Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Heres a link to the news article about it? Anyone have any ideas as to my problem. There are no "Codes" that the mechanic can find.
In NY State, there are several laws which may also apply in your state that may allow your brother to get at least part of his money back from the seller... since he bought it a week before it died. I'd speak with an attorney.
I am not sure I understand that if the cam had seized, how could you check compression of the cylinders?
I have a 2000 Explorer that makes the dieseling sound only when I start up. After a few minutes, it quiets down. The vehicle was checked by my Ford dealer and they said it was not a problem and they did not need to do the cam tensioner upgrade yet... since it is a big job... but I guess you know that. Do you agree with their diagnosis?
Thanks
Turns out the fan clutch was failing. They replaced it and I only paid $50 because I bought the ESP insurance, and I only had 1 week left on the contract. It would have been a $400+ job.
but what's the scoop from the field? they look acceptable on the web site, and they passed the newly serious Ford lab tests.
Thanks
Bioman3
Overall, Explorers are good vehicles. I enjoy mine (except for the clunking coming from the driver's side somewhere; will have the dealer look at it soon). They are just as safe as any other SUV when driven properly (they do not necessarily roll over by themselves, which is how the media is portraying them currently). The trucks are reliable and relatively simple to fix when something goes wrong. As soon as the new model starts selling better and incentives simmer down, and the Firestone stigma leaves people's minds, the market will level off. In the meantime, we are just going to have to ride it out and see what happens.
Are V8's in that short a supply? I also ordered some options which maybe weren't available in April, such as rollover sensor, but it seems that by now these vehicles should be on dealer lots.
Any advice would be appreciated.
What is a rollover sensor?
Thanks
Bioman3
great idea! get burned once, why not try again.
ace
Anyhow...the 2000 Explorer XLS (auto) is due for the 15000 mile service within the next few weeks. I remember reading some posts a real long time ago about having preventive maintenance done on the tranny. The truck is about 13 months old, and I drive a lot of stop and go here in "suburban" Central NJ.
Is it too early to start thinking about maintenance on the tranny? If not, what type of service should I have done? How much should it cost?
I own this one, and hope to for at least another 8-9 years. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention...
I would do the following at 15K:
Change motor oil and filter
Inspect hoses, serpentine belt
rotate tires
change air filter
inspect plugs (especially plugs 5 and 6) for oil and other crud (indicates a problem w/ the lower manifold)
I would keep in mind:
Change gas filter @ 25K
Change plugs @ 20-25K
Repack wheel cylinders (esp on 4x4 models) at 25K
Good luck
Started hearing engine knock at ~85K, and engine rattle with acceleration above 50mph. Eratic oil gauge at ~95K, but pressure checks were good. Then NO pressure with engine at idle warm, and now diagnosis is losing pressure at bearings. Motor man at dealer revs engine and says "bad crankshaft", looks under oil cap and says "sludge" (oil replaced every 5K x 20), needs new engine. Other website mentions problem with RTV oilpan gaskets degrading and clogging oil screens, as if this were a common problem. Found something on a TSB about change of oil recommendation from 10W30 to 5W30. Was there something Ford knew and didn't tell us?
Now trying to decide about new engine - rebuilt for ~$4K. Either Ford or Jasper (the latter has longer warranty, 3+yrs). Hoping to keep for another 5 years. No tran problems yet - had new alternator and new radiator.
Any recommendations out there?
My philosophy is that there is only one good vehicle. Only the one that you are happy with.
I wont buy another ford again only because of how they treat the customer; the company as well as the dealership's service department. I only bought the ford because I researched and believed it to be a good vehicle (I service my own vehicle). So far so good. The old 5.0 V8 is near bullet proof. They typically last a long time.
On the initial firestone recall I went to sears and replaced five tires on my own bill and had firestone reimburse me the $500.00 (this included labor). Not a dime was spent on my part after it was all said and done. I got Bridgestone Dueler APT II's. I think about $86.00 a tire??? They are ok. I would recommend the Michelin M&S or the LTX AT's for an extra couple of $$.
My advice is to dump the sohc V6 and buy something you will be happy with (if you can afford the loss). The sohc has had a bad reputation regarding its design. I think the PF is a good choice. Good luck.
A previous post said the O-ring problem affects the A/C, but I don't what that means.
2) I have completely manual seats. The driver's seat has a loud click from within the seat whenever the attitude of the seat changes (accelerating, decelerating). The recline handle also shakes at the same time of this click. I have endorsed these complaints to a Ford dealer and to a Mercury dealer (moved and the Mercury is less than a mile from the house). The Ford dealer gave me the usual "Unable to duplicate" business, and the Mercury dealer said they tightened all the bolts to the floor, even though I told them the problem was within the seat (problem came back as soon as I accelerated out of the dealership, but they had it for 4 hours to change the oil and tighten the bolts so I wasn't in the mood to go back). I'm going in next week for these problems, 15000 mile maintenance, and to get the spare changed out (I bought 4 Cross Terrains in January) to the Michelin LTX AT that they have. Any ideas about the seat?
PS...the rear wiper started working last night. Then I got a call from my fiance that the turn signals on our 2000 Malibu don't work. Ah...the glory of buying American cars.
Good Luck
Daryl
RP
I also liked your "Driver Returns On Foot" acronym.
Seems as though we Explorer owners have similar sources of frustration.
I have a 2000 Explorer XLS 4x4. 12.2K miles.
