Ford Buyers beware!!!!!!

[cvhanh20 1,052]

Ford has always been an Icon business in my eyes, hell may of the quotes that I take to heart came Ole Henry himself. Henry would be turning over in fucking grave at the shit Ford has been releasing to the American Buyer, Shame on you Ford and make this right! If you are looking at buying a 2002 Ford explorer, don't! My brother is a used car dealer and made the mistake of picking up one of these POS at auction. They are known for major automatic transmission failure. The transmission is a sealed unit that is designed to last without any care. There is no dip stick and a small plug on the bottom that you're to pump fluid into, what an amazing joke! Please repost anywhere on the net you can about this. To most people their car is their livelihood so I take this issue pretty serious!

 

Check out these places before buying an Explorer.

http://www.lemonlawclaims.com/2002_ford_explorer_transmission.htm

 

Graft showing what years are the worst:

http://www.fordproblems.com/Explorer/

 

People who have first hand misery with this POS:

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2002/transmission/transmission_failure-2.shtml

[gregomega 929]

I thought this was common sence. For years and years Ive heard the term ford EXPLODER. Or the Accronym: Found On Roadside Dead. So that perticular model Ive stayed away from. I currently own a 2004 F150 XLT. Runs like a champ. Very happy with it. 1 previous owner and 75,000 miles on it at the time of buying it. I paid 14,000+ for it. $6000 left to pay after this months payment. Very good truck. I change the oil myself every 5500 miles, put a K&N air filter in it and a flowy and im a happy guy.

 

Sorry to hear about your brother's misfortune. Forsure stay away from ford exploders/explorers.

[patriot 7,197]

My family has had a total of 6 Fords.

 

2 Probes- 1 cracked fuse block. 1 wipers would only park UP. 2 severe oil burning, low miles. 1 Transmission slipped badly <60K, oh, and a broken radiator top tank and the headlights quit opening/closing.

 

1 Ranger- Intermittently chopped ALL engine power. Ford couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Filed for Lemon Law.

 

1 Taurus- Engine rebuilt <60K, AC probs

 

1 Bronco II- RUST RUST RUST

 

1 Mustang- Blown tranny (not raced), RUST RUST RUST.

There's more stuff, but I don't remember it all. Fords SUCK!

 

 

NEVER AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

We switched to GM and have been happy ever since.

 

My '02 Silverado has 226K on it with no trouble other than normal wear and tear.

 

Mom's Caddy is perfect.

 

Wife's L200 Saturn was a great car-no probs, and her Vue is just as good.

 

...and of course my 2010 Camaro SS is incredible!

 

Edited April 15, 2011 by patriot

[YOT 3,743]

I have a '99 Explorer. It has been an above average vehicle for me. The only major problem I've had is that the torque converter blew up and thus destroyed the tranny. I'll take some responsibility for that because of maintenance neglect to that system. It was a $1600 fix. I have 180,000 miles on it and it's a daily driver. Since it's getting pretty rotten around the rocker panels and rear lift door, I'm going to start looking for a new truck before next winter.

 

Overall I've been VERY happy with it.

[patriot 7,197]

Major rust, a blown torque converter and you're happy?

[Kliegl 304]

All car companies have their weaknesses. Ford's major one is automatic transmissions

and water pumps. One thing Fords are amazing for is maintaining good oil pressure when

hot and at idle. GM engines do NOT do this.

 

We've had two explorers. I got the first one when my mother bought a new one in 04.

It was a 97, and absolutely ran like the hammers of hell. 302 is way too much engine

for an explorer. Thing ate two transmissions and a couple water pumps, but damn, the passing

power.

 

She just lost the trans on the 04 with 50,000 miles. She drives like a lady approaching retirement,

which she is, which is to say, easy on the gas and turns, maybe brakes a little too hard.

 

On the other hand, the only transmission to ever survive the GM torture test was the Ford top-loader,

a legendary 3 speed manual in the 60s and 70s.

[Arik 565]

Only good cars ford made were/are crown Vics, Gr. Marquis, and town cars. I routinely see them with 300-700 thousand miles. No magor problems. Just the usual wear&tare.

 

The older 4cyl ranger could take a beating too.

 

As far as their newer cars, they are actually not bad.

