Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. When attempting to shift the gear selector lever, it fractured and caused the ignition to lock. The contact was unable to operate the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and is in the process of having the component repaired. The cause of the failure was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 71,325 updated 01-26-09 *bf the gear shift lever on the steering column broke. Updated 01/27/09.
2004 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 9 of 16: complaints 221 to 250 of 460, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I purchased a 2004 explorer limited with 18,000 miles. At 28,000 miles the dealership replaced a solenoid in the transmission per ford to eliminate a large "thud" when the vehicle was shifted into reverse. The problem went away for awhile but returned. Today at 78,000 the vehicles transmission has failed and the dealership states it needs replacement. Extended warranty provider refuses to cover the work. I have read that ford installed the wrong transmission fluid at the factory as well. Bottom line is the ford transmission is defective and everyone knows it. How about a little justice here for the consumer?
A couple of months ago I notices that my explorer made a weird humming sound when I remove my foot off the gas going downhill at highway speeds. I also get the hard/clunk shift sound when going from park to reverse with a couple second delay. It takes longer then normal for vehicle to accelerate as if the truck is having difficulty shifting itself. Whaling city ford in new london ct said problem was that we have two tires that are a bit smaller then the rest and proceeded to try to sell us four new tires. I took it for a second opinion and the auto shop actually spent time on my vehicle and said that our tires are fine, it is the tranny. How can ford get away with this and what is my recourse since so many others are having this issue?
Blinking o/d light, service engine light, park to reverse gear slippage, first to second gear slippage.
I bought it brand new in 2004 and have taken very good care of this vehicle, but it hasn't returned the favor. I have had multiple transmission problems that ford says that they all do it and won't fix it. My tailgate cracked next to the ford symbol, once again won't fix it. My paint on my hood is peeling off. I only have 50,000 easy miles on it but looking at it and driving it you would think that it had 150,000 on it. I will never buy ford again!
Transmission is slipping, RPM's racing before engaging into gears. Hard clunk when shift from reverse to forward. Losing power while waiting for shifts to engage.
Of the numerous issues with this vehicle, the worst is the transmission (40,000 miles ). Same old story. Started with clunking and hesitation and surging when shifting into reverse and now is 'clunking' into gears 2 and 3 during normal driving. The rear drivers side window motor has been replaced twice. The rear window panel has a vertical crack to the left of the ford symbol that just mysteriously occurred even though we don't even use the window. The truck stalls when the cruise control is applied below 45 miles an hour. My wife and I really loved this truck but like many others we have become embarrassed by our purchase. If this kind of fraud were to occur with any other product we would have some sort of recourse but not surprisingly the motor company's seem to enjoy a certain level of protection. The 'better business bureau' won't even listen to car complaints. Given the severe and ubiquitous nature of the complaints about this vehicle it comes as no surprise that no remediations is forth coming from this organization, the manufacturer or any other. The cost of these vehicles is a burden to say the least and is financially devastating to those of us who purchased them in good faith only to have a 30,000 dollar vehicle become useless and dangerous before reaching 50000 miles. Like all the other 'victims' of fraud, I am wasting yet more of my time by complaining about it.
I have had many, many problems with my 2004 ford explorer. Probably the most dangerous one is the recurring failure of the transmission. This last time that this occurred I was on interstate-85, in morning rush-hour traffic, and all of a sudden my RPM's are flying to the red danger area and I have no acceleration power and am losing speed. There is an 18-wheeler on my rear and I can't pick up speed! Luckily, I was approaching an exit and managed to get the vehicle off of the interstate and onto a less traveled road. This is the second time that I have endured this scenario. Once again the solenoid is gone, with repairs estimated at $1255.00. I have had this problem repaired less than a year after purchase. I have had this problem repaired at 32,567 miles, and I now have this problem again at 76,725 miles. I have had the clutch pack replaced at 24,940 miles as well as the ring gear, pinion, and all bearings replaced at 24,940 miles. At 35,558 miles the lower ball joint had to be replaced. At 64,335 I had to have the pats transponder(security system) replaced. In short I have had the transmission repaired three times the front end rebuilt , the back end redone. I honestly can say I do not feel very safe in this vehicle, especially since I have to use this to transport my children. These problems seem to be the norm for this particular vehicle, as I have done research on this. I don't understand why ford is not made to resolve these issues. I have also had to have my heating and air replaced. This occurred in the winter of 2007 and was a safety issue, as I could not defrost my windows.
