I bought my 2003 ford explorer in sept 2007. After driving it to and from work I noticed a loud humming sound up front @ 94,000miles. When I finally had it looked at 2 months later, I had to replace the drivers side front side wheel bearing. Now a few months later the passenger side front bearing is humming even worse so I had that one replaced. 10,000 miles later the drivers side has started doing the same thing again. I do not live on a dirt road, there is no reason for this to happen in such a short time. I have never had to replace a $400.00 wheel bearing (each) in my life on any truck or car that I have owned until now on a ford explore.
2003 Ford Explorer wheels complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 56 of 56, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Chrome wheels on my 2003 ford explorer limited "centennial" model are cracked and pitted at the center hub where they get mounted to the vehicle. I tried to buy new tires recently, but the tire dealer will not install new tires on these wheels. They say they are a safety hazard and that the wheels need to be replaced. They said the wheels could fail and cause loss of control of the vehicle. I replaced one of these wheels back in 2006, but now 2 more of them are cracked. These are top-of-the-line chrome wheels and sell for more than $400 each.
One of the rims on our ford explorer fell off the car at high speed and, according to ford, it came within seconds of falling off on a previous occasion (also at high speed). These are the factory rims that came with the car when we bought it new in 2003. The dealer has now determined that the rims are so rusted that when they are removed for service and then replaced without having the rust removed, the surface of the rim is rough and does not "mate" properly against the hub. Eventually, the rusted material starts to flake off, which causes the rim to loosen against the hub and the lugs to snap off. The cause of this problem was not identified by ford until after the most recent incident (july 4, 2008). The rims have been causing problems since september of 2005, when the car was two years old and under the original warranty (we also had an extended warranty that expired a few months ago). Despite having the car serviced at ford dealers at least 11 times between september of 2005 and july of this year, nobody ever told us that the rims were so defective that they could fall off at any time. Our dealer has offered to pay half the cost of new rims, but we refuse to pay a single cent. We have not done anything to contribute to this problem, which could have killed our family twice.
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.
On the way home from work yesterday I noticed an unusual vibration from the front driver's side wheel of my explorer ? Almost felt like a flat spot on the tire. Also heard some squeaking /squealing which was much worse in turns. When I got home I checked and found: - one wheel stud and nut completely missing - one wheel stud loose/broken (tried to tighten nut but it kept spinning freely) - one loose lug nut. The remaining two lug nuts were tight. By tightening the one loose nut it allowed me to drive on car without the vibration ? At that point had only three functional lug nuts. Took it to the dealer today and they claim corrosion caused the failure, but only on that wheel. Replacement of the entire hub was required as you cannot replace individual studs. It would have cost $400, but because of my extended warranty it only cost me the $50 deductible. My feeling is I should not have even had to pay for that, this appears to me to be a defect or design failure. Found many similar complaints & reports on mycarstats.com.
My husband had just pulled away from a stop sign when he felt the vehicle crash to the ground and saw the rear passenger tire roll into someone's front yard. He exited the car to find the lugs broken in half. My three year old is very upset, keeps talking about being in an accident. We are uncertain as to the amount of damage to the truck, we have not heard back from the insurance adjustor yet. There is body damage that is visible, who knows what the underside of the truck looks like. I do have in my possession one of the lug nuts, there are two more at the body shop. We couldn't find the remaining two, who knows when they were lost. This is the third incident I have heard of this month of the same exact thing happening (www.carcomplaints.com).
2003 ford explorer has humming coming from the back wheels. There is a squeek and grinding coming from the front axel.
While driving the 2003 ford explorer it started to shake causing lose of steering and brakes. The left rear wheel the came off because the lugs had unscrewed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who determined that the front differential had blown apart from the inside out. It appeared that the damage was caused by uneven tires and the 4x4 engaging and disengaging on its own. *ts
I was having excessive road noise and car was not handling properly due to a bad driver's side wheel hub assembly.
2003 explorer limited. Recently had to replace my tires. I replaced all four tires at a local sears. The wheels that came with the car were optional equipment that the previous owner must have requested. 17" 5 spoke chrome. As sears was removing wheels two of the 4 center caps fell apart and could not be used again. After the tires were placed back onto my car sears rep asked that I put about 20 miles on the car and bring it back just to check. About two days later as I was returning to sears I heard a rubbing sound coming from what appeared to be the left front. As I pulled into sears, the garage the rep listened and said it was coming from left rear. As a mechanic placed a key on the lug nuts all lugs had worked themselves loose and he actually could turn them with his hand. I had to put my spare tire on as a replacement. A couple of the other lugs on the other wheels were about a 1/4 turn loose. I reported this to kenny ross only to get no real answer from them just as I did with the bubbling/peeling paint on my hood. Evidently their corporate office told them to always blame them because that is what they seem to always do is blame their corporate off office and their hands are tied, your out of warranty, or warranty does not cover. What happened to just honestly working with people to resolve the issue. No wonder they are in trouble. Anyway all four chrome wheels also had visible cracking as well and sears said that the lug holes on the wheels are slightly oblong so that is why the lugs work loose. I had to purchase aluminum spoke wheels. This is on a 2003!! Go figure. I also told the kenny ross rep that I should have bought a toyota or gm. His reply was this happens on all cars. Haha, what a response and just what you want to hear. No fords in my future and I will unload this one as soon as I can!
Dt*: the contact stated the chrome on the rims is cracking. This has occurred on all four rims and is due to the aluminum underneath corroding causing the chrome to crack. The contact has alerted numerous dealerships and none of which has seen this problem. The manufacturer was alerted and explained there is nothing they can do. However, the contact requested to speak with a manager and waiting for a return call.
Three wheels on my 2003 ford explorer were replaced due to cracking of the "chrome" finish in the hub area, the 4th was not done since there was no cracking at that time; it now requires replacement . I am dealing with that at this point but I am concerned that this cracking may be more than the finish material; it may be the casting itself. If this is the case this could be a serious problem. I am curious if there have been any other reports of this and should this warrant an investigation by your department. The numbers for this wheel, from the dealer work order, are: 3l2z-1007-ka and a801881.
Whining noise coming from rear became louder 41,000 mile on odo dealer advised rear wheel bearings seals and strut inserts, we had the repairs made $1000.00 one year later we noticed more noise and chatter when turning,dealer advised rear differential needs rebuild, and new clutch packs. We are having the repairs made at this time. These are expensive problems ford should be held responsible.
While driving at interstate speed, the vehicle began to vibrate. When I pulled off the interstate, I noticed that 3 of the 5 threaded lugs were broken on the right rear wheel. I had to be towed on a flatbed towing vehicle to a ford dealership for repairs. The dealership replaced the wheel assembly, hub assembly brake shield and lug nuts. It should be noted that the wheels were rotated on march 11, 2005 by a local ford dealer prior to the incident.
Wheels studs (lug nuts) keep breaking. I have replace 4 different wheels studs within the last year and a half. They either break when taking a tire off or while traveling. I replaced those wheel studs that I noticed missing or when having a tire repaired.
While driving, the front right wheel pinion disengaged.
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