2005 Ford Explorer: transmission slipping

Filed Dec 28, 2015 · Transmission · 93,000 miles · MA

Vehicle transmission begining to slip, soon will ahve no 4th gear or reverse. The vehicle is up to date with matinanace and everything mileage is still below 95,000 miles. This is an outrage that the ford company is aware of this problem and no recall has been reported.

Filed Oct 7, 2015 · Transmission · 124,956 miles · AL

Transmission grinds/slips going from 2 to 3 gear.

Filed Mar 29, 2015 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · IN

In nov of 2014 we took the car to the local ford dealer for 100k mile service. We told them to check the drive train because when you put the car in reverse there would be a slight hesitation then a clunk then the car would begin to move. They said there was no issue and they installed a computer upgrade to improve the shifting. They also changed the tranny fluid. Then in march of 2015 when you put the car in reverse the transmission began slipping and got worse in a couple of days. We took it to the local dealer again and they took 2 weeks to figure out the transmission needed replaced. They said $3500 for a remanufactured transmission and I would have to pay for all of it.

Filed Nov 13, 2012 · Engine · 58,944 miles · ME

The engine had been behaving strange. There was a "tinking" sound, like when you hit metal against metal, and the engine would slip out of gear when under speed control. The vehicle was driven the night before with no problems. The next morning it tried to turn over but couldn't start. The local ford dealership says the sprocket jack shaft broke, controls cam broke, there were bent valves, lifters were hit with the jack shaft and cams were hit too. The engine hydro-locked, ruining the top of the engine. I called the national ford complaint center. Ford said it would not offer any financial assistance for putting in a new motor.

Filed Dec 26, 2011 · Transmission · TN

Drove the vehicle to work and went to leave and I had no reverse. The transmission had been slamming into reverse and then engaging prior to this-but no slipping or anything else. I had the fluid changed and there were no teeth or any metal in the filter or pan-but this did not fix the problem. Spoke with 3 transmission shops in my town and all told me the 05 explorers had junk transmissions. That the fluid in part of them from the factory was bad and the tranny itself was just a big mistake. This needs to be recalled- $1338 later, I have a rebuilt 'junk' transmission. I have owned fords in the past and loved them, but my explorer ended this lover affair. Everywhere you look online there are complaints about this vehicle- and no one is making ford do anything about it.

Filed Dec 18, 2011 · Transmission · 96,000 miles · OH

Just bought this car. Transmission was having trouble shifting gears and is now slipping. This should be a recall, as I have found too many complaints about this transmission falling apart. Ford should fix this issue and replace with a different transmission. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a transmission that is bound to fail again. This is a blatant missed recall. The trans is model 5r55s. Please recall this.

Filed Nov 16, 2011 · Transmission · 88,000 miles · NC

We bought our explorer new july 4th 2005, have had several problems but this is the worst. I have had the transmission checks done on time at 40,000 and 60,000 miles. I told them twice before the transmission was not right it was slipping. Now that I finally paid them $200.00 for their test it shows the bands are about to break and it will be $3900.00 for a rebulit one. I have checked out the list of problems with there transmissions,so where is the recall,come on we can't all be wrong. Looking for help in these hard times,being disabled and wife about to retire this price is absurd,because of all the other complaints. Bought last two cars from ford ,don't think it will happen again. Thanks for letting me vent.

Filed Oct 29, 2011 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · TN

Took our 2005 ford explorer to service dept. Before warranty expired-previously alexander ford, now ford of murfreesboro. The transmission had been slipping periodically at the time. They drove it & said nothing was noticeable. I indicated to them that it slipped maybe once or twice every month or so. Now vehicle is out of warranty. I was driving in traffic and the transmission slipped on me. I had a car in front of me & when it finally let up, I almost hit the vehicle in front of me-with a baby in a car seat in the back seat. When I slammed on my breaks after the transmission kicked in, I suffered whiplash. It scared me to death. There appear to be so many transmission problems with the 2005 explorers. This is dangerous and someone should do something about it for a recall. They should have checked my vehicle out more extensively rather than barely drive it for a few minutes when it was under warranty. I could have injured a child & I did injure myself.

Filed Oct 11, 2011 · Transmission · 80,400 miles · NJ

While driving on the highway, transmission slippage occurred switching suddenly from drivinig to neutral, gear could not be changed unless vehicle was parked and brake pedal was pressed down. Scary situation considering that I could be driving on the left lane. Please consider this as a safety complaint and request for safety recall.

Filed Aug 3, 2010 · Engine, Transmission · 45,606 miles · KS

I just bought a 2005 ford explorer xlt 4.0l v-6 4x4 with 45,000 miles, and within one month, the transmission began to slip while driving. I took it to rob sight ford in kansas city, mo and they charged me $1,200 to fix the valve casing, but the transmission is still slipping. A week later, the defroster quit working, and now only blows out of the front vents. I checked with several dealerships and they all said it would be at least $1,100 to fix the blend door actuator. So now I have a 5 year old car with 45,000 miles that has no defrost capabilities and needs a new transmission, both of which are extremely hazardous if malfunctioning.

Filed Apr 19, 2010 · Transmission · 39,304 miles · PA

The transmission started slipping and would not engage right away. Engine would rev but vehicle wouldn't go. The vehicle then started smoking from underneath. The dealer stated that the transmission had a massive fluid leak inside the converter housing and fluid was dripping on the hot exhaust. The leak was caused by a defective pump seal in the transmission, with only 39,200 miles. The repair cost $1100.00. Last year I spent $800.00 to replace the failed solenoids in the transmission body that were posted in a ford technical service bulletin. However, ford did not wish to cover the cost since I was outside of the warranty by one year although I only had 35,900 miles at the time.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · TX

I bought my 2005 explorer new. I have never been in a wreck. At 13000 miles my transmission started going out and was repaired under warranty. Now at 64000 miles my transmission is jerking into reverse and dragging into 3rd just like before. What really scared me was I was trying to pass a car and when trying to accelerate my car jerked, revved up and then clunked into gear. Thank goodness there wasn't a car coming or I would have been in trouble. I took it in and ford says they are unaware of any problems. They said I just needed my computer updated. Well $200 later it is still not fixed. The car is still slipping and jerking. My car is not quite 5 years old and there is no reason why my transmission should be going out for the second time. Thank you for looking into this matter.