Engine Exhaust System problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer

I was driving on the freeway when I looked back in my rear view mirror and noticed smoke billowing out the back of my car. I pulled over. My husband got out of the car and looked under the front. I smelled fire and he said it's on fire. My husband saw a liquid dripping from the car that was clearly on fire. I turned the car off. We immediately got ourselves and our 2 young children, ages 7 and 5, out of the car. The fire stopped once the car was off. Fortunately, no one was injured. I was told by the tow truck operator and the mechanic that fixed the car that a transmission hose was sitting on the exhaust pipe, causing a leak in the hose and the resulting fire. I am also concerned that my car may be subjected to a recall regarding a faulty cruise control after reading on the internet.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT(na). The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to a local shop where the contact was informed that the catalytic converters failed. The manufacturer was contacted who stated that they were not able to help because the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 107,000.

Was hearing a banging noise in the hood, my husband found out that the spark plug blew out and stripped the head.

Intake manifold is made of burned two holes in itself due to plastic construction not able two withstand heat witch caused a cascading affect and catalytic converters also had to be replaced. This is the first time it happened. I had to replace the converters and the manifold to correct problem.

Engine ticking at idle.

Sudden failure of the engine that resulted in sudden lockup of the engine, complete loss of power, and control. This happened on a residential street at low speed. However a very busy intersection with high speed traffic had just been navigated. If the failure had happened at that intersection, the failure would probably have resulted in severe injuries or loss of life. The engine failure was sudden without warning and the engine was running perfectly up until the time of failure. The car started smoking from the exhaust system immediately after failure.

: the contact stated while driving 55 mph, a burning odor was smelled coming from the a/c vents in the rear of the vehicle. When the vehicle was stopped, the rear vent was hot to the touch and a burning odor was evident. The service dealer and manufacturer had not been notified. Updated 10/30/2006 -.

There is a strong sulphur smell coming from exhaust. It is very noticeable inside vehicle. Dealer has inspected vehicle, and said there was nothing they could do.

The truck has a very strong rotten egg smell that come in the vehicle. Myself and other passengers have experienced nausea and headaches from the smell. It has been serviced several times to no prevail. The dealship says that the smell should go away after the truck has been driven for 10,000 miles. They have no solution.

After vehicle has warmed up after about 20 minutes of normal operation there is an odor that smells as if oil is burning. The best way to describe this odor is it as if oil was spilled on a hot manifold. The odor can be smelled in the cabin of the vehicle through the heating/ac vents in the vehicle when operating. When the engine is turned off the odor is very predominent. Vehicle has been taken to dealer twice they state they cannot find any problem. My concern is that there may be a vehicle fire from this unknown source of what appears to be burning oil somewhere in the vehicle. Something was mentioned that on other Ford trucks the catalytic converters were being replaced, but not on this model.

While driving short or long distances consumer has noticed a very strong chemical odor in passenger compartment. Odor has caused occupants of vehicle to become ill. Consumer has contacted dealer and manufacturer. Cause of problem has yet to be determined. Please provide any further details.