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Comments
Great bit of advice!
Even better explanation!
Every person who drives a car with automatic transmission should keep this information in their heads because you never know when you will encounter a tow truck operator who might do the wrong thing.
*when i park my 02 Exploer, the truck will roll a bit before it stops. I told the dealer about this 3 or 4 times and he the last time finally found the problem and adjusted it. It was a bit better, but not much. Is this normal? some have told me its better to leave it because if they adjust it too tight i will quickly wear the breaks.
*apprximately 3 second delay when shifting from reverse to drive. shifts smoothly, but a noticeable delay. again, normal?
*is the ride on the 04's that much better than 02-03? ford catalog says its improved
*i have had numerous door ajar switches and the brake light cluster switch replaced. is there a bigger problem here or are the ford switches that bad?
*
V8
70 percent highway 30 percent city
mostly flat terrain
regular gas
I'm getting 19 miles per gallon routinely.
18 on a bad tank. Mostly 18.5 to 19+ 19.5 is high.
Got 16 at intersate speeds/West Virginia Mtns.
(This was my worst but the exception)
To nybanker - thanks for the info on the fan revs
The shift delay is really a problem , especially when backing up and suddenly it jerks into gear at a higher speed. My wife refuses to drive the car because of this. Its going back to the dealer for the third time for this problem and the next course of action is the NSTB or I will keep after ford until the trans is replaced or the fluids put at proper level. we had considered a new explorer for my wife but now are looking elsewhere because of the tranny problem.
I don't know how the ride of my 2004 compared to a new 2002 although it seems better than my neighbors 2002. but then again my 2004 is new and his has 35,000 miles. My older 95 and 98 were better than my wife's 99 and our friend's 2001. It seems they stiffened the suspension in the 99 to 01 s because of the roll over problem
Eddie
02 Ltd Explorer
Does it get worse? The vehicle currently has 24K on it. THANKS!
No a normal repair does not show up in a carfax report. I just completed a trip to Las Vegas and averaged 20mpg in my V6/XLT Explorer. As I mentioned, it has been a very reliable vehicle, minus this whine between 57mph and 63mph. So I wouldn't see any need for getting rid of the vehicle. Have you had any personal experience with this issue, or do you get rid of all your vehicles when a issues comes up? Just curious!
Currently driving a 2004 Nissan Titan that gets better fuel economy, is more useful, can tow, and so far has been a pretty darn good truck. Have packed 6200 miles on it in just over a month.
So, akangl, am I lyin? And just how much more mpg does that Titan get you than 14mpg? Be honest now.....
The Titan is averaging 15/16 mpg in mixed driving, last long trip we took it got 17 mpg hwy (with 1000 miles on the truck). I don't expect it to be great on gas, its a V8, but I did expect the Explorer to do better than 14 mpg. The absolute worst the Titan has gotten was 13 mpg, that was part towing a small trailer, a little offroad, the rest mixed driving. (that's not counting towing a 6600 lb travel trailer, averaged 10 mpg with that)
Sounds like you should join the "People who rant they'll never buy Brand X again" forum, and vent your issues there with other issue laden folks, and let us try to help Explorer owners with their cars over here like we did for you when you still had yours. But whatever...
I have been interestingly following her posts on the Titan board since I was also thinking about trading my Explorer for a Titan. However, based on all the problems she has had straight off the lot, I'll think I'll wait a bit for Nissan to work out the 1st year Titan bugs.
As for problems with the Titan right off the lot, yup, there were a couple, but NOTHING like what the Explorer did the first day we owned it. Nothing like driving in extreme cold with no heat, then have the truck overheat.
I am not justifying trading my Explorer in, not at all, it was done for more than the issues with the truck. Yes I liked it and for the most part it was a fairly good truck, I've had worse. The financial hit was HUGE, the Explorer's MSRP was $30,655, invoice $28,006, I paid $25k after rebates. Trade in value at 5 months old and 14k miles was $16,500.
I don't know if it was how I used the truck that caused the problems, or if it was the truck. I actually use my trucks. It had been offroad (dirt roads, not stump jumping) and had towed trailers, it was not very good about either one.
That said, I do have to give the Explorer credit, it pulled a Chevy out of the ditch, it rescued my husband twice when he goofed his Dodge up, it hauled more stuff than probably any Explorer is meant to do. It was a good truck, just wasn't the truck we needed and had issues we didn't want to live with.
'Nuff said.
BTW if anyone has a Red Fire Metallic Explorer and wants some touch up paint I've got a new bottle that I'll send them.
Yes there are a lot of good explorer's that run well with out any problems. My shop just did a service on a 03 EB model and the owner has had it about a year and is drives like new. She also had a 94 put about 70k on it and had very few problems with it.I was thinking about buying one a few weeks ago. but after looking at the the problems that owners had posted here and the expedition section I started having second thoughts. Also I thought about resale value? I looked to see if I could get a good price on a used one ?I found over between 50 and 100 for sale only a year old with in 50 miles of me?maybe a lot of owners want to dump the fords after a short while. Why is the only one or two pilots for sale or toyota 4runners?Also A loaded Explorer EB with v8 was over 35k.Then I thought of how well a corolla with 100k on it drives. And how a escort or topaz is pretty shot after 100k
I do think the f150s 250s and chevy trucks get some high miles and still drive well. But some of the other chevy , and fords are not as strong. Also I thought how often does are shop replaces auto transmissions on Asian Imports ( very few ) chevy ford chy ,very often.
