Problums with timing chain the guides and tentioner always braking or the timing chain it self braking , it is all I hear about the 4.0 motors , I my self this is the second one that it has happened to me
2004 Ford Explorer engine complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 114, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The throttle would not respond after starting. Electronic throttle control and engine service warning lights lit on dash. Engine would not rev over 1000 RPM. Had to get electronic throttle body replaced at a cost of $875 plus $65 towing. Electronic throttle control failure has been common fords going back to 2002. Ford has replaced over 1.6 million units under their consumer satisfaction program. However, there was no recall. Called ford, and was assigned a case #, however, ford would not assist with payment. Vehicle out of warranty. 31,155 actual mileage
Came home from work friday evening and sat. Morning the vehicle would not start. Took battery in and tested, it was dead. Replaced the battery and the car still would not start. Only clicked, relay and starter were fine. Had to tow it to a mechanic who has determined that the anti-theft system has shut down my engine for no reason. The key no longer connects to the system. Why is there not a recall on this issue?? I have seen online forums and many complaints about this issue. Now I have to tow my vehicle to a dealer 40 miles away and pay to have my vehicle and keys reprogrammed. Over $120!!! This issue left me stranded with no vehicle for over a week. I think ford should be responsible for the repair and tow costs!!!
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 ford explorer. The contact heard a loud boom and discovered that his parked vehicle was on fire. The fire department extinguished the flames. The insurance company determined that the vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled and various unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not able to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine timing belt failed and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Car starts but will go forward when shifted in reverse. Turned the car off then back on, but when I would put the car back in reverse or drive, it stalled out. Had it towed and then it was fine after that. Now its about 6 months later, now my orange wrench light pops up and cruise control shuts off at 65mph. Then it jerks a couple times. Have had it checked and came back with 14 codes mainly for transmission.
Complete engine failure while driving. Service engine soon light appeared 2 days previous but did not yet make it to the mechanic. Computer reading suggested a sensor problem. Engine shut down, lost power steering and all systems. Engine restarted but now idles rough.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the service engine soon warning indicator illuminated and the engine stalled. The vehicle restarted and started blowing fuel fumes into the driver's cabin. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the spark plug blew out of the cylinder and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. Ma 08/06/15 updated 10/11/2017
Had my used 2004 ford explorer for a week and I noticed the transmission jerking when it shift into the last gear. Sometimes when I put it in reverse, I have to wait for a full minute for it to finally reverse. Sometimes it jerks hard when I put it in reverse or drive. I'm sure the dealership knew about all this but never revealed it. Of course when you buy as is, your screwed.
I've have my vehicle for 10 years. Paid the dealership $450 to have a warranty for the power train and when I went to the dealership for them to fix it they wouldn't. I find out that my major issues are the mechanical differential. Still having the this issue to this day and can never have my transmission cleaned or flushed because of that. Also, my fuel system gets clogged a lot and gas mileage is horrible. Also, my antifreeze leaks after I paid money to have the cracked seal fixed. This is just scratching the surface. I have many things wrong with my vehicle I feel should be covered by the manufacturer but I would like to know what defects are out there for my vehicle.
Driving down the road at 10:52 pm and with no warning the entire truck shut down/off. All lights inside and out shut off, engine shut off, no power to the entire vehicle. Coasted to a stop, put it in park and turned the key off and then back on - the truck started right up with out a problem.
I have a 2004 ford explorer and when I hit the 84000 mile my car started falling apart starting with the heater A/C vent actuator first time in late 2011 then again in jan 2015 this repair has cost me over $1200 then the engine light has come on and I've been told by ford repair shop which was $97 just to look at it that it was from different coils that were over $300 a piece which has been replaces a couple of time to the cadillac converter which was over $3500 to replacing the bearings a couple hundred many times. I'm at the point where I'm not sure to keep this car or junk it these repairs are breaking me! I see that I'm not the only one that is complaining about these problems.... There should be some type of recall....!!!!!!!!!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that the service engine and the battery warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle jerked and made a loud noise. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who replaced the front driver side hub and wheel bearing, the rear springs, the three passenger gear calipers, four rear driver side calipers, the battery, five rear brake pads, and six rear rotors plus an oil change. Three weeks after the repairs, the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the brake pedal hesitated to respond. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,817.
