2003 Ford Explorer: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Dec 29, 2017 · Engine · 160,000 miles · MI · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge increased to high and the vehicle caught fire under the hood without warning. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries due to the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Filed Nov 27, 2015 · 150,000 miles · NJ · fire

Vehicle was parked(engine cold) on residential street,alarm sounded,upon opening hood discovered flames, put out immediately with extinguisher, car will not run and there appears to be extensive damage especially on right side.

Filed Nov 27, 2009 · Engine · 103,000 miles · NY · fire

Our ford explorer shut down without warning in an intersection. People began pushing my wife, baby son, and two other sons out of the intersection when the truck began smoking and then the engine burst into flames. We lost the truck (which only has two payments left and which was in perfect working order), our car seats, and a considerable amount of personal items to smoke, fire, and water damage. The fire department had to be summoned to put the fire out.

Filed May 27, 2009 · Engine · 60,720 miles · FL

No noise/warning. The car had billowing black smoke coming from under the hood. On inspection oil was gushing from a valve at the back of the engine and burning, it nearly burst into flames. It was towed to a local mechanic, who found the timing chain had broken, slashing a valve cover and cutting into the back of the engine. It can be fixed for $3,000 plus tax estimate, but the ford dealership recommends against this and says it needs a new engine /refurbished engine $5,000 plus tax. Ford refuse to accept this is a defect, despite multiple complaints I have seen on the internet. The car was a ford explorer 2003 with only 60,720 on the clock. I bought it new and maintained it well. I still have payments on it so am selling it for $2000 to cover the payments. It was a $34,000 car.

Filed May 4, 2009 · Engine · 99,000 miles · GA · fire

I was driving home from work when I noticed my vehicle started to make this taping noise. I pulled over to the side of the road to see what it could be then noticed it was coming from under the hood. I didn'ttt feel safe continuing to drive on the highway so drove to the next exit and got off. The noise started to get louder so I pulled into a gas station and waited for someone to come pick me up because I didn't feel the vehicle was safe to drive. As I was sitting there with the car turned off, something on the driver side under the hood burst into flames. Fire department had to come out and put vehicle fire out.

Filed Sep 16, 2008 · Brakes, Electrical · 50,000 miles · NV

I purchased a 2003 explorer in august 2006; mileage was approximately 45,000. By october the car would not start and the alternator was replaced. A few weeks later, I was back because my car was jerking. Nothing showed up on the diagnostic tool at that time. However, I was told the starter would have to be replaced as would the recently installed alternator. I returned less than a month later with the same jerking issue, only this time I notified the repair shop that the o/d light had been coming on. Furthermore, my car had actually stalled in the middle of traffic. Again, nothing was found. By early december, I was back. My car had stalled on a few more occasions and would not "pick up". That is, even though the RPM's would reach anywhere from 2500 - 4000, my car could not accelerate above 25 - 30 MPH. Several days later I was told that the transmission needed work. I got my car back a few days before christmas and decided last minute to head to the mountains. As soon as I reach a slight elevation, the car ceased to accelerate and what's more, a thick heavy cloud of black smoke came out of the rear and persisted for at least two miles. I headed back down the mountain for home. I took the car back and they kept it for at least a week and a half to repair the torque converter and other transmission related issue. In early fall 2007, I took the car to my local ford dealer for some strange noise coming from the engine. It ended up costing $2500.00 to repair. I returned in november for more work, this time for the same torque converter and solenoid issue as a year ago. During this two year period, my vehicle was under extended warranty. The total repair cost for the first year of ownership is anywhere from $5000 - $9000, of which I paid at least $2500 out of pocket. My warranty has since expired and I am worried that these same issues will recur, as I have read they have. This is not an isolated incident and should be investigated and a recall issued.