 

ETA

Most car companies run into problems when introducing something new. In 02 Nissan re designed the altima and gave it a new 2,5ltr engine. Those engines constantly overheated. Problem was fixed and they've been good since 03. Same with the transmissions on the redesigned 04 Maxima.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Arik

[6500rpm 670]

We had those in the fleet. Most of the issues we had with the transmission were solenoid pack related which isn't a huge deal, but you're right about refilling them and checking the fluid level being a pain in the ass. Granted, I don't deal with anything long term as we turn the fleet yearly and most are under 36xxx mi. Believe it or not, for the last few years Ford and GM have a joint venture transmission on some of their FWD cars. I deal with new car platforms across the board and unfortunately most have issues in one area or another and the forign manufacturers are putting us to shame-it's a design and manufacturing issue since a lot are built or assembled in our country and still fair better than most domestics. As a whole, the guys assembling things on the line are doing a pretty damn good job and it's a fucking shame to see so many plants shut down. Henry had that part right. Before anyone gets too down on Ford, I tend to like working on the GM products and they keep me as buisy as anything-here's a pic of a transaxle I recently pulled down from a low mileage 2011 Impala, fortunately General Motors does a repair vs replace break down and this one got boxed and sent back.

[slostang 80]

This coming from a true ford guy, ford should stick to mustangs, crown vics and trucks. 99% of ford small cars and SUV's suck ass. As an automotive tech i feel like i mostly work on ford taurus's with the 3.0 OHV engine, and the 4.0 explorers. Mostly all other ford products only come in for general maintenance like brakes and tune up's etc. Occasionally i get a cracked plastic intake in a 4.6 car.

 

Side note- I LOVE my extended Chaos quad cameron!!!

Edited April 16, 2011 by slostang

[csspecs 1,987]

We had those in the fleet. Most of the issues we had with the transmission were solenoid pack related which isn't a huge deal, but you're right about refilling them and checking the fluid level being a pain in the ass. Granted, I don't deal with anything long term as we turn the fleet yearly and most are under 36xxx mi. Believe it or not, for the last few years Ford and GM have a joint venture transmission on some of their FWD cars. I deal with new car platforms across the board and unfortunately most have issues in one area or another and the forign manufacturers are putting us to shame-it's a design and manufacturing issue since a lot are built or assembled in our country and still fair better than most domestics. As a whole, the guys assembling things on the line are doing a pretty damn good job and it's a fucking shame to see so many plants shut down. Henry had that part right. Before anyone gets too down on Ford, I tend to like working on the GM products and they keep me as buisy as anything-here's a pic of a transaxle I recently pulled down from a low mileage 2011 Impala, fortunately General Motors does a repair vs replace break down and this one got boxed and sent back.

 

 

I'm not a car guy... Whats broken in the picture? I want to know and I can't figure it out, so its kinda driving me insane.

[6500rpm 670]

The torque converter was the innitial point of failure on that one-steel and bushing material made it into the valve body and smoked some clutches before it gave out and quit turning the pump.

[Heath_h49008 442]

You guys do realize that the semi-sealed transmission concept was common to Mercedes and BMW for years. You drain and fill from the bottom, via a plug. It serves two purposes... A. Morons don't have a dipstick hole available to pour in crap that shouldn't be there... like cheap type FA tranny fluid or 80-90 gear lube... and it's faster for the dealership and factory to fill. You have no idea how many idiots can't understand what to put and what not to put in a trans. I have been called everything but a white man for telling someone they need to put ATF in their Borg Warner transmission or transfer case, and that they had ruined theirs because they new better.

 

As for Ford reliability vs GM.... how many of you have smoked 3.1-3.4l GM V6s after the intake gaskets failed? Cracked heads on the Quad 4s? 3800 series intake manifolds burned out between the EGR port and the coolant loop behind the throttle body? Cavaliers with head cracks between the #2 spark plugs? Or the new 5.3 cylinder head failures?

 

Nothing is perfect, but I'll take that Ford off your hands if it needs a good home.

