The transmission on my 2002 ford explorer failed at about 86,000 miles and required $3000.00 to repair. Ford acknowledged that it was a design flaw but would do nothing to cover any of the repair costs. After researching this online and talking to mechanics there are thousands of 2002 ford explorer transmissions that have failed. This is a textbook case of the need for a recall requiring ford to replace the defective transmissions at no cost to the consumer.
2002 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 8 of 51: complaints 191 to 220 of 1,502, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2002 ford explorer xlt, my transmission just recently went out. It has about 142,000 miles. I took it to a transmission specialist, to get it fixed, they took it apart, and told me it was costing $3,786.60 to get it fixed/rebuilt! As of right now my truck is still in the shop, it has been there for 2 weeks now. There is no way can afford to pay that, I"m just a student. I did some research online and it turns out that there is thousands of people with the same problem; transmissions go out and the majority on the 2002 model. They rebuild the transmission, only for it to go out again. Some people have replaced/rebuilt their transmissions 4 or 5 times. I also read that these trucks can stop at any moment; anywhere. This is very dangerous, especially if on the freeway. I don't see why ford, didn't recall this truck or this transmission. They need to take responsibility and fix the problem. I have no idea, what I am going to do to get my truck fixed.. Or maybe even replaced.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact was driving 50 MPH uphill when the vehicle began to stall. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and was unable to shift into park. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission would need replacing. The contact called the manufacturer and was told that a possible brake fluid leak caused the transmission to malfunction. The contact did not have the transmission replaced. The failure mileage was 129,000.
Transmission failure.
I bought my 2002 ford explorer in 2005. At about 85000 miles I noticed the transmission started to slip and often jerks real hard when shifting into 3rd. I had the transmission fluid changed by an authorized ford dealer in my area and they told me there are no metal shavings in the fluid, however, they did tell me that the 2002 fords are well knows for having transmission problems and they see it all the time in this make model and year. I called ford and they told me there are no recalls on the transmission, however, reading all the problems on the internet about owners who have complained, I feel there should be a recall on this because it is a safety issue!
I have a 2002 ford explorer that has 120,000 miles on it. I was recently driving back home from a trip in san francisco, california to sacramento, california. Two days after having my car fully serviced and my over drive light came on and as soon as that happened my car started telling me I need to get my transmission checked. I sat there thinking to myself how can this be happening I just spent 800 dollars to have all of my fluids flushed, brakes checked, everything. I took my car back to the auto repair store and they told me I needed a new transmission and after labor it would be around 5000 (I think I was quoted that price because I'm a young female, I was looking online and most people were quoted around 3000). I'm a full time college student paying for my classes with student loans and grants. I don't have a few thousand dollars sitting around at my disposal to fix my car. I also can't have my car in the shop for a long period of time due to the fact if I miss more than 3 classes most of my professors will drop me. I have researched this issue and many other consumers not just myself have had this incident happen to them, I believe ford is in the wrong for having faulty manufacturing, they have made it so any transmission work has to be done by the dealer, you can't even check your own transmission fluid. I feel as if ford needs to issue a recall on their transmissions or offer some kind of help to pay for these unacceptable incidents.
Transmission failure in 2010, almost caused vehicle accident on the highway; was rebuilt in march 2011, but transmission is slipping again and it is now august 2011. I have been checking several different websites and I received 1 recall letter in the mail but happened to notice there is another recall. If all of these problems are continuing to happen, why is a recall on the entire truck not done? It is obviously a defective vehicle. I have 2 small children, one with a medical issue that has to travel for her doctor visits. These problems are getting out of hand. I can not believe it has gone this long and nothing has been done about it. There is also the issue with the non working air compressor and the bad electrical system as well as the roaring in the back tires. As much as I travel with my children and get from point a to b, im surprised this thing has not fallen apart. I was a sucker for a pretty truck!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH she noticed smoking in the rear of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic who stated there was a minor defect in the transmission. The mechanic repaired the defect and within two weeks the transmission failed. The contact towed the vehicle to her home and notified the manufacturer regarding the transmission failure. The manufacturer stated there was nothing they could since there were no related recalls. The contact stated if the transmission failed while driving on the highway, a crash could occur. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that she was unable to shift the vehicle into reverse. The dealer inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that she needed to replace the transmission. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current and failure mileages were 131,000.
Was driving home from getting groceries and the car failed to accelerate. Was at a intersection so it was a unpleasant situation as their was oncoming cars. Pulled the car over and shut off.. Checked for transmission fluid.. There was none. Started car and it would only drive about 15 MPH the remainder of the trip. The overdrive control on the transmission had failed. 2200 repair.. Checked the recalls and there currently is not one even though this specific transmission has thousands of complains (not over exaggerating) this is a dangerous situations considering I could have been on the interstate or a on ramp. This vehicle is sitting in my garage awaiting a recall of when my family gets the financial stability to repair it in a non ford dealership/repair shop. This SUV gets regular fluid fills/changes at the correct intervals with documentation.. This transmission is "sealed" which means it cannot be checked for fluid loss or bad fluid. "bad engineering" which should require a repair at fords expense.
2002 ford explorer , had rear end repaired at 75000.0 miles by ford dealer and again it's making a grinding noise at 101000.0...like all others, they state out of warranty and want customer to pay.
Transmission has gone out at 85,300 miles, must have it rebuilt.