In 2005 I purchased a 2004 ford exxltspnbx 11900 from herz car sales. Just few month after that I experienced the first of 20 critical engine shutdowns that I experienced up to now. 2. The failure is that the engine of my car turns off spontaneously at speeds between 50 and 70 MPH. The consequences are: - sudden loss of power - sudden loss of steering servo, I.e. A sharp sideways kick if the car is in a curve - sudden loss of braking power - the need to shift to neutral and restart the engine, with the danger to shift to 'r' or even 'p' in panic, and to lock up the steering wheel at full speed (!!!) panic is the right word for the feeling my wife and I have experienced in every occurrence of this failure. 3. After the first two failures I brought the car to a ford dealership. The car was still under factory warranty, but the workshop couldn't localize the problem. They test-drove he car for 200 miles and concluded he car was ok, in spite of the fact that I told them that I had two events in 20,000 miles. The total frequency has been by now once in every 2,500 miles, on average. The shutdown seems to be occurring with the cruise control on, more likely on slight downhill slopes. 3. No solution for this problem so far.
Bought car with 9k miles on it, transmission slams into gear in reverse causing car to jump backwards, called dealer stated knew what problem was fixed under warranty. 40k miles later it is happening again, more severe and jerking forward while driving. Almost hit pedestrian, could not control. Dealer states out of warranty will not fix. Informed them this is the same problem, work is faulty. Many complaints of this on-line with this type of vehicle. It is a major safety issue. Car is now jerking more violently causing the wheels to screech when put into reverse. Does there need to be a death or injury in order to investigate this?
There is clearly a defect in ford explorer transmissions. My 2004 explorer had shifting problems at the 2-21/2 year mark. It was limped through by replacing the solenoid. Now at 42/3 years (out of warranty) it is doing the exact same thing and suddenly needs a new transmission at the 41,000 mile mark. I feel ford has a clear problem based on the number of complaints and I am sure that is a small fraction of the problem as most people don't know to complain. Ford has put bandaids on the problem until the warranty is up, then the consumer gets stuck. While this may not be a safety issue, it is clearly a defective transmission/ design flaw and consumers need to be compensated. What does it take to have something recalled? Does a life have to be lost? These transmissions are lemons and the consumers have been ripped off. Many probably remain silent because they think they were just unlucky so I am sure the complaints you have are just the tip of the iceberg. It seems your agency should protect not just from injury, but from frauds and deception. Ford has been deceptive and should be accountable for these lemons.
There is alot of whistling and squeaking in my front end and everytime I have it looked at I am told it just needs lubrication and after a few weeks the noise is back which I am sure means something is wrong and no one seems to find it. The squeaking is driving me nuts at every turn whenever you brake sometimes just accelerating will cause it to squeak.
I own a 2004 ford explorer on 7/14/2008 I took it to the ford dealer ship due to my o/d light flashing. I was told I would need a new transmission $3,200.00 dollars so they replaced the transmission,I picked up my explorer on 7/28/2004 and only drove it 30 miles and the o/d light began flashing again and the transmission was not passing gears. Now this is a new transmission the dealer ship was contacted and they now have my vehicle again so now I will have to wait and see what the out come is again.
(1) ford recall 5r55s/5r55e/5r443 transmissions april 04 2005. 04b22 ford explorer xlt (2) repair information regarding transmission issues. This vehicle was taken back to action ford mercury, hartsville, sc. On 10/23/06 with the same problems. The warranty has expired and the service department stated that I would be required to pay for a portion of these repairs. I have taken this vehicle back to action ford mercury (4) times, for transmission repairs. (see attachments),10/11/04, 06/08/05. Obviously, with (4) repairs , something is not right with the transmission in this vehicle. Both statements reference solenoid replacement. This transmission obviously has a 'factory defect', and should be repaired once and for all, or replaced. Expecting a customer to continuously bring a vehicle back in for repairs, for the same problems, even only paying deductible payments is ludicrous. I also talked in length with the action ford mercury service manager, 'richard', and he stated that they have not had any problems with the explorer transmissions. Seems that this is not quite true, at least nationally, in reference to the information retained on consumer web sites (see attached). Actually , this is a well documented problem with the 2004 models.
