulator must have malfunctioned. Clearly this is a design flaw that ford should rectify and fear for the safety of anyone owning/using this vehicle. I'm currently searching for replacement parts.
Severe cracks in back window housing. Crack is so severe, consideration of window falling out is possible. Information panel registers door ajar which consequently flashes internal lights, re-locks doors, sets warning bells to go off. Often, door ajar does not register, but electric locks lock re-lock and lock many times with warning bells going off, interior lights flickering,many times in one instance. All activities happen intermittently, without cause or reason causing severe distraction to driver. Theft alarm goes off after vehicle has been locked several hours; for no apparent reason. When unlocked and re-locked, continues to go off intermittently. I believe the rear window housing break is the root of all this activity.
For the last couple of years during the coldest part of the winter, the doors on my vehicle refuse to latch. I have tried warming the car up longer, spraying the insides of the door with solution that is supposed to unfrozen windshields and locks (even though there never is ice or water seen) & nothing works. Last year, it even refused to latch after letting my daughter off at school, even though it had latched when we left the house a mile earlier. When I turned the corner out of the school parking lot, the door flew open & almost took out a mailbox. I have called ford regarding this concern, & they say there is nothing they will do since it has 119,000 miles on it & the warranty is over, even though I believe it is a huge safety concern! As it is getting colder here, I am very worried about driving this vehicle, as my daughter and young grandson are using this vehicle at this time. I spoke with someone who actually works at the ford factory & he said this problem is due to the doors not being fitted correctly & in the winter the seal is.
Crack developed in area below lift gate glass. Now the door ajar light goes on and off, as well as the buzzer. The glass does not shut properly and is inoperable and the area below the glass has completely fallen away.
When attempting to shift from drive to park, the gear shift lever broke from the steering column, making it impossible to change gears. The engine remained running with it in drive. I turned the ignition off & it could not be restarted (ie, ignition/interlock system). The steering wheel wouldn't turn either. The entire steering column (not just small broken piece) had to be replaced (cost=$1372, $897 for parts). As of 7/2/08, 61 exactly the same incidents have been reported via complaints filed with the federal safety agency website. Some vehicles complained about have experienced this part failure twice. These complaints have been filed under the components - steering: column, power train: automatic transmission, power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (prndl), power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift, steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion), steering: gear box: shaft sector, steering: wheel and handle bar, other or unknown this is an obvious design and/or mfg/material defect & it correlates (in many other complaints) with another defect - very difficult shifting of gear lever to or from ?park? & ?reverse?. 61 reported incidents of the parts failure are significant, but there are obviously far more than have been reported via the federal safety agency complaints. The defective gear shift part poses serious safety concerns. If the gear shift lever breaks while the vehicle is on a street or expressway (but stopped momentarily by necessity), the driver would be unable to change gears or push and/or steer it to safety, thereby creating a dangerous traffic situation with a high potential for bodily injury. The federal safety agency has more than adequate data to initiate a defect investigation & should immediately require ford to provide a full disclosure of the number of steering columns that it has sold as a result of this defect. I have the old steering column (and the broken piece) as well as several pictures of them.
2002 ford explorer, o/d light is blinking, check engine soon light stays on continuously. Rear end makes noise, ABS light stays on. Truck shifts hard from reverse to forward. Shifts hard and makes cluncking sound from 2nd to 3rd gear and will not go in to over-drive at all.
Door ajar light comes on. Recycled engine checked all doors and again light comes on. Or while driving, the doors automatically unlock. The alarm sounds for no reason sometimes. Sometimes the interior lights comes on and stays on usually when I have trouble with the door ajar issues.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact received a recall notice for the vehicle speed control. Ever since the vehicle was purchased approximately 1.5 years ago, she has had to tape the rear passenger side door shut to keep it from opening while driving. The failure occurs at speeds of 35 MPH or lower. The dealer claimed that they would repair the door at the time of purchase. The recall number was unknown. The failure mileage was 120,000.
I have a cracked real panel on tailgate. I understand from other customers that this is a danger because the actual glass can dislodge from the panel and hurt someone. I have 2 small children. 1 stands at a height below that glass level!
Rear passenger side door locks work intermittently. Doors will not unlock with either the front door lock/unlock buttons or the wireless key.
