Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle began to make an unfamiliar noise. The overdrive indicator flashed repeatedly and the vehicle began to hesitate. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a transmission shop who replaced the transmission. The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 62,000 and failure mileage was 61,800.
2002 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 34 of 51: complaints 971 to 1,000 of 1,502, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2002 ford explorer with 75000 miles. During normal driving began to hear a howling/grinding sound from the rear axle. Seemed to be a rear differential problem that was a very common among 2002-2004 ford explorers. No recall has been issued.
Purchased a 2002 ford explorer in november 2001. In october/november 2004 had to have transmission serviced with 30000 miles on it. At that time it was repaired under warranty. Now, with 48700 miles the transmission was again shifting very roughly in 2-3 and 3-4 shifts. Ford dealership stated that repairs costs would be $890. Spoke with ford customer service, and they declined to assist with the cost of the repair because they so graciously helped pay for the 3rd replacement of the plastic applique on the rear liftgate glass even though the warranty expired. Based on the number of complaints filed here and on other internet sites there was clearly an engineering problem with this transmission. Comparing the number of transmission complaints for the 2001 and 2003 explorers to the 2002 and it was obvious that the 2002 model was defective.
The transmission in my 2002 4wd ford explorer failed at 73,000 miles. I was traveling on a highway when the problem occurred. I was fortunate that the highway was empty at that time when the transmission failed. The problem occurred suddenly and I feel that my life could have been endangered if more automobiles were present on the highway I was traveling on. I read that sudden transmission failure is a very frequent occurrence among 2002 ford explorers and also read that ford has not addressed the problem through any sort of safety recall procedure. When I called ford to submit a patron complaint ford confirmed that no safety recall had been issued.
Ford explorer transmission rattled and dealer investigated and indicated that the transmission clutches needed to be replaced which was common on the explorer according to the local ford dealer. I had two sales representatives, whose fleet explored, and they both had the same problems. I believed that if the federal safety agency would investigate ford explorer transmission repairs with fleet companies you will discover that there was a major problem with ford explores xlt from 2002 to 2005. Most fleet car driver's didn't complain because the repairs did not come out of their personal funds.
2002 ford explorer 75000 miles ,has rear end noise when between 55-70 MPH.
My problem is with the rear differential as well as the hub bearing assembly in the 2002 ford explorer, 60,000 miles on the vehicle. Terrible grinding sound in rear wheels, both rear bearings in wheels were bad, as well as differential noise and leaking of fluid, e no recall on these issues, but I have found thousands of complaints for this same issue. It was a safety violation not to recall these. If the rear wheels lock it would send vehicle into a spin, or travel off the road, why have you not remedied this with ford? You were taking a great legal risk, by not looking out for the safety of consumers.
I bought a 2002 ford explorer 4x4 new. After 30,000 miles the rear gasket was leaking. Was fixed under warranty. 50,000 miles later it was leaking again. Came to find out it was the seals leaking. After tearing into it needed new gear set, traction clutches and bearing failed. Was this the problem to begin with? Why with such a common failure were we, the owners, not notified? There was also slipping and popping noise in the rear.
After backing out of the garage, I put the automatic transmission in park to exit the vehicle, when I returned to the vehicle, I attempted to put the transmission in reverse and the gear shift became completely detached from the steering column. I turned the vehicle off, but could not remove the keys from the ignition. No damage was done because the vehicle was parked. Two weeks before this time I was on the pennsylvania turnpike in bad weather and used the gear shift to shift to a lower gear on the steep downhill, wet and possibly icy road surface. The consequences could have been much different had the gear shift detached from the steering column under those conditions. There was no indication of the gear shift being loose or difficult to move prior to its failure. The vehicle was towed to the shop and the steering column was replaced.
No noticed problems until 68,000 miles and odometer light came on and noticed revving past 4 to get out of first gear. Took to shop and told needed 'update kit' , and all enclosed ford transmissions needed repairs.
Constant rubbing/grinding sound from rear axle sounding like very loud road noise. Initially had spring kits , but on rear emergency brakes which did not help. Finally, had to have the rear axle assembly rebuilt by a kit that the manufacturer made available through a technical service bulletin, showing they were aware of the problem.
2002 ford explorer / trasnmission failure.
2002 ford explorer, rear end humming and made a great deal of noise. Mechanic said rear end needed to be replaced. Claimed this was a common problem, where was the recall?? Now I am supposed to eat the $3000.00 to repair, I should have bought the highlander. I tried to support USA and got burned, not again!!
Transmission problems, no 3rd gear.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that the overdrive light was flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the service dealer, who stated that the transmission should be replaced. They further stated that the failure was caused by the torque converter clutch or the solenoid pack. The current and failure mileages were 88,000.
During normal driving with a total of 55,000 miles until delay shifting in 2nd and 3rd gears. This was followed by the overdrive off light flashing and then the check engine light went on. Tower ford dealership said the transmission had to be overhauled for $3,000 all out of my pocket.
I have a 2002 ford explorer that began making excessive road noise from the rear of the vehicle. My mechanic told me the seals on the differential needed to be replaced. I have become aware that this is a recurring problem with these vehicles.
