Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. When he attempted to turn the ignition switch, the steering column fractured. Secondly, the rear lift-gates panel split in half. Thirdly, the transmission intermittently slipped out of gear. None of the failures have been remedied. He previously filed a complaint. The failure and current mileages were 80,000.
2002 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 4 of 6: complaints 71 to 100 of 155, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Have a 2002 ford explorer have had several problems, but while I was out driving today my car began to pop as I turned the wheel. I have gotten my tie rods replaced and there seems to continue to be a problem with my vehicle. My husband drove the car home for me slowly but will not drive for fear that the wheel may pop off. Contacted ford and am waiting on a response, this problem has been noted on the internet by several owners of this model and year. This is a suspension problem and I would like this further investigated so that noone is riding down the highway with their children in vehicle and the wheel pop off. I was very lucky that my child was not in the truck with me at the time this incident happened.
The gear shift is hard to get into park. Sometimes after in park the SUV stills moves. No damage or crash yet. But I make sure to put on emergency brake.
I am sorry I am not a good speller I was pulling out of the gas station pulled up a little so I could see then a little more and seen a car so I went to put it in reverse but the gear shift stick broke right in my hand I almost got hit but thank god there was someone with me that put his life on the line got under the car and changed it manually the used part I have to get is 250.00 dollars and labor is like 300.00 I have to have a hole new steering column put in the clip that makes it change broke I just don't think it is right to have something as week as that part on there we could have been killed and when I looked it up on the internet there are hundreds of people this same thing has happened.
I was having trouble placing my car in park. The gear shift would not work unless I forced it. Many of times I would place in park and it would roll. I thought it was my fault. On june 10, 2009 I placed my car in park and the gear shift broke. I was told that "it happens"with this truck and that there had not been a recall even though there was thousands of complaints. I am a single mother and I cannot afford to pay $700-1200 dollars to get this replaced. It is a disgrace that ford does not stand behind their trucks. I will never buy a ford again.
Started car and when I put car in drive, shift gear on 2002 explorer just fell off this is happening all over the USA I could have been driving and this could have happen. My wife and child could have been driving. Do people have to die to make this a recall why isn't this a recall.
2002 ford explorer approx.77,000 miles shifting from park to drive gear shifter broke of at the base causing the vehicle to be stuck in reverse. After contacting ford headquarters was informed there was nothing they could do even though there are several complaints on the internet. The dealership charges several hundred dollars to repair because the whole steering column has to be replaced. Part is currently on order.
Our 2002 ford explorers gear shift lever broke off in my hand while trying to shift from park to reverse. We had some trouble with the lockout in the past, but this left us stranded and required a tow.
About a year ago, the gear shifter in my 2002 ford explorer started getting harder to shift out of park especially on inclines. After a short period of time, I took it to our local ford dealer for them to look at it. They said they could find nothing wrong but that it did stick a little. Gradually over several months it got worse. Eventually, it got stuck in park and I actually broke off the gear shifter trying to go from park to reverse. We had to pay almost $1,200 to replace the steering column and shifter. We were then told that we might put on the emergency break before shifting into park on hills. I told them that it didn't matter if you were on a hill or not, it still would get stuck. After first replacing the column, it was easier to shift out of park. Then, over a few months it became increasingly harder to shift out of park again, unless I put on the emergency brake. I did use the brake on hills and inclines mostly but then sometimes it would get hard to shift on just flat surfaces. I contacted the ford dealer and asked them to look at it again. They said that I would always just have to use the emergency brake before shifting into park. I asked them why - it doesn't seem right. They said, "that is just normal operating procedure". I, of course, argued that was not normal and they said there was nothing they could do about it. I asked the ford company website and they said they consulted with our dealer and that they concur with them.
I turned into my driveway and put my explorer into park the shifter broke off and the car was not in park. Thankfully I was home and it is now sitting with the key still in the ignition and emergency brakes on. Tried to buy the gear shift plunger on steering column and the ford dealer said I can only buy the entire steering column. $1200.00 they showed me the column it has a different plunger that reinforced this suggest that they are aware of the problem.
