2008 Ford Explorer: check engine light

Filed Dec 17, 2020 · Electrical · 127,000 miles · CA

My 2008 ford explorer has been having issues recently where it turns over and will not start, then will start. Today while driving on the freeway at 65 MPH my check engine light came on with the service wrench and the car lost all power and the steering stiffened up and was hard to steer at all almost causing me to wreck on the freeway. I lost all power and control at the gas pedal and then the check charging system icon came on also. I had to completely pull over to the shoulder and put it in park then shut off the car. I then had to restart the car which started right away and started to drive fine again. This happens more than once a day, my friend has checked the charging system and cleaned the battery cables and has over 14 volts charging from alternator to battery and still happens. The dtc code was pulled and was a p0607. Control module failure or corrupt.

Filed Aug 1, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 140,000 miles · MO

Engine light and traction control light and wrench light all came on and car went to idle and would not rev up like it was stuck om idle--this happened while driving 60 miles per hour in heavy traffic and I was almost rearended over it.

Filed Sep 9, 2019 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · HI

Stopped at the 4 way ..and my turn to go..my car goes maybe 2 seconds then it revvs when I pressed the pedal bit mycar doesnt engage . The tool light and engine light on. I rode it to the side ..turned it off. Then started it again..getting back on the road again..and once again I move some..then the engine revvvs but the car doesn t fo..twice I almostgot side swiped by on coming vars up behind me. I talked to the mechanic..as I just bought this car in july last year..hesaid its a ford thing..commom.. But no one has the correct answer..trial and error..or spend thousands on a new transmission. A few people said its the transmossion wire harness??

Filed Aug 12, 2018 · Electrical, Transmission · 100,232 miles · FL

"transmission failure" at 100233 miles the wrench and engine light came while driving. Upon parking & turning off the vehicle, the transmission would not work. Cut thru all gears like butter. Wound not "enter" into any gear. Towed. After vehicle cooled, transmission works again, only to become hot, repeat tow. Code p0775. After cooling, same event. Transmission solenoid goes out while hot, in a hot climate. Manufacturer defect. Needs safety recall.

Filed Jun 28, 2017 · Transmission · 103,500 miles · IL

When the problem occurred it came from nowhere. I was driving as normal then there was an initial loss of power as I noticed the check engine light and an unfamiliar orange wrench were now illuminated. Seeming as I had no power I cautiously guided the vehicle to the shoulder of the expressway. Since then I've tried having the problem fixed to no avail, because it's intermittent and ford themselves have no remedy. Also, took it upon myself to contact ford to be told the vehicle is past warranty so go the dealer and have them look at the vehicle. This has been an issue for the past 2 months of owning this vehicle and still occurring occasionally.

Filed May 29, 2015 · Transmission · 78,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford explorer. While driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle jerked violently when shifted into gear and decelerated when shifted into drive. The engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the shift solenoid needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred two months later. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.

Filed Jun 3, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 72,000 miles · NY

4/1- a couple days before 4/1, the check engine light came on. On 4/1, I was driving the car on a side street and it shut off on me, without warning. I got it towed to a dealer near by and was told it was a faulty alternator. Dealer changed it... 4/10 - the wrench and the check engine lights came on the dashboard. I took it back to the dealer to have it checked. The dealer was very passive of the situation - but ultimately, he said they were old codes that needed to be cleared from the computer. He cleared them and all was suppose to be well. 4/17 - my husband and I were out running errands, when again the wrench and the check engine light came on at the same time. Moments later, the car shut off on us while we were driving in the middle on the street. Luckily we were able to get it out of the middle of the road. We called the dealer and arranged to have them check it out. We managed to get the car started and drove it to the dealer. 4/24 - the dealer told us that the PCM was busted - and that alot of 2008 explorers were having this issue. Unfortunately, ford did not have the part available anywhere and we would have to wait until august 2014 in order to get the part fixed. Right now, our car is sitting at the dealer - not working. Ford has done nothing to compensate or to alleviate the mental and financial stress of not having car has done.

Filed Feb 3, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 102,350 miles · NJ

I was driving the vehicle on the highway when, a wrench icon appeared in the instrument cluster, and the engine immediately lost all power, I was able to pull over to the shoulder. I then put the vehicle into park and started it without a problem, and was able to drive without a problem no warning lights were on. This happened again about 3 weeks later, was driving about 45mph this time a wrench did not appear when the engine lost power, I again was able to pull over to the shoulder and was able to restart the vehicle, this time the check engine light came on. I am bringing the vehicle to the ford service center for diagnostic testing.

Filed Sep 27, 2013 · Transmission · 82,649 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the mechanic stated that the transmission had to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 82,649.

Filed Jul 1, 2013 · Fuel system · 113,000 miles · SC

2008 ford explorer. Consumer writes in regards to having problems filling the gas tank. *smd the consumer stated the pump hose would click off automatically, as if signaling the tank was full, even though that was not the case. The consumer stated it took approximately 20 minutes to fill the tank. The check engine light illuminated shortly after, it started happening, but went off a short while later. A flashing red light and a warning to shut down the engine occurred. After shutting down the engine and restarting it, the problem seemed to go away. The red light issue occurred twice. The consumer discovered ford issued a tsb several years ago, over the problem, as it apparently occurred frequently enough in the market place.

Filed Jun 16, 2013 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · VA

While driving along at a medium speed in march 2013, the dashboard lit up like a christmas tree with all the warning lights blinking from the low gas to the check engine and everything in between. Luckily I was not in heavy traffic or bad weather because this scared the heck out of me when it occurred. The engine was not laboring and appeared to be operating correctly except for the light show and audible alarms going off in the dashboard. The alarms continued going off as I tried to get the car back home. When I started the car the next morning to take it to my mechanic, no alarms were active. The mechanic took a couple of hours before they finally were able to replicate the problem. In the end, they replaced my alternator and battery at a cost of about $700. Everything has been find until yesterday when then warning light show/alarms recurred. It's only been 3 months since the first incident. It will go back to my mechanic tomorrow. Luckily its still under their warranty.

Filed Jan 26, 2011 · Fuel system · 95,250 miles · TX

My engine light came on and I was unable to put gas in the vehicle. I took it to 3 local mechanics and all 3 concurred that due to the design of the gas tank vent hose (water from the road) has ended up in the gas. This in turn contaminated the gas canister and gas vent valve. To fix the problem they will be replacing the vent hose, gas vent valve and canister. This is information was obtained through running 3 different diagnostics and receiving the service bulletin (tsb 07-25-3). I contacted ford and they stated there is a service bulletin on this issue but they will not help with the repairs since my warranty is out. This is a known defective part that they could have replaced when being notified of the defect and it would have prevented the water getting into the vent valve and canister causing this expensive repair. I will be going with the cheapest repair which is $609.00 and to the average working person this is a big expense for something that could have been prevented. I believe ford should be made to repair this issue has been reported by consumers and their poorly designed part caused the problem not the consumers. Thank you for investigating my complaint.