[uzitiger 193]

I've had Fords until recently and the 90 Taurus ran to 175,000 miles and had a transmission problem. The Grand Marquis blew a head gasket at 200,000 miles but I kept it until the tranny crapped out at 204,000. The worst car was the Windstar with electrical problems and the 3.8 engine blew a head gasket. We had the head gasket replaced and got two more years out of it until the head gasket blew again. I met many other people with who owned cars with the 3.8 engine and they all had head gasket problems. I worked in Dearborn at Ford as a contract engineer and found out about the problems with Ford cars. I also worked at GM and they weren't any better to work for.

 

I also had GM cars and their problem is the electrical switches (Delphi). We spent $150 to replace a heater fan switch on the Pontiac Montana and it's a known problem.

 

I won't touch Chrysler who are known as the "king of cheap" in the industry. I had an 86 Lancer and they sure lanced me with its crappy transmission and sorry ass warranty. Their dealers are the bigggest assholes around as well.

 

All the auto companies, foreign and domestic are the biggest cut throats around. They treat their suppliers like dirt who in turn treat the second tier suppliers badly. Now the suppliers are expected to design part previously designed by the OEM at their own expense. The only thing I liked about working there was the good pay but hated the fact they could terminate me at a moment's notice for any or no reason. Contract workers are the ones being dumped on.

[Photoguy 202]

I've owned cars from GM and Chrysler, but not from Ford. I've driven some from Ford, but never owned one.

 

The two former companies have been interesting. I have had, since I began driving: a 1991 Oldsmobile Calais, a 1977 Chevrolet Caprice, a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, a 1997 Chevy Venture, a 2001 Olds Alero, a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim, a 2002 Dodge Caravan, and soon, a 2011 Jeep Patriot.

 

In my personal experience, the two Acclaims were the most dependable, requiring the least amount of major repair, however, the 2.5L in the 91 froze at somewhere around 130K, but I had inherited it @ 77K with evidence of severe neglect of the engine's electrical system, and my own newbie decision to use conventional motor oil after using Amsoil.

The second one is still kicking under the care of the In-Laws. It has the 3.0L and it, too, has had little need for major repair work.

 

The worst ones have been made by GM. The Venture and Alero shared the same powertrain(3.4L and accompanying transmission), and they were damn fine. But they also shared the same cheaply-made interiors. The Venture blew an intake gasket around 80K(it had 62K+ when I got it) and the Alero cost me $4,000 in a matter of 20K miles(it only had 28K when I bought it).

The Cutlass' V6 froze, but the 1977 Caprice survived until I got rid of it in favor of said Cutlass. D'oh.

The Calais had a Quad-4. It was a zippy little car, but the engine it had says it all.

 

The '02 Caravan is still going strong. The 3.3L has been a sturdy workhorse, and I have no doubt it will continue to serve faithfully.

 

The Patriot is pretty much the result of me working at the place where they are built. Plus, I really like the model and the 2.4L platform we offer on it and the other models we make.

[YOT 3,743]

Major rust, a blown torque converter and you're happy?

Dude, it's from last century. Yeah, I'm happy.

[Kliegl 304]

Hell man, a ten year old car is just getting started. I've got some 40 year old cars.

[Heath_h49008 442]

I've got a 1964 Fairlane 500... still going.

[rd99fxdl 17]

Them '02 explorers had band issues from the start of production until March of 02,then they fixed it and they were decent trannies.

They had to put new bushings in for the pin on the intermediate bands.

I had one,was the first problem we had with an Explorer,had a 93 before that that we kept instead of trading it in,ran that until 06 without major problems.

I still drive my 96 F-250 almost daily,getting into riding season again,but that truck has towed a 27' camper across half the country.

I've had vehicles from all the American companies and had the best luck with Fords,so I'll stick with them.

 

They all have their hiccups from time to time,its all the luck of the draw.

[YARP 300]

You guys do realize that the semi-sealed transmission concept was common to Mercedes and BMW for years. You drain and fill from the bottom, via a plug. It serves two purposes... A. Morons don't have a dipstick hole available to pour in crap that shouldn't be there... like cheap type FA tranny fluid or 80-90 gear lube... and it's faster for the dealership and factory to fill. You have no idea how many idiots can't understand what to put and what not to put in a trans. I have been called everything but a white man for telling someone they need to put ATF in their Borg Warner transmission or transfer case, and that they had ruined theirs because they new better.