When I tried to put my 2002 ford explorer into reverse the gear shifter snapped off in my hands. I have never seen this happen before but have been researching this on the internet and it seems to be a real issue with the ford explorer design of the shifter mechanism. My vehicle has 90,000 miles on it. This also seems to be consistent as to when most break.
Saturday I tried to put my 2002 ford explorer xlt in park and the gear shift snapped off. I wasn't trying to jam it in park, just simply tried to put it in park. It is right now stuck in reverse with the key stuck in the ignition. I had my children with me and no clue that there was anything wrong with the car. Please note that while I was trying to figure out what was going on, the car rolled backwards a bit. After, doing some research on the internet to see if ford had any recalls for this I found that many more people just like me had experienced the same thing. The pictures that the others have uploaded of the metal/aluminum piece is the same exact piece that is broken on mine. Please believe me I am not an extra strong person as to where I could have done this myself (broke the piece of metal). Please look into this for it is a very costly repair that should be looked into and taken care of by ford.
I went to put vehicle in park and shift lever broke off inside steering column. Had to replace entire steering column for 1 little piece of cast white metal which I found out is a common problem with this particular vehicle. After repair was complete ,od off light started blinking and service engine soon light came on. Code po755 on engine scanner which according to carcomplaint web site and my mechanic is also a very common problem with this vehicle.
2002 ford explorer gear shift lever broke when attempting to place truck in gear. I have heard through blogs that this is now becoming a common problem. My truck was placed in park with emergency brake on prior to shifting the lever into park, when I attempted to put the truck in reverse the lever snapped and I was unable to move the truck nor remove the key from the ignition. The tow truck driver showed me how to place the truck in drive manually underneath the truck in order to move the vehicle. This is not safe considering the fact that one is underneath a running vehicle and the probablity of being ran over is high. I would like to know if ford is being pressured in recalling this part considering the fact that the piece that breaks is not sold individual, the customer is obligated to buy a complete steering column just to obtain the piece that breaks.
Went to shift vehicle to drive from park position, shift lever went down without shifting vehicle into gear., upon inspection the bottom of the case where the shift lever is held by a pin had broken off, the only way to repair this situation is to change the entire steering column according to two (2) ford dealers I visited. Upon searching this problem on the internet, I find it amazing of how many other people have the same problem. It cost $1265.00 to replace the unit not including labor cost. I believe that this is fatigue on that piece of metal. Ford should be made aware of this as a defective product and a recall should take place.
Complainant has had difficulty shifting into park since the vehicle was purchased used in december 2007. December 2008 just after christmas vehicle rolled backwards down a slight inclined driveway. The complainant parked the vehicle and was in the home for approximately 35-45 minutes when the complainants wife asked where was the vehicle why wasn't it in the driveway. The consumer went outside and found the vehicle rolled backwards down the driveway and came to rest in the yard (grass). The complainant also noted and additional incident where the vehicle stalled and the complainant could not get the vehicle in park.
Gear shift broke off the steering column of my 2002 ford explorer. Truck was rendered inoperable, but could have the potential of being stuck in gear if the shift breaks off at anything other than park or neutral.
As I was putting my 2002 ford explorer in reverse the shift handle broke off the steering column and is now just hanging by the cruise control wiring. Unlike other explorer owners I was "lucky" enough to get stuck on park and not drive or reverse where there's a potential of someone getting hurt. As many others have stated before me, this is obviously a manufacturer's defect which if not taken seriously will eventually lead to injuries and/or deaths. Please don't wait until reports start coming in with numbers other than zeros on the "number of deaths" & "number of persons injured" fields for you to hold ford accountable for their actions. Thank you.