Purchased my ford explorer jan 2004. Problem with shifting occurred june 29th 2004. One year later 2005, the problem worsen, with slipping and hard shifting at the same time. Ford is not backing the explorer at all and we the people with these same complaints need help, or all of our money back from the vehicle, since the problem can not be fixed.
I purchased a 2004 ford explorer in november 2006 with 16,000 miles. At approximately 30,000 miles, I noticed that it shifted hard going into 3rd gear as I accelerated. The transmission would rev up, then shift with a thud. I do not drive the vehicle hard. This was noticed during normal in town driving. This happened intermittently. At 38,000 miles I took it to a ford dealership to have it checked (as my extended warranty was about to expire). I explained the shifting and acceleration problem in detail. They reported that this was within the specs for this truck. That it was normal acceleration. It is now 54,000 miles. The problems have gotten worse. It feels like the transmission slips into neutral, then clunks and grabs the next gear. There is also a delay and clunk when shifting into reverse. I've just taken it in and had the transmission flushed. The shop reported that there was no particulate or debris in the pan, so it is probably something internal. I took it to a transmission specialist and they are saying I need a new/rebuilt transmission.
2004 ford explorer, still has harsh shift from park to rear, have to press brake hard so car does not jerk when shifting to rear, fluid was replaced by ford dealer 2 years ago but harsh shifting never addressed since it was on and off 2 years ago, presently happens much more often.
2004 ford explorer. Gear shift lever broke off in my hand when shifting from park to reverse. Transmission indicator stuck between park and reverse. Vehicle could start but not move. Key stuck in ignition. Shift lever broke off at metal cast inside column. Towed to ford dealer. Needs entire steering column replaced to fix this part, cost over $1000. Others with same problem due to defective part. Called ford hq, but no help with covering repairs for this problem.
We purchased a 2004 ford explorer 4.0 liter v6 approximately 6 months ago (46,000 miles). Shortly after the purchase the vehicle began to shift hard from "park" into "reverse". The vehicle also shifts hard while in motion. It feels as if the vehicle has accelerated on it's own. Mechanic advised the transmission will cost approximately $600.00 in parts, and approximately $800.00 in labor. It is unknown how long the transmission will last until complete failure. I have grave concerns that it may fail as we are on the interstate causing death or serious injury.
I purchased a 2004 eddie bauer 4.0 liter explorer. The previous owner brought the vehicle back for all recalls, particularly those related to the transmission. This included a complete trans fluid flush even though the ford states the 1st maint. On tranny is 100 k miles, changed the front seal that supposedly "corrodes in the presence of the old transmission fluid', and had the solenoid body changed to correct the transmission shifting problem. Now the transmission is failing again at 34,000 miles. It shifts erratically and feels unusual while driving in forward, and once warmed up and at a stop, when shifting from drive to reverse, there is a 1 too 2 second pause and then the transmission shifts violently into reverse. Mechanic tells me that tranny will eat itself up. In short all preventable maint. And recalls have been done on car to avoid problem, and yet at 34k miles tranny is experiencing same problem again. You really need to put fords feet to the fire and get this fixed as a recall as this is a safety issue. Web is full of reports of trannys die-ing on the road with no warning. You all are the watchdog, please do your job.
I own a 2004 ford explorer. Car started vibrating at low speeds especially after a stop and when turning. I have taken it to two mechanics and both told me the rear differential needs to be replaced. I am a college student and just purchased the vehicle so I will be unable to pay for the costly repair. I have read online that many many other ford customers have had the same problem and ford has done nothing about it.
1. I have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 ford explorer. The vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while I am on the highway. 2. Rear differentral, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vechile to break down and if that happens the vechile is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. I have brought it to the ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me.
1. I have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 ford explorer. The vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while I am on the highway. 2. Rear differential, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vehicle to break down and if that happens the vehicle is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. I have brought it to the ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me.
