Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 10/13/2012 | 175000 | ||
| I was backing up to the garage to unload the stuff in the back and the car made a loud whinning noise and took off fast..i couldn't stop the truck.. | |||
| 08/22/2012 | 130000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact stated that the hinges on the back lift gate fractured and allowed the glass to become disengaged. the vehicle could not be driven. the dealer was notified and informed the contact that there were no recalls on his vehicle. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who stated that the vehicle had been repaired under the recall nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) 8 years prior and provided no other assistance. the failure and current mileage was 130,000. pmb | |||
| 08/22/2012 | 130000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact stated that the hinge on the back lift gate fractured and allowed the glass to become disengaged. the vehicle could not be driven. the dealer was notified and informed the contact there were no recalls on his vehicle. the manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle had been repaired under the recall for nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) 8 years prior and provided no other assistance. the failure and current mileages were 130,000. dt | |||
| 08/11/2012 | |||
| It's the transmission. the vehicle is having problems going into gear and jerking. the transmission is sealed so i can not change the fluid myself either. there are many others having the same problem as i am having. how do i go about getting a recall on the transmission? | |||
| 07/05/2012 | 90000 | ||
| Rear window hinges broke for the second time. they were fixed once with recall and are now broke again. also the back lift gate panel has cracked. | |||
| 06/27/2012 | |||
| Rcall work was done ( ford # 04s045 ) since that time the plastic trim piece attached to the tailgate window cracked which has allowed water to rust out the mounting bracket that holds the latch and wiper assembly. the result is that the widow no longer closes securely and the window latch in-operable. has this been addressed in and other recalls? i have observed that 9 of 10 explorers/mountaineers also have cracked trim pieces. as a result of the rusting bracket i feel that the window could suddenly open and/or shatter. repairs seem impossible also due to the possibility of shattering the window causing injury. | |||
| 06/15/2012 | 100000 | ||
| My son went to leave in explorer. noticed hatch had popped open (has been doing this) and when he closed the two inch opening the glass exploded on him and all over driveway. glass piece in eye which is ok and scrapes on arms and foot. this could have been so much worse and want answers to why this happened. | |||
| 05/10/2012 | 54000 | ||
| Brought vehicle in for routine maintenance ( brakes ) when it was discovered that both rear coil springs were broken. while having springs replaced it was discovered that the rear wheel bearings also needed to be replaced along with the rear shocks. this vehicle has been driven only less than 55,000 miles under normal driving conditions on paved city and highway roads. after inspecting the broken springs we realized that the damage wasn't a recent occurance.they could have been defected at 40,000 miles or less.i believe ford motor company should be made aware of possible defected rear suspension parts it may be using in some of it's vehicle models and the potential safety risks this may pose on the general public. | |||
| 12/29/2011 | 53000 | ||
| Door adjar sensor fails in 2003 ford explorer its all over internet | |||
| 11/24/2011 | |||
| I went to leave for work one morning & i noticed the rear panel was cracked. it wasn't like that the night before, so it literally happened overnight. my mechanic said it was cosmetic & common problem with these trucks. i was told the window would be fine, but there is a chance of the panel piece falling off. i haven't had it fixed yet due to the expense, but i am afraid a piece may fall off while driving which could injure someone. to add insult to injury, a week later, my transmission started slipping & the o/d light was flashing. i had it towed & sure enough, it had to be rebuilt. it also needed a new hub bearing and both front ball joints had to be replaced. | |||
| 09/17/2011 | 97500 | ||
| When i was switching the gear from reverse to drive at a gas station, the shifter lever was snapped off. i cannot move the car any more, and the key got stuck in the steering column. i find loads of others have same problem happened and ford is not doing anything on this dangerous/could be fatal problem. | |||
| 08/12/2010 | 125491 | ||
| Transmision failure, replaced at dealership. new transmision failed within a week, replaced at dealership also replaced all hub bearings, excessive noise. rear end also has excessive noise. rear back up sensor frequently turns off and does not work. | |||
| 08/15/2011 | 108000 | ||
| Timing chain tensioner failure with valve cover damage provoking oil leak and heavy smoke out of the engine, wich lead to spill of oil in the highway (oil dropping) and engine out of sequence due to a plastic casset tension break, i have read over the internet alot of complains about the same incident | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 146000 | ||
| The transmission on my 2003 ford explore is gone | |||
| 07/10/2011 | 84000 | ||
| Bought pre-owned explorer and after $84,000 miles (when i noticed - so, probably well less) the wheel bearings need to be replaced. i'm finding way too many occurrences online for this to be an occassional thing. | |||
| 05/09/2011 | 107000 | ||
| My 2003 ford exploer limited blew a spark plug right out of the engine. very scary & very loud while going to the grocery store. i thought for sure the engine blew. | |||
| 09/01/2010 | |||
| Paint on hood bubbling with corosion under hood | |||
| 10/18/2010 | |||
| Driver side wheel bearing failure | |||
| 02/21/2011 | 82000 | ||
| My transmission failed while trying to cross a busy intersection. it would not shift and i was unable to accelerate. it was a scary moment; luckily there was no crash. ford knows about the high failure rate for transmissions in the 03 explorers, but refused to do anything other than offer to put in a new transmission at an exorbitant rate. they should have issued a recall on these transmissions, but have refused to do so, in spite of many complaints. | |||
| 09/30/2010 | |||
