Problems with 2004 Ford Explorer SUSPENSION

My steering column broke right off! trying to put it in drive @99,735 mi. had to tow it to shop, and replace the steering column. i see other people had this same problem. there should be a recall for this!!! i also had to replace the transmission @ 103,000 miles it would skip 3rd gear. seems everyone else has to replace the transmission. also back bearings!! what a disgrace. recall this disgraceful workmanship! no honor!

Transmission shifts harder and shakes the entire suv. when i press the gas and get to about 35-40 it will start knocking really bad and feels like it's losing power. when i stop the exact same thing happens with the knocking. i was going 35 around a slight curve on i-45 freeway by little york shepard gulf bank area to be exact and the suv was driving fine. i was just getting onto the freeway at this time. hints the reason i'm not going so face. when i started picking up speed the transmission jerked so hard i flew into the next lane. luckily no one was around me but image if i was in traffic and this happen.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving at 35 mph, a loud abnormal noise emitted from the vehicle and it started to swerve out of control. the contact stated that the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 185,000. the vin was not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. the contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the dome over the shock absorber was rusted. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 117,000. updated 08/11/2014*lj the consumer stated ford would not repair the vehicle. the vehicle was traded in to ford with a reduced amount to the trade in allowance because of the failure. updated 08/12/2014 *js

Every since we've financed this lousy suv 08/2012 we've had a clicking noise from the rear and still cant figured out what that is,but the transmission has been slipping and shifting hard,we have replace front left wheel bearing and abs sensor just a few months ago and the bearing is bad again and the front right wheel has a bad ball joint and the visibility thru windshield is horrible,always have a hard time seeing, cna only see a few inches ahead!!! this car needs serious recalls the air conditioner stopped working in less then a yr!!! and we bought this car with only 68,506 miles!! we already spend over a grand for a fuel pump!!! this car sucks!!! plz help we still owe thousands and everytime we blink an eye it's not safe to drive because of wheel problems!!!! *tr

I purchased a 2004 ford explorer in july 0f 2011, and traded in my 2001 oldsmobile of 5 years. i also purchased the 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. before driving it off the lot i had the dealer fix the abs system because the light was on. there is a crack going down the back of the trunk but nothing else was wrong at the time so i left the crack alone. in april of 2012 i took it to the dealership for a belt, check trans, shocks, ball joints, and a ticking in the heater when knob was turned to heat (not cool). i told him to just fix what was on the warranty and also give it a oil change. he informed me that the trans was fine. after getting the car back my heat went out and i was told by a mechanic buddy that my brakes, rotters, emergency brake pads and the back tires were shot. so i had him replaced them because this was also not covered on warranty. just last week my rpm started jumping with miles over 65.(no lights were on at the time)so i took it to 6 different places getting estimates on what could be wrong. all shops said the same thing. "start with fuel filter, oil filters and oil change". the day after i paid for all this the service engine light came on. (egr valve code) the man at auto zone told me to take it off and clean it with spray and let it dry before replacing. i took it to a shop and had them do this. the same day i picked up the car my service engine light came on again, o/d light and the car was driving like i was hauling a bus and jumping. i took it back the next day and he replaced the egr valve new since the same code was showing up. later that day after getting it back the car started doing the same thing after driving for 5 miles this was friday 9/21/12. *tr

2004 ford explorer xlt, mileage at time of failure 28,819 left front bearing hub failed prematurely vehicle started to pull to the left. no injuries, repair cost $270,00. vehicle off warranty due to age. all vehicles should be warrantied for 36,000 miles or more with no years . wheel bearings should last at least 75,000 miles. *tr

Without warning my rear wheel hub assembly keep braking. suddenly the vehicle starts to shimmy and pull and make grinding noises and the wheel is practically falling off by the time i get home. this has happened to me 6 times in the past year! so far i have been lucky and my wheel hasn't fallen completely off, only because i have replaced the rear differential twice in the last 2 years so as soon as i feel something out of the ordinary i have it checked! it is terrifying when it happens, the whole wheel wobbles and going slow only makes it seem worse. i've had to replace the whole hub assembly at a cost of $300.00 plus each time! *tr

