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2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
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PS. My dad works at the ford plant that makes the
Sport Trac. The plant is realy humming.
I'm way up north of you in Ontario, Canada and every ST I have seen has the floor mats in the back seat for delivery. The dealership thinks because the ST comes with rubber floors figures you do not need floor mats. I get on their case right away. I'm going to purchase mine ST this week. Enjoy.
Dale
After the paperwork, I came out and the salesman had stuck the temp license plate to the rear window. I had to peal it off to roll it down. :-( He didn't know the rear window operated. The only SportTrac they had (Mine Now) was on the lot for just 8 hours.
Anyway I did a quick look over at the dealers and found my first big problem. I say big because I think they may have problems resolving it. The rear 60/40 fold down seat is out of alignment. The 60 side sits about 1 & 1/2 inches from the wall and the 40 side touches the wall. The 40 is also shifted to far towards the 60. The 40 must be laied flat before the 60 part can be folded flat. The 40's hinged platform (behind the seat) over laps the 60s hinged platform by about 1/4 inch preventing the 60 side from folding down by itself.
I was wrong about the charge of 24.50 for 12 US Gallons of gas in my previous post. I left with a full tank. It holds 20 gallons I think.
Petty Suff:
I didn't realize that the button for the moon roof took up the entire space for the sunglasses/garage door opener. :-( I was looking forward to a space for my sun glasses.
I wish the clock was in a better spot than on the radio. There is so much visual clutter on the radio it takes me a sec to locate the time.
Looks like you need a special tool to remove the spark plug on the passenger side near the firewall. Its VERY tight.
I've got the limited slip 4.10 rear and it seems to work too good. Every time I go around a right hand turn the limited slip kicks in when I hit the grit on the road. I get a small chirp out of the right rear tire. It may be that I'm not use to the power in the V6 4.0. My old 4Runner had a V6 3.0 and I may be pushing the gas a bit more than I need to from habit. :-)
The power seat is too high for the rear view mirror. The mirror is right in my view. I'm
5' 11". I pushed the mirror all the way up and its better but I wish the seat would move lower.
I ended up with the heaver suspension and I can feel the difference between the two but it's still not truck like.
On the way in to work today I noticed the dew running off the roof right down the rear window. Opening the rear window in the rain might be a big problem. I also notice that the wind would lift the water off the bottom of the rear window and throw it straight up about 1/2 the height of the window. The water drops just hang in the air for a second before they fall in the truck bed. I don't have the Tounneau cover yet so I'm not sure what effect that will have on the air flow. But it was very interesting to watch. :-)
All of the power outlets stay alive even when the ignition is turned off. I would have preferred one of the power outlets in the front turn off with the ignition. I have to unplug my cell phone adapter every time or it will always stay on. Having one of the two go off with the ignition would be preferred.
The front head rests don't have a positive tilt lock. Firm pressure causes them to stand back up. My 4Runners head rests had a locking ratchet mechanism that kept them in position. The rear head rests are stiff to move up and down but I expect that will loosen up after time.
Redesign Stuff:
If I was 6' or better I could hit my head sitting in the back seat. Its close but I'm ok. If ford could lower the seat or raise the roof 1 inch it would help. I don't plan on sitting in the back so...
The center console is lacking imagination. They could do better with the design. The standard console had imagination (the carry bag). The leather console is very nice but no imagination. Don't misunderstand me, I don't like the carry bag but it showed imagination.
There is no disable switch for the passenger airbag. Not a very big concern but I thought the industry had all that worked out by now.
The change holder is in a difficult spot and only holds dimes, nickels & quarters. Tokens don't fit any of the spots. They fall right through the quarter holder. The ash tray cup thingy is now my change holder.
I don't like the open area under the rear seats. I would have preferred they closed it off and make hidden storage out of it.
I wish heated seats was an option. Sitting on leather in the winter can be chilling.
Unknown Stuff:
The brochure mentions a cargo divider but I'm not sure if it comes with the Tonneau cover or not. There is no separate part number for it that I can find.
The rear seat cup holder seems a bit flimsy and you don't realize at first that once you open it it needs to be pushed a bit more until it clicks.
The climate control is a bit confusing at first. Once you figure out what effect each setting does, its ok.
Great Stuff:
I love the rear window up, express down, & vent feature.
The 6 disk CD although slow to load is great! And the radio is only missing one feature, auto volume adjust for interior noise level. The sound quality is good too. It just needs a bit of fade to the rear for a more even sound.
The fog lamps work great. Gives the extra light you need for turning in dark places.
The dashboard looks VERY slick in the dark. Well lit controls and well placed. The radio looks bigger in the dark because you can only see the display and buttons. I'm a bit concerned about fighting for control of the radio with the back seat passengers. The rear radio controls are an excellent idea but I haven't used them yet.
