Transmission Solenoid problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer - part 1

Transmission failure. Shift solenoid "b" circuit failure transmission does not shift into 2nd gear until vehicle reaches 3000 rpm. O/d light flashes, service engine soon light activates and transmission stays in 3rd gear. Don't use vehicle and is out of extended warranty.

First issue was with the solenoids now the issue is with 1-2 shift ratio. Shifting into neutral.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms yet the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission solenoid was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 64,000.

2004 Ford Explorer. Consumer writes in regards to having to replace the solenoid for the third time. The consumer stated the vehicle would not engage into reverse without jolting and hard shifting.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer XLT. When the contact shifted into reverse gear the vehicle would not move for approximately four to five minutes. The vehicle also made a loud noise and then moved in reverse. The vehicle was previously taken to the dealer in 2007 and the solenoid was replaced per the warranty. The dealer wanted to replace the solenoid a second time for $1000 at the owners expense. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 42,000.

At 25526 miles took vehicle to dealer for delay in shifting. Dealer flushed with bg conditioner. At 26073 miles returned to dealer for clunking on shifting, dealer removed pan found debris, overhauled valve body and replaced solenoid pack. Continued to have issues but dealer was unable to replicate. Transmission failure at 63323 miles on 04 Ford Explorer, total replacement of transmission for the cost of $3527. 60 out of our pocket, no warranties honored.

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.

2004 Ford Explorer (solenoid pack) repair 2nd time.

Abrupt shifting from park to reverse. Took vehicle in four times for repair. Solenoid was replaced twice, transmission fluid additive, then transmission fluid flush. Unintended shifting by transmission resulting in vehicle to swerve at 50 plus miles per hour. Occurs daily on highway after letting off accelerator and coasting.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?.

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.

Purchased used 2004 Explorer XLT 12/6/07 at 53,000 miles. Approx 6 mos later, it began having delayed shifting and would jerk into reverse. At times I had pulled out too far into the road and needed to back up to avoid a collision and the car would not safely reverse quickly. It would hesitate and then jerk into reverse at a high speed. The tranny would slip after slowing down and then accelerating. Once after shifting into reverse, I hit the gas and it revved up as if in neutral. I paused and hit the gas again without changing gears and it reversed. The first dealer said its tranny fluid was low and they topped it off. No change. The second dealer reprogrammed it with no change. They replaced the solenoid which seemed to fix the jerky shifting and improper acceleration. Now it is progressively getting worse again, just like last time. It starts out only having issues once a month and then they become more regular until it happens every time you drive the car. I don't think the car is safe as I cannot get it to move quickly when I need it to. The car has a new appointment with the dealer and I think they are going to replace the transmission. I have seen sites where hundreds of other Explorer owners have had the same problem, sometimes even much worse than this one. The dealers are stumped because it doesn't show any codes. According to the computer nothing is wrong with my car when even I can tell that it has major transmission problems. It now has 80,000 and I have paid the deductible at least three times and still no change. I better have a new transmission coming to me. . .

I purchased a 2004 eddie bauer 4. 0 liter Explorer. The previous owner brought the vehicle back for all recalls, particularly those related to the transmission. This included a complete trans fluid flush even though the Ford states the 1st maint. On tranny is 100 k miles, changed the front seal that supposedly "corrodes in the presence of the old transmission fluid', and had the solenoid body changed to correct the transmission shifting problem. Now the transmission is failing again at 34,000 miles. It shifts erratically and feels unusual while driving in forward, and once warmed up and at a stop, when shifting from drive to reverse, there is a 1 too 2 second pause and then the transmission shifts violently into reverse. Mechanic tells me that tranny will eat itself up. In short all preventable maint. And recalls have been done on car to avoid problem, and yet at 34k miles tranny is experiencing same problem again. You really need to put Fords feet to the fire and get this fixed as a recall as this is a safety issue. Web is full of reports of trannys die-ing on the road with no warning. You all are the watchdog, please do your job.

Purchased a 2004 Ford Explorer new at a local dealership. I started having transmission problem soon after purchase. Not shifting into reverse properly. Took the vehicle several times back to dealership. Received transmission additive recall and took vehicle back again. About 5,000 miles after additive transmission problems worsened. Solenoid replace at 20,000 miles and again at 35,000 with other transmission parts replaced. Now at 59,000 miles of use transmission is completely gone and must be replaced.

I own a 2004 Ford Explorer and in 2006 I had to have the solenoid shifters replaced in my vehicle. After researching this problem on the internet I have found that this transmission problem is very common with the 2004 Explorer model. My vehicle is now out of warranty and the same problem has occurred again. My hope is that you will take this complaint and research for yourself the many people experiencing the same problem and place a government recall correct the matter once and for all. It is a dangerous problem and causes the transmission to hesitate between 3rd and 4th gear in my case. This could potentially cause serious issues while at high speeds. Please look into this matter and feel free to contact me with any other questions. Thanks.