Were a family a ford explorer my family has 4 of them ranging from the years 1996,99,2002,2004 and everyone of these vehicles have serious issues. ranging from rotting suspension parts,to wheel bearing issues on newer models,rotting fuel and brake lines,this is supposed to be an american made company that is jeopardizing the lives of american and children with total disregard of human life,but i bet you the owners of ford don't have these issues they probably drives foreign haha but seriously someone will get hurt by this and it costing thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix an ongoing problem with these trucks please do a recall its so unfair at this point. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving approximately 40 mph he heard a loud low pitch grinding noise coming underneath the rear wheels. a passenger in the vehicle stated that she could feel vibrations underneath the seats. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and was in the process of having the failure diagnosed. the failure mileage was 79,500 and the current mileage was 79,664.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. the contact placed the gear shifter into reverse to drive and noticed that the transmission would hesitate before engaging. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians replaced the solenoid in the transmission. after the repairs were performed, the contact continued to experience the failure. there was also an abnormal grinding from the rear of the vehicle. the dealer replaced the rear end bearing, three rear axles, the pinion bar and seals and a shaft kit was installed. the dealer also advised that the failure was caused by an over torque by the manufacturer. in addition, the contact stated that the driver and passenger side sun visor joints were failing sporadically and causing the visors to obstruct the contact's vision of the roadway. the sun visors were not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 49,000.

Rear wheel bearing on my 2004 explorer were bad and on one side the wheel bearing was so bad that the rotor was moving with no effort to move it and the suv only had 76,000 miles on it. *tr

I have a 2004 ford explorer which while driving last year i was told that my hub assembly on my driver's side was bad and that i needed to replace it. i replaced it with a hub assembly from advance auto parts in jan 2010. i just had to replace this part again in dec 2010. i lost breaks. i also have a horrible jerking when i am backing up from a tight spot and the wheels are turned sharply. my door ajar light and all interior lights do not go off when the door is opened or the vehicle is cranked unless i turn the interior light switch to the off position and back to the on when the doors open position. i have had the electrical issue reviewed twice in the past. i have had the jerking looked at with no reason given more than once. i had my vehicle inspected on nov 30th and nothing was mentioned about the terrible condition the hub assembly was in nor the bearings that a mobile mechanic showed me were terribly worn. i am replacing them soon. it seems to me that ford must know about all of these problems and it should be something that they are willing to help the consumer in fixing since most ford buyers are diehard ford owners like myself. *tr

Vehicle has both rear coil springs broke on both sides, evidently is same spot of the coil. ford refuses to consider this problematic or an issue to their concern. unfortunately, it is a safety hazard. *tr

My 2004 ford explorer was making a horrible rubbing/grinding sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. when i took my foot off the gas pedal, the noise was more pronounced. i took the vehicle to my mechanic thinking it was the brakes and he informed me that the entire rear of the vehicle was "loose" and i should have a diagnostic test done by a ford dealer. i took it to my local dealer where i purchased the vehicle. the technician informed me that he would have to remove the entire rear differential to open it to find the problem. after that being done, i was told that he found "faulty" ring and pinion and carrier bearings that needed to be replaced so an entire new kit had to be installed and refilled with fluids which intern ended up costing $1,400. i could not get a satisfactorily explanation as to why this would have happened to my vehicle which only has 46,000 miles on it, never been in an accident nor has it ever towed anything. i told my mechanic this and he said that this should not have happened with such low mileage. i am very upset that the certified ford dealer admits on paper that my vehicle had "faulty" parts yet i am the one who had to pay the price! *tr

Front bushings broken on 2004 ford explorer - both sides. service rep says that the wheel could pop off and create a serious accident. *tr

Easter sunday, my family was on their way back home on the freeway. out of no where they hear loud snapping noises and next thing they knew the rear passenger tire came off. the cars skidding on the road and finally comes to a stop. luckily for my family they walked away unharmed. the car is currently at my home, won't turn on anymore, the wheel studs are all broken off, the rotor along with the rest of the assembly is damaged. the car is a mess and now i'm trying to figure out how im supposed to deal with the situation. *tr

I currently own a 2004 ford explorer and purchased new in 2005. have had to replace, the 2 front hubs 3 times, the rack and pinion steering and the transmission slips excessively. this vehicle is driven by my wife to school and home and used for transporting my family. i keep seeing the same problems online but no action by ford. can you say piece of junk? *tr