Filed Feb 14, 2007 · Suspension, Transmission · 60,000 miles · KS

My 2003 ford explorer was serviced at dick edwards ford in junction city , ks to replace a left hand rear axle shaft seal on the 12th of febuary 2007. Vehicle was picked up at the dealership by my wife. On the 13th of febuary she was driving home from work (about 3-5 miles) she called me on her cell phone and said she could hear noises, smelled something burning and the rear of the car was moving around and the brake pedal was low. I told her to proceed home with caution. When she arrived home I looked at the vehicle, and noted the lh rear wheel assembly was at a 30 deg angle. I called dick edward ford and they informed me to have it towed to the dealership. Today they implied it was a bearing failure. I looked at the vehicle, spoke to the mechanic and I noted it was a rear axle shaft retention nut malfunction. The nut had backed out on the axle to the point that the assembly was about depart from the vehicle. The mechanic wanted to blame the axle bearing, which was destroyed. This nut if improperly torqued, or the assembly is not installed properly prior to torquing the nut, the nut can become loose and back off, especially since it is rh thread, there is not a cotter pin or anything holding this thing together, only a torqued nut. They then told me that they would not pay for it as it was a coincidence this happened. I refuse to pay. I have pictures of the vehicle setting in my driveway. I should have taken pictures at the dealership when it was taken apart. If my loved one had been on the interstate doing 70 MPH this would have probably have allowed the wheel assembly to depart from the vehicle resulting in a catastrophic accident. And possible death to her as well as others. How many other vehicles out there with the same poor engineering design ?

Filed Dec 6, 2006 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · CT

Dt*: the contact stated the transmission failed while driving 30 MPH. There was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle and when the contact stopped to inspect the problem, leaking transmission was noticed. The service dealer was notified and the vehicle was towed to a transmission shop where a computer diagnostics identified the problem as a failure to the onboard computer. The manufacturer was not alerted.

Filed Feb 15, 2006 · Electrical · 24,000 miles · NJ · fire

I had 2003 ford explorer that caught fire in my driveway, my car was backed in about 10 feet from house with tailgate open. The investigator from my insurance company is telling me it was an electrical fire in back inside drivers side of the vehicle. The fire destroyed the vehicle and I also have damages to my house and property.

Filed Jan 27, 2006 · Engine · 38,308 miles · FL · fire

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 70 MPH smoke emitted from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled off the road and towed to the dealership. The radiator, fuel filter, air filter, and steering gear assembly was replaced, the front end was aligned as well. Two days later while driving at 70 MPH smoke was noticed in the rearview mirror. The vehicle was pulled off the road and less than one minute later the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire. The fire marshal determined this fire was caused by a mechanical failure malfunction. There was a police and fire report filed.

Filed Jun 24, 2004 · 64,100 miles · IL · crash · 1 injury

Driving east bound on route 3 from king george, va to oak grove, va at 3am. I had an accident with a deer at 45mph. Air bag failed to deploy when involved in a collision with the deer. Airbag light lit and flashed. Smoke came from steering column. Seatbelts failed to lock. Door ajar light was lit and flashing as well even though the door was closed all the way and locked. Repair facility wasnt capable of troubleshooting that fault. I was refered to purvis ford to have it repaired. Purvis ford found a bad door switch. Most likely related to the accident with the deer. Took 2 weeks to get that part in. Only injuries I incured was my back. Vertabre was out of line from l1-l5 and some vertabre in the center of my back. Currently on pain medication for back pain. Gautier's auto body and glass inc. Replaced the entire bumper cover and repainted it. They also replaced driver side fog lamp, license bracket, bumper grill, bracket retainer, valance, fog light cover, grill, and tensioners for restraint system. They also repaired light rail and front sheet metal. In addition to all of that they also did an alignment for the 2 front wheels. My main complaint here is with all the damage done, the airbag light being lit and flashing, and the seat belts not locking...why didnt the airbag not go off when I was properly wearing the seatbelt and driving at 45mph. It appears to me and to gautier's auto body and glass inc. That the airbag system and seatbelt system didnt function properly. I personally think ford need to look at the airbag system for the 2003 ford explorer xlt and redesign it do it works for any type of accident at that speed.

Filed Aug 14, 2003 · Electrical · 34,000 miles · 00 · fire

While driving on a back country road at 15 to 20 MPH the vehicle suddenly burst into flames. Thick black smoke was billowing from the front right side of vehicle. Cause of fire was unknown at this time, and under investigation. Also, vehicle was a rental, and two consumers were in vehicle at time of incident.