My family and I went to my family members house and after putting the vehicle in park and unlocking the doors my daughter's door (rear passenger) would not unlock nor open for the inside or outside, by switch nor manually. For my daughter to exit the vehicle she had to climb in the front seat to exit the vehicle, we have a baby that rides in a car seat so she couldn't exit on the driver passenger side. I've discovered that the only way to fix this is take the panel off and take the one screw off that holds the handle mechanism and pull it a few times to finally release the latch. I just read about a ford recall on faulty latches. The only difference in this recall and my latch issue is my latch will not return to an open state. I feel that my issue is related in the same context, and feel that there is a safety issue because if something happen my daughter could not get out of the vehicle.
I have a 2002 ford explorer xls that was purchased new. Approximately 1 year after purchase started developing a crack on the panel beneath the rear window. Since then, when it is hot, I get a door open warning light. No door is opened, but the doors refuse to lock, and the warning light stays on. I believe water enters the panel beneath the window due to the crack. I had it looked at by dealers for the warning light-they cannot figure it out.
Subject: cracked panel below the rear window (tailgate applique) where: 9 degrees temperature in shiloh, illinois (15 miles east of st. Louis). Vehicle type: 2002 ford explorer xls 4 door wagon 6 cyl 4.0 sohc 51,101 miles. What: the plastic applique panel below the glass on the liftgate has developed one vertical crack, approx 1/8th" in diameter running the length of the panel (approx 4.5 inches) to the right of the "ford" emblem. Background information: after doing some research on the internet I found over 75 owners with the same problems, most in the last 3 months (cold weather). This repair is not covered by ford extended warranty (esp). Please visit the website listed below for other customers comments. Http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2002/body_paint/cracked_panel_below_the_rear_window.shtm cost/comments: auffenberg body shop (belleville, il 618‑234‑0330) repair cost $380.00 if rear window breaks add an additional $1100.00. Ford definitely has a quality problem with this cosmetic defect part. After contacting ford prior approval department (800‑321‑7790 option #3) and customer center (800‑392‑3673), both offices informed me that this defect is not cover under the esp warranty. Action: ford motor company should replace the panel at no charge. I look forward to your reply and a resolution to this problem. A copy of this letter will be forwarded to the consumer affairs, better business bureau, and the federal safety agency office of defects investigation.
Tl*- the contact stated that every time the contact was unloading groceries or book bags from the back of the 2002 ford explorer, the liftgate glass struts became disengaged. Once the struts were disengaged the glass came down on the contact's head. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 90,000.
Ford replaced the liftgate glass hinge on this explorer per your recall notice on sept. 1, 2005. On january 13, as I closed the liftgate (gently, not slamming it) it exploded into shards of glass that went all over the garage and cut my face. Glass flew in front of the car. I had only closed the liftgate approximately 2 inches from its full open position when this occurred. There was nothing to impede the closure, and the liftgate did not strike anything on its way down.
There were no events to cause this issue, other than ford's own recall for the rear lift hatch. Once the hatch was repaired, the window took more force to shut and eventually developed stress cracks. I have a vertical crack on the left side with a 1/4 inch gap from the bottom of the glass to the other side of the panel.
Lift gate causes the body frame to split.
Each winter since purchasing my 2002 ford explorer there have been days when the door would not latch shut and I was forced to wait for the mechanism to thaw or use one hand to keep the door from flying open as I drove. After thawing out the door would latch and I could continue safely. I always thought that this was a problem isolated to my vehicle though after hearing of the recent recall I am certain this is another in a long list of defects I have experienced. In fact on july 30, 2005 west herr ford of hamburg, ny had to replace both front door lock actuators because the drivers side door would not lock and the passenger side would not open from the outside. I now wonder if the constant freeze / thaw cycle of the water that obviously leaks into the door caused this damage.
Automatic door lock system.
My 2002 explorer is also having the same problems which have been previously noted by other explorer owners. The whining when reaching 50-60 km/hr, which goes away when you take your foot off the gas, the slipping and shuddering of gears and sometimes passing gear never kicks in, the ABS light comes on (usually after the truck has warmed up and it doesn't seem to happen when the weather is really cold), the ABS is now starting to act up, wherein it randomly activates itself even while on dry pavement and the brakes feel mushy when this happens. Now the locks are randomly not working. I would like to share one instance about the passing, shuddering, slipping was when I was traveling on the highway with my kids, I pulled out to pass, and when I stepped on it the truck shuddered so hard, that my daughter, who was coloring a mother' day card, actually scribbled when it shuddered, if that makes any sense. She was po'd at me asking me why did I do that and now her card was ruined. We have had the transmission in for service and were told nothing was wrong. We had the transmission fluid changed and the truck worked fine for about 2 weeks and then back to the same old problems. My husband and I are seriously considering trading this piece of crap vehicle off and we have decided that it will only be imports from now on. Ford needs to wake up and start fixing all of these problems or they will be finding themselves bankrupt in no time. I was brought up as a kid in fords; 67 t-bird, ford ltd, 1/2 ton truck, 3/4 ton truck, 78 ford t-bird, ford taurus, my first car being a mercury lynx, then a 93 ford festiva, hubby owned a 93 ford ranger 4x4, 98 windstar, my mom owns a 96 explorer and so on. My friend just got rid of her 2000 explorer which she lovingly named her 'ford exploder'. Thanks for listening to my rant and I really hope that with everyone's input that something can be done about this.