Took car back to the dealer I purchased it from, complained of a rough shift into reverse, technician said normal with this transmission, took it to another dealer in city where I work they found the problem to be a solenoid in the transmission and it was repaired under warranty. 20000 miles later and 18 months later the same problem diagnosed, not in warranty any longer I contacted Ford and they gave me a decision that there was nothing they could do for me. This same problem appears at lease 3 times on your website as service bulletins.

On my Explorer it has been to the dealer on 5 occasions now for the transmission. Delayed engagement when going from reverse to drive, sometimes feeling as if someone has rear ended me. On the first trip in an additive was added to the transmission, second trip the transmission solenoid pack was replaced, third trip the transmission solenoid pack was replaced, fourth trip the dealer couldn't reproduce the problem and the fifth trip the problem couldn't be reproduced. Was told by the dealer service manager that this is what the transmission is supposed to do. 1 day after getting my Explorer back same issue. I don't feel that this vehicle is safe to drive.

(1) Ford recall 5r55s/5r55e/5r443 transmissions April 04 2005. 04b22 Ford Explorer XLT (2) repair information regarding transmission issues. This vehicle was taken back to action Ford Mercury, hartsville, SC. On 10/23/06 with the same problems. The warranty has expired and the service department stated that I would be required to pay for a portion of these repairs. I have taken this vehicle back to action Ford Mercury (4) times, for transmission repairs. (see attachments),10/11/04, 06/08/05. Obviously, with (4) repairs , something is not right with the transmission in this vehicle. Both statements reference solenoid replacement. This transmission obviously has a factory defect, and should be repaired once and for all, or replaced. Expecting a customer to continuously bring a vehicle back in for repairs, for the same problems, even only paying deductible payments is ludicrous. I also talked in length with the action Ford Mercury service manager, richard, and he stated that they have not had any problems with the Explorer transmissions. Seems that this is not quite true, at least nationally, in reference to the information retained on consumer web sites (see attached). Actually , this is a well documented problem with the 2004 models.

The transmission in our 2004 Ford Explorer XLT awd required a significant repair in 7/05 at 11,311 miles because the transmission would not engage after shifting into reverse. Dealer replaced shift solenoid and refilled fluid. Dealer estimated that cost to replace shift solenoid was $3,500 but it was covered under warranty. Problem recurred and in December 2006 at approximately 32,000 miles, my daughter was involved in an accident when she backed into a parked car because the transmission failed to engage. We took it to the dealership and they replaced the shift solenoid a second time.

2004 Ford Explorer when shifted into park will show it is in park but is really still in reverse. This is a major safety issue which has not been recalled. In addition there was a recall for improper transmission additive being used and now the transmission solenoid on these models are going bad causing the transmission to shift erratically.

: the contact stated the vehicle hesitated while reversing. When the gear finally engaged, there was a jolt felt. The dealership replaced the solenoid in may 2004 but the problem persisted.

04 Explorer had harsh reverse. Rpm's went to 7 shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. Ford refused to do anything even though they had a "customer satisfaction campaign",fords alternative to a recall, that expired last year to put an additive in the transmission fluid because the put in the wrong type. Had the solenoid replaced once before. Ford claimed it to be normal wear and tear. Cost 1300. 00 to repair bad solenoid,and 2 piston and rods.

Purchased a new 2004 Ford Explorer in August of 2004. Brought SUV in for recall of transmission fluid additive/replacement. SUV starting to hesitate and jump into reverse. When stopped at a light or stop sign on a hill the vehicle rolls backward when moving my foot from the brake to the gas pedal. Brought back to dealer in July of 2006, replaced solenoid at approximately 16,000 miles. When vehicle is started revs a little high then balances out. Leather seats also cracking and dealer will not replace them stating that it is simply wear and tear.

Transmission began experiencing problems shifting between 2 and 3 rd gear, into overdrive, and into reverse. On 5/12/06 I took the vehicle to the dealership and the technician was able to diagnose the problem with my vehicle with the keys still in my purse and the vehicle in the parking lot. Based on the other vehicles he had seen he had a good idea what my Explorer's problem was. Unbeknownst to me, three weeks prior to my problem my neighbor had the same exact problem with his Explorer. Evidently the transmission, solenoid, problem wit the Explorer is common and would leave on to believe it tis a products liability claim on either the manufacturer or one of its parts suppliers. 3 solenoids were replaced and my air filter was replaced. My out of pocket cost was $996. .

I am having problems with the automatic transmission on my 2004 Ford Explorer (44,000 miles). I was having my ac fixed at my local dealership when they informed me there was an oil additive that needed to be put into my transmission to prevent hesitation and slipping due to a manufacturing problem. 6 months later I began experiencing harsh engagement when shifting into reverse as well slipping in the transmission when speeding up and slowing down. I brought the car back to my local dealership (world Ford) where the work was done and they explained I might need to install a solenoid into the transmission and that would cost me $900. 00. Knowing that this is a problem from the manufacturer I contacted Ford corporate headquarters and explained everything. Ford corporate ran me around for about two weeks (hanging up the phone, placing me on hold for a long time and promising to call me back but it never happens). I have done quite a bit of research on this matter only to find out that there are thousands of people with the same problem. I found out that during the manufacturing of my vehicle an improperly formulated transmission fluid was used in the transmission. I also spoke to several people with this problem and I was told the $900. 00 solenoid does not help the problem at all. I would like to know what actions I can take to get my car repaired. Thank you in advance for all your help.

