After arriving back home from dinner I was putting the car into park. Half way between reverse and park the gear shift arm broke!
2002 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 155, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that while in reverse, the vehicle accelerated independently. Additionally, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond and the steering wheel seized. As a result, the vehicle crashed into trees then went forward independently crashing into shrubs, a fence, and a building. In addition, the air bags failed to deploy and smoke started to emit from the front of the vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact sustained bruise and neck and head injuries that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The handle to shift the manual transmission from park to reverse broke off at the metal part inside the steering column. This is could have been very dangerous if I was driving! Ford states they no longer produce the part.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact was attempting to exit the driveway when the steering wheel fractured. The dealer replaced the steering wheel. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 130,000. Updated 09/05/14*lj updated 09/11/2014
Shifter lever broke off.
After driving into a parking spot I tried to put the car into park and the gearshift fell. After it fell again I tried once more and it broke completely off. We had to take it to the dealership whom just turned it off and later informed us that they would have to replace the entire steering column which would cost $1700 just because one piece was poorly constructed and made of soft metal. It has been almost a month and now we're being told the part is on back-order so we still have no car. We've read where this has happened to others but yet nothing has been done about this problem by the ford company.
Utah I-15 south bound, inside lane next to concrete barrier with tour bus in lane on my right. My vehicle began to drift to the right as I was passing the bus. I corrected by slowly turning the steering wheel to the left; not hard or fast but slowly and evenly. The explorer (4-door, 2002, xlt) began to whip back and fourth violently. It took me several hundred yards to get the car under control after coming within an inch or two of both the barrier and the bus. This is not the first time the whipping problem has happened. I bought the vehicle four months ago from a private seller. I put new "big-o" bigfoot tires on it and had the front end alignment checked; it was fine. If I hadn't done some fancy driving the vehicle would have rolled (at 80mph) and I probably would have been killed. I am getting rid of the explorer and never buying another ford product again.
Yesterday evening, I got into my 2002 ford explorer and noticed the gear shift lever was stuck in park. I was unable to shift into reverse in order to back out of the driveway. This morning I figured I would give it another attempt as I needed to head out for work. As I tried again, I simply applied the break, grabbed the shift lever and as I pulled the towards me and began to pull down to shift into reverse the lever completely broke and is now hanging. I did not apply excessive force at any point. No more pressure then I normally do when shifting from park to drive to reverse, etc. I looked up this particular situation via internet and noticed many, many complaints of the same exact description. Hopefully ford will recognize this issue and issue a part recall.
As I was driving in snow, I put the car into reverse to go around another car. When I put it back in drive the gear shift handle broke off in my hand. I was stuck in my car unable to shift, if I turned it off I would not have been able to restart the car. I had to sit on the side of the road and figure out how to get it back into gear with my foot on the brakes.
While moving the shift lever from park to reverse, the lever broke away from the steering column and could not be returned to park position. The vehicle was stuck in reverse, engine running, and brake applied. With the brake applied, the engine was turned off, still in reverse. The key could not be removed until a small wire contact inside the steering column was shorted to the metal in the column. The vehicle had to be dragged onto a tow vehicle and taken to aikins ford in winder, georgia. I was told the entire steering column had to be replaced and the part plus labor would be approximately $1500. Aikins ordered the part and is still waiting after discovering that there were 221 steering columns on back order with the after market manufacturer licensed to provide the part. The design of the shift lever included a "pot" metal disk housing that requires the spring behind it to be actuate by pulling the lever forward to change the gear status. The housing snapped in half, leaving the lever dangling by a small wire. Only the fact that the vehicle was not moving averted clear and present danger of an accident. I have requested that the steering column part be returned to me and have very good photos of the vehicle and the actual separation at the break in the column. I will furnish either to your department if and when I get my explorer back. Now 56 days and still waiting. I believe that it was design flaw to allow a part that requires uniform strength to be a molded piece of "pot" metal and someone may get hurt, if not already in the 221 incidents that ford is aware of.
