Problems with 2004 Ford Explorer POWER TRAIN

There is no failure yet for our vehicle but there are many out there that has. do a internet search for the 2004 ford explorer complaints and see for yourself the complaints for wheel bearing failure and rear differential failure that will eventually get someone killed. this is a very common problem and ford will not acknowledge or do anything about it. *tr

When i shift from drive or neutral into reverse, there is a long hesitation before the car then leaps backward hard. delay then hard reverse. when i am parallel parking, i have sometimes hit the car behind me hard because of this. this problem has been extented since i purchased the car new in 2004. i have brought the car into the dealer at least ten times when it was new. they made many changes, including an entirely new "box" of a sort i don't recall, all to no avail, finally telling me the problem was caused by installing the wrong trans fluid at manufacturing. recall necessary. *tr

I purchased a 2004 ford explorer 30jun08, in march 2009, in less than a year i have had to replace the module/engine control, the battery and the alternator at the willowbrook ford dealership. i paid a total of 2033.60 in repairs. when i got home last friday night and was parking my car, as i went into reverse i felt a jolt in shifting from the transmission. yesterday driving to work again i felt the transmission slipping and hard shifting. the o/d light begin to flash and i couldn't accelerate over 40mph. on my way home from work, again i could not accelerate over 30mph but now its making a horrible noise and the service engine and o/d lights are flashing. this is a well known problem as i have read numerous complaints about it online. why hasn't ford recalled these faulty transmission? i have until jul10 before this car is paid off and still owe over 6000.00. this is the fifth ford i've owned and i am totally disgusted by this whole situation. as a single mom of 3, i don't have any thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to throw it away in ford repairs. someone has to step in for us consumers who are being ripped off. please help us. *tr

I was dropping my son off at his friend's house. i pulled into the driveway and put the truck in park. i opened my door, got out, walked around the front of my vehicle and accompanied my son up to the front door. all of a sudden, the truck started to roll forward on the driveway and crash into the homeowners fence. when i got into the truck, it was still in park. there was damage to my front bumper as well as the fence that it crashed into. thank god it didn't happen while i was walking in front of it! this transmission on this vehicle has been a problem since the beginning. i too experienced the "thump" as it slammed into reverse, only for ford to deny there was a problem and finally put the additive into the tranny. what a way to fix the problem! ...never again will i buy a ford. i just hope no one has to lose their life for ford to do something about this. *tr

I bought my 2004 ford explorer limited feb 2008. the only work done was oil changes, tire rotations etc....around 50,000 miles suddenly 1) the cruise control stopped functioning properly. when used it causes the vehicle to stall..... 2) a crack appeared in the hatch for no apparent reason. no accidents, no weather issues.... 3) the o/d light comes on and the transmission symbol lights up. hesitates went put in reverse then jerks into movement. repair shop says the transmission needs repairs costing 2000+. *tr

I financed a 2004 ford explorer in 2008 and about 6 month later i noticed the transmission starting to slip. soon after it wouldnt hardly go into gear unless i reved up the engine then it would slam into gear really hard. now it is getting worse. im a disabled single father of my son who is also disabled and we are on a fixed income and dont have the money to fix this, [xxx] i still owe on it. i pay almost 300 bucks a month car payment on it. parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

2004 ford explorer with 54k miles has slip in transmission when shifted from park to reverse and will slip when the transmission shifts automatically. it catches and will produce a loud bump. it takes several seconds to catch when shifted to reverse. *tr

I own a 2004 ford explorer eddie bauer with v-8. have taken to the dealer numerous times about abrupt and delayed shifting with transmission. dealer re-programmed transmission with no luck, no recall from ford but have heard hundreds of complaints on-line about same problem. truck now has over 90,000 miles and still has same problem. replaced leaking transmission pump last decembe08 and still hard shifting. will not return to ford for repairs when transmission or other drive train parts fail due to the hard up and down shifts, please help! *tr

I have a 2004 ford explorer. i have two complaints with this vehicle. the first is that the back gate cracked from the window. the second complaint is that my truck is making a loud thump in reverse, and after i put it in drive after being in reverse, the transmission is slipping making it dangerous to pull out into traffic. i was almost hit twice pulling into traffic from the engine slipping. *tr