The transmission failed early on at about 88000 miles, we purchased and replaced this. My husband had been in auto repair and parts for over 20 years, so him and my son done the repair, without counting anything for labor the total cost for the repair was around $2000.00. From that point on we have had lots of major problems that had to be repaired or parts replaced. The intake and parts cost us around 700.00, no charge for labor. The timing c+hain failed and we choose this time to take it to the repair shop which cost us $1100.00!!! Now at 156000 miles the transmission has failed, this one has around 68000 miles on it. We have never had one dime in help from ford on anything. This is the third explorer we have owned in the past 15 years. We also own 3 f-150's and a mustang. We have never had this kind of problems with any of the other vehicles. I can honestly say we are very disappointed in this 2004 explorer and I feel we will most likely not purchase another ford vehicle in the future!!!!!
I was at a stoplight and when the light turned green my car would not move. The car was in drive and it would just rev. The cars behind me started honking. I put it in the lower gears and finally started moving forward and drove it to the dealership. As I was driving to the dealership in the lower gears the car shifted out of gear while in traffic, I put it in neutral and back into 3 and it started moving forward again. This is very dangerous since the car will just shift in and out of gear and stop moving forward. At the dealership the car would not move while in drive or reverse. They told me the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $4,200, this is after I just had the throttle body replaced two months ago at a cost of $1,800. Ford need to do a recall in these transmissions it could lead to an accident.
When I slow down or come to a stop, the truck cuts off. Even while in mid turn.
When starting the vehicle, its not wanting to run. Then when I start to pull out it stalls. I mean, u push the gas pedal and it takes maybe four seconds before anything happens, then the tires spin it jerks forward and my kids scream. It jerks u back in the seat. Ok, we're on the road, I don't know if its going to run. One minute its acting like its getting enough fuel. The nexts its like it isn't. Now the service engine light has come on. I call the guy who works on cars, he use to be a head mechanic for has his own shop now, he automatically tells me its the throttle body and says if I cant find a used one, u wont like buyin a new one. An the bad thing is u have to replace them about every 120000 miles. Now isn't that great. The auto parts store says about $725 will take care of the part, what about the labor??? I bought this vehicle because it had a third row seat. I have three kids. I need it to be safe, not a death trap. Ford knows it has a problem, fix it!!!
Exact dates are various , vehicle has 39000 miles on it presently , have multiple vehicles , drive over the road truck driver ... Changed brakes and rotors twice , emergency brake not working , had fixed , had to have ekg replaced and some exhaust sensor , tires wore out at 29000 , exhaust system replaced , both ball joints replaced , pinion gear gasket leaking from rear end , both cv joints leaking , appears right cv joint needs replacing , gets 14 mpg ( 4.0 liter ) paint peeling from roof for quite awhile now , rusting around fuel tank door , as all are ...... Vehicle has been a nightmare , getting rid of this at 39000 miles , ford has a better idea , buy another one !
My wife was driving and the engine just stalled . We pulled into a gas station with no power steering or brakes. I had it towed home that day. Later I found out the timing chain had come off.
The back hatch window doesn't seem to line up with the latch. The back hatch also cracked right near the ford logo. I have seen many of the explorers that this has happened to. Its time ford fixes this defect. Also while doing around 60-65 MPH my timing chains broke, all 3 of them at the same time. I could understand 1 maybe but all 3 ? This to has to be a manufacturer defect.
When accelerating the SUV shakes, it has a hard time sometimes going from one gear into another. I started the truck today and it made a thumping sound. The transmission is going on it and I take care of it. I have a hard time getting the truck to go into gear to go in reverse.
