The brake pedal went to the floor as I was about to pull out of a parking space. I shut the vehicle down and called for a tow. I had the vehicle towed to a service station. The mechanic found that the rubber hose component of the brake line had sprung a leak, leading to the complete lack of braking. My concern is that if it had happened on the highway or in traffic, or just about any other moving situation, I would likely have crashed, with dire results to me and potentially to others. There was no warning. There were no lights. I have never experienced a situation like this in over 30 years of driving approximately 1 million miles .very disconcerting. Very disappointing. I would like for ford engineers to explain themselves.
2004 Ford Explorer brakes complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 53, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the brakes failed. The vehicle did not stop until after repeated attempts to apply the brakes. The vehicle was restarted after several minutes and operated normally for five miles. The vehicle then accelerated independently, reaching speeds of up to 65 MPH before the contact was able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was awaiting diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 124,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that the ABS system would independently activate without warning. The failure caused the brakes to seize and the vehicle would sway 180 degrees to the side before stopping. The vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection. The failure was located at the brake hydro lock system. The contact was advised that the ABS electronic unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 88,902.
While driving, the vehicle just shut off. I had no control of the vehicle once it shut off, except to utilize the emergency brake to get me stopped. Once stopped, I put it in park and it started up first try. No check engine light came on. Same thing happens on a regular bases. Usually happens while braking or turning at speeds lower than 30mph, then engine just stalls and everything turns off. This to me is a major safety concern, because without total control of the vehicle and vehicle lighting at night, it could seriously injure or kill someone. I highly recommend investigating this further so we can all continue to be safe. Thanks!
While driving, the cruise control stopped working and car stalled. At the same time the ABS light comes off and on.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 volvo vnl. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked on an incline when he applied the parking brake and the vehicle unexpectedly rolled away. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to an independent auto shop for diagnosis. The technician determined that the brake slack adjuster on the second axle was faulty. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 415,000.
On april 6th of this year I purchased a 2004 ford explorer. The next day I took the car for city inspection...it passed. The very next day (sunday) the check engine light came on. The ABS light would also illuminate. I took the car to autozone to have it diagnosed (egr valve). Only the check engine light could be diagnosed because the ABS light came on at random while I was driving. The car was still under the 1000 mile warranty so the egr valve was replaced and a speed sensor believed to be the problem with the ABS light. I purchased an independent extended warranty so I would be covered for any surprise expenses. I had my chance to use it in just a few months later when the car ran hot. The repair was not covered. This happened in july, just a few months after buying the car. Earlier this month (november 2012) the service engine light came on again but it didn't stay on so I couldn't get it diagnosed. No need to have it diagnosed because the battery light came on too. I took it to autozone once again and the battery tested bad. It wouldn't start at the store. I bought the battery, it was installed and checked again. The alternator showed it wasn't charging. I had to have the alternator replaced. With the cold weather, I discovered the defrost vents don't work. Air only blows from front vents. On the morning of november 19th, I was taking my son to school and the overdrive light started flashing. It happened again while on my way home from work on november 21st. So now I suppose I have transmission problems. Ford needs to answer for their horrible engineering.
I purchased a 2004 ford explorer in july 0f 2011, and traded in my 2001 oldsmobile of 5 years. I also purchased the 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. Before driving it off the lot I had the dealer fix the ABS system because the light was on. There is a crack going down the back of the trunk but nothing else was wrong at the time so I left the crack alone. In april of 2012 I took it to the dealership for a belt, check trans, shocks, ball joints, and a ticking in the heater when knob was turned to heat (not cool). I told him to just fix what was on the warranty and also give it a oil change. He informed me that the trans was fine. After getting the car back my heat went out and I was told by a mechanic buddy that my brakes, rotters, emergency brake pads and the back tires were shot. So I had him replaced them because this was also not covered on warranty. Just last week my RPM started jumping with miles over 65.(no lights were on at the time)so I took it to 6 different places getting estimates on what could be wrong. All shops said the same thing. "start with fuel filter, oil filters and oil change". The day after I paid for all this the service engine light came on. (egr valve code) the man at auto zone told me to take it off and clean it with spray and let it dry before replacing. I took it to a shop and had them do this. The same day I picked up the car my service engine light came on again, o/d light and the car was driving like I was hauling a bus and jumping. I took it back the next day and he replaced the egr valve new since the same code was showing up. Later that day after getting it back the car started doing the same thing after driving for 5 miles this was friday 9/21/12.