2004 ford explorer required new transmission in first year. later, a loud whine developed from the rear of the car on acceleration. annoying, but i didn't know if meant trouble. abs and 4x4 high lights later began to come on intermittently. mechanic found no cause. just recently, at 79,000 miles, the vehicle began to feel like it was about to fall apart. ford dealer has had it for over a week, they say, after doing $1000 worth of useless work on it, that the entire rear differential has gone bad, and must be replaced. apparently this was not caught up till now, but must have been responsible for the whine, the errant lights, and a ka-chunk that the brakes have been making for years, also never able to be diagnosed. (note: i didn't know where to categorize this, so i entered it in the other category because i didn't want to misclassify; also do not have vin as the vehicle is at the dealership). *tr

2004 ford explorer has extreme engagement into reverse. have had multiple trips to dealership for repair prior to this final repair by independent repair shop. if driver doesn't anticipate this condition personal injury and/or property damage could occur. *tr

Transmission slips - lurches into reverse - recently slipped and wouldn't pull going up hill - 2 times in 2 days. *tr

I am also having the transmission problem with my 2004 ford explorer. my vehicle jumps violently when it is put in reverse. when you first put it in reverse it will not move then all of a sudden it jumps backward. i also have been noticing that the truck feels like it is not in gear feels like it slips . i have made no repairs on my vehicle as of yet, but after reading the newspaper article i see that this problem is occurring with other vehicles,. we all seem to be having the same problems. i hope that ford will take care of these ford explorer problems before their are more accidents. i have not had an incident as of this date 4/30/09, but i can tell you that when i put my vehicle in reverse i am very worried because of how violent the truck jumps backward. *tr

In april of 2009 i bought a 2004 explorer from car connections in palm bay florida! this has been nothing but a nightmare! but my "main" complaint 2 weeks ago i took the truck in for regular service to find out that my "over drive" gear is gone. aamco explained to me that ford knew that and it is a defective part! so, to get a 2nd opinion i took my truck to meineke, they also made the same comment of "that is a defective part from ford" and they will not recall the part! well, i am being charged from $3,400 to the lowest of $2,800 for repairs "excluding" tax! why am i and thousands of others paying for something that ford knew was going to be a costly repair for us consumers in this horrible recession! i feel that we/i should be compensated in some sort of way just to help for something bad they sent out. i can't even trade the truck in due to the value has decreased tremendously! i am stuck with a vehicle that is basically going to rust in my driveway for being so costly! please let ford know that they should honor what they knew was wrong! please help! *kb

My 2004 ford explorer has a transmission problem. i never know if and when it will go into reverse or park. it hesitates and i then find out what gear it is in. this explorer is a one-owner car. 32,000+- miles on it. weekends only. yes, i went through the earlier recall, but it did little if anything to correct the problem,. at the time, i figured that i had been screwed into buying a defective car whose transmissions wouldn't last after the warranty ran out. sometimes, the transmission doesn't engage right away and then jumps hard into reverse. other times, it hesitates before going into drive and/or park. i never know. i am 57 years old. please tell ford for me ----not to pee on my leg and tell me that it is raining. they didn't fix the problem. and i believe it to be dangerous. and since bush isn't president anymore, maybe your agency can stand up again for american consumers. or will you? feel free to contact me or for ford to contact me. the truth is the truth. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving in reverse approximately 2 mph, the transmission exhibited a delay response and would slip violently into gear. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they informed her that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. one year and six months later, after the new transmission was installed, the vehicle failed to accelerate over 30 mph. the failure was diagnosed by the dealer who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced for the second time. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 27,000. the vin was unavailable.

Transmission shifts very hard and when put into reverse it violently shifts to reverse. have had the vehicle in for multiple repairs on the transmission and now the local ford dealership tells me i have to replace the transmission with the mileage on the vehicle a little over 70,000 miles. *tr

Purchased a used 2004 ford explorer on july 3, 2006 with 53823 miles. the car was maintained as required and low and behold, to my recollection, around 2008-2009 it started driving a little strange, it started vibrating hesitating. then during the beginning of 2009, check engine light came on, od light started flashing, gears started sticking, hard to brake and i was told that it ia a transmission problem and that i was not alone with the problem. a new or rebuilt transmission was necessary at a price of $3-4,000. if you would go on the web site at autobeef. com, you will see all the complaints consumers are having about the same problem. i am urging you to please investigate this matter. ford needs to step up to the plate and recall all explorers. i still owe $9000 on this car and can not drive it. i bailed them out and they need to take responsibility for their faulty transmissions. disappointed and concerned consumer. thank you. *tr

