My explorer's transmission is starting to exhibit hard shifts that rattle the entire car. I know this is not a new problem as a family member had to replace the transmission in their 2006 explorer and cyber community is full of examples. This is a major safety issue as the transmission hesitates while excelerating through intersections and shifts hard enough to jolt the entire car while slowing down.
2006 Ford Explorer transmission complaints
Page 2 of 11: complaints 11 to 40 of 296, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission is slipping bad and car not shifting into drive
I own a 2006 ford explorer eddie bauer , bought used in 2011/61000k. Since 2012 the car started showing problems with the power steering and /or engine. When driving at 35-40 MPH on a highway the car started to surge forward, then back, keeping surging until the car reached a higher speed of 60. If driving on a hill, it will loose its speed. I took the car to ford dealer and they couldn't find the problem. The car now is 120000k, still same problem. Very disappointed with ford that will not take responsibility for the problemas.
The automatic transmission is banging into gear. It jolts the vehicle back and forth as it shifts. Tried replacing transmission fluid but continues to do it. Feels like I've been rear-ended at times. Its a consistent occurrence.
Overdrive has a hard jolt " hard shift" when normal driving. I see this is a big issue with all ford explorers, too bad I didn't do some research before buying a ford.
Transmission occasionally lurches and makes very hard shifts between gears. Engine races between hard shifts. Have loss of power between shifts which has almost resulted in causing an accident. Lurching seems to occur mostly after driving at 20 to 30 miles per hour for at least 20 minutes.
Got 2006 eddie bauer w/98,000, 1 previous owner (mother) all servicing via the same ford dealer (gene butman), except for a few oil changes from uncle ed's. Late nov 2016 took it in due to the heat was fluctuating, was told it needed the thermostat and housing replaced (even though it had the radiator replaced a few years earlier), also had brakes & rotors done, the 100,000 mile checkup said all was good. A week later the exhaust flute, etc broke lose, got that repaired & $2,000 later, friday 2/03/17 wrench light came on, then engine light, vehicle seemed to lunge forward, delay, doesn't engage..accelerate, feels like the transmission is hanging and then slams into gear. A thud feeling was also reported by my mother several times in previous years to the dealer, they could not find anything wrong, so she had then document it. Today I am told a transmission is needed, which is a unexpected huge & saddening surprise - in 2012 and 2013 there had already been transmission work on the vehicle. Checked and see all reports about this particular model has occurred on this one, cooling system/radiator/thermostat and housing issues, exhaust issues and now transmission issues -- there are thousands of reports for this exact model and other explorer and ford vehicles, all known issues, many explanations why it occurred with this model and that ford is aware of them and has provided no recalls for any of these serious defective matters, none - especially when each are very dangerous matters. Today I am told, that a new transmission will be: $5,400, 3 year warranty and a used transmission: $3,600 12 mos or 12,000 miles. Both options are very very expensive. What can the federal safety agency do, will a recall ever occur? It seems ford needs to step in and help with these repairs. It there any help with these matters & cost? Http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2006/ .
Driving down the hwy the powertrain malfunction indicator came on. I lost all use of the fuel pedal and brake. Had to get to the side of the hwy with out dying. If I turn the car off and back on the indicator is gone and works just fine. This situation has happened at least 5 times in the last 3 months. Nothing shows up when I plug in a code reader.
I am a military spouse and driving home from ft bragg at 50 miles an hour my truck started costing so I had to pull over and have it towed. I had a ford do a full diagnosis a month before this and the truck only needed barons. Lafayette ford fay nc 28306
The transmission jumps and engages very hard, it lunges forward also
Check engine lite and orange wrench lite which shuts car down no excelration pedal power steering gone and no brake control on freeway coming home. Trans. Will not shift and jumps when wrench lite is on very dangerous this has been going on since april took back to dealer sent to mechanic replaced 2 parts on excelleration module. Still not right.
I had the transmission replaced twice, first time at 57000 miles and second time 127000 miles. This is the first vehicle I owned and had to replace transmission. Was this problem ever address. Thank you [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
While driving car stalls while switching gears eventually jolts/jerks hard, wrench light signaling a powertrain issue appears in display. As I am doing research I realize this is a common transmission issue with fords. Definitely will not purchase another ford and will discourage everyone else I know from purchasing. Ford takes no responsibility for this issue in its vehicles. Completely unacceptable for a large company like ford.
Tranny slips really 3 times I had no ppwer going up the hill been told its their bad 2006 almost reended 3 time s pl fix this so I can drive saflty you need to fix it and soon I have aslo for my kids and my safty I cannt worry about ford has known all the time since day one pl do right by your company cause I can nt afford it
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. While driving various speeds, the transmission malfunctioned and the vehicle randomly jerked, slowed down, and unexpectedly surged forward. While at a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly surged forward and struck a pedestrian. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the transmission was replaced multiple times, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.