Ford explorer 2004 - bought brand new in 2004 my ford explorer started having shifting problems after 1 year I bought it. Ford dealer fixed it because it was under warranty. They claimed that it was the transmission solenoid. I am having the same issue 1 year after the fix was made and went back to the dealer. They said that the car is not under warranty anymore and it will cost me around 1400 dollars to fix it. I did not have them fix it and figured that I call ford customer service to get this fixed for free. That did not get me anywhere. This was back in 2006 or 2007 and I am still having this issue. This is a mechanical hazard because a failed transmission driving on a freeway can cause accident. I have a wife, a 4 year old and a 1 year old and always fear for their safety while driving the vehicle with them.
I purchased a 2004 ford explorer last year. Almost immediately after the purchase but after warranty expiration I had to pay for a new wheel bearing. A few months ago I had the car serviced and was told the rear differential has issues. A loud roar as I drive. About a month ago I heard the familiar sound of another wheel bearing talking to me. I pick my daughter up everyday from school and rely on this vehicle to be functioning in a safe manner. I researched a bit and found complaint after complaint regarding these issues. I can see that this complaint is old news but it is a serious safety issue and an on going problem. It is not cheap either! I am disgusted with this car and demand this widespread issue be resolved. Thank you for your time. Joseph sullivan
2004 ford explorer with seals leaking. Consumer states that the front axle seal and pinion seal were replaced. The rear axle seal was leaking and also was replaced. Consumer would like to be reimbursed for the charges. *kb the consumer stated on march 31, 2008 the rear axle seal on the passenger side was found to be leaking, after having the front axle seal and pinion seal replaced 2 weeks prior.
Purchased 2004 ford explorer used with 9k miles on it. Immediately noticed strong jerking movement when putting into reverse. Dealership fixed the problem, stated it was common. Now 43k miles, same problem; much stronger. I'm noticing this jerking while driver forward as well. On occasion the car will just jump forwarded as if someone was jumping on the gas pedal. I've read similar complaints, some with injuries on www.mycarstats.com; over 197 complaints. This is a serious accident waiting to happen. Ford need to recall and fix this problem. Once the warranty expires people are being quoted over $3k to fix the transmission problems.
I have a 2004 ford explorer. About two weeks ago, I went to shift from park to reverse so I could back out of my driveway. The gear shifter broke off in my hand. It was dangling by some sort of cord. I could not shift into park, and could not get the key out of the ignition. I had to leave the car in neutral and put the parking brake on. I've had three mechanics look at it, and all of them said this is not something that should break. It is going to cost me $1100 to fix, because a whole new steering column has to be ordered from ford. I contacted ford via email, and they are not issuing a recall at this time, which I think is unacceptable given how common this problem is.
Purchased a new 2004 ford explorer automatic v6 in nov 04. Occasionally when shifting in reverse, engine would give a "hard" jerk. When driving the vehicle, stopped(especially) if roads were wet, when attempting to proceed forward, vehicle tires-good tires/even wear,rotated regularly and/or vehicle would loose control as engine attempted to move forward. Always a very annoying noise in rear riding as passenger. But it to dealer @ beginning, checked it out under warranty, noe vehicle has a little over"75930". Drove it from one state to another, parked it, next day drove it < than a 1/4 mile to store, shopped, returning home the "transmission" gave a very loud noise, grinding and a hard jerk, enough to hurt one driving or passenger's backs. 2nd gear unable to engage, RPM race to 4000 2nd gone! Ford dealer quotes a repair(rebuilt) @ $3555.0+taxes @ rate of "$100.00" an hour = labor nearly a "$1000.00. Brought it to a repriable trans shop quoted $3000.00 complete we have been a"die-hard" owners of fords for years, even own a 1956crown vic., 86 f250, 99 lincolncon't, 00mustang, and this )$ ford explorer is the worse vehicle puchased @ "$38,000". Never mind all the previous ones, never have I ever dealt with a fairly new vehicle of poor workmanship/design. Reports reveal that these 04's definitely have ford manufactutrer defects or craftmanship faults. Why do people give up on "american" vehicles, ah ah? @ "75,930+ miles a broken transmission.
Transmission started shifting hard the day it was purchased in 2004. Now the transmission will not shift at all and the car has been parked in the driveway and is not drivable. I asked the ford dealership about the shifting problem within a week of purchase and they stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle that they could find.
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