Fax from re the problem with a defective gear shift in her 2002 ford explorer, gear shift lever has broken off twice. *kb the consumer was told the entire steering column would have to be replaced. The gear shift lever broke for the second time on september 25, 2007.
2002 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 32 of 51: complaints 911 to 940 of 1,502, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Rear differential drivetrain failure. Vehicle mileage 25,000 miles on odometer. 4 wheel drive vehicle, rear differential whine/hum at highway speed. Ford has a tsb 05-23-3 on rear axle noise repair. Took to haldelman ford, hamilton n.j. For service/repair. Cost of repair was $3,600.00.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving between 65-70 MPH, the transmission failed. The engine revved, but the vehicle would not move. The check engine, odometer, and transmission lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a shop and they stated that the transmission failure was due to a manufacturer defect. The vehicle is currently being repaired at the shop. The current and failure mileages were 70,000. Updated 01/11/08.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stopped in traffic; however, the engine was still running. There were no warning indicators present. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the oil pump failed. The transmission was rebuilt twice. The failure mileage was 48,000 and current mileage was 72,000. Updated 11/20/07
2002 ford explorer "sealed" transmission failure. Regular maintenance performed, transmission began to slip when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving 55-60 MPH, the transmission stopped shifting. The affected gears were second and overdrive. The gear was able to shift from first to third gear without any problems. The contact took the vehicle to a transmission shop the same day and they diagnosed a major internal failure. He purchased a reconditioned transmission from ford and had it installed. The cost to replace the transmission was $3,100. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 145,000 and failure mileage was 105,835. Updated 01/09/08. *lj updated 12/12/07
Transmission began shifting hard & then the od off light began flashing. Before I could get it to the dealership that day, the transmission just quit. I parked at a grocery store, ran in & when I came back out to leave, it wouldn't shift. It remained in park even though the gear shift was being moved through the gears. I took it to a transmission shop & had the whole transmission rebuilt. It was full of metal. I was going to have the transmission serviced for the regular maintenance but never got the chance. At 72,000 miles, it was rebuilt for $1800 plus the $180 towing fee. If I had more warning, I may have been able to catch it before the whole thing went bad, but the light never came on until it was too late. I have taken good care of this vehicle, no off-roading, rough driving, or anything. Never so much as a hiccup until this.
Whining noise coming from rear differential on 2002 ford explorer. It is apparent that the rear differentials on these vehicles are failing and ford is aware of this but refuses to repair the problem at their expense.
My gear shift snapped off. I've noticed many similar complaints. This is not an inexpensive repair and it appears the parts are not available. I'm an older driver, handicapped and I'm the only person who has driven my vehicle. It is not the result of abuse.
Transmission slipping, gears slippage, o/d light flashing, all equals a new transmission at price of $3100. Only reached 80,000 miles an maintained properly at all times!
2002 ford explorer with broken gear shift lever. Customer states that the gear shift lever broke when they were putting the car into reverse. She could turn off the ignition but the key would not come out. *kb the consumer was told the entire steering column would have to be replaced. The gear shift lever broke for the second time on september 25, 2007.
Loud noise coming from rear of vehicle. Let off gas and is fine. Took it to the shop and have to have a new rear end and new housing. I am sorry but a 2002 vehicle should not be having these problems. It is the worst vehicle ford has ever designed. They just lost another customer.
I own a 2002 ford explorer xlt 2wd, it started to do this grinding noise in tranny,/d light flasihng, couldnt shift,took it to dealer in mexico, yeah middle of vacation, said coulnt do anything to save it. Car is sitting in mexico. Thanks ford
I have been driving a 2002 explorer for about 4 years now. I am currently experiencing a major transmission problem, and just found out last weekend that the rear differential was going out. Now, I don't know much about cars so I rely on others, but when 3 different mechanics repeatedly told me that the rear differential was going out, I think that means something is wrong. I would never have guessed that a transmission would go out after just 5 years, and the rear differential is just icing on the cake. The fact that I have read several other complaints regarding this same issue and yet ford wants to do nothing about it just totally disgusts me. My family are very loyal to ford, even have a few relatives that work for them. Ford needs to recognize that this is a major concern and do something about it. Having your tires lock up while you are driving is a very scary thing and honestly I never want to drive that vehicle again.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving 50 MPH, the contact noticed that the vehicle began to drastically decelerate. The vehicle would not exceed speeds of 20 MPH. She heard a loud winding noise, but no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the transmission was defective. The vehicle was serviced, but she does not know what parts were repaired. The manufacturer stated that they would not reimburse her for the repairs. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 78,000.
2002 ford explorer. Vehicle parked - went to put in gear and shifter broke off in steering column. This is the 2nd time this has happened in less than 2 years!
2002 ford explorer transmission and rear differential failures, reported well before 100,000 warranty expiration and ignored by ford!
I , along with many other owners have logged complaints referring to a noisy differential on the 2002 ford explorer that ultimately results in differential lockup, possibly at highway speed. If you search the complaints associated with the 2002 ford explorer rear differential logged on this website you will notice over 50 complaints regarding the premature failure of this unit on these vehicles. In addition ford has identified the problem and sells updated kits to repair this issue, however owners must pay for this kit and have it installed to repair ford's defective material and workmanship.
