Vehicle's transmission started to slip, as we were driving we would hit the gas harder to compensate and then the transmission would catch causing the vehicle to surge forward unexpectedly.
2004 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 4 of 16: complaints 71 to 100 of 460, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission failure, slips between gears, replacement required.
First had my transmission looked at in may 2008 where it was slipping into reverse and jolting the vehicle, which had only 44133 miles. Had it looked at my a ford dealer that told me there was nothing wrong. Now in may 2012 at 110,000 miles my transmission was re-looked at for slipping into first and second gear. Which at this time I was told that I needed a new transmission and yet I am still making payments. Ford complaint line tells me they are not doing anything to resolve this problem at this time and now me and my 3 children are without a vehicle because my transmission had now completely failed and the vehicle remains in a store parking lot broke down. Thanks ford!
The o/d off light began blinking and there was uncontrolled deceleration and when accelerating from a stop there is higher than the usual RPM's needed to shift from first to second gear. My investigation revealed this is a known problem with this particular year of ford explorer and there was an article in april, 21, 2009, atlanta constitution-journal reports regarding an announcement by the federal safety agency regarding the faulty transmission problems. At this time there is no current recall for this issue, however, it is a costly repair to consumers for an issue which ford and the federal safety agency is aware of.
Shortly after I first purchased the vehicle after about 2-3 years ago. I noticed it would jerk & was hard to shift gears. It would sometimes be in gear & not gas. After I took it to a shop to have it looked at it was a wire or cable loose to the trans. Everything seemed ok for awhile thereafter but then it started again. Just recently as I was on the expressway the transmission overheated light sensor came on & then the check transmission sensor followed. I researched and found that 1 out of every 10 customers with a ford explorer between 2000-2004 have transmissions issues. Also I called to ford customer service and was advised that there is no recall even with several complaints and that no goodwill or financial services could be offered to assist me with the repairing of my vehicle, even after I stressed my complete dissatisfaction with the outcome.
After starting vehicle and moving shift lever from park to reverse - rotating shift handle mount broke off- required towing and $1800 repair cost. Have seen similar instances on consumer complaint boards - ford fails to recognize as being a safety manufacturing defect.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH and without warning, the vehicle slipped into various gears. The contact also stated that the only way the first gear could be disengaged was to apply pressure on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, the contact stated that the transmission had to be replaced twice. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 85,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that the transmission failed without warning. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the transmission overheated, the fifth gear failed and the housing rod was fractured. The dealer also stated that the failure was common in the particular year, make and model vehicle. The failure and the current mileage was 153,435. Updated 04/19/12*lj updated 04/30/12
Transmission and throttle body failed.
Wife and kids where driving home and the tranny started kicking in and out of gear (slipping). It jerked into first at the stoplight in town.
I was trying to park the car when I took it from drive to reverse the whole gear shift came right off. It will no longer switch gears nor can I drive it. I searched online and there are numerous other 2004 explorers that this has happened too. There are 16 different complaints which all were exactly like mine on carcomplaints.com. This is super dangerous, imagine if my children were in the car when I went to switch gears and it broke off and the were no way to move or stop it from hitting someone. The expense to fix this 'little' problem of fords is costing me more than I make in 2 months.
There was a noticeably jerk and the o/t off light came on with the computer saying to "check transmission". The transmission mechanic said replace the transmission.
I purchased a 2004 ford explorer brand new from the dealership. At 70,000 miles I started to notice a change in the transmission slipping and suddenly kicking when going into gear. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they advised that the transmission would need to be replaced at my cost and there is no recall at the present moment. This is a safety concern because no transmission should start having problems with such little mileage. This matter really needs to be investigated and ford needs to correct this issue promptly.
In april of 2009 I bought a 2004 explorer from car connections in palm bay florida! This has been nothing but a nightmare! But my "main" complaint 2 weeks ago I took the truck in for regular service to find out that my "over drive" gear is gone. Aamco explained to me that ford knew that and it is a defective part! So, to get a 2nd opinion I took my truck to meineke, they also made the same comment of "that is a defective part from ford" and they will not recall the part! Well, I am being charged from $3,400 to the lowest of $2,800 for repairs "excluding" tax! Why am I and thousands of others paying for something that ford knew was going to be a costly repair for us consumers in this horrible recession! I feel that we/I should be compensated in some sort of way just to help for something bad they sent out. I can't even trade the truck in due to the value has decreased tremendously! I am stuck with a vehicle that is basically going to rust in my driveway for being so costly! Please let ford know that they should honor what they knew was wrong! Please help!
Transmission was working just fine till one day it wouldn't shift into overdrive and then it was shifting hard from 2nd to 3rd. Rear window hinges broke. Rear tail gate cracked right down the middle by ford symbol. Also just the other day my passenger window stopped working no signs nothing of anything wrong. I'm going to start buying chevy this is just unacceptable. No wonder america is not doing good our car company's can't make good products anymore.
My vehicle failed to engage in park even though I shifted into park and console indicator displayed park. I had shifted into park on a steep hill. As I exited the vehicle, I released the brakes and one of my passengers alerted me that the vehicle was rolling backwards. I jumped back into the vehicle, applied the brakes and the motion stopped. I verified that park was displayed on the center console, which it was. I then shifted into reverse and neutral and back into park, and the second time the transmission engaged into park. Without my passengers alerting me to the vehicle motion, my vehicle would have crashed and potentially injured those in the vehicle. After determining the vehicle was in park, I examined the tire tracks in the snow to see if there was any chance that the vehicle slid rather than rolled on the road. The tire tracks showed clear tire indentations and did not indicate sliding, leading me to determine that the vehicle did not engage into park even though the console indicated it was in park.