The front driver side door will not latch when the outside temp is below freezing. I had to warm the truck up for 10 minutes to heat up so the door would close correctly. This is a safety hazard and I think the door latch should be recalled because if the door does not latch correctly someone can be seriously injured.
Crack in liftgate that occurred spontaneously when weather became winter--rear wipers were used and crack occurred. Recall was done at this area dealer summer 2005 prior to correct liftgate recall.....we inquired about possible over tightening during recall service and it was denied. We have had this car since the summer of 2002 and have had it in cold weather before and up until the recall fix it never cracked. Concerned about glass falling out since the tailgate is cracked from top to bottom. The dealer asserted that it was a known problem with cracks in liftgate... Since we are not under warranty we had to pay $600 to get this fixed. Mileage on the car is only 23000!!!!! It is the safety issue of glass falling out while driving or falling into the car upon my children that concerns me. Many internet websites I have been to discuss other such cracks occurring in the tailgate I don't understand why some dealers are willing to help and others don't. The prices vary too which amazes me.
Dt*: the contact stated the air bag light intermittently illuminates. The vehicle was seen by a dealer. The service department determined both front seat belts needed to be replaced due to the integrated air bag/seat belt system. The entire front seat belts were replaced accordingly but the air bag light later illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The service department suggested replacing the seat belts again. Updated 3/3/2006 - the consumer has also had to replace the rear washer motor, odometer and has had problems with the automatic door locks.
Drivers side door will not latch or latches poorly during cold weather after opened. Door has swung open while being driven. Has been to the dealer 4 times with no remedy. Dealer has "adjusted door and lubed lock". Dealer offered to replace latch and cable but did not think that would fix the problem.
Dangerous crack occurred in 2002 ford explorer rear liftgate in dec. 2002, was repaired. Recurred in sep. 2005, and ford refused to repair 2 weeks after warranty had expired, even though part was defective and vehicle had only 28,000 miles. Applique may come off, threatening structural integrity of liftgate and glass. Internet shows dozens of customers had exactly the same problem.
Car was parked. When my wife was walking to the vehicle, she noticed a large crack down the back door (hatch area) of vehicle which is directly below the glass. Take note that if this panel falls off (and could with the crack), it could fall onto another vehicle causing harm or tragedy. If the panel also falls off, the glass is no longer supported which also can result in it falling off onto another vehicle or onto the highway causing an accident.
The federal safety agency recall id 01i010000 ford explorer 2002 liftgate dear sir/madam, I would like to report that the ford dealership (joe myers ford in houston, texas) as well as ford as less than helpful in getting this recall taken care of. I am being told that I would have to leave the vehicle there for an entire day, yet I do not have any right to a loaner car. They also would not accept the vehicle on a saturday although they are open until 3 pm. I don't think that I should be responsible for paying a rental car or having to take a vacation day so that ford can repair a defect that is due to faulty manufacturing. Rgds, chris rom
Door locks freeze at temp. Below 30 deg. F. This occurs on both front doors. This prevents the latch from closing completely. The passenger door has opened when the truck made a rt. Hand turn. This has been an onging issue. The truck was taken in last year for this issue. The door striker was adjuseted,. The dealer will not cover this under warrenty because it is no longer covered.
There is a recall on my 2002 ford explorer concerning the liftgate hinges. I was notified in september that the parts would be in the dealerships in november. They have just arrived in february. In the meantime the applique on my liftgate has cracked. I was told that ford would not pay to have it repaired and that it will cost about $350.00. This is my 3 ford explorer and will probably be the last. All my dealer tells me is that there is nothing they can do. I wrote a letter to ford and they didn't even respond. What kind of customer service is that?
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