 

As for Ford reliability vs GM.... how many of you have smoked 3.1-3.4l GM V6s after the intake gaskets failed? Cracked heads on the Quad 4s? 3800 series intake manifolds burned out between the EGR port and the coolant loop behind the throttle body? Cavaliers with head cracks between the #2 spark plugs? Or the new 5.3 cylinder head failures?

 

Nothing is perfect, but I'll take that Ford off your hands if it needs a good home.

 

I actually for once completely agree with Heath. Cameron, your brother bought a used car. You buy used, then you have no clue what the asshole before hand was doing to it. Cars are made for ease of the user these days. I'd go as far as to say 95% of people don't even do ANY of the work on there own cars. There fore it's made to there specs...not the end users.

You want special and bomb proof build your own.

[cvhanh20 1,052]

You guys do realize that the semi-sealed transmission concept was common to Mercedes and BMW for years. You drain and fill from the bottom, via a plug. It serves two purposes... A. Morons don't have a dipstick hole available to pour in crap that shouldn't be there... like cheap type FA tranny fluid or 80-90 gear lube... and it's faster for the dealership and factory to fill. You have no idea how many idiots can't understand what to put and what not to put in a trans. I have been called everything but a white man for telling someone they need to put ATF in their Borg Warner transmission or transfer case, and that they had ruined theirs because they new better.

 

As for Ford reliability vs GM.... how many of you have smoked 3.1-3.4l GM V6s after the intake gaskets failed? Cracked heads on the Quad 4s? 3800 series intake manifolds burned out between the EGR port and the coolant loop behind the throttle body? Cavaliers with head cracks between the #2 spark plugs? Or the new 5.3 cylinder head failures?

 

Nothing is perfect, but I'll take that Ford off your hands if it needs a good home.

 

I actually for once completely agree with Heath. Cameron, your brother bought a used car. You buy used, then you have no clue what the asshole before hand was doing to it. Cars are made for ease of the user these days. I'd go as far as to say 95% of people don't even do ANY of the work on there own cars. There fore it's made to there specs...not the end users.

You want special and bomb proof build your own.

I myself am a Ford man, with that said, this model has the highest level of complaints in the Explorer family due to their poorly designed tranny, We have a good friend who is 5 star mechanic that swears this is the worst POS put out by ford, and after helping my brother dick around with it I have to agree with that! Its not like we fell off the banana boat yesterday, we have been working on mechanical stuff our entire life's from diesel on down, hell I repair our CNC's on the shop floor myself, so we have the mechanical aptitude and equipment to fix major repairs like this. Its true you don't know what you're getting from someone else, but the 2002 falls under the lemon-law so beware, oh and Heath, if you're serious about taking it off his hands, PM me and he'll pass it straight to you at what he has in it.

[Heath_h49008 442]

Cameron, I wish I could afford to buy it. Right now, "free to good home" is more my price range. I've been looking for an Explorer or a Cherokee for my GF. But it's just not in the cards for now.

 

If you feel frisky, that should have the independent 8.8 rear end with disk brakes, the transfer case is AWD or 4wd, and it might have the 4.6 v8 (0r the 4.0). That could be a nice parts car for some interesting builds. Find an old body and have some fun. I think a '70-73 Mustang would be rather interesting lightened up with IRS and a modern 4.6 and new mustang front k member. Or put the engine and transfer case on a 4x4 buggy. Damn... there are some serious possibilities if you can get the truck for the right price.

 

What I'm, paying in tuition this year would cover that project.... grrrr

[Desolo 55]

And people called me crazy for sticking with my 25 year old AMC

 

 

At Least I KNOW what to expect out of the old girl (25 year old hoses being replaced all the time and a leaky plastic valve cover that i need to get replaced with an aluminum setup when i get the chance) EDITED TO ADD: And goddamn vacuum lines, god I hate those things lolol

 

 

Every company makes some shitty cars.... my old merc tracer was one of them but hey, they cant all be winners....But I think Ill stick with old models, at least I can work on the damn things.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Desolo

[Heath_h49008 442]

A good rule of thumb is to never buy a new model year. Instead buy the last model year of any given type. The design bugs will be worked out, or at least well known by that point.