As I was putting my 2002 ford explorer in park the column shift handle came off in my hand. I could not move the vehicle. I had to have the entire steering column replaced. I have done research and this is not an unusual problem. In fact in some case it has happened more than once tot he same vehicle so there is no guaranteed permanent solution. This is a potentially dangerous situation and I think something should be done before some gets seriously injured or killed. Some people's cars have been stuck in drive or reverse. I was lucky. My repair place told me this was the second ford lincoln mercury within a month they saw this happen in. The other vehicle was a mercury mountaineer. This is an unacceptable situation and you have many complaints on your site about this specific issue. I would some action taken now. It is not only inconvenient and expensive, it is dangerous.
After pulling into a parking lot, the gear shift lever fell off into my hands while trying to put the car into park. I was unable to drive the car; therefore, it needed to be towed to a ford dealer. The service technician said he had never seen this problem before and proceeded to tell me that I would need to have the entire steering column replaced. The estimate for this job was $1200. The technician located a used part and was able to replace the column for a few dollars cheaper. I was without a car for nine days. There were no previous indications that this problem would occur. The car (which is 6 years old) only has 50,000 miles on it.
As my wife was shifting from park to reverse in our 2002 eddie bauer ford explorer the gear shift prndl just fell off in her hand. Ford dealership in asheville nc tells me there is a six(6) month back order for this part. After having to replace the transmission at 80,000 miles and replacing both rear clutch packs at 72,000 I was livid. Six months to get a part????? Are you kidding me. Ford is lucky this thing didn't fall off while my wife was driving down the road. Ford says "we're sorry" and "we understand your frustration" hogwash. Where this goes from here I don't really know. They beat me down with their inaction and stalling and turned me against them all together. I finally found a part in texas from a junked explorer (no help from the dealership or manufacturer) and had it fixed for around $1500. The transmission bill came in at $2000 and the clutch packs came in at $800. All on a vehicle with less than 100,000 miles.
It started very early after buying the 2002 ford explorer...electrical prob..couldn't get veh started...100 miles away from home dealership....towed to closest ford dealership...fixed; or so we thought. Same thing happened a week later. Home dealership advised us that the other dealership installed the wrong part and it could have caused life-threatening problems....we contacted the other dealership and advised them what our home dealership said...of course the dealership denied this...anyway...home dealership installed new part...veh ok....then wheel bearings had to be replaced in front 1st left side-then right. (this was after the rear end was replaced) boy, was that a major fight with the home dealership! Now! The transmission is gone!!!!! Isn't there something we can do? Ford has been using defective parts!!!!and now asking for government money???!!!!ford should be paying for this!
Gear shifter broke off steering column in 2002 ford explorer. When putting vehicle in park the gear shifter broke off, leaving the vehicle inoperable. It was towed to the dealer and then driven to our home. Learned form internet search of at least 26 similar complaints regarding 2002 ford explorer automatic.
The gear shifter broke away from the steering column on my 2002 ford explorer. The shifter itself did not break, but rather a piece of metal attached to the column, requiring the entire steering column be replaced at $1100. The required cost to get your vehicle fixed is extreme and caused by a design flaw. I googled broken gear shift on '02 explorer and found an unlimited number of people who have experienced this same issue. Ford clearly should recall this part and cover expenses incurred to repair their problem. This happened in my driveway, but the owners manual suggests switching gears while driving which could clearly be dangerous and possibly cause injury or death to the driver.
2002 ford explorer shifter broke off in hand while at gas pump. The part that broke is what the shift handle connects to and is not replaceable. Ford says I must purchase the entire steering column in the amount of $871.70. I have read all over the internet that thousands of other explorer owners have experience that same problem. Ford list the part number. 3c529.
Shifter broke off.
Went to put my 2002 ford explorer in reverse and the shift level broke off from the steering column, leaving the vehicle unable to be driven. This apparently has happened to many others and the only repair is to replace the entire steering column which costs over $1,000.
Was putting vehicle into drive when gear shift broke off of steering column, later found that cheap aluminum connecting piece broke not the shift handle.
The steering wheel lever broke off my ford explorer 2002. This occurs often on ford explorers because it is made of aluminum. The repair is to change the whole steering column and that costs between $800-1300 dollars.
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.
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