Transfer Case problems of the 2003 Ford Explorer

I have had three incidents with my 2003 Ford Explorer. The first incident involved the suspension ( sway bars snapped, tires had to be repaired). Second incident was the transfer case and a wiggling drive shaft along with rear wheel bearings ( parts deemed defective by mechanics) , and emergency brakes that snapped off in my mechanics hands because they were rusty. Now it is transmission work for a possible faulty sensor. Ford needs to recalls before someone is killed due to catasrophic equipment failure! ive called them every time and they are aware of the issues but refuse to do anything other then document them and say have a nice day!.

Suddenly the transfer case started jerking and the SUV was shaking badly that I almost couldn't drive it home. I was lucky to have this happening at 1/2 mile from my house and at about 20-25 miles per hour! it was no code to indicate where the failure occured within the power train. I tooke a part the rear end, I found nothing wrong with it. I started to troubleshoot the transfer case and I noticed that the electrical motor with actuator does not spin the shaft from tranfer case, reason that the transfer case can't select firmly the position of hi, low por 4wd!!!!. Observing that trhe motor of the transfer case sifter does not spin, I purchesd a new motor from Ford,. After replacemnt, the problem persisted; so, I replaced the transfer case module, behaind the glove box; no result. To be able to move the car around I unplugged the transfer case motor shift frokm the main harness and the SUV stays now in 4wd with blinking lights on my dash for abs and 4x4 wd!!! I am still wandering what could happend to me if the jumping and grinding was to happend when I was driving the car with 65-70 miles per hour and the power train could snap and the drivesfat could fly out. . . Who shall be resonsible for my life or somebody else's that I could hit? I consider that the manufacturer shall recall the Explorer's affected and address the transfer case issues. The old parts that I have replaced are available, they are functgional. I still don't know what is wrong becasue I couldn't find any advise from any Ford sites\, neither from a qualified diagnostic specialist. If I go to Ford dealership they will be charging tons of $$$ until the car runs again; they don't care how many parts will replace and I will have to pay Ford's mistakes from my pocket; this is not right!.

The transfer case failed on our 2003 Ford Explorer. This is a known problem at Ford and due to a design flaw with the Explorer. It cost $2,000 to fix. Our mechanic referred us to a transmission/transfer case specialist who had seen multiple Explorers with this problem. Ford should issue a recall for this known defect. The consequences of a failure in the transfer case can be a complete shredding of the gears and sudden loss of power, which could be extremely dangerous.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that she heard a clicking sound during deceleration. A mechanic diagnosed the cause of failure as a worn out range hub in the transfer case. The contact stated that she could never get out of 4 wheel drive, which burns more gas and activates components that are unnecessary during normal driving. The current mileage is 73,000 and failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 02-01-08.

I have a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4, I have had nothing but problems with it, a few months ago I took it to the dealership because the abs light was on and the 4x4 was not working properly, they supposedly fixed it and told us they replaced a speed sensor, they also found 2 rear axle seal leaks and supposedly fixed those, then in October of '05 I took it in to the dealership because it was jerking between 30 and 40 mph and upon acceleration on hills not mention that I could hear something happening underneath my vehicle, they put it up on the rack and came back out and said the clutch in the rear end was scorched and needed to have the whole rear end replace, so I did but when I was driving it back home after the repair it started jerking again, and after several weeks of worry and wonder another dealership tells me that the transfer case is bad, my Explorer is trying to engage itself in 4x4, so now I am having the transfer case replaced! my Explorer has 41,000 on it right now and Ford has not been much of a help, I have to pay $1500 for the transfer case, I will never buy another Ford product, I will buy a foreign car. Ford really needs to look into all of the complaints and technical service bulletins on these vehicles and I will do anything I can to promote that.

Clutch in transfer case defective. Causes vehicle to shift into 4 wheel drive unexpectedly.