I work on and or test drive between 5 and 10 cars and trucks a day
Yes I do notice some small differences the most people would not.
For instance I have had some people tell me saturns drive well and are pretty good cars!Yes each to there own.
But I think the are total junk!Even new they drive like crap.
My choice was a SUV from the best most reliable Asian auto maker.
The explorer drives well , very good style, and roomy inside.
My SUV drives fantastic ,materials,fit, finish,performance 2nd to none.
You lucky
2003 Explorer, 4wd, V8. Don't ask me what a hoot is, but the noise starts when the temp is 85 or above and the humidity high. "Hoot" is most noticeable when the vehicle is working it's way up through (and down too)the gears at fairly low to moderate RPM on a very hot/humid day. The noise does not occur under cooler conditions. Ford Osasis indicating the problem has been a known for some time, but Ford engineering has not come up with a suitable, economical fix. Thus, apparently no recall so far?
P.s. As mentioned in an earlier post, fuel mileage is not much for the Explorer given the decent history for 4.6L in various other Ford products the last few years. Our 2004 Expedition NBX with 5.4L has very similar or slightly higher overall fuel mileage despite 1,250 additional lbs. for the Expedition.
Still would rate Explorer very good overall, expect to get 200,000+ vehicle life with proper service.
Hey, nvbanker. Got them ears on?
Does this sound applicable, fx?
The biggest thing is the transmission fluid do I have to replace it? The user's manual list certain transmission models, but how do I know which one do I have. Some independent shop says it's sealed for 100Kmiles, a Ford dealer quoted $150 and try to sell me other stuff.
If you ask, yes, of course it needs to be change, including the coolant.....but at 30Kmiles? Can someone share your opinions, thanks.
how well do you know your dealer? being a regular (paying) customer can help, if you have a problem.
make sure what they say will be done is on the receipt you get. take the time to read it.
First, it is "sealed for life" at the factory. There is no dipstick, so refilling the transmission is tricky as it must be done from below, against gravity, etc. Pretty much that leaves it to a dealer or shop with some special equipment to do that. Ford sealed it mainly because the engineers couldn't find a place to route the dipstick tube up to the top. They expect the transmission to run about 100,000 miles normally without service before it fails. It will probably run about 150,000 miles if serviced at regular intervals, so it depends on how long you intend to run the truck - you can make a decision from that.
Aggravating factors like a hot climate or towing would cause me to service the transmission anyway, as those factors will deteriorate the fluid sooner. It's a synthetic fluid put in there at the factory, and normally it should last a long time. But heat is the enemy, and if you live in extreme climates or tow, your tranny will die sooner.
Personally, I would have it serviced at least at 50,000, but as the previous poster said, make sure they actually have the machine that will change out the fluid for you and they do it. dropping the pan only lets out 4 quarts - that's not servicing it. It needs a pump out.
Very familiar with that noise. I had an 87 Bronco 5.0 EFI with 3-speed C6 that had the fan clutch lock up engaged at 150,000+ miles. Replaced the thing the next Saturday.
The noise is very much unlike anything I or even the experienced Ford techs have ever heard. I would call it a whistle (hoot is Ford's term) and is under light load at 1000-1300 RPM. The Ford Oasis printout is numbered 17217, with effective date of 9/22/03. Just this week there is still is no fix--the above says to monitor Oasis for updates. (The local Ford tech said there probably is a fix now, but not one that is economical enough for Ford to go with). Apparently no loss of A/C function. Hoot or whistle noise starts right at 85 degrees on humid day with A/C on.
P.s. Above 87 Bronco with C6 tranny was sweet running, good towing Bronco compared to 5.0 EFI with vacuum 4-speed transmission AOD at the time. Ford only made a few Broncos set up like this in late 87 and early 88. 5.0 EFI with C6 3-speed and 3.55 ratio actually gave more towing power than Bronco brakes and short wheelbase could handle.
Could be something having to do with the nature of R-134A?
My 2003 had and my 2004 Expedition has the noticeable grunt/pop from compressor start-up after being parked over night or for many hours. Apparently the R-134A travels to the coolest part of the system at night and then the grunt/grinding sound comes as the compressor kicks on and the R-134A quickly starts its journey around the system. No system harm, no loss of A/C, defrost function. No repair needed or available.
Good weekend to all!
idntnvu
thanks anyway!
I remember seeing many posts about the problem, how do I really pinpoint the noise to be from the rear end? Is the noise noticeable from outside the truck?
Can someone pls post the exact problem and resolution from a FORD receipt? Thanks.
idntnvu