Transmission shifts very hard so bad that it jerks me and my children's heads forward when it happens. This occurs the worst when going into reverse and into 2nd and 3rd gears. Brakes lock up/stick after being pressed for 3 seconds.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that while going 45 MPH, the brakes were applied but failed. The contact tried to pump the brake pedal and it would only depress partially. She tried again a few moments later and the brake pedal was depressed completely into the floorboard. The contact had to use the parking brake in order to slow down. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where they informed the contact that there was a failure in the brake line, which needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred several times later. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 115000.
I backed SUV out of garage and put in park, got out of vehicle while still running (to close garage door), closed the SUV door, turned around and saw that SUV was moving forward into my garage. I opened the SUV door while it was moving and jumped in the drivers seat, pushed on the brake and SUV did not stop, I was looking down at the floor to see why SUV did not stop, pulled up my foot and placed it back down on the brake. Suv still did not stop. It then made a loud noise like the engine was reeving up and then the SUV took off forward, ran through the back of my garage, ran through my back yard, ran over a tree in the yard, ran through my back yard fence and my neighbor's fence and crashed into the back side of neighbor's house. All while this was occurring, I was inside of the vehicle with my left leg sticking out of the car (since I jumped in the SUV in a hurry, I didn't realize that my leg was still out of the SUV), I continually attempted to step on the brakes (each time lifting my foot up so that I could place it directly on the brake), the engine reeved up again while going through the yard. The only thing that stopped the SUV was the tall concrete foundation of my neighbor's house that it ran into. I jumped out of the SUV, fell to the ground and laid there for a few seconds before I realized that my SUV was still running, then I jumped back into the SUV and turned the ignition off.
Were a family a ford explorer my family has 4 of them ranging from the years 1996,99,2002,2004 and everyone of these vehicles have serious issues. Ranging from rotting suspension parts,to wheel bearing issues on newer models,rotting fuel and brake lines,this is supposed to be an american made company that is jeopardizing the lives of american and children with total disregard of human life,but I bet you the owners of ford don't have these issues they probably drives foreign haha but seriously someone will get hurt by this and it costing thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix an ongoing problem with these trucks please do a recall its so unfair at this point.
My 2004 ford explorer caught on fire today. The fire began under the hood. Per the fire department, the fire started around the cruise control and brake master cylinder area. Ford does not have a recall out for this year model, unlike the 2003 and older models, but this is definitely a manufacturer problem. The car was driven to several points, drop the kids of at school, one at daycare, and a stop for breakfast. Nothing was wrong with our car. After arriving to work, my wife got a call that her car was on fire. There were no signs, malfunctions that something was wrong with the vehicle. Regularly scheduled maintenance were always performed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While braking from speeds of 25 MPH, the ABS warning light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact was informed that the brake sensor would need to be replaced. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 92,505.
When driving vehicle the vehicle stalls when braking. This failure occurs only when the vehicle is at 1/4 tank of gas or less. Vehicle has been to ford for repair on 3 occasions. The have replaced the ABS sensor, throttle body and a fuel injection cleaning was performed. None of this has fixed the problem. Dec 4 2009 was the first occurrence and has occurred several times with the last being today 2-24-2010.
Parking lever does not properly line up. Hope that this does not lead to the "roll away" issues.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The ABS warning light was illuminated on the instrument control panel. The rear brakes also failed during brake application on gravel roads. The vehicle was taken to the dealer at least five times, and was repaired according to the extended warranty. The failure mileage was 5,000. The current mileage was 62,000.
Easter sunday, my family was on their way back home on the freeway. Out of no where they hear loud snapping noises and next thing they knew the rear passenger tire came off. The cars skidding on the road and finally comes to a stop. Luckily for my family they walked away unharmed. The car is currently at my home, won't turn on anymore, the wheel studs are all broken off, the rotor along with the rest of the assembly is damaged. The car is a mess and now I'm trying to figure out how im supposed to deal with the situation.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While the contact was servicing the vehicle, he observed that the emergency brake was defective. There was a brake lining defect on the rear driver's side and passenger side. The failures occurred without warning. All four brake rotors were replaced, but the brake line have not yet been replaced at this time. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure and current mileages were 60,000. Updated 04/15/09. *lj while changing the rotors on the vehicle, the consumer discovered the lining for the parking brake had separated from the shoes . Updated 04/16/09.
Below is my original contact to ford motor corp (fmc). I recently replaced the brakes on my 2004 explorer, but when I pulled the rear rotors, the friction material from the e-brake shoes fell on the ground. This is a serious safety issue! Summary: friction material was not bonded to e-brake shoe. Based on the extensive corrosion of the e-brake shoes at time of replacement, this condition has existed for a long period of time. Fmc requested more information, and I complied. I have pictures, but do not know how to attach them. I also have researched this issue in my area (s.e. Michigan, and it is common based on input from a ford dealer and another service facility) please let me know how I can attach pics.