Complete and total catastrophic failure of transmission while driving 65 MPH on highway. I was traveling in my car with my family when we heard a loud explosive bang from under or car. I shook my wife and scared my children. I knew it definitely was not good and felt an immediate loss of forward momentum at highway speeds, we were traveling in the fast lane at the time and other vehicles were following behind us. They were not happy and hammering their horns at our sudden and unexpected deceleration. Luckily no one rear-ended us or panicked and slammed on their own brakes which could have caused a major collision on a major interstate. I was able to coast over to the emergency lane and come to a safe stop with in a few feet of a yellow emergency call box. We signaled for assistance and help came to me and my family within 10 minutes. (thank you to all by the way) we had the car towed to a local major brand transmission shop where they found the transmission fluid to be burnt and black, metal pieces in the pan and determined the transmission to be a complete loss and have it replaced with a certified rebuilt transmission. 69,000 mile at time of failure. Not acceptable at less than 100,000. This is a safety issue because if this were to happen to an inexperienced driver or other drivers around these vehicle when it happens at highway speeds, a serious possibly life threatening or fatal accident could result from this type of mechanical failure. This is not a slipping transmission or a car that wont shift gears or an issue similar to those type of complaints. This is a total and complete failure of a major vehicle component under normal operating circumstances. I don't have pictures, as I am remote from the vehicle until I pick it up when service is finished but I will be able to provide towing receipts and repair bills from servicing transmission shop.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. While the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter stuck in the park position. The contact mentioned that the brake pedal had to be depressed with force or the vehicle had to be restarted in order to move the gear shifter out of park. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed, but the details of the failure could not be provided. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to move in reverse. After several attempts, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
My 2006 explorer has recently started shifting hard and sometimes will not shift into gear right away. When I pull up to a stop light or become stationary it will try to die and sometimes will. And will also not go into gear unless I give it a lot of gas and then it takes a minute to pick up complete speed. I have already had to replace multiple things on this vehicle and am seeing that others have been having the same trouble. Ford do the right thing and recall this vehicle. Also my interior lights have gone out and is not the fuse or bulbs.
I bought this vehicle used 7 years ago from carmax. It has had transmission problem from day 1. It always shifts hard. Today the little wrench light came on as I pulled into my driveway..
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be overhauled. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a part within the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 52,000.
Recently my 2006 ford explorer xlt was jolting/jerking when I put it into reverse, it did not do it all the time just randomly, and about two days ago I put my explorer into reverse to leave my driveway and when I was accelerating it would not budge, the engine reved like it was trying to reverse but nothing. It only does it when I'm in reverse though. I've been recently researching this problem and it seems to be a very common problem amongst this year, I've actually seen hundreds of complaints online, ford should be replacing this and paying for the cost, definitely dangerous and also expensive. Had my vehicle for under a year and have approx. 107k miles and ive had it less than a year and still owe roughly 7k on it.
Eddie bauer v8 2006 explorer 107000 miles the ABS and srv lights came off. The car was stuck to the ground and would not speed at all. Got a mechanic to check and many different codes showed up. In the past when the same lights came up I took the car to a ford dealer and they found nothing.they recommended to change the front tires but they couldn't find any problems. For what I know it seems the ford explorer has a lot of problems and ford refuses to do a recall to fix it.
Difficulty putting vehicle into driving gear while stationary ever since its original purchase in 2006.transmission pump was replaced in 2010; however, was informed today that this part needs to be replaced again. Vehicle has undergone regular transmission maintenance so not sure how this problem arose again. The initial repair was done at a ford dealership in germany as I was stationed there due to military obligations. This repair was not covered by power train warranty as we were outside the united states. It placed in the parking position, it becomes very tedious and dangerous when trying to revert gears to reverse or drive.
Transmission failure resulting from michelin incorrectly marking tire sizes: I had four michelin cross terrain p235/70r16 tires on my SUV. Two wore out and where replaced with michelin latitude p235/70r16 tires as the cross terrain model was discontinued. The SUV then started having transmission problems especially when accelerating and the transmission failed and had to be replaced. The new transmission immediately started having similar transmission problems also. After multiple specialists examined the SUV, the problem was isolated to the 4x4 module engaging the transfer case during acceleration. It was determined by measuring the tires that the vehicle in fact had sets of tires with different circumferences, even though the tires were marked as being the same size. When the circumferences of the tires are not the same it causes the 4x4 module to believe a slipping condition is present and engage the transfer case. The continual engagement of the transfer case results in damage to the transmissin. I contacted michelin consumer care four times over a two month period only to be totally ignored. Michelin has sold tires that are marked incorrectly as to size, which results in damage to your SUV, and they refuse to accept any liability.
Transmission issues, it hard shifts, slams into gear, no immediate engaging into drive or reverse. Ford has checked the transmission and test driven it then claims it is operating fine. Dangerous issue with no accountability. Issues begin about the 60,000 mile mark.
Transmission was not shifting from 1st to 2nd leaving you not moving in traffic or worse not being able to cross traffic. Also extreme hard shifts into reverse from park. I put a new (rebuilt)transmission in 4/18/13 and 9/9/15 it has only been two weeks and already it is doing the hard shift thing.
Attention!!!!! Class action suit started. Contact feldman law group p.a. , mitchell l. Feldman @ 813‑639‑9366 1715 n. Westshore blvd. Suite 400 tampa florida 33607. Help to get this information out there to all of the consumers who have been victim to this defective, costly and dangerous product put out by ford.
Wow!!!! $2700, thats what my defective transmission is costing me @ only 69k miles. Who wants to start a class action law suit against ford? I bought a brand new 2006 eddie bauer explorer in las vegas at friendly ford. I have had transmission problems from day one. Shifting hard, not engaging and lurching. Took the vehicle to the service department several times only to hear the problem could not be duplicated. Bs, ford knows there is an issue with this transmission because my sister bought the exact same vehicle in clearwater, florida at countryside ford three months after me and had the same problem. The service department there duplicated the problem and fixed it. Of course her truck was still under warranty, bet if it wasn't they would have given her the bs excuse also. Or maybe the service manager there was willing to take a cut in his bonus for spending more on customers repairs. Buy american? Why? They do not back their product. So people, what are we going to do? Sit back and let ford get away with this. No, it's time for ford to step up to the plate and take responsibility. If anybody out there knows how to proceed with action, post the information on this site.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. While driving 20 MPH, the vehicle shifted from first to second gear with an abnormal banging noise as the tire pressure sensor indicator illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the noise was due to a misfire. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
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