August 27,2012. Huaband driving howm from work. Going down hill to traffic light. Car suddenly, with no warning, stalls out completely. Loss of power steering, power brakes.etc. A/s contuinued to work. Engine ligh came on. Wrestled car to verge of road. Turned car off and it restarted on forst try. Stated that the following day as he attempted to pull away from stop sign, car would not initally take gas but then suddenly accelerated ( " I peeled rubber!") recalled that thatsame incident had had happened approx. 2 weeks before at a diffeent stop. Car taken to repair shop, somputer shows no issues. Believe car unsafe to drive if affected with sudden, unexplained stalling with no apparent cause. Bought car as "certified, pre-owned" used car from ford dealership in dec. 2012. They have no answer, no suggestions as to problem cause. Internet search shows multiple complaints for this same problem with the ford explorer.
I had just pulled in to my customers lot and went to put the car in park, as I did the gear shift lever broke off in the steering column and was just dangling. I put the parking brake on as the SUV was rolling, I could not get the keys out. I had to have it towed to interstate ford in dayton. Oh.
Pulled into park, went to shift vehicle into park (was fully stopped) and gear shifter broke off. I did not apply any force, just the normal typical action of shifting the gear. Good thing it was in neutral when it snapped. Took rubber seal off of the gear lever arm and the part which the lever arm was attached had totally broken off. The metal was not stripped or twisted but broken. Part #905-104: column shift repair.
Pulling in driveway stopped the vehicle going to put it in park shift lever broke off inside of steering column went on internet found 146 complaints as the same thing happened to them on ford explorer carcomplaints.com.
I just purchased the vehicle in a private sale on 11/09/12 and on 11/10/12 went to shift from park into reverse on a flat surface and my shift lever broke off and I am not able to shift my vehicle.
On the afternoon of october 22nd 2012 my pregnant wife was leaving the speech therapist with my son went to put the car in reverse and the shifter snapped off in her hand. The car every since we had it when u put it in park as a delay and rolls for ward a bit I feel that this is a recall that ford should issue for this car. Its just not fair to have to pay over 1200 dollars to fix something that is not my fault.what if this would have happened in the street luckily my wife knew to shut the car off and apply the emergency brake. This problem really could end up in serious injury or even fatality to an individual.
Went to put car in drive from the park position and the shifter completely broke and was hanging. Also, I was not able to get my key out of the ignition. We were planning to make an out of town trip the following day, however, had to change plans due to this situation. After searching online, I have discovered there has been numerous complaints for this exact defect for the exact type of vehicle. It seems that since there has already been so many same situations, that a recall would have taken place by now. Not has it only been inconvenient, but could also be potentially dangerous!
When accelerating on a start, car doesn't shift into 2nd and 3rd gear....unless there is a push or jump into it.
I was backing up in a costco parking lot and the steering column where you shift gears broke in half. There was no way to drive or shift the car. The car was in neutral and there were pedestrians in front of me and cars behind me. I yelled for everyone to stay clear, had a few men help push me back to a parking bin and pulled the emergency break. The engine would not shut off, I had to have car towed to my house. I checked on line and this has happened to over 1,000 ford 2002 owners. It is due to a faulty manufacturer part in the column shift, a metal piece that broke off.
As I was driving home from work my fuel gauge went from full to empty and the check gauge light came on then the vehicle died and I lost power steering and the power brakes.
Shifter broke off while shifting from park to drive,cannot shift vehicle. I read online there are numerous people that have had the same problem ,they were all wondering why there hasn't been a recall on this problem. Has there?
I was driving in town at approximately 30 MPH when I drove over a crack and it felt like a large pothole. I heard a grinding noise and pulled over. My rear springs were both broken. The driver side one at the top and the passenger side one at the top in 3 places. When I turn now it feels like my vehicle is going to roll over. This is a common problem as stated by many others on many internet sites. This is going to cause a serious if not deadly accident. Ford needs to do a recall on this part and replace them for free, since they were the ones who used bad parts in their vehicles. This is a manufacturing defect and should be treated as such.