Automatic transmission shift level housing broke off. When attempting to place the car into reverse the level broke from the housing requiring the car to be towed to the dealership. Basic part# 3c529. Currently , have the car at sill-terhar motors where we are awaiting used replacement, since no parts are available. Seeing that this part is only used for shifting there is no reason for this to break this soon and felt this is a defect in manufacturing.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. When the contact attempted to shift gears, the gear shift fell off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of failure, however, they stated that the steering column and gear shift needed to be replaced. The VIN was verified, but appeared to be invalid. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 110,000. . Date received 12/12/07 updated 12/19/07
We were driving the car to work, going about 55 MPH and the overdrive light came on and then the car just stopped moving. It nearly caused an accident. Now I have been told that I need the transmission replaced or rebuilt. I have had this car for 17 months and there was no indication that there was a problem. It wasn't even at the point to have the transmission flushed, so what is the deal with the inferior equipment that ford installed? I don't have the money to pay for a transmission and am at a loss as to what to do, other than to have it towed cod to fords main office for 'display' .
Vehicle is a 2002 ford explorer, purchased new. Gear shift broke off at steering column. A small part broke, but dealer says the entire steering column must be replaced because part that broke is attached to steering column. Dealership reports there is a "nationwide" waiting list for the part and is unable to get a part to fix the vehicle. Dealer is "researching" the issue but has no estimate of when part will be available. Several internet sites report similar complaints, with some reporting they were told up to 5 1/2 months to get part.
Shortly after buying the vehicle (68k miles) the transmission started shuttering and having issues shifting from 1-2 gear. It would also have problems down shifting under load. I would have to release the throttle momentarily to make it shift. Overdrive light would blink, the odometer would blink all 'dashes', and the speedometer would go to 0 MPH. I have had the vehicle worked on at a local dealership 3 times and still the problem persists. Now, at 97k miles, my extended warranty has expired and I am left with a vehicle I am still paying for and a bad transmission.
After owning for a week and a half, had to have the g ears in the rear end replaced. Later informed that the tires were not evenly worn which was causing the rear end to pop. After replacing the tires, the four wheel drive would not work. The 4 x 4 module and the wiring need to be replaced, costing $1000.00. That is not including the driver window switch needing to be replaced as well as the window regulator. Now there is an electrical problem coming from the dash. Unable to figure out what it is yet.
There has not been any accidents, yet. But the rear differential in the 2002 ford explorer will eventually fail causing the rear end to lock up and the vehicle be uncontrollable. Many consumers have had to fix and replace the parts at low mileage and ford is aware of the problem, but refuses to voluntarily recall the parts. The rear differential seals go bad and cause it to leak. There is then what sounds like road noise consistent with vehicle speed. When the fluid is finally gone, the part will eventually lock up. Ford had been advised by numerous consumers of this problem and knows of the possible problems that could arise, but refuses to take the steps necessary to prevent a major accident from occurring. Please look into this and maybe someone can talk some sense into ford. Thank you. S
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that he had to rebuild his transmission and replace the rear differential bearings. The vehicle failed while driving 70 MPH. He stated that the vehicle shut off when he shifted into reverse. He had to wait a few minutes before the vehicle could be restarted. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 80,000 and failure mileage was 67,117.
I have a 2002 ford explorer xlt with 96,000 miles on it and around 60,000 the noise started. First the front right wheel started to vibrate and then the hub went. While driving my front tire just collapsed. 2nd issue the rear end started to make noise is more like vibraing. And after searching on google, I find that im not the only one with this issue. This is a very expensive issue $1200. Just to start the ford company is aware of this issue and nothing is being done about it. This is not a joke, this is serious, someone can get hurt. Maybe that's what it will take for the ford company to resolve the issue, the issue that ford is aware of. Please help!
We have a 2002 ford explorer. We purchased this used in august 2004. On june 2005 we started having trouble with the transmission and took it in to the dealership on june 8, 2005 they had it for 8 days and repaired it under warranty. We took it back on june 24, 2005 for the same problem. They had it for 5 days but said they could not duplicate the problem. On jan 20, 2006 we had to take it back in to the dealership for transmission problems again. They had it for 7 days this time and repaired the problem under warranty. Then on feb 10, 2006 we had to take it back to the dealership for transmission problems again. This time they had it for 19 days and again repaired it under warranty. Now we are having transmission problems again and we took it to the dealership for repair but they say it is out of warranty and that there is nothing they can do for us. They say that it has been 1-1/2 years and 40,000 miles since it was last worked on and it is out of warranty. After talking to everyone at the dealership from the service mgr, the general manager and finally the owners daughter, all they are willing to do for us is to replace the transmission and give us the employee discount price which is $ 2641.50. I feel that this is an own going problem and that the transmission is a lemon and they should have to replace the transmission at no charge to us. Also after doing some research on the internet, I am finding that this seems to be a problem with a lot of 2002 ford explorers
My transmission has to be replaced which will cost $3800. Plus $500.for the cost of a rental car. 2nd time transmission has to be worked on. The first time the car just stopped in the middle of rush hour. Car is maintained every 3000 miles@a ford dealership. Check engine light came on with overdrive light blinking.
Complete rear differential failure, complete lockup of wheels, started with whining from rear end on 2002 ford explorer 4wd with only 84,000 miles.
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