Wheel bearing failure, rear, both sides. at 40,000 miles, and again at 86,000 miles. normal driving, primarily highway. this is dangerous and potentially life-threatening to occupants of the subject vehicle, as well as any vehicles in proximity during bearing failure. loss of control can, and probably will result. premature wheel bearing failure is common on these vehicles. the community at large is slowly spreading the word about the danger to self and family regarding this. i wish i had known earlier, i would not have purchased this vehicle. it is irresponsible of the manufacturer to sell a vehicle with this predisposition to failure. i work in aerospace, and this would never have gotten through failure analysis during the design phase. i will now begin attempting to contact anyone that this has happened to in an effort to get them to file a complaint as well. eventually you will hear us. maybe the media will get involved, they love this kind of stuff, especially if they can drag government indifference into it. i know you guys know about this. you just don't think enough people have complained yet, so it gets ignored. i'm going to start trying to change that. maybe nothing will happen, maybe it will become a giant mess, who knows? either way, i can't let this go without saying something. this thing is marketed and sold as a family vehicle, and there is no way on earth i will ever put my wife and children into it again. and my conscience will not allow me to just trade it or sell it with this issue being exposed, just to get rid of my problem and pass the risk onto some other family. here's a link, if you want to see that this has happened more often than we'd all like to admit: < http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2002/wheels_hubs/wheel_bearing_failure.shtml > you'll find a lot of this with a simple google search. i wish i'd done this before i bought this deathtrap. whether you do something or not, i have no say in that, but i'm going to try to expose it. *tr

Two out of four wheel bearings are howling on this vehicle. *tr

Wheel bearings going bad, from time to time. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. when he activated the cruise control while driving, it deactivated itself without warning. he had to restart the vehicle to re-set the error code. the failure occurred intermittently, and mostly on the interstate. also when he would turn on the turn signals, the automatic warning system would make an alarm noise and blink until the turn signal would cut off. the automatic transmission appeared to lose fluid, when he shifted into reverse. he heard a roaring noise near the tire area. he was told by the dealer that the hubs needed to be replaced. lastly, the aesthetic piece on the lower half of the hatch-back had cracked and separated from the vehicle. he took the vehicle back to the dealership and was advised that there was an electrical failure. no repairs were made. the manufacturer referred him to nhtsa. the current mileage was approximately 68,000. the failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

Rear differential failure-i think this should be looked into as i have searched the internet and there are too many complaints about this. maybe it was not the tires causing all the crashes but the bad rear ends that ford is aware of. rear whining noise and grinding from all suv models. *tr

Exact dates are various , vehicle has 39000 miles on it presently , have multiple vehicles , drive over the road truck driver ... changed brakes and rotors twice , emergency brake not working , had fixed , had to have ekg replaced and some exhaust sensor , tires wore out at 29000 , exhaust system replaced , both ball joints replaced , pinion gear gasket leaking from rear end , both cv joints leaking , appears right cv joint needs replacing , gets 14 mpg ( 4.0 liter ) paint peeling from roof for quite awhile now , rusting around fuel tank door , as all are ...... vehicle has been a nightmare , getting rid of this at 39000 miles , ford has a better idea , buy another one ! *tr

both front wheel bearings failed the week before last on the 2004 ford explorer xlt i bought new from ford motor company about 2 years and 45,500 miles age. i replaced both after a diagnoses of failure by a ford dealership by going to a private, non-ford repair shop at a cost of just over $ 781.00. the labor here was $ 142.00 - the balance was local taxes and the replacement bearings which were only available from and purchased from ford motor company. the dealer also diagnosed a defective ring and pinion gear which is not the case - yet. didn't even get to the driver's front seat back which has collapsed without accident on the door side. *ak

I purchased my 2004 explorer and at about 36,000 miles i had to bring the vehicle in to have the wheel bearings replaced. now at 65,000 miles once again the wheel bearings are going bad. i have never owned nor have i ever heard of a vehicle where the wheel bearings only lasting about 30,000 to 40,000 miles. the first time the dealer replaced the bearings however this time the vehicle is not under warranty. to buy a new vehicle and have to replace the wheel bearings every 30,000 to 40,000 miles is not acceptable. *tr

1. i have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 ford explorer. the vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while i am on the highway. 2. rear differential, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vehicle to break down and if that happens the vehicle is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. i have brought it to the ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me. *tr

