Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||||
| 0282 | 04/29/2002 | 637922 | Some vehicles built prior to 9/15/2001 may exhibit low line pressure readings while in drive, no 2nd gear, no 3rd gear, no engine braking in manual 1st and slipping shifts and / or delayed engagements. *tt | 12/09/2002 | |
| 0283 | 04/29/2002 | 637924 | Some vehicles equipped with a 2.3l, 3.0l or 4.0l engine and 5r44e or 5r55e automatic transmission may exhibit a fluid leak at the transmission servo covers in cold climates. *tt | 12/09/2002 | |
| 15887 | 05/01/2002 | 637755 | Some vehicles may exhibit a no 1-2 upshift, no 2-3 upshift, a no engine braking condition in manual 1 or diagnostic trouble code p0732 (gear 2 incorrect ratio) or p0733 (gear 3 incorrect ratio). *tt | 12/04/2002 | |
| 0258 | 11/25/2002 | 02234 | 636052 | Inoperative or inacurrate speedometer, 4x4 lamp illuminatd, and / or diagnostic trouble code p1635 or p1639. *tt | 11/04/2002 |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 02222 | 11/11/2002 | 10008305 | Noise-gear whine noise in 1st and 2nd gear only-vehicles equipped with 5r55e transmission and 4.0l engine only. *mj | 07/27/2004 | |
| 15785 | 04/01/2002 | 637478 | Some vehicles equipped with 5r55e/5r44e transmission may exhibit a whine noise in 1st gear that goes away after the 1-2 or 1-3 shift is completed. *tt | 11/26/2002 | |
| 16038 | 07/01/2002 | 636233 | Some vehicles equipped with a 5r55e automatic transmission may exhibit a gear whine type noise in 1st and / or 2nd gears only. *tt | 11/06/2002 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||||
| 042107 | 12/13/2004 | 042414 | 10014086 | General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures. *tt | 04/28/2005 |
| 04217 | 11/01/2004 | 10013369 | General power train control module (pcm) programming procedures. *tt | 04/15/2005 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - COOLING UNIT AND LINES | |||||
| 03148 | 07/21/2003 | 10003748 | New transmission cooler flusher - service tips. 2003 escort and super duty f series included. *tt | 10/29/2003 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 030508 | 04/01/2005 | 05620 | 10017891 | Front axle leaks fluid from vent tube - vehicles equipped with 4x4 or awd. *tt | 12/06/2005 |
| 0358 | 03/17/2003 | 10001922 | Fluid may leak out of the front axle vent tube. *tt *jb | 07/25/2003 | |
| 0242 | 03/04/2002 | 636056 | Certain vehicles with 4x4 or all-wheel drive may have a fluid leak from the front axle vent tube. *tt | 11/04/2002 | |
| 0186 | 04/30/2001 | 619276 | On some vehicles, including sport and sport trac, the front axle leaks fluid from the vent tube. *tt | 05/22/2001 | |
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 16113 | 08/01/2002 | 636135 | Some vehicles built after 03/04/2002 and equiped with a manual transmission may exhibit a hard to shift condition. *tt | 11/05/2002 | |
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY - PEDAL/LINKAGE | |||||
| 15869 | 05/01/2002 | 637726 | Some vehicles may exhibit an intermittent soft clutch pedal which may cause difficulty in shifting gears (a notchy feel). *tt | 12/04/2002 | |
| 15689 | 03/01/2002 | 636324 | Some vehicles may exhibit either a very hard or very soft clutch pedal feel. *tt | 11/07/2002 | |
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 02138 | 11/10/2003 | 032210 | 635998 | Low line pressure reading at wide open throttle (wot), slipping shifts and / or delayed engagements with possible diagnostic trouble codes p0732, p0733, p1762 set on vehicles built before 12/1/2001. *tt | 11/04/2002 |
| 15382 | 11/01/2001 | 630393 | Some vehicles may exhibit either a very hard or very soft clutch pedal feel, and/or a difficulty in shifting gears. *tt | 04/16/2002 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 12/31/2012 | 138156 | 1 | |
| When trying to shift car from drive into park, the gear shit lever broke off inside the steering column and fell of in my hand. the car was still in drive and i turned off the ignition. the key could not be removed and the car was towed to the dealership. to repair this linkage part, the entire steering column had to be replaced, at a cost of over $1800. i called ford to report the incident and was told that they have no record of something like this ever happening before. they said they would add the incident to their database. i told them that i felt this was a serious safety issue and that this needs to be referred to engineering or quality assurance for investigation before someone gets injured or killed. i got the impression that ford was not going to do anything with this information. *tr | |||
| 12/31/2012 | 138156 | ||
| When trying to shift car from drive into park, the gear shit lever broke off inside the steering column and fell of in my hand. the car was still in drive and i turned off the ignition. the key could not be removed and the car was towed to the dealership. to repair this linkage part, the entire steering column had to be replaced, at a cost of over $1800. i called ford to report the incident and was told that they have no record of something like this ever happening before. they said they would add the incident to their database. i told them that i felt this was a serious safety issue and that this needs to be referred to engineering or quality assurance for investigation before someone gets injured or killed. i got the impression that ford was not going to do anything with this information. | |||