| The front windshield on my 2003 ford explorer reaches excessive temperatures. in mild weather on a sunny day the interior of the windshield can become so hot it can easily melt items placed against it. additionally, it appears this is the original windshield from the manufacturer. | |||
| 07/12/2010 | 97000 | ||
| The back hatch cracked on my 2003 ford explorer. i hear this is a common problem with this suv. | |||
| 03/25/2010 | 135000 | ||
| There have been multiple problems with my 2003 ford explorer since i bought it brand new in august of 2003. but ironically they have all appeared after the warrently had expired. in september 2007 the air conditioning unit no longer worked. it cost me $2000 and a week without a car, to get it fixed. in august 2009 the passenger door window would no longer work. in september 2009 my suv started making a clicking sound when turning on the heater. since we lived in a warm climate this did not concern us much, as the heat had worked even with the clicking sound. but we moved to a colder climage and the heater went out in march 2010. in april 2010 the service engine light came on. after speaking with the mechanic, he said it was a transmission problem that occured when the car shifted from 1st to 2nd gear and from 4th to 5th gear. he could not give me any more infomration and was not willing to fix my transmission problem (he suggested i go elsewhere because he was not an expert in transmissions). in may 2010 the o/d light started flashing off. after speaking to mechanic again, he said it was retlated to the transmission problem. in august 2010 the door adjar light started coming on randomly, even when the door is not open. and in september 2010, i noticed my abs light will come on randomly. it does not appear to be triggered by any specific reason, and does not always come on. | |||
| 06/28/2010 | 95000 | ||
| I have a 2003 ford explorer. i have had several incidents of it not easily changing from park to reverse, and reverse to park. last night, i was unloading some items from the explorer. the car was in park, and the emergency brake was engaged. i was standing in the right side passenger doorway. i reached over to turn off the ignition. upon turning it off, the explorer immediately began to roll into reverse. my mother was sitting in the backseat at this time as well as my two babies, who were strapped in their car seats. my driveway is an incline, so the explorer rolled backwards. i tried to run with it as i was trapped in the doorway. the explorer gained speed going down the driveway, causing me to be knocked down, unsure of whether or not i was about to be run over, or whether my mom and children were going to be injured. i was thrown down, landed on my buttocks which has caused severe bruising, hit my head on the concrete, and was left with painful, open cuts on my left arm. my mother was tossed about causing pain to her back. my kids were thankfully restrained in their car seats. they rolled backward into a neighbor's yard, then proceeded to roll forward back across the street into my yard. when the car finally stopped, the emergency brake was still engaged, and the gear shift was stuck between park and reverse. it would not come out of this position. it took quite a lot of work to get the car to go into reverse or drive so that the explorer could be properly moved. i am very upset at the incident which could have left myself, my kids, or my mom critically or fatally injured. i am very afraid to drive this vehicle now, and i am very afraid to park it. if i had another vehicle to drive right now, i certainly would be driving it instead of the ford explorer. | |||
| 03/26/2010 | 82795 | ||
| Car suddenly lurches forward and rocks back and forth. car was parked in driveway when started, it suddenly lurched forward, rocking back and forth leaving a bruise across my shin from the running boards. two days earlier, my daughter closed the back hatch which caused the truck to lurch back and forth, luckily, just bumping her. this has happened numerous times over the past several years, even though the gear shift was always properly in park when it happened. | |||
| 11/12/2008 | 1 | ||
| The back panel of my 2003 ford explorer cracked right down the middle. it is the panel just below the back windshield. it was fine one day, and split down the middle the next. i know it is nothing i did. i googled to see if anyone else had this problem and i was shocked to find hundreds and hundreds of complaints for the exact same thing! this needs to be recalled. ford should be responsible for this defect, not the customer. please, please, recall this for us. we put our trust in ford by purchasing their vehicles and we would hope they would take care of their mistakes. thank you very much. *tr | |||
| 12/27/2008 | 125000 | 1 | |
| I took my 2003 ford explorer to ford dealership and was refuse recall repairs. was told it would be at my own expense because he could not find recall notice in ford system. below is the details of recap. at this time the liftgate hinge is broken and window is about to fall off. please help. vehicle make / model: model year(s): ford / explorer 2002-2003 ford / mountaineer 2002-2003 manufacturer: ford motor company mfr's report date: sep 09, 2004 nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 pe04045 nhtsa action number: pe04045. *tr | |||
| 05/07/2004 | 2900 | 1 | |
| I bought a 2003 ford explorer xlt right off the lot brand new. within months i noticed a small wet spot in the rear of the vehicle. after my first oil change i mentioned it to where i bought the vehicle and the told me that my differently is low but not leaking. then i asked what about the wet spot on the ground. with 7 months from that a huge puddle from the rear of my car on vacation with the vehicle and drop it at a ford dealer it's my rear differently seals. fixed that paid for it because they say where and tear. about 1 year later same thing get it fixed about 1 year and half same thing and continue to fix it. talk to ford motor company they say it is out of warranty but when i started calling them in 2004 it was only 5 months old and i paid for the piece to be repaired. today my vehicle is back in the shop for a fourth time same exact problem although now the ford dealership says the axle is frozen in there and they need to break it before fixing the rear differential. why hasn't this been recalled. seeking help for this lemon!!!! *tr | |||
| 04/01/2008 | 65558 | 1 | |
| The heater no longer works and no matter where the heat dial is turned, it makes a constant ticking sound. i looked into getting it fixed at a local shop and was told it was going to be at least a $1,500 charge. *tr | |||