1. i have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 ford explorer. the vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while i am on the highway. 2. rear differentral, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vechile to break down and if that happens the vechile is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. i have brought it to the ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me. *tr

Transmission slamming into reverse / drive, took to dealership, solenoid pack replaced 6 months ago, started having same problems and now this time also, rpms shoot up to 7 when accelerating. took back to dealer, said they had to replace the solenoid pack again. won't honor warranty after the $800.00 problem was just fixed! also, have serious suspension problems! front sway bar bushings, rear shocks (leaking), replace front lower ball joints. *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. the contact was driving approximately 25 to 55 mph when he noticed an abnormal howling from the rear of the vehicle. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised that they would shim the pinion and ring gears to silence them. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred twice after the repairs. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 29,700.

*aki went to take my 2004 ford explorer in for a state vehicle inspection. it failed due to faulty ball joints. the explorer has 15,000 miles on it and it is unacceptable for this to happen. also, if i did not need an inspection, there would have been serious consequences. this is a safety concern that needs to be addressed.

Car has a hard time engaging into gear, when backing up it feels like i've hit another vehicle. the vehicle just jumps in revers.i have almost ran over someone because of a delay in engaging into reverse. in drive it does the same thing. i worry that i am going to hit a car that might be parked in front of me or even a person. not only that i worry that if i did hit another car i wouldn't know that i did it. the car has had problems starting. it has left us almost stranded twice. the cars battery has died for no reason, even after driving a couple of hours prior to trying to restart it. the front and rear window motors have gone out, the rear windows were stuck open in a rain storm with my two children in the back seat. the vehicle has lost power driving down the interstate and a warning light came on in the dash, the vehicle had only 5,000 miles on the odometer. the keyless entry quite working, wich also kept our key chain lockers from working. the car would not turn over, it would just make a click, when it would turn over, it sounded like gears were grinding. the vehicle went in for to be serviced for the first time a month after we bought the vehicle, dec. 5, 2003 and has gone in atleast once every two months since. the car has been in for servicing a total of 3 months out of the year that we have owned it. we have requested since it has been for the same problem 8 times and it has not been fixed that the dealership lemon the vehicle. but nothing has been done about it. the dealership doesn't know what the problem is and they have told us that they cannot fix it.we still have the same problem now. it can potentially hurt someone. *ak

I have had many, many problems with my 2004 ford explorer. probably the most dangerous one is the recurring failure of the transmission. this last time that this occurred i was on interstate-85, in morning rush-hour traffic, and all of a sudden my rpm's are flying to the red danger area and i have no acceleration power and am losing speed. there is an 18-wheeler on my rear and i can't pick up speed! luckily, i was approaching an exit and managed to get the vehicle off of the interstate and onto a less traveled road. this is the second time that i have endured this scenario. once again the solenoid is gone, with repairs estimated at $1255.00. i have had this problem repaired less than a year after purchase. i have had this problem repaired at 32,567 miles, and i now have this problem again at 76,725 miles. i have had the clutch pack replaced at 24,940 miles as well as the ring gear, pinion, and all bearings replaced at 24,940 miles. at 35,558 miles the lower ball joint had to be replaced. at 64,335 i had to have the pats transponder(security system) replaced. in short i have had the transmission repaired three times the front end rebuilt , the back end redone. i honestly can say i do not feel very safe in this vehicle, especially since i have to use this to transport my children. these problems seem to be the norm for this particular vehicle, as i have done research on this. i don't understand why ford is not made to resolve these issues. i have also had to have my heating and air replaced. this occurred in the winter of 2007 and was a safety issue, as i could not defrost my windows. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while accelerating from a stop or attempting to make a right or left turn at various speeds, the vehicle vibrated as if something was rubbing in the rear. the vehicle has been taken to the dealer twice regarding this failure. the dealer is currently stating that the vehicle has rear suspension failure in the clutch pack. the vehicle has a tsb 06-4-4 for this failure. the current mileage was 79,900 and failure mileage was 23.

Loud pop from rear-end. abs light,wrench,and check engine light came on. found to be a bad speed sensor and defective rear-end. suv has been in the shop for 2 weeks and no rear-end in sight. *ak

While driving at any speed vehicle vibrated heavily. consumer had made contact with the dealer on three separate occasions. but, mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem, which still exists. *ak *nm