| 09/04/2011 | 90500 | ||
| I just purchased a used 2002 ford explorer sport on 08/06/2011 so that i had a vehicle that i could take the kids on camping trips. on 09/04/2011 on our way to daytona beach i noticed the car was pushing and swerving in both directions, i had just put brand new tires on it and replaced both the upper control arms and all 4 ball joints and had an alignment done, i thought that it's a bigger vehicle than what i'm used to and had been a slightly windy. on the way home on monday 09/05/2011 it was even worse, i could feel the body rolling the car pushing ect.. i pulled over and checked the front suspension. there appeared to be nothing wrong. i crawled home a nervous wreck. when we unlaode the car at home i noticed the car was sagging in the left rear.i crawled under the vechile. i noticed 2 big issuses, 1st the coil spring is broken were lucky it didn't pop out and shred a tire, and 2nd all of the body mount bushings are completely crumbling or just plain gone. talk about dangerous. i went online and there seems to be thousands of complaints for the 2002 explorers on blogs and ford forums and tons of sites for complaints for automobiles for all models of this vehicle for the exact same things. i have also seen numerous other complaints on this vehicle for other equipment failures one of them being a whining noise coming from the rearend of the car which i thought was the tires, but apparently it is an improperly engineered differential that ford will not fix or admit that there is a problem with although there are a couple of technical bulletins out on it. they are just lucky that my children were not injured. how dare they not accept any responsibility to take care of these vehicles that they engineered and sold, used or not. if you manufacture an unsafe vechile and a defective vechile you shold be responsible. is it gonna take a father and his children being killed. | |||
| 07/15/2011 | 128796 | ||
| Overdrive light began to flicker on and off, and the transmission would not shift properly. would stay in a lower gear during acceleration as the rpm continued to climb. had stored codes diagnosed with the following: p0732 (gear 2 incorrect ratio), p0733 (gear 3 incorrect ratio), p0734 (gear 4 incorrect ratio). was advised not to continue to drive vehicle. required complete transmission rebuild (by an independent including upgrades) including the replacement of the torque converter due to excessive metal filings throughout. total cost $2581.60. the vehicle has never been used for towing (no hitch) and is not abused. . investigation on the web reveals this transmission failure to be quite common, citing weaknesses in the original design. creates a potentially hazardous driving condition because the failure can occur at any time at which point the erratic behavior could lead to an accident. | |||
| 02/02/2010 | 90000 | 1 | |
| O/d light is blinking so transmission is going bad i figured it out or i can just jam my transmission in middle of high speed traffic and result in crash..... *tr | |||
| 08/08/2008 | 37300 | 1 | |
| O/d off light started blinking. dealer stated that this is an indication of transmission problems. checked on line for warranty information, and found out that this is a very common problem with ford's 2002 transmissions. ford will not assist in the cost of repairs because the problem occurs after the 36,000 miles or 3 year warranty period. every thing points to a $ 2,000 / 3,000 repair job. i purchased this truck in 10/08 and now i have to look forward to a major repair before owning it for a year. i really think that ford should in some way compensate its vehicle owners for a defect that they are apparently well aware of. *tr | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer was unaware of how to check transmission fluid level or how to add transmission fluid.*ak *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 09/04/2010 | 100000 | ||
| 2002 ford explorer. o/d light blinking. slow gear shifting. random jerking of car. have read this on many websites and even people that have had a rebuild or solenoid replaced, just happens again. is also dangerous, because once changes gears, mph jumps very high, very quickly with no control over it. | |||
| 05/03/2010 | 104000 | ||