Vehicle transmission slips when climbing elevation. Starts clunking noise and won't shift. Rpms go way up and vehicle still will not shift. Hard to get vehicle into park on the gear shifter. Have thought the vehicle was in park only to have it roll when I take my foot off the brake. Took vehicle to mechanic today who says a new transmission is needed. Appx cost 3600.00
Transmission shifts hard o/d light flashes.
I bought a used 2004 ford explorer in september 2009. In june 20111 my husband and was driving and I was in the passenger seat. We both could feel the transmission slipping as he drove but figured that it could not be the transmission because the vehicle only had 57,177 miles on it. We arrived at our destination 10 minutes later and by that time we could no longer reverse the vehicle at all. I called the local ford dealership and they said to drive the vehicle over there and they would take a look at it. The paperwork I have from them states "verified concern, performed electronic transmission diagnosis, pulled code po731, checked fluid level - full. Dropped the transmission oil pan and found excessive metal debris indicating internal failure. Tech recommended replacing with a ford reman unit." the ford dealership's estimate for me was almost $5,000.00 for the transmission to be replaced. I called around to other shops and had the transmission replaced with a jasper unit which cost me $3467.30. It has a three-year warranty on it. I have been reading online about this problem with 2004 ford explorers. For almost a year before the transmission died it would often have delayed shifting when going in reverse and I just assumed it was a touchy pedal, looking back now I realize it was most likely the transmission. This never occurred to me because of the vehicle only having 57,000 miles on it. I no longer feel comfortable driving this vehicle knowing that it has the problems that it does but I have no other choice because we still owe more on the loan than the vehicle is worth.
I currently own a 2004 ford explorer and purchased new in 2005. Have had to replace, the 2 front hubs 3 times, the rack and pinion steering and the transmission slips excessively. This vehicle is driven by my wife to school and home and used for transporting my family. I keep seeing the same problems online but no action by ford. Can you say piece of junk?
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact was driving approximately 45 to 50 MPH when the vehicle became hesitant to acceleration attempts. In addition, the gears were slipping when shifting gears. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
It seems that my transmission is starting to slip and shift hard.
I have a 2004 ford explorer with less than 75,000 miles on it. I am a very conservative driver and do not put a lot of miles on my cars. The transmission went out and the guy at aamco said the inside of it was a mess, everything was chewed up. It cost me $3,550 to have it fixed. At the time it failed I was going down the highway at 55 MPH and it suddenly dropped to about 25mph.
When at a stop the automatic transmission fails to engage until engine rpms are too high for safe initial forward or rearward movement. According to the ford dealership in my city this problem is due to a defective solinoid body inside the transmission.there was one attempt to repair the problem by the local ford dealership in 2005 when the car had 11127 miles. At that time the automatic transmission solenoid valve was replaced, but the problem still persisted. That dealership went out of business about a year later. Just lately the new dealership thought that the original transmission might have to be replaced in order to return the car to a safe and normal driving condition. The cost was estimated at $3500. This problem with the 2004 ford explorer has been reported by hundreds of other owners to the us dot the federal safety agency , but nothing has come of these complaints. The ford motor co. Also refuses to do any repairs under warranty and/or due to a factory recall, etc. The problem described refers to a very dangerous condition in which the drivers of 2004 ford explorers do not know exactly when or at what rmp level their car will suddenly and rapidly accelerate from a stop.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms yet the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission solenoid was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 64,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact placed the gear shifter into reverse to drive and noticed that the transmission would hesitate before engaging. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians replaced the solenoid in the transmission. After the repairs were performed, the contact continued to experience the failure. There was also an abnormal grinding from the rear of the vehicle. The dealer replaced the rear end bearing, three rear axles, the pinion bar and seals and a shaft kit was installed. The dealer also advised that the failure was caused by an over torque by the manufacturer. In addition, the contact stated that the driver and passenger side sun visor joints were failing sporadically and causing the visors to obstruct the contact's vision of the roadway. The sun visors were not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.
Original owner of vehicle,car shifts roughly into gear while driving feels like it is dragging,transmission has a hard clunk engagement when putting in reverse then engages hard with a sudden unexpected jolt backwards when car only had 3,945 miles in oct 2004. When car is in park I start the car it will sometimes jolt forward. Took car to dealer within 90 days of purchase for transmission & they replaced a solenoid in the trans. Took car back 2 more times within a year still having same problems now warranty up & ford will not help car has 170k= miles & is 6 yrs old still running but same transmission issues daily. This is very unsafe with the car jolting into gear especially when I start the car. They need to recall & replace the transmission.
While attempting to shift from "park," into "reverse," the column-mounted gear selector, broke away from the column and into my mother's hand. The vehicle sat in a parking lot for a few hours. Later on, we found a temporary workaround utilizing a pair of "vise-grips," and we were able to drive the vehicle home. The gear selector has not been repaired; and the vehicle just sits there, because the she is too afraid to drive it.
Ford explorer transmission failed at 84000 miles. This vehicle was released from the factory in 2004 without proper transmission fluid additive. Ford addressed the problem 1 year later, but this transmission is failing well before its time. Repair costs are $4500. Ford will not offer any assistance.
I have had the shifter lock actuator replaced twice in less than 2 years. This actuator defect prevents my explorer from coming out of park.
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