2002 ford explorer transmission broke the 3rd gear band. This is the second rebuild with only 40k miles on it. I feel this is a known issue and this should be covered under the lemon law. I feel these vehicles should last at least 80,000 miles before needing a rebuild.
Yet more leaking read differential seals. Rear end howling also, has been for about 15,000 miles now. 79,000 miles currently. I will have to change the rear seals again, and will inspect for the howling noise again. May have to change pinion bearings!? As a mechanic, it is unbelievable to me that we would be having seal and bearing failures at such low mileages. Bad aluminum housing castings maybe? Bad machining? Too much slop at the rear half shaft, causing premature wear on the seal faces? What ever the reason, ford is not making much effort to repair. And they seem surprised that folks are buying foreign trucks. (toyota trucks)
Rear differential failure.
Rear axle seals and wheel bearings. We have had to replace the rear axle seals on june 4, 2004 with 4, 000 miles, and on jun 16, 2006 with 69.600 miles. Also had to replace rear hub bearings and assembly on april 17, 2007 with 74,000 miles. *ak this is obviously a recurring issue, and I have been told this is a common explorer problem. All work on this vehicle has been performed by reputable ford authorized dealers/service, and would expect work to last longer than 1-2 years.
I purchased used 2002 ford explorer xlt on february 28, 2007 from classic nissan in mount. Holly, new jersey. The week of april 9, 2007 my daughter and I took a trip to florida. On april 11,2007 I noticed that when I would hit 55 MPH the odometer off light would start blinking. I notified classic nissan of the situation. They said that they would look at it when I returned from my vacation. On my way home on april 13,2007 I broke down in fayetteville, north carolina. The truck would not drive at all. I would push on the gas pedal and it was acting as if I were in neutral position. I was towed to a service station the next morning and they diagnosed it as needing a new transmission. They stated to me that the pump failed in the transmission, which LED to no fluid flow and the clutches ultimately malfunctioned. I realize that I am out of the warranty period for classic nissan to be at any liability as well as ford motor corporation to be at any liability, but I do not feel as if transmissions should fail at 36,000 miles. I only had the car for a month and a half and now have to spend $3,500.00 to have it repaired. If this is the quality work that ford gives, then I will not be purchasing any more ford vehicles in the future. Thank you. Ak
1. Was just driving, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, when all of a sudden... 2. The "o/d off" light on the dash started blinking rapidly, and the message panel in the dash said "check transmission". Brought it into ford dealership, was told the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost of $3400. 3. Nothing yet, but I'm told if I want to drive the car again, it will require a brand new $3400 transmission. Did a quick search online for "2002 ford explorer transmission", and am seeing a lot of transmission problems... Probably something that should be looked into.
Almost hit someone due to the transmission not down shift coming to a stop and then shifting back into drive after being stopped for a good 10 15 seconds then when it does, it lurches .
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that the transmission will not engage in the reverse position and failed to accelerate. In addition, when the vehicle turned, the rear of the vehicle produced a loud thumping sound and almost stalled. The contact brought the vehicle to the dealer, who was unable to fix the failure. The current and failure mileages were 123,196.
Vehicle made a whinning noise when idling. There was a pause when shifting from park to drive, from reverse to drive, and from drive to reverse. The pause caused vehicle to not move forward or reverse until the transmission engaged.
Only 58,000 miles and the transmission was slipping when going from 2nd to 3rd gear. I babied this car so it has to be a defect.
Drive train problems, holing noise from under vehicle, rear differential problems and transfer case noises, rough shifting from 2wd to 4wd. Have checked on line for a long time and heard nothing but the same problems, why wasn't anything done to ford to get these things put on a recall. We buy their product and now they didn't care about any of our problems. Something has got to be done.
I was told that the 2002 ford explorer has rear seals leaking. I need to get these replaced as soon as possible because I will have to replace the drive train if it fails. I have 119,000 miles on the vehicle, but I always had it serviced with ford. I have done some research and apparently the seals have been failing at low miles. I felt the seals were defective because there were some with this problem with low miles. Apparently the dealers waited until the warranty expired. I felt if the vehicle failsed this would be a safety issue. Ford has produced more defective explorers. I am now faced with a large repair bill.
I purchased an 2002 ford explorer xlt v6 with push-button 4x4. First the rear passenger-side axle and hub broke. This occurred without warning while going down a highway. I was slung into oncomming traffic, but luckily an accident was avoided. I replaced the axle and hub assembly.*ak about one month later the drivers side rear axle began making a humming noise. One day later it made a loud bang and broke. I replaced the axle and hub assembly. Within three weeks it broke again. I replaced it again. It lasted one month. Replaced again. Lasted two days. Replaced the axle/hub assembly for the 4th time. A little over 1 month later it is now making the loud noises. I put the vehicle up on a rack. I was able to slide the wheel in and out and left to right with the slight push of a finger. I have had several mechanics look at the vehicle. They have told me the rear end is not messed up. One mechanic said their may be an issue with the housing but he cannot 'see' anything wrong. I was advised to replace the rear end. Which is estimated at around $1500-$2000. I have already spent upwards of $4000 on axles/hubs/and earlier brake problems.
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