| My 2002 explorer sport o/d light began blinking when i bought it in feb 09. the car has about 104,000 miles on it. soon after i bought the car, the transmission slipped. i took it to the mechaninc and they could not reproduce the problem. about a year later, 4/29/10, the o/d light began blinking again. i had the transmission serviced and a diagnostic test ran on the transmission. this cost about $300. on 5/3/10 i took my explorer in again because the light came back on. they ran another test and told me i would have to get the transmission replaced or rebuilt but it should last me a little while longer. that same evening my car would not shift into gear. i had to turn the car off and turn it back on to get it into gear. i could not go over 5mph and my rpm's were unnaturally high for the speed i was traveling. by the time i got up the hill i was on i could go no further. my car would not go into any gear. i finally had to park on the side of the road in the middle of the night and walk home. i have read numerous complaints (over 300) on the 2002 ford explorer transmission and their poor performance or lack thereof. a recall would be much appreciated, as this defect in the transmission is due to poor vehicle construction, not typical wear and tear. all my family drives is ford, however after this incident i do not have much faith in ford. given the opportunity, i would rather go with a foreign car next time. | |||
| 03/10/2010 | 88397 | 1 | |
| Transmission o/d light started coming on and blinking periodically with hard shifting or slipping and car lurching forward before shifting. o/d stops working after o/d light starts blinking. had transmission solenoids adjusted last year but only helped slightly then back to slipping again. only have 88,000 miles on vehicle with good care and no towing ever. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2009 | 133000 | 1 | |
| O/d light comes on and care will not go into gear (transmission). pulling off from a stop light is a major problem and on the highway the car does not seem to want to go. cars are flying by and all i can do to keep from causing an incident was to let up off the gas and press down on the gas hoping it will change the gear. i almost caused and accident on the first experience with the transmission. *tr | |||
| 02/20/2010 | 121470 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford explorer will not accelerate and the o/d light blinks. my car slams into gear and stalls sometimes. *tr | |||
| 01/10/2010 | 114000 | 1 | |
| 1. i have had my vehicle for almost two years and i have never abused it because it would come out of my pocket. i get it serviced regularly. 2.the failure is a transmission slip from 2nd to 3rd gear where is seems to slip into neutral and cause my rpms to shoot way up. happens everytime i drive my vehicle, and just recently my o/d off light started flashing everytime the vehicle is turned on. 3.old part is still available, as i have yet to correct the failure because of the price to do so. *tr | |||
| 01/25/2010 | 92000 | 1 | |
| We have a 2002 ford explorer sport, within past few days my transmission started slipping when going into 2nd gear occasionally, now it is doing it much more and the od off light is blinking. i am seeing online that this a very common occurrence with this vehicle and ford should be required to do something. we pay alot of money to have dependable vehicles and to have the transmissions failing so often in these vehicles is ridiculous. ford should be help accountable for faulty transmissions!!! *tr | |||
| 10/14/2009 | 92318 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford explorer sport is having transmission problems. it slips all of the time, makes grinding noises and at times does not let me drive (goes no where while stepping on the gas pedal. similar to what is happening to a lot of people out there with this same make and model of car. it happens on and off, it started a couple of months back. *tr | |||
| 08/08/2002 | 99000 | 1 | |
| The transmission on my 2002 ford explorer is defective. when i slow down for a red light or to make a turn the vehicle stalls out and i loose all power. i have to keep one foot on the gas to keep it idling and one foot on the brake. *tr | |||
| 03/28/2009 | 95000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2002 ford explorer bought used march 2008 82,xxx miles now at 95,xxx the overdrive light flashes after being driven about 3 miles and irregular hard passing gear shifts occur.. i have found on the internet several others with this same problem with ford.... *tr | |||
| 03/19/2009 | 44000 | 1 | |
| The gear shift (prndl) fell off the steering column for no apparent reason. the metal that hold the shift gear failed. this is happening to many people! very dangerous! luckily it happened in the driveway or it may have lead to injury/death. it is a catastrophic failure in the gear shifter that leads to the entire steering column needing to be replaced. please investigate! http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2002/transmission/gear_shift_prndl_fell_off.shtml. *tr | |||
| 12/19/2008 | 33000 | 1 | |
| The not in overdrive light started blinking. after shutting off the engine i restarted and the light went off. shortly the transmission started slipping. and now the engine races and the car wont move there is only 33000 miles on the car i am the original owner. *tr | |||
