Automatic Transmission problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer - part 2

The transmission in my 2002 Ford Explorer has starting slipping and failing to get out of first gear. The check transmission light wasn't on then comes on and goes out - depending on which time the vehicle was started. It appears to need a brand new transmission now. In looking up information on this I noticed a rather large number of complaints about 2002 Ford Explorer transmissions and problems associated with them. I regarded Ford as a superior brand and didn't think I'd have problems with this car. It is well maintained and does not have an excessive amount of miles.

Faulty transmission.

The transmission on my Ford Explorer went out after the od light has been blinking. . . Ford the to recall the transmission on this Explorer it is really a problem.

2002 Ford Explorer eddie bauer edition. While shifting the car from park to reverse the shifting lever simply snapped off, leaving the car stuck between park and reverse. The piece of aluminum where this shearing occurred is unbelievably weak material. I have researched on the internet and found hundreds of people with this exact same issue for this exact year of Explorer. The estimate that I received for repairs exceeded $2,000, as they have to replace the entire steering column to correct this manufacturer defect. There has been no recall issued for this, however, the frequency of the problem, the range of mileage this continues to occur in (95-106k), and the extremely high cost to fix, in my opinion, should require manufacturer assistance.

Was driving on flat road car started to shift funny car slams into gear problem happens every time the car shifts second gear to third gear vehicle needs new transmission.

2002 Ford Explorer bad transmission. The car has 65,000 miles on it.

Sealed transmission in 02 Ford Explorer. Tanny shifts hard then over drive light flashes, starts shifting into od hard then not at all, then hard then back and forth alot. No way to check fluid. All Ford offers is a rebuilt at 3000. 00 dollars.

O\d light blinking after about five (5) miles. No one can say what the problem is but the cost to replace the transmission is to much. Ford should be ashamed.

Trans started slipping,od light started blinking, check engine light on,went to dealer stated that need new trans.

2002 Ford Explorer. Transmission od light flickering, will not shift. Had been rebuilt once and had not had it 3 month and doing it again. Will not purchase another Ford vehicle again.

No event led to the failure the column mounted shift lever broke off when shifting into reverse from park, occurred once car cannot be operated without shift lever. No replacement part available without replacing the entire steering column assembly. The part that broke is easily serviceable and could be replace if sold separately from the column assembly column assembly is $1400 for part only.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer while I was coming home the od light came on and the check trans. Came on. There was no problem leading up to this it just happened. So take it to the Ford place and they say needs new transmission. I still owe 3,000 on it that is also the price of the new trans. The trans. Has never used any fluid . I need help!.

Ford explore 2002 4. 0l v6 sudden and total failure of the automatic transmission at 122,000 miles. Od light flashes and transmission inspection by mechanic reveals it is junk. Despite careful maintenance this SUV is the worst vehicle I have ever owned the list of problem on this vehicle have nothing to do with the operation or maintenance of this vehicle. It is possibly the most poorly engineered vehicle since the vega!.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 4. 0l sohc. Transmission broken in 3rd fear. Od light starting flashing with no warning and then transmission broke. The car has 120,000 miles on it. I had a problem with the transmission at around 75,000 miles. I took it to the Ford dealer. It was covered under my extended warranty. Now the transmission broke again. 2,400. - 3,000 to fix.

My od light was blinking, my rpms would go up and my vehicle wouldn't move. Transmission problems.

Event/situation: hesitates and chokes at 40-45 miles per hour when trying to accelerate, along with a slight rubbing sensation felt through the steering wheel and gas peddle. They advised replacing the upper ball joints. They also stated a weak battery which was replaced. This did seem to fix various faulty false electrical issues: interior lights staying on and false light/dashboard readings. Faulty transmission, emissions or plugs/wiring have been possibilities. I've taken it to goodyear who recommended changing out the plugs and wires, along with a flush. I've been told that flushes can ruin parts on older vehicles and cause other expensive problems. I found a few websites were there are many other customers having these same issues with the 2002 Ford Explorer. Ford has been notified and aware of these transmission issues and expensive problems, covering up with other little recalls like the wiring harness. I, like many, are being forced to pay for faulty transmissions. I believe this needs to be investigated and make Ford pay for recalls and repairs. It has been taken to the Ford dealership for its oil change and a wiring recall approximately two weeks ago, in January 2010. Here is the website with many other Ford Explorer official complaints who demand a responsible/reliable recall fix from Ford. . Read more...

While driving on the interstate, I noticed a severe jerk in the back end of my 2002 Ford Explorer. Once I slowed down, the o/d indicator started blinking and the vehicle wouldn't shift from 4th back into over drive. I have received notification from my mechanic that the transmission would need to be replaced. I noticed that there are over 800 such complaints of this particular problem on a troubleshooting web site.

Transmission on my 2002 Ford Explorer failed for the 2nd time in 2009 of December. I was on the highway when this happen and could have caused an accident.