Rear wiper - works from an operational standpoint, however has decided to stop sweeping the top of the glass. So when there is a torrential downpour, I get a nice clean window except at the top. The water it misses, of course, runs down the clean part. It never used to do this. I replaced the wiper blade and the problem remains. My parents '00 Mountaineer has done the same from Day 1. Dealer couldn't fix the problem, so we live with it.
Door rattle - I have a loud clunk in my driver door. Sounds like something is definitely loose in there. Other times it sounds like something is loose underneath the truck on the driver side. Called the dealer and they said they would need the truck for at least a day to "properly diagnose and repair the problem". The strange thing is the clunk is sporadic. It occurs on perfectly smooth roads when hitting the slightest dip in the pavement. It may happen while turning right. I could be on a less than smooth road and not have it clunk at all. Peculiar.
Dash rattle - my dashboard is starting to rattle like crazy. I have a very loud rattle coming from the area at the base of the windshield. It is not the black plastic strip up there, I checked it and it is rock solid. The noise is somewhere inside the dash. I also have a rattle somewhere in the vicinity of the glove box. It is not the glove box itself as I have driven with the glove box door open and the sound is still audible. I think it is somewhere behind there.
A/C - for those with manual A/C, when you shut the air off do you hear the vents shifting behind the dash...kind of like the sound of small doors clunking shut? In fact, I also hear it when going from floor only, to panel only, to panel/floor, or even to defrost. I have never heard this with other vehicles I have owned and wondered if this was contributing to the dash rattle I have. Maybe the vent system vacuum doors are loose.
In contrast, my parent's '00 Mountaineer has 15K miles and no door rattles or dash rattles (although the cargo area/tailgate is a symphony on less than perfect roads).
A vehicle with 12.2K miles should not have any of these problems. 50K+ miles and I would be a little more understandable with the dash but the door thing is driving me crazy. Hopefully the dealer can fix it because I enjoy driving the truck; it is certainly the most comfortable vehicle I have ever owned.
1. The rear wiper. The problem is not the blade, but the spring in the wiper arm. The way I fexed mine was I removed the whole arm from the motor.. be careful of the little hose for the washer... and lube the spring and hinges of the arm with WD40. Worked like a charm! You may be able to do this with the arm on the car, but be careful with the WD40 ... it is a paint solvent!
2.Door rattle. I have it in both front passenger doors. Don't get the idea that if you or a mechanic can take the door apart, you can tighten a loose screw or something easy. The clunk happens from the power window motor arms... which are riveted... and have too much play... which bang against the inside of the door. There is nothing that can fix this except replacing the window motor arm, which the dealer wont do because the window works and they say that they can only replace it if the window does not work.... go figure. The way I solved it temporarily is I taped a strip of terrycloth towel inside the door where the arm bangs against it. By the way, taking the door off is much easier than it looks. It is just two screws and a lot of plastic connectors.
3. AC noises. Yes! You will even hear a nose when you go from vent to off, and as the fan stops, you hear a little thumping (almost a ticking) noise. The noises you hear are all because of the way the system was designed. To move the air from one section to another, it actually moves baffles which direct the air in different directions. From what I can see, there is nothing to fix.. That is the way the system works. The 1997-present explorers use cardboard and plastics, the older explorers used only plastics... I think the "cheapening" of the system made it noiser.
4. Rattles... The plastics in the dashboard are held together with plastic connectors. You will hear even more noises when you get into a hot vehicle in the summer and turn on the AC. I took apart the dash, and the only way to get rid of these noises is to remove some of the worn out plastic connectors and replace them. There are some metal screws also which could use some tightening as well as improved with the use of washers.
Your parent's 2000 vehicle will rattle soon enough. just wait until the seats start rattling... oh yeah, that comes from design flaws as well.. because the rivets and teeth that interlock the back of the seat to the base wear out. The only fix is to replace the seat.
Good luck.. hope this helps!
I do have the instructions for removing the door panel (admittedly downloaded from another site) and you are right, it doesn't look too hard. That is something I may tackle on my next day off. Take that bad boy off and see what's going on under there. If I can tell what's hitting where, I'll line that area with terry cloth or felt (maybe even buy some Dynamat?) Once I remove the two screws by the inside door handle, do I just tug gingerly at the edges of the door panel until it pops loose? Do I need a special door removal tool? How easy is the panel to get back on securely without causing additional rattles that weren't there previously?
I am glad to hear that I am not the only one with these little annoyances. Again, thanks so much for your help! Incidentally, my parents had a '97 Explorer before the '00 Mountaineer and it seemed much better built than both of our current trucks. The '97 did develop a creaky/rattly passenger front seat. We could eliminate the noise by putting the power seat in a slightly different height/tilt position. Other than that it was rattle free for three years. Ford really needs to get their act together. I think they engineer good automobiles, but they need to go back to making sure "Quality is Job 1" (or change it to "Quality Service is Job 1").
The rear wiper is easy to remove, and I recommend doing that so that you can get the lube into the spring and hinge. It is really easy. There is a plastic cover over the hub. unsnap it with some finger pressure. Then the wiper arm removes with a single nut attachment. Use some paint or wite-out to mark the correct position for re-installation. Be careful of the hose for the washer.
Good luck.
Just for clarification, it does not sound that you had such an easy time with Ford service, even though at the end, you say thatthey treated you well. My buddy who actually went to arbitration to get his lease bought back said that Ford gave them a very hard time and was very difficult and unresponsive.