I have a 2003 4wd 4.0 6 cyl. Ford explorer with 84,000 miles on it. My over drive light starts flashing and the transmission is slipping. I have just seen online hundreds of people with the exact same problem and ford is not recalling or doing anything to help with repairs.
2003 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 8 of 12: complaints 191 to 220 of 335, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2003 ford explorer purchased new. Out of the blue check transmission and o/d off light starts flashing. At dealership now for repair estimate. While researching on the internet I was amazed to see the number of identical complaints for the exact problem on the exact same car. I spoke with ford today & they told me sorry and to "have a good day". I am mortified at the problem and the lack of assistance ford is willing to provide with this obviously large spread problem.
I can't seem to get the front differential to stop leaking - neither can my mechanic. My mechanic has replaced the "crush washer" (where the driveline connects to the differential) a couple of times. I was told the differential was manufactured by dana. I don't want to replace the differential because my driver's side front half-shaft will probably have to be replaced also... The threads on the end of the spindle have rusted off. I'll probably also have to replace the (lf) wheel bearing. (I think I'll have to because I had to have the ford dealership replace both rear wheel bearings back when the vehicle only had 36,000 miles on it) not critical stuff here - just a nuisance. Thanks.
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.
This vehicle is a 2003 ford explorer limited with a severe roar coming from the rear end. There is a technical bulletin out at repair shops but no recall. It could result in the gears locking down and losing control while driving. It is a defect of the ford motor co and should be under recall. The cost of repair is around $1400.00. The noise is so loud that it could block the ability to hear oncoming traffic and emergency vehicles. You don't have to worry about using a cell phone while driving in this vehicle because you would not be able to hear the other person. I understand that all ford,lincoln, and mercury SUV's are a part of this tech-bulletin. The years that are affected are 2002-2006. Please consider issuing a recall soon.
I own a 2003 ford explorer. I have owned it since buying it from vogler ford in carbondale, illinois. A few months ago the overdrive light began to flash all the time and it shifts hard going from 2nd to 3rd gear. I searched this problem on the internet to see if I could replace a part on it. I have read numerous complaints about these transmissions. Have they recalled any faulty transmissions from ford vehicles.
Severe rear end noise has been happening for over a year now. Rear differential now needs to be changed. Although there are technical service bulletins the dealership will not work with me on the cost of these repairs. I have also had a sensor replaced twice and it is now broken again.
Factory rearend was replaced in my 03 ford explorer. Since then the problem of gradual rearend deterioration has not been fixed. If the rearend fails catastrophically then a serious accident could occur. Ford motors does not consider this to be a safety concern, but it definitely is. Ford should recall all vehicles with the defective rearends and fix their problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the transmission frequently malfunctioned. When he would shift into reverse or drive, the vehicle would not respond. He would have to wait ten minutes for the transmission to engage or even shut off the vehicle and try again. Everytime the vehicle was taken to the dealer, they could never duplicate the failure. After a diagnostic was performed, the dealer could not find any failures. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer at least 5-6 times for the failure, but was not given any explanation. The current mileage was approximately 62,000 and failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact heard a loud whining sound coming from the rear of the vehicle while accelerating and decelerating. The service manager stated that he could not find anything in his computer that was related to the failure. There are currently ten the federal safety agency service bulletins related to the failure. The current mileage was 76,000 and failure mileage was 55,000. Update 09/10/08 *cw the consumer was told the rear axle may have to be replaced. Updated 09/11/08.
April 2008, o/d light started blinking & vehicle started shifting hard; took to ford dealership the next week; after computer diagnostic said I needed to replace transmission on 2003 explorer with 80,000 miles; within 2 months the vehicle was parked because the transmission was not wanting to shift into reverse regardless of weather conditions.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving 25 MPH, the transmission caused the RPM's to increase from 1,000 to 4,000, followed by a loud thumping noise. The overdrive light would also remain illuminated after the malfunction. The vehicle has been diagnosed by the dealer, but still continues to fail. The failure mileage was 44,000.
O/d light flashes transmission has trouble shifting out of 1st gear.
Driving to work from home, o/d off light began flashing and going from 1st to 2nd gear lagged. Returning home that night, o/d off light began flashing and service engine soon light came on along with lagging in shifting. Took to mechanic who performed transmission maintenance and replaced solenoid. This corrected service engine light, but o/d light still flashed. Found filings in transmission fluid which LED to replacing transmission. Found forums that related similar problems with transmission. At least I got 90,000 miles before this happened.
Excessive whine/noise coming from the rear end of the vehicle, at highway speeds.
When shifted into reverse the vehicle will intermittently slam into the gear after some time has lapsed, or other times it won't move into any gear and freezes in a neutral state, even when the shift lever is moved into drive or any other gear, for that matter. These events have occurred at least several times in the 1 month period we have owned it. Purchased it from a dealer on 2/24/08 with 53,000k miles on it. It is currently in a ford dealer (1 week so far) for service, but they say they can not replicate the problem with the transmission. If I pick up the vehicle now the used vehicle warranty that came with the vehicle will expire and will not cover the problem when it does completely fail. After reading all the problems these transmissions have, it is inevitable it won't be long before that happens. Hopefully, it won't be in the middle of traffic or worse yet, when driving with my grandkids somewhere. This is definitely a safety issue, as the total failure often happen with no warning. The vehicle otherwise drives great.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving 30 MPH, the contact heard a whining noise coming from the vehicle. The noise becomes louder as the vehicle travels faster. The whining appears to be coming from the rear suspension. The failure mileage was 120,000 and current mileage was 144,800. Updated 04/14/08. *lj the consumer stated the transmission was replaced at no charge by ford at 55,000 miles due to a defect. The 4-wheel drive makes excessive noise when in gear. Updated
Rear axle loud noise. Front left wheel bearing became extremely noisy. Automatic 4wd control engaged unexpectedly during low speed turns and parking. Several visits to the ford repair shop, almost $2.5k in repairs, "erroneously" diagnosed. Results: finally, failures still in place. What a shame!!!