: the contact stated the transmission is slipping, hesitating and jerking while going into gear. When putting the vehicle into park the lever is in the park position; however, the transmission is still in reverse. The transmission is making a howling noise that is being heard from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership and the solenoid in the transmission was replaced. This did not remedy the problem.

2004 Ford Explorer. In December of 2004, the truck was 1 year in service and had about 19,000 miles. We noticed the transmission slipping between first and second gears and delaying when shifting between park and reverse. We took the truck to the dealership and had problem fixed. We were told the "solenoid" (sp?) switch in the transmission was bad and had been replaced. We were told at the time this was a fairly common problem. Beginning again in early December of this year, the transmission began the same pattern of slipping. The truck was now in service for 2 years, but had 40,000 miles. The truck was now out of warranty and the new "solenoid" switch in the transmission was now out of warranty. We took the truck to the dealership and were told it was the same problem as last time. The dealership would not offer anything off of the repair charge so we called Ford customer service. We were told we should have had all of our regular maintenance done at the dealership and this problem would have been caught sooner. Next we were told that Ford was aware of this problem, but not enough had failed yet so there was no recall. The service rep offered to pay for $400 of the repair since we had replaced this part once and told us that we should be grateful Ford paid for anything since the truck is out of warranty. I am grateful Ford paid for part of the repair, but I feel strongly a transmission should not need to be repaired twice in one year for the same part.

Ford Explorer 2004 - bought brand new in 2004 my Ford Explorer started having shifting problems after 1 year I bought it. Ford dealer fixed it because it was under warranty. They claimed that it was the transmission solenoid. I am having the same issue 1 year after the fix was made and went back to the dealer. They said that the car is not under warranty anymore and it will cost me around 1400 dollars to fix it. I did not have them fix it and figured that I call Ford customer service to get this fixed for free. That did not get me anywhere. This was back in 2006 or 2007 and I am still having this issue. This is a mechanical hazard because a failed transmission driving on a freeway can cause accident. I have a wife, a 4 year old and a 1 year old and always fear for their safety while driving the vehicle with them.

Purchased a 2004 Ford Explorer in 2004, noticed after a couple of months that when I put the car in reverse it would delay a few seconds and then it would make a clunk sound and then speed into reverse or shift hard, that was at about 50,000 miles. Car at times would not go into reverse, had the transmission in the shop numerous times and shift solenoid replaced to no avail. Shifted okay for awhile and goes back to shifting hard again and while at a stop light several times or upon starting my car when I had my foot on the brake it would make a clunk sound and jump forward out of gear. Good thing no other cars were in front of me or my wife or children near the vehicles. This vehicles scares me and being in the military with a limited budget we cannot just buy another car so easily and so we drive this vehicle deathly afraid. Ford needs to make right, the government needs to address this issue before more people are injured or killed with the sudden acceleration or coming out of gear involuntarily. Also car is starting to delay when at a stopped position to start driving the car hesitates to go into gear. Does it take someone to get seriously injured or die before this problem is going to be resolved by an obvious manufacturer error???? I have two children that get driven around on a regular basis and I am now worried that something is going to happen or my wife. This is still going on and getting worse. Here it is June 2010 and Ford is getting away with ripping off customers and not being made to fix our investments nor the money we've had to spend on their mistake. I am taking my Ford back in to have the transmission guy that repaired it look at the vehicle. How can thousands of complaints be ignored? you are reading this, you can pressure and bring it to light. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Our 2004 Ford Explorer has a significantly delayed response when shifting into reverse. Once the transmission engages there is a loud and hard "clunk". The dealership has diagnosed failure of the transmission solenoid and estimates this repair will cost ~$900.

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer . When I go from drive to reverse there is a 5 to 6 second delay then a loud bang. Also from park to reverse there is a 5 to 6 second delay then a bang sometimes it has the 5 to 6 second delay and lounges backward even with your foot on the brake. This could kill someone that is walking behind your truck this is a very dangerous problem if you need to back up fast for emergency vehicles or move out of the way of on coming vehicles. Ford motor company released a statement on Nov 22 Ford spokeswoman kristen kinley said they know about the transmission problems it was due to the wrong transmission fluid put in during manufacture they are replacing the solenoid and the fluid. My Ford dealer knows nothing about this? and are saying there is no recall because there are no reported injuries. Why do we have to wait for someone to get killed before the problem is fixed? Ford motor CO. Knows about this there spokeswoman has commented about it but nothing is being done??.