Shifting into reverse, the vehicle will not move, when you give it more gas, then suddenly surge. this latest incident, i almost hit a pedestrian. i thought this was a throttle response issue, but now i think it maybe a transmission issue. this has been an issue since the day i bought it....the dealer put some fluid in the transmission and re-calibrated the throttle. dealer said this is the first year ford used an electronic throttle. (no cable from gas pedal to throttle body.) after reading the newspaper article, seems that many owners have had similar complaints. *tr

Automatic transmission hesitate when going into gear then shifts hard into gear while accelerating,ford is well aware there is a problem with these transmissions and should be recalled for repairs. have done research on this and its a common safety problems with the ford explorer. *tr

I purchased a new 2004 ford explorer in 2004 and had constant problems with the transmission - hard shifting, slipping, and delayed shifting. i brought it back multiple times to 2 very good dealers and the problems remained. they replaced my rear axle three times but said because there were no stored codes from the transmission, ford wouldn't let them do anything else. my transmission kept having delayed shift and hard shift problems so i kept bringing it in to my local dealer even after my warranty expired. after 6 times at 2 dealers, it was doing the same thing. i do not blame the dealers, as they were only taking ford factory direction. i called ford customer service several times prior to my warranty end, and was always told to go back to the dealer. during those calls to customer service, i requested a ford factory rep contact me but customer service refused and advised me again to go back to the dealer for service. last week, my transmission finally failed at 87k miles. it still shifted hard, and had delayed shifts, but it suddenly had no reverse, and extreme slippage in first gear. the check transmission light started flashing for the first time so it stored a code. i took my explorer back to the dealer who advised the code meant an internal failure of a band or other part and the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost of about $4500. the dealer service manager was very good about the entire problem, so i am still not at all upset with the local dealer. i paid almost $200 for the diagnostic of a failed band but decided to have the transmission repaired at a local transmission shop. there, the manager took the transmission apart to diagnose the problem and did not find a broken band or other part. he advised it was probably due to other problems that may have been there since it was new, and advised that i install a rebuilt transmission instead of rebuilding this one due to the problems with the aluminum case. i spent $3000; finally fixed. *tr

Trans in 2002 to 2005 ford explorers are bad. they slip in and out of gear. sometime you have to wait 5 to 10 seconds before it will move and this almost got me hit in mine by a 18 wheeler more than once. talked with ford dealers they all clam its a ford mess up but there is no recalls yet. and this is with them beginning with in 20,000 to 90,000 miles on the explorers. i know of over 900 cases of this first hand and someone needs to get ford off their butt and do something. noone can keep putting out 3500.00 for a rebuilt trans while their still paying on the vehicles. all of them go bad right after the warranty runs out. being in law enforcement i see this every day and its not sage for family's in these vehicles. if something isn't done asap someone going to get hurt or die. they slip all the time when you back up your sitting in the road for 10 seconds waiting for it to go in drive then drive slips until you get to 35 miles an hour then their fine until you stop again. call ford motor company and they just say sorry cant help you should have got the extra warranty on the vehicle. me personally if it happens again im going to ford motor company and drive it right through the front doors and leave it there. *tr

Vehicle had a history of suddenly jerking harshly while driving at highway speeds (65 mph), but at irregular intervals and problem could not be forced to replicate. at approximately 97,000 miles while on an out of state trip, the vehicle began to refuse to accelerate properly from a standstill, appearing to "limp" (in ford's words) until it reached 10-15 mph, then it would suddenly engage and accelerate rapidly, but would still quit accelerating briefly until reaching speeds >40 mph. at interstate speeds, the transmission seemed to run fine until going into mountains, where it would not find the right gear for maintaining speed. car continued to worsen until finally reaching a dealership that was willing to look at the problem. no error codes were observed, so was told the transmission had to be overhauled or replaced. the overhaul was not going to be guaranteed nor would the dealership promise when the car would be repaired and recommended a ford rebuilt transmission, which i was forced to select. the vehicle still has problems, though not as severe as formerly, but there are still no error or service codes being returned by any of the car's electronics. i have no options other than to drive it until it fails completely again, wherever that may happen. *tr

No accident or injury has occurred. the transmission shifter binds when shifting into park. the interlock solenoid pin has worn a grove in the cam in which it contacts. when shifting from any gear to park, if you release the brake pedal at the right time the vehicle will not go fully into park. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving between 40-60 mph on normal road conditions, the contact heard a whining noise when the accelerator pedal was depressed. the failure occurred continuously and there were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the failure was related to the rear differential. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 39,000. updated 03-27-09 *bf updated 04/01/09. *jb