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving 10 MPH, the contact heard a noise similar to a tire blowout. She pulled the vehicle off the road and discovered that the lug studs for the driver and passenger side rear wheels had sheared off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the studs were replaced. The failure occurred twice. The contact attempted to shift into park, but the gear became stuck. She jiggled the gear until it went into park. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 60,000.
Transmission was fine and then it started having trouble switching from 1st to 2nd gear. Next thing the od light started flashing so I decided to take it to the dealer. By the time I got there the service engine soon light came on. They did a computer check ($90 cost) on it and recommended to install a remanufactured unit for $3829. After some more research, I decided to take it to aamco. They went beyond the computer check and discovered that the 2nd servo piston was broken and the od servo piston also recommended to be replaced along with the torque converter because there have been so many problems with them. In the end, the cost will be $2043.
The transfer case failed on our 2003 ford explorer. This is a known problem at ford and due to a design flaw with the explorer. It cost $2,000 to fix. Our mechanic referred us to a transmission/transfer case specialist who had seen multiple explorers with this problem. Ford should issue a recall for this known defect. The consequences of a failure in the transfer case can be a complete shredding of the gears and sudden loss of power, which could be extremely dangerous.
At 40,000 miles 4000 out of warranty, the transmission on my 2003 ford explorer catastrophically failed. No warning at all. Driving down the highway, the o/d light started to flash and the car started to shift in and out of gear. My wife nursed the car home. The car had no first gear and would slam from second to third. Ford confirmed this, and said the only fix was a complete transmission. 6,000 miles later, the same thing. Since this was under warranty, ford said that they could replace some solenoids and that would fix it....not!! Three more trips and finally a transmission that doesn't act up all the time. It still shifts funny and sometimes fails to go into gear. My wife has come close to being rear-ended numerous times, I.e. Backing into the street. This is a safety issue that ford has been ignoring, read the forums. I have many other numerous complaints about this vehicle. Read differential clutches going bad, keyless entry failing, door locks failing, and a window that works part-time....kinda like ford engineers.
Brand new 2003 ford explorer. Replaced engine at 115 k miles and now the trans is going; specifically, the o/d light keeps flashing and it shifts badly. I've seen numerous complaints about the same thing online, while ford ignores this faulty trans.
Typical ford explorer tranmission problem having to do with the torque converter. Od light flashing. Nothing done to envoke this problem and no events leading up to the failure. Just driving on the highway.
2003 ford explorer transmission failure at 62,000 miles.
Well maintained vehicle - and transmission only lasted 59,500miles (less than 5 years). Covert ford dealer in austin, tx only money hungry. Wouldn't help at all.
Vehicle purchased in 2003 after 1 year roaring noise began in rear axle. Vehicle taken to dealer and differential carrier assembly replaced. Vehicle now having the same problem with differential assembly. (roaring noise)
2003 explorer eddie bauer 4.6l v-8 awd, transmission failed during morning commute. I hear noise, the car lost speed, and "o/d off" was flashing. I could barely merge the car to the far right lane and manage to get the car to the office.
I'm never buying another ford. Last week the o/d light came on in my ford explorer. I drove it right home and got the manual out to see what the problem was. "transmission problem" was what the manual indicated, as well as several websites I reviewed. I didn't worry at first, since I figured this would be covered under warranty. My explorer is just under 5 years old and just under 60k miles. Surely there would at least be a 60k power train warranty. No one would buy a vehicle if they knew the transmission would only last 59k miles. Well, the dealer told me a new transmission was needed (5th and 2nd gears were worn down), that it would cost $3500, and that it is not covered by warranty. And to add insult to injury he charged me $90 to tell me the transmission was bad (something I obviously knew) - isn't this similar to stealing? I then asked him what trade in value I could get (not that I really would buy another poor quality ford, but I wanted to explore all options). $5500 is the most they could give. I laughed - since I had taken very good care of the vehicle. It told me that they didn't want the vehicle either - so much for them really standing behind their product. They know the quality is poor. Obviously I was quite irritated. I asked what caused this. None of the possibilities applied since I took good care of the vehicle and had it serviced according to the maintenance manual. In fact, the dealer (cover ford in austin) did the 30k checkup. I spent $1k on that (and probably got ripped off). I took it to a transmission specialist and had it fixed for under $2500. He informed me that he sees a lot of issues like this with explorers - probably a poor design and poor quality. Also, judging by various websites there are indeed lots of complains like this.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving 25 MPH, the rear end of the vehicle suddenly slumped and the rear driver side tire detached from the vehicle. The wheel, brake, rotor, lower control arm, and axle were damaged. Repairs were made. The current and failure mileages were 50,000. Updated 01/09/08.*lj the dealer replaced brake pads and rear end vibrating. Updated 12/12/07
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