Transmission sputters and jerks in third gear around 40mph. I bought this car used with 108,000 miles on it. This is my second day driving it, and I'm worried I just wasted thousands of dollars! from all the consumer websites I have read Ford is aware of this problem and is doing nothing to rectify the situation. Please recall this transmission and make Ford fix my car. Luckily there's a "lemon law" in my state and the dealer I purchased from will have to help me out.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the overdrive button continued to blink and flash. The gear shift button does not turn the light out as it's designed to. The vehicle was repaired by a local mechanic but the failure continued to occur. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000. The current mileage was approximately 117,000.

At approximately 60,000 miles, my transmission on my 2002 Ford Explorer failed. There are thousands upon thousands of complaints regarding this issue. Ford has not recognized the defect. This poses several hazards such as a locking transmission on the highway, slipping transmission when in park, no ability to move when in traffic.

On a hill, put the vehicle in drive and it rolled backwards onto someone's property while the engine was in high rpm's. It shifted into drive then popped back out again! it almost ran over my wife.

On Nov. 28 2009, I purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4. 0l automatic transmission 4x4. With 80,000 miles. On Dec. 10. 2009, the Explorer started not going into any gear. Then you have to keep trying each gear finally after a few minutes it will go into reverse, but for the first 10 minutes of driving it jerks and clangs going to different gears. Dealer won't do anything.

2002 Ford Explorer. The transmission is under 100k miles and has already failed. $3,000. 00 fix for something that should not be an issue.

I noticed around July of 2009 that my 2002 Ford Explorer was acting like it wasn't getting any gas. I had it hooked up to an analyzer and they told me I needed to replace my mass air flow sensor. December 28, 2009 - $135. 00. So I did, it still would not shift into any gears. I was having to shift the gears myself by letting off the gas a little and then accelerating again. Turns out my transmission is going out and the car only has 110,000 miles on it.

My 2002 Ford Explorer transmission went and no recall as this has been an issue to many owners. There seems to be a very large amount of people that have had to replace there transmissions once, twice and possibly three times !!!! Ford will do nothing for you at all and they are very aware of the problems with this vehicle.

I bought a 2002 Explorer 4x4 v6 automatic. After driving it for a while I have had nothing but drive train problems, to include wheel bearings going out right after they have been fixed at local Ford dealer. The wheels almost fell off. Now, the transmission is gone out and I find out that it is a normal thing to have that happen. Safety, think about my 2 eight year old daughter in a busy traffic on a bridge over the mississippi river and the truck just stopped. Right in rush hour! sounds like another thing where someone should step up and replace and think of the safety of the drivers and passengers.

It wouldn't shift into third gear. It happens all the time, and looking to get it fixed. Updated 11/25/09.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the module that controls the four wheel drive failed while driving 25 mph. The contact took the vehicle to a Ford dealer to have the four wheel drive module replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the modules were on back order and would not be available for 30 days. The contact is concerned about the safety risk during inclement weather and rainy days. The failure mileage was 87,277. Updated 02/1710 updated 02/19/10.

Will hesitate when put into drive or will not move at all. Will make a big clunk and hesitate when put into reverse and may not move after gas pedal applied. Od light flashes constantly and service light remains on 95% of time. Transmission will tug hard while trying to accelerate gas pedal. While driving on highway transmission will constantly slip and gas pedal needs to be released and reapplied multiple times to stop auto from jolting/tugging. Must pull off road and turn off engine to reset od light which flashes about 15 minutes after the auto has been on the road. Unable to use cruise control due to the constant tugging and jolting. I will need to replace automatic transmission/power train. Purchased 2 years ago from a used dealership. I started having problems with transmission about 1 year ago. The od lights started to appear regularly 9 months ago. Service light has been on about 2 months now.

2002 Ford Explorer transmission problem. The vehicle has a problem with the transmission in that it will not move into 2nd/3rd gear. The car drove ok the previous day, then on my way to work -- it gave a lurch and after that would not power past 30-35mph. Ford service shop has quoted almost $4k to open up the transmission and fix a valve in the valve body. . 2nd opinion from aamco -- mechanic stated that he has fixed numerous Ford Explorer transmissions with the same problem and he recommends replacing the transmission altogether, as opposed to trying to fix current transmission. . Please investigate for class action recall/defect.

I am 100% certain you have received this complaint before. My 2002 Ford Explorer has locked up and failed to go into the reverse gear. The number of owners who have had endless transmission problems keeps growing.

I bought the used Explorer from a Ford dealer in 2008. It had 50,000 miles on it when I bought it. At 72,000 miles while going on a trip for the day the vehicle began revving at high rpm's before shifting into gear. I traveled approx. 5 miles to my destination and parked the vehicle for the day. I knew it was the transmission, but did not know how extensive it was. I could not check the transmission fluid because that year they did away with a transmission dip stick and the only way to check the transmission fluid was to crack a bolt located on the transmission housing under the vehicle. Boy Ford does not make things easy to check easy things like transmission fluid any more, I had the vehicle towed to a transmission place and they later told me the transmission was destroyed. $2,800 , after doing research this is a real common issue and should be addressed.

2002 Ford Explorer with 83,000 miles on it's third transmission from Ford.

Power train:automatic transmission:leaver and linkage pulled over on side of road to check trailer got back in went to put car in drive leaver fell off now I'm part way on highway had to be towed lucky I was not hit some is going to get hurt or killed cost 1200. 00.