This is a county govt vehicle purchased used from a dealer about 2 years ago. I had been highway driving for about 3-4 hours at speeds between 55-70 MPH. I made one brief stop during that time, and was mostly using cruise control. Just prior to the incident, the speed limit drops from 70 to 55, and then to 35 in a relatively short distance. I used the cruise control coast to reduce my speed from 55 to 35. The 35 MPH speed starts on a bridge- there is a small incline and then a little larger decline. At about the base of the bridge, the engine shut off, I lost steering and coasted to a stop. I don't recall if I had braking. I was with a passenger; it was night, and this occurred in an area that was not safe. I tried restarting the car, and it restarted with no problem. I drove to a nearby gas station. The power steering fluid was low, so I filled that, restarted, and drove the remaining 1 1/2 hrs with no problems. Other employees continued to drive over the next 2 1/2 months locally-very little highway driving, with no issues. On february 21, I was returning from a trip in this vehicle from the same area, with the same circumstances as above. When I was still on the bridge where the speed drops to 35, the engine shut off again. This time I was alone. There was a vehicle following very close behind me but fortunately I continued to coast as this was on the decline of the bridge. I was able to steer slightly to get off the highway. The check gauges; check engine, and battery warning lights were all on. The car restarted with no problems. I drove to the same gas station; checked the gauges-all were normal and no warning lights. I drove the 1 1/2 hrs remaining with no problems. On a web search, I found multiple cases of very similar problems on explorers with no resolution. I could find no recalls on the VIN. This is an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal problem.
This is the second ford explorer I have owned and both of them had the same transmission problems. Yet ford has no recall or even anything to fix them except $3,000.00 to a dealer out of you pocket for their mistake. I guess since no one has been proven to have gotten injured or died due to this issue, then there won't be a recall made on it. This is totally unsatisfactory for the ford motor co. Because they have workers that screw up, the consumer ends up footing the large bill of repairing it. There is a known problem with the transmissions of these explorers from 2000 - 2005 yet no one seems to want to address it. Ford motor should be ashamed of putting such faulty vehicles out on the road and endangering another humans life for their profit. This is the last time I will buy and ford product and I will encourage everyone I know not to buy ford either. I wonder how ford would like the media exposure for this issue. No good customer service or product.
The original equipment harmonic balancer came apart. The inner portion separated from the rest. This allows. It would have caused the destruction of the serpentine belt, and crankshaft position sensor if I had not caught it in time. This would have resulted in loss of engine power, loss of power steering, and loss of power brakes! This seems to be a common problem with the 2004 ford 4.0 liter v6. This could result in somebody losing control of the vehicle with little or no warning. I was replacing the water pump on my vehicle when I saw this defect.
On the body the tailgate panel keeps cracking this makes my truck look bad compared to the money I put into it. My engine or transmission acts as if something is wrong it is not shifting gear right. On the electrical tire pressure light keeps coming on and it also keeps leaking water from somewhere. Ford needs to go out of business for selling these pieces of junk. It makes no sense.
While was driving on I-95 I gave the car a boost of speed to pass another vehicle. I noticed my back window become "dirty" (covered in coolant) and while the car seemed okay I moved to the right lane. There was no shoulder to pull off due to construction. Without a shoulder I had to keep going another couple miles; after a couple miles I started loosing speed gradually. With children in the car this was a safety issue - I was fortunate to make it to an exit where upon immediately the car died as I slowed and white smoke started billowing out of the engine compartment. The problem was the thermostat housing failed causing the car to lose coolant. Since I was unable to pull over it resulted a blown head gasket. Due to design of the engine this repair is prohibitively expensive. I have seen this thermostat complaint numerous times and it is time that ford take responsibility for the plastic parts that are connected to the engine. This part should be aluminum according to my mechanic. Please consider recall to replace plastic thermostat housing with metal: ford must use metal parts because plastic warps in the heat. The affected parts are the thermostat housing and it's connection to the engine. I have good maintenance, oil changed regularly, fluids checked and maintained regularly. I also drive very conservatively and am easy on my driving. Ford must fix this! Between this issue and a bolt in my steering column falling out (causing a loss of steering) my confidence in ford is diminished.
This is in response to the investigation of ford for "limp mode". Every time that I use my cars cruse control under 50 MPH the car goes in to limp mode. After I pull over and restart the car it run normaly,
At about 65,000 miles, my transmission began slowly acting up; it vwas difficult to put into gear and clunks while driving. It is getting worse, and ford will not help with repairs because it is out of warranty.
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!
First issue was with the solenoids now the issue is with 1-2 shift ratio. Shifting into neutral.
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