[xxx] got behind the wheel of her 2002 ford explorer, intending to pick up her son from school. When she tried to shift the car into reverse, she says the entire gear selector broke off and fell in her lap. It turns out she's not alone. Team 4 investigator jim parsons reported that the national highway transportation safety administration has been investigating similar complaints around the country -- some of which involved vehicles slipping into gear and crashing -- for more than two years. The federal safety agency's office of defects investigation says it has identified 200 alleged incidents of unintended vehicle movement after consumers believed they had shifted the suvs into park, resulting in 85 alleged crashes and 32 alleged injuries. Earlier this year, the federal safety agency upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis for 2002-2005 ford explorers and mercury mountaineers. [xxx] says ford told her she would need to replace her entire steering column to fix the broken gear selector at a cost of more than $1,500. Instead, she worked with her local mechanic to find an after-market replacement part that retails for $30. So far, ford motor company has not issued a recall on the gear selector. More information: the federal safety agency website details on explorer investigation (type in action number ea09013) read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/29353127/detail.html#ixzz1zyubpjeg information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that while shifting into park, the gear shifter fractured. The contact was unable to maneuver the shifter so the contact towed the vehicle to the dealer where the dealer replaced the entire steering column. The failure mileage was 151,957. Updated 11/03/11 *bf the consumer stated the shift lever broke off. The dealer stated the steering column where the shifter attached and ignition lock cylinder came apart. The steering column had to be replaced. Updated 03/08/12
In the evening, I was about half an hour from home when I pulled up to a gas pump at a station and attempted to put the vehicle into park. I did not do anything different than normal. The steering gear shift broke off into my hand. It was attached by a wire. I could not tell what happened except that it was broken off the steering column. The service department of the dealership was closed but the receptionist said that the vehicle could be left at the service department lot overnight and they would take a look at it the next day. I drove to the dealership holding the piece in my right hand as I did not know what would happen if it became unattached from that wire. I felt scared that something was going to happen such as a fire, turn completely off in traffic, etc. I didn't know what was going to happen next. I got to the dealership, set the emergency brake and turned off the ignition. I couldn't get the key out of the ignition. I had no choice but to leave my vehicle there with key in the ignition. I emptied as much of my stuff from the car as I could as I was worried that there could be some type of criminal activity overnight. Thankfully, it was there the next morning but unfortunately the cost of repair is over $1,500. The service advisor said the only way to fix this is to replace the entire steering column. This is all out of pocket costs. I am thankful that the dealership does provide free loaners and that this happened in a place where I could exit the location and make it to the dealership. The cost to repair, the stress that this caused, the fact that this is a known defective part, and the possibility of this happening again are all not good.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the front and rear end of the vehicle began to shake violently. In addition, there was severe vibration in the steering wheel which caused difficulty in steering the vehicle normally. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While moving the gear shifter from park to reverse, the gear shifter fractured and detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technicians stated the steering column had to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that upon shifting the vehicle into reverse, the gear shifter separated from the steering column. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The manufacturer denied assistance with the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 183,000.
My 2002 ford explorer (automatic transmission) was parked in my driveway. I attempted to shift out of park when the gear shift broke off in my hand. I now have to pay $1360 for a replacement (used) steering column. After doing research, I have discovered that this problem is very common with 2002 ford explorers. Ford motor company should voluntarily do a recall, before a class action law suit is brought against them.
While my wife was backing up in my son's driveway, the gear shift broke on my 2002 ford explorer. The charge to repair by a ford dealer was roughly $2,000.00 (including tow charges). After doing research on this issue, it apparently is way too common, however ford refuses to acknowledge responsibility or issue a recall.
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