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

Purchased 2004 exp xlt in 2007 with 34,600 miles. took it to dealer while still under warranty. said jerking into reverse and delayed shifting between 2nd + 3rd was "normal". found out "normal" meant they all do it, but not that it is correct. a ford dealer told me solenoid body replacement will fix it. after reading the numerous complaints on-line, am not sure. the seat belt retractors do not work (didn't on the '94 either) but at least the seats in the 94 were comfortable. just do not ever buy a ford again!. a friend has exactly the same model with exactly the same issue. hard to believe ford does not want to do anything for their customers. but it does make it easy to understand why life-long ford owners will never own another one. my froend said they only offered him $3200 for his 2004 exp xlt on a trade-in. not very much unless they know about the problem. really sad ford will do nothing. i feel bad for all the good service people that are foced to lie to customers while ford hides behind the curtain. *tr

I own a 2004 ford explorer xlt v6. on 2/9/2009, i left my workplace at about 6pm and within about 1/4 mile my automatic transmission started slipping. i shifted to 3rd gear and it did not slip. within about 1 mile after shifting to 3rd, the overdrive light started flashing. within about 5 miles the vehicle turned off and the service engine light came on as well, while i was traveling approximately 50 mph on a causeway! i was able to pull over to the right. i turned the vehicle completely off. turned the vehicle back on, put it into drive and no warning lights were displayed. i continued for about 1 mile, and drive started slipping again. i put it into 3rd, overdrive light started blinking. approximately another 5 miles the vehicle shut off completely and service engine light came on again. i was able to pull over to the right. turned the vehicle off, back on, and again proceeded home. i made it home. i have two children that luckily were not in the vehicle with me. my concern is that the transmission randomly failed and then the vehicle completely shut off, which could have resulted in an accident because the steering could've locked and the power brakes could've disengaged because the car was off. *tr

I have had 2 problems with my ford explorer. 1. crack in the rear window panel, ford won't fix. 2. total transmission failure, had to replace at my cost. *tr

i understand there are worse vehicle failures out there, but the sheer fact that so many owners of my vehicle, 2004 ford explorer (and its respective brothers: lincoln aviator and mercury mountaineer) are experiencing transmission failure has led me here. the transmission in my truck is getting progressively worse and at the moment i am almost afraid to have my wife and our 2 children ride in it. the delay in the shift causes us to slow slightly in traffic and i fear (as do so many other ford/mercury and lincoln owners experiencing the same problem) that its inevitable failure may result in an accident or worse. ford refuses to accept any responsibility for this even though every owner is experiencing this at the same mileage on the same model vehicle. one recall, in 2005 i believe, addressed a need for "solenoid additive" to the transmission. many feel this was just a band-aid placed over a broken bone for ford and merely delayed the transmissions failure. (past the warranty) could it be that so many explorer / mountaineer / aviator owners are simply running their $30,000+ vehicles into the ground? or is ford refusing to stand behind a faulty product? just like the firestone tires several years back, ford should be held accountable before a bad situation becomes disastrous. *tr

2004 ford explorer. od light is blinking, service engine light is on, transmission shift stalls and lurks. mechanic says alot of ford explorers are having this issue and there is no recall. *tr

2004 ford explorer eddie bauer transmission problem (seen on many complaint websites.) solenoid body needs repair at 75,000 miles on car that has diligently had all scheduled maintenance. this causes transmission to slip hard in reverse and in transition between gears. it happened once and almost caused accident. no automobile needs to have this replaced under 150,000 miles. this costs $1,100 to fix (5 hours of labor and the part is $525.) the price of the part is ridiculous. take care. *tr

On january 17, 2009, i was attempting to back my 2004 ford explorer out of my driveway. when i attempted to put the truck into reverse, the steering column-mounted gear shift mechanism broke. the "wand" broke completely away from the column, with only the rubber covering holding it in place. later, when a mechanic opened up the steering column, it was apparent that the gear shift mechanism failed because a piece of metal broke in half; it looked to be made of some soft metal. because of the way ford designed the transmission, the entire steering column had to be replaced. the explorer had only 55,000 miles on it at the time of the incident. total expenses for repairs were in excess of $1,600. *tr