Compared to my 4Runner I've got POWER. I can't wait to try towing up hills. My 4Running couldn't hold 65 MPH while towing a double Wave Runner trailer up hill. It would fade off to about 58-60 MPH.
The storage areas behind the rear seats are bigger than I thought. I've got all of my gear in there and still have room to spare. The passenger side rear storage has a pocket on the door and IMHO its a much better place to put the owners manual. This leaves the glove box and center console free for junk. Compared to my 4Runner the center console is HUGE. I expect I'll loose stuff in the bottom of it. :-)
My wife for some reason loves the door grips. I think they're ok, but she loves them. My wife has also decided that we should have 3 kids because the Sport Trac has 3 child seat secure points in the back. (I'm not sure if this should be listed under Great Stuff )
The truck is also lower then my 4Runner. Although this is not as desirable for off road I prefer not having to climb up and down. I don't use the running board on the SportTrac getting in and out, I did on the 4runner. Jumping out of the 4Runner I also had a bad habit of hitting my pager on the seat, turning it off by accident.
The rear passenger climate controls are great. My 4Runner only had rear passenger heat. Although you cannot adjust the temp from the rear I assume it provides both Heat and Air Conditioning. You can adjust the fan and the output (Either floor or face).
I haven't driven it very far yet (Dealer to Work to Home to Work) about 15 miles total, so I don't have much handling input or HYW/CTY stuff to give. So far I LOVE it and will post what happens with the rear seat problem.
I found out the the Tonneau Cover comes with the cargo divider.
I havn't tried it but I read the rear climate control is heat only. :-(
The rear seat 60/40 folding problem was NOT difficult to fix. I loosened the both sides of the spring hinged panel and slid the bracket as far as it would go to one side in the elongated mounting holes. Now I can fold them individually. I'll still have to go back to the dealer to find out why the seats don't lock in evenly. That is the part that may be difficult to fix.
I was told that one does not want the dealer installing it. As well, the price will have labor to install added to the factory price.
Sure wish I knew what "truck ride" meant.
Zderf
Most appreciated!!!
Thanks...
Zderf
thanks
Enjoy your ST. Mine is on order. My dealer has completely sold out of the 5 they got and have a waiting list for the next several incomings.
I ordered mine, Black on Black.
Go to the msn carpoint website http://carpoint.msn.com/Vip/Overview/Ford/Explorer%20(2001)/New.asp/, there are a few pictures of some ST's. I have the red ST saved as my wallpaper on my computer. My wife drives the ST to work daily (30mi rd trip). She loves the ride and handling. We have two 1999 f-150's (one is a 4x4 company truck the other is a flareside driven by my son)this left my wife driving the hand me down 1988 Toyota PU with a 3" liftkit and the hardest ride you can imagine. Compared to the three, the ST rides more like a car than a truck
http://www.fordvehicles.com/vehiclehome.asp?vid=19
Hope this will help others!!! oo yea i was also told it is going to take 6 weeks for me to get mine... Good Luck Jeff
jeffro@penn.com
I pushed the Rear View up as high as it will go (Both Pivots) and it is still in my Vision. I've got the Seat as low as it will go. I'm 5'11" and I am considering unscrewing it. The seat is VERY comfortable but I feel it is to high.
air conditioning, rear heat ducts;
Ford says
high series floor console with rear climate/audio controls;
I checked the ground clearance on the Sport Trac using a curb. It cannot cross a standard curb without scraping the skid plates. My old 4Runner had no problem with the same test. I'll let you know how the off road test goes.
thanks for all the help
It is difficult to access the electric seat control with the driver door closed. I have a small hand and I still find it difficult to reach the control with the door closed.
I know the feeling. I was not even in the market for a new vehicle, I was just getting my oil changed, minding my own business when I spotted a new ST on the lot. Before you knew it I was inside it taking a test drive. A few minutes later I ordered one!
picture of one, and when one came into a
dealer here, had to have one. Ordered a
2WD with all the bells & whistles less the
block heater (not really needed in sacto)
for 100 over invoice (includes 28 for gas
and 130 advertising) thru Bonanza Ford in
Cheney, wa. Am going to have to fly in and
drive home but am due for vacation in about
six weeks. Couldn't even come close to
that price in central (northern) CA
At least Cargo Cages are Available. :-)
Atlanta, Ga area. I want it loaded. Can anyone
tell me what they paid for theirs in this area?
ftp://ftp.inletcorp.com/pub/outgoing/sporttrac.xls
Cargo volume (cu. ft.) behind rear seat is (36.8 feet) with seats down
Right now the one way ticked fm Sacto to
Spokane is $104. So I figure I'm $362 over
invoice. 1. 28 gas-dealer filled tank
2. 130 advertising
3. 100 dealer advertised 100 over
4. 104 1 way plane ticket
I drive to Ontario, OR about once a month so
will stop off there on trip south from Spokane
and consider this trip a monthly. No extra
gas or motel cost. Hope this helps. Jim M