[7N6Wolf 61]

Ford turning out problematic vehicles is nothing new. Hell, a co-worker is a former Ford mechanic and he says to stay away from Ford cars. One of the cooks at the district in which I work bought a Ford of some sort (a Taurus, I think) brand new and its transmission went out at a mere 68,000 miles.

 

Admittedly, the first vehicle I purchased (as a high school student) was a 1986 Ford Bronco II, and it never gave me any serious issues. Then again, I lived in a small city of 33,000 and I did not drive around that much. I replaced it with something a bit nicer in the Spring of 2005 (1995 GMC Jimmy), given that I decided to get a better car because scholarships paid for all of my college related expenses with the exception of books at the time. The Jimmy later developed all kinds of problems (it had some major issue practically every month) as I drove much more when I moved to a metropolitan area (I drive 40 miles a day to and from work alone). High gas prices and Toyota's reputation (at the time) drove me to get a brand new 2008 Corolla in October of 2007. I got lucky there, given that I got my car before the shit hit the fan with Toyota (recall issues).

 

Domestic car manufacturers are going to have to significantly increase the reliability of their cars if they ever want me buying another one of their vehicles when that Corolla finally dies (which probably won't happen until I am pushing up grey hair. ).

 

Car companies regardless of country of origin are ultimately in things for profit and have no qualms about turning out junk as long as they keep making money (I sometimes wonder if Toyota took some kind of shortcut or had some kind of bureaucratic blunder with their recent recall issues). I hate to sound conspiratorial, but I sometimes wonder if car companies have resorted to planned obsolescence in the past simply so people have to keep spending money on fixing and replacing those cars.

Edited April 19, 2011 by 7N6Wolf

[Heath_h49008 442]

Toyota ran recalls.... they just never told the customers and were not required to report them as such. Your '08 has a PCM recall that wasn't announced until last year. They used to simply replace parts on customers cars when they came in for "Free oil change day" at the dealership, or any other excuse to get the car in... and do the work without telling anyone. That was the scandal.

 

EVERY car company has issues. If you think Japanese cars are better, you have never worked with Nissans over 60k miles.

[kindapointless 22]

I have 5 f150s right now and all of them but my old personal 94 have had transmission issues. The 2010 f150 I'm dr

iving now had a tranny a month ago at 60 thousand. Wouldn't give me warranty even though its only 8 months old. I told my dealer this is my last Ford since I'm over their tranny shit. They should of never got rid of standard shift. My 94 is a 300 six with a zf5 manual.390 thousand miles three frames and 4 cabs but never needed anything but a clutch

[patriot 7,197]

I have 5 f150s right now and all of them but my old personal 94 have had transmission issues. The 2010 f150 I'm dr

iving now had a tranny a month ago at 60 thousand. Wouldn't give me warranty even though its only 8 months old. I told my dealer this is my last Ford since I'm over their tranny shit. They should of never got rid of standard shift. My 94 is a 300 six with a zf5 manual.390 thousand miles three frames and 4 cabs but never needed anything but a clutch

 

3 frames and 4 cabs! Wow! That's several trucks on 1 VIN !

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like the guy with his favorite hammer. He replaced the head 3 times and the handle 4. It's still the best hammer he ever bought!

 

 

[kindapointless 22]

Well I guess this what I get for bragging on the piece of shit rear brake line blew and hit a stop sign about five minutes no major damage just craked the front grill. stupid truck nothing like coming down a hill with no brakes. down shifting will only take u so far. damn fords. every time I brag on one they brake. Yeah. Truck has had about 10 different lifts has been long bed short bed extended cab regular cab and a flat bed. Finally selling it though. Guy offered me 2 grand for it. Hard to.resist that.

Edited April 19, 2011 by kindapointless

[Kliegl 304]

Toyota ran recalls.... they just never told the customers and were not required to report them as such. Your '08 has a PCM recall that wasn't announced until last year. They used to simply replace parts on customers cars when they came in for "Free oil change day" at the dealership, or any other excuse to get the car in... and do the work without telling anyone. That was the scandal.

 

 

Libel is a nasty thing.

[BronCobraJet 80]

Wow, I used to joke and tell people that my 85 Bronco was perhaps the finest vehicle ever built. Guess it might be true.