Purchased the vehicle new. had regular maintenance performed. shifting has been harsh and sporadic since nearly new. has gotten progressively worse until now (jan, 2009) 67,000 miles when it became un-drivable. took to ford dealer where purchased. bottom line is that transmission is shot and they recommend a new tranny. further research, online and with other owners, makes it obvious that this is a common, well known problem possibly having to do with incorrect tranny fluid installed when new. ford says no recall, no warranty, and provides no relief. this is criminal. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. when attempting to shift the gear selector lever, it fractured and caused the ignition to lock. the contact was unable to operate the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and is in the process of having the component repaired. the cause of the failure was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 71,325 updated 01-26-09 *bf the gear shift lever on the steering column broke. updated 01/27/09. *jb

There are many know problems with this transmission. i have made repairs to many 5r55 series transmissions and they are all defective in a few different ways. i spent 5 years at ford repairing these problems and now my personal vehicle is showing symptoms of failure. the only proper repair for this is the complete replacement of said part. although the replacement part is most likely going to be a failed unit from another vehicle. *tr

I purchased a 2004 explorer limited with 18,000 miles. at 28,000 miles the dealership replaced a solenoid in the transmission per ford to eliminate a large "thud" when the vehicle was shifted into reverse. the problem went away for awhile but returned. today at 78,000 the vehicles transmission has failed and the dealership states it needs replacement. extended warranty provider refuses to cover the work. i have read that ford installed the wrong transmission fluid at the factory as well. bottom line is the ford transmission is defective and everyone knows it. how about a little justice here for the consumer? *tr

Tl*the contacts owns a 2004 ford explorer. after driving in reverse and parking the vehicle it began to move after the back door was opened. she was able to engage the brake pedal to stop the vehicle from moving and confirmed that the gear shift was in park. the body shop mechanic was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. the contact stated that it was caused due to slippage of the gears and although the gear indicator reads park it is not fully engaged. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 39000 and current mileage was 44000.

I bought it brand new in 2004 and have taken very good care of this vehicle, but it hasn't returned the favor. i have had multiple transmission problems that ford says that they all do it and won't fix it. my tailgate cracked next to the ford symbol, once again won't fix it. my paint on my hood is peeling off. i only have 50,000 easy miles on it but looking at it and driving it you would think that it had 150,000 on it. i will never buy ford again! *tr

Transmission is slipping, rpm's racing before engaging into gears. hard clunk when shift from reverse to forward. losing power while waiting for shifts to engage. *tr

Blinking o/d light, service engine light, park to reverse gear slippage, first to second gear slippage. *tr

Tl * the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving 40 mph, the vehicle would decelerate automatically to 20 mph and not regain speed. the vehicle would also not shift into reverse. the failure occurred twice over a six year period. the vehicle's transmission has been replaced twice. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 22,000.

Of the numerous issues with this vehicle, the worst is the transmission (40,000 miles ). same old story. started with clunking and hesitation and surging when shifting into reverse and now is 'clunking' into gears 2 and 3 during normal driving. the rear drivers side window motor has been replaced twice. the rear window panel has a vertical crack to the left of the ford symbol that just mysteriously occurred even though we don't even use the window. the truck stalls when the cruise control is applied below 45 miles an hour. my wife and i really loved this truck but like many others we have become embarrassed by our purchase. if this kind of fraud were to occur with any other product we would have some sort of recourse but not surprisingly the motor company's seem to enjoy a certain level of protection. the 'better business bureau' won't even listen to car complaints. given the severe and ubiquitous nature of the complaints about this vehicle it comes as no surprise that no remediations is forth coming from this organization, the manufacturer or any other. the cost of these vehicles is a burden to say the least and is financially devastating to those of us who purchased them in good faith only to have a 30,000 dollar vehicle become useless and dangerous before reaching 50000 miles. like all the other 'victims' of fraud, i am wasting yet more of my time by complaining about it. *tr

Bought car with 9k miles on it, transmission slams into gear in reverse causing car to jump backwards, called dealer stated knew what problem was fixed under warranty. 40k miles later it is happening again, more severe and jerking forward while driving. almost hit pedestrian, could not control. dealer states out of warranty will not fix. informed them this is the same problem, work is faulty. many complaints of this on-line with this type of vehicle. it is a major safety issue. car is now jerking more violently causing the wheels to screech when put into reverse. does there need to be a death or injury in order to investigate this? *tr