| 09/18/2008 | 94000 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford explorers transmission just completely stopped working at 94,000 miles. reading forums online led me to this site, after reading many, many others' exact same experiences with this car. ford will do nothing about it and my family does not have the money to replace a transmission! ford needs a recall on transmissions for this make and model! *tr | |||
| 01/06/2008 | 62800 | 3 | 03/11/2007 |
| Auto transmission slipping between 3rd and 4th gear. engine rev high to 4k and above with hard bang into next gear. intermittent problem. *tr | |||
| 01/24/2008 | 77000 | 1 | 04/21/2005 |
| I have a 2002 ford explorer in which it only has 70,000 miles on it an the transmission has failed. there are many complains on this and something needs to be done. *tr | |||
| 10/23/2007 | 57360 | 2 | 07/14/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. the contact stated that the transmission slipped when placed into second, third gear and reverse. the vehicle is currently at the dealer and they have not provided the contact with the status on his vehicle. the current and failure mileages were 57,360. *updated 12/12/2007 *bf there was a noise coming from the rear end of the vehicle and the axle seal was leaking. updated *jb | |||
| 01/25/2007 | 55330 | 1 | 11/13/2001 |
| At 55,350 miles my 2002 ford explorer sport's transmission would flare when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. when i took it to the dealership, i was told that i had a solenoid malfunction in my transmission; therefore, affecting other components of the transmission. i was told by the dealership that my transmission would need to be rebuilt. miles wise, i still had a little under 5,000 miles until the warranty expired, years wise, i was at 5 years 74 days. needless to say, this problem cost me $2168.38. i don't think vehicle at 55k miles should need a rebuilding of a transmission. i think i should be reimbursed in some way for the cost.....even though i went over the warranty by 74 days. *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT | |||
| 11/09/2004 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Nhtsa recall 04v442000 on the rear liftgate glass. no parts available since november of 2004. while shifting gears the shifter broke without warning. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that the shifter needed to be replaced. please provide further details. *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE HUBS | |||
| 04/30/2005 | 80000 | 1 | 08/14/2002 |
| Right rear axle and bearing | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| 11/21/2004 | 42000 | 1 | 12/31/1998 |
| 2002 ford explorer sport, not yet 3 years old but 6000 miles out of warrenty. rear end needed to be replaced said it look like water got into it. i've never own a car yet that needed a rear end repair. is this problem a recall item? i would think ford motor co. would take care of this but no way. i have only been buying fords for the last 40 years. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 03/19/2009 | 44000 | 1 | |
| The gear shift (prndl) fell off the steering column for no apparent reason. the metal that hold the shift gear failed. this is happening to many people! very dangerous! luckily it happened in the driveway or it may have lead to injury/death. it is a catastrophic failure in the gear shifter that leads to the entire steering column needing to be replaced. please investigate! http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2002/transmission/gear_shift_prndl_fell_off.shtml. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 08/01/2004 | 37000 | 1 | 01/07/2002 |
| The rear end was leaking fluid on several occassions, had the rear differentail seal replaced two times, which did not fix the problem. eventually the rear end had to be replaced.*ak rear end now shutters and shakes less then 10,000 miles after it was replaced. | |||
| 06/15/2004 | 52000 | 1 | 09/26/2002 |
| In august 2003, reported to dealer that the truck was groaning when turning. service advised that i was turning the wheel too far and rubbing the tires on the wheel wells. this was not possible since the tires were the original factory installs. by november, the truck would hardly turn without dragging the back tires and the dealer found there was no fluid in the rear differential requiring a complete overhaul. then, in june 2004, the new seals failed allowing the fluid to, again, drain out. dealer is currently repairing. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 09/12/2002 | 500 | 1 | 03/01/2002 |
| While driving over 70 mph vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. mechanic detrermined that the driveshaft needed to be replaced. *ak the consumer stated that the tires where cupping and had to be replaced. the consumer stated that he had to drive the unsafe vehicle for 2 and a half years limited to no high speed traveling. the consumer stated that he would like a refund. the tailgate keeps locking and the rear door can not be opened from inside. the right front window rattles whien it is all the way up. *tc | |||