I have a 2004 explorer limited and just turned 14,000 miles and my ABS light comes on every time I start the car and accelerate. Also the cruise stopped working. From what I have read it sounds like the ABS module which ford has apparently been aware off. Not happy!! I would not expect this sort of problem with only 14,000 miles.
2004 ford explorer xlt having recurring problems with antilock brake system. *nj the consumer stated the ABS light illuminated twice. The first time the problem occurred, the dealer diagnosed the problam as a faulty switch which they replaced. The second time the light illuminated, the dealer stated the problem was a speed sensor on the rear axle.
My 2004 ford explorer has several issues since 38,000 miles, the recent complaint at 57,000 miles is the ABS module and the cruise control. The ABS light came on and at the same time the cruise control stop working. Took it to the dealership I purchased it at. They tried to reset the computer. Advised me I would need a new acs module for the ABS. I contacted ford motor company to try and get the module replaced under warranty. The best ford would do is to split the cost of the module with me, but I would have to pay for labor to install. When asked how much the module cost. Was told 1160.00. This would not guarantee that I would not have this problem again. The dealership told me they would try to find a used module. I called back after several days and was informed they could not find one. The next day I got on the phone and within 20 mins had found a module at a local salvage yard. Asked the dealership if they would purchase the used module with the money ford was going to provide with the new module to fix it. They said no. Ford motor company is aware that many of the 2004 explorers have ABS and powertrain issues, yet they fail to acknowledge. Now I can tell a difference in my braking. Sometimes now when I have to use the brakes, I can feel something is not right. I am worried that when I will need the ABS to work I will not have the ability to stop. I am disappointed that the cruise control has stopped working as well with this amount of mileage. The dealership has been unable to tell me if the cruise control is related to the ABS module. They never check the cruise control problem and was not aware of it till I had called them back on the used ABS module. Ford needs to step up and take care of these major issues with these explorers....poor parts installed at time of manufacturing. Ford should be liable.
While going to open the rear hatch of my 2004 ford explorer, I noticed a crack in the hatch door from just below the window down to the next panel. When I opened the window on the hatch door, I noticed that the left hinge that holds the glass is coming loose. I am unable to utilize the rear cargo area of my vehicle now for fear that the left hinge will break off resulting in the entire door coming off the vehicle and falling or dropping onto me or one of my children, causing severe personal injuries. The mileage on my vehicle is approximately 70,000 miles. Nothing has been done yet to correct this failure because after reading other people's experience with having ford refuse to acknowledge the problem and the government thus far refusing to issue a recall, my hands are tied. I do not want to pay for the repair myself because I have already been burned by ford on other issues relating to this vehicle, I.e., the ABS module and the air conditioning system.
Brake system issues, 2004 ford explorer. Braking systems makes a significant bump and noise when applying brakes.
Multiple problems with my explorer. When shifting into reverse car jolts with a clunking noise. Abs light is on and 4x4 high light flashes. Service engine light on but no hose leaks can be found. Wrench light comes on even after tps replacement suggested by obd-ii. Very unhappy with this vehicle. I have owned 7 fords, this is the worst I have owned.
Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While driving at 60 MPH the contact felt the brake pedal shutter when the brake was depressed. Also, the contact felt the steering wheel vibrate. The dealer stated that the problem was due to the rotors. The dealer resurfaced the rotors at 12,000 miles. Approximately eleven months later the contact experienced the same problem. The dealer stated the rotors needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the rotors at 24,000 miles. Two months later ,the dealer replaced the rotors again, and the rotor assembly at 26,000 miles. Four months later the contact had the same problem. The dealer resurfaced the front and rear rotors at 30,000 miles. There have been no further occurrences. The vehicle currently has 36000 miles.
2004 ford explorer had brake problems**cc the ABS locked up and caused the vehicle to overturn. The air bags failed to deploy during the accident.
We have experienced multiple problems with the electrical systems of our 2004 ford explorer along with other miscellaneous problems. The electrical problems have not been corrected to date. In november 2006, the rear window of the liftgate broke off the hinge. We were told there were no recalls for this problem and had to pay for this repair out of our pocket. Today, january 16, 2007 the frame of the rear liftgate cracked in the middle.
2004 explorer had problems with brakes and windows. *ts three months after the vehicle was purchased thee was a recall on the transmission. The ABS malfunctioned and the power windows would not go down. The rear hatch door would not open. The transmission began to slam into gear. The rotors vibrated in the rear. Consumer heard a howling noise at 40-55 MPH. The dealer replaced the ring and pinion. Nm
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