There is clearly a defect in ford explorer transmissions. my 2004 explorer had shifting problems at the 2-21/2 year mark. it was limped through by replacing the solenoid. now at 42/3 years (out of warranty) it is doing the exact same thing and suddenly needs a new transmission at the 41,000 mile mark. i feel ford has a clear problem based on the number of complaints and i am sure that is a small fraction of the problem as most people don't know to complain. ford has put bandaids on the problem until the warranty is up, then the consumer gets stuck. while this may not be a safety issue, it is clearly a defective transmission/ design flaw and consumers need to be compensated. what does it take to have something recalled? does a life have to be lost? these transmissions are lemons and the consumers have been ripped off. many probably remain silent because they think they were just unlucky so i am sure the complaints you have are just the tip of the iceberg. it seems your agency should protect not just from injury, but from frauds and deception. ford has been deceptive and should be accountable for these lemons. *tr

My complaint is with the 2004 ford explorer and is a universal complaint for explorers from 2002-2005. these vehicles have problems with their rear differentials causing them to whine loudly at various speeds. in some cases they will leak and in extreme cases even seize up causing a dangerous situation for the drivers. there are multiple articles on this situation online and i myself have had my differential parts replaced twice already. i still experience a slight "whine" in the rear end around 60mph, not as bad as before but still there however. apparently when the factory warranty has expired ford dealers will only repair this problem again if they are paid to do so. this is a major problem with these vehicles and has been for some time. ford needs to accept ownership of this situation and have a recall sent out to all owners advising them the problem will be fixed at no expense to the owners. it is a downright annoying,costly and sometimes dangerous situation that needs to be addressed now as there are many of these vehicles on the road with unhappy owners at the wheel. myself included. thank you for your time. *tr

In 2005 i purchased a 2004 ford exxltspnbx 11900 from herz car sales. just few month after that i experienced the first of 20 critical engine shutdowns that i experienced up to now. 2. the failure is that the engine of my car turns off spontaneously at speeds between 50 and 70 mph. the consequences are: - sudden loss of power - sudden loss of steering servo, i.e. a sharp sideways kick if the car is in a curve - sudden loss of braking power - the need to shift to neutral and restart the engine, with the danger to shift to 'r' or even 'p' in panic, and to lock up the steering wheel at full speed (!!!) panic is the right word for the feeling my wife and i have experienced in every occurrence of this failure. 3. after the first two failures i brought the car to a ford dealership. the car was still under factory warranty, but the workshop couldn't localize the problem. they test-drove he car for 200 miles and concluded he car was ok, in spite of the fact that i told them that i had two events in 20,000 miles. the total frequency has been by now once in every 2,500 miles, on average. the shutdown seems to be occurring with the cruise control on, more likely on slight downhill slopes. 3. no solution for this problem so far. *tr

The transmission is failing on my 2004 ford explorer. i have babied it for quite awhile because we already had plenty of electrical problems with it that had cost us a lot of money and we really have no idea where to get the money to fix this problem. we still owe a lot on it. when it first started, i spoke to my mechanic and looked on the internet for a solution. if you google "2004 ford explorer transmission", you will see a huge list of people with the same problem. ford has the nerve to ask for a bailout with my money, but they won't stand behind their lousy product!!! this is going to cost me at least $2500 to fix and i think since they have been aware of the problem from the start, they should have to correct it before we start handing them money. this is more than unfair! further, the plastic parts on these vehicles are cheap and break easily. one of my visors is suspended from the sunroof by a phone earphone cord because the plastic hinge broke and it dangles in your way when you are trying to see out the windshield. please help!*tr

A couple of months ago i notices that my explorer made a weird humming sound when i remove my foot off the gas going downhill at highway speeds. i also get the hard/clunk shift sound when going from park to reverse with a couple second delay. it takes longer then normal for vehicle to accelerate as if the truck is having difficulty shifting itself. whaling city ford in new london ct said problem was that we have two tires that are a bit smaller then the rest and proceeded to try to sell us four new tires. i took it for a second opinion and the auto shop actually spent time on my vehicle and said that our tires are fine, it is the tranny. how can ford get away with this and what is my recourse since so many others are having this issue? *tr

I own a 2004 ford explorer on 7/14/2008 i took it to the ford dealer ship due to my o/d light flashing. i was told i would need a new transmission $3,200.00 dollars so they replaced the transmission,i picked up my explorer on 7/28/2004 and only drove it 30 miles and the o/d light began flashing again and the transmission was not passing gears. now this is a new transmission the dealer ship was contacted and they now have my vehicle again so now i will have to wait and see what the out come is again. *tr