2002 ford explorer-transmission failure-130,000 miles-july 12, 2011 transmission rebuilt at 119,000 miles on jan. 13, 2010 by a local ford dealer- both failures consisted of the transmission slipping in and out of gear during normal driving. In heavy traffic this is a very dangerous situation. The vehicle suddenly loses speed and passengers are subject to rear end impact or sudden surges of speed when the transmission slips back into gear, causing a possible rear end impact with another vehicle. In addition, the transmission sticks in one gear and will not shift. Ford motor company has been aware of the problems with this type of transmission since 2002. My local dealer says that fmc figures revealed that 30% of vehicles equipped with this transmission experienced failure of some type. However fmc offered very little relief to its customers. I believe that it is time for an immediate forced recall of this transmission.
2002 ford explorer transmisson slipping gears, hard to shift, and not accelerating in april 2008 at 100k miles. Replaced with a rebuilt transmission and same thing is happening again after only 40k more miles and only 2 months out of warranty for the rebuilt transmission. This is clearly a defective transmission and somebody is going to get seriously hurt.
I own a 2002 xplorer, recently the o.d light began blinking and the truck started jerking violently. I did some research and found out there are thousands of people with the same transmission problem.I have an eight year old who was in the truck with me at the time.this is a major safety issue with ford and should definately be looked into.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle would not accelerate more than 20 MPH, and the over drive warning light remained illuminated. Due to the type of warning light, the vehicle would not shift into gear, causing the transmission to fail. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls or warranties, and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 68,000.
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.
My 2002 ford explorer's transmission completely stopped working while stopped at a traffic light. That is a major safety hazard and could have caused a major accident. I have read numerous complaints about the transmission in these model and year vehicles. There needs to be some recall for this.
When shifting from reverse to park the shift lever broke off in my hand. To research this problem please look at www.carcomplaints.com and look under the 2002 explorer and under the sub heading interior accessories problems. Of the 180 complaints under this sub heading, 126 are for the broken shift lever problem and these were all reported since 2008. Please issue a recall for this safety problem. The problem is clearly due to faulty design and faulty parts.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that the gear shift selector detached from the hinge while the contact was attempting to change gears. The contact was able to shut off the vehicle but the key would not come out of the ignition. The vehicle was repaired once but the failure recurred. The dealer was contacted and told the contact that there were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 74,797 and the current mileage is 75,846. Updated 07/27/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that the odometer began to flash and the vehicle began to jerk abnormally. The vehicle was taken home and parked. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 84,000.
Transmission gear shift broke off steering column as the vehicle was put in park. Could have been a major safety issue had I been anywhere other than my home and shifting into any other gear than park. Thought this was an isolated incident only to find information online that this is a common occurrence with the 2002 explorers (over 100 reported on one website alone). Other issues I've experienced since day 1 of purchasing the vehicle new are transmission lunging, vehicle rocking when put in park, and difficulty shifting into park.
Today I drove my 2002 ford explorer out and upon returning home I could not shift it into park. I switched it off thinking that if I crank it up and turn the wheels it would go into park but I couldn't even crank it up because I was not in the park gear. I played with it for 20 minutes and it finally went into park. I let it sit for a couple hours and went back out and cranked it, it went into gear. I drove it around the block came back and parked. Cranked it up about 10 minutes later to go out and it would not come out of park gear. I have no idea what the problem but if it's something serious the dealer can have it back. Something should be done to make ford repair their malfunctions, we are talking some serious money on these repairs and a lot of people like myself is looking for work now. People we need to start protesting out side these dealerships. They are getting rich and we are suffering at their mishaps.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated the gear selector lever fractured when shifting from park into drive. There was no prior warning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,000.
This requested recall involves a 2002 ford explorer having an automatic transmission. During normal use, the shift lever breaks off at a cast rotating cylinder that transmits the torque from the gear shifter to push and pull the cable that puts the vehicle in park, drive, neutral, and reverse. The vehicle also had a tendency to jump out of park even before the part broke which caused the vehicle to roll back and almost pinned me between another vehicle when the vehicle rolled back and crashed into a vehicle parked downhill. This was a near miss accident. Ford wants to charge $1500 to replace the entire steering column. We elected to junk the vehicle at this time until another solution can be found. Vehicle still drives if you reach your hand and push/pull the transmission cable to shift the automatic transmission into gear. We can send the broke off section of the part if you will return it. On the internet, there are many reports of the same failure for years 2002 through 2005 ford explorers.
When putting car into park or reverse, car would sometime still be in drive for seconds after putting car in gear. Several times now, occasionally car will simply shut off. Recently, the car would not go into park and shifter separated from steering column.
While backing up, the gear shift broke on my 2002 ford explorer. It was good that I was not in traffic because I could not get the car back in gear and could have gotten hit and or caused an accident. The steering column was replaced and the parts were in my opinion over priced. My fear is that it may happen again because it may have been replaced with the same defective part.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. The contact stated that the automatic transmission failed and was replaced at the contacts expense. Two years later, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop who advised that the transmission would need to be replaced or rebuilt a second time. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted who offered no assistance and there were no recalls for the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Transmission failure at 60k miles. Hard shifting, jerking, sudden shifts into 4x4 high. Replacement cost of 2800 dollars. Three visits later and it still isn't right.
Transmission has had problems since car was bought. Have had work down on it and finall y had to replace it in may 2011, cost $5000.
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