Table 1 shows one common unknown or other related problems of the 2003 Ford Explorer.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the hinges on the back lift gate fractured and allowed the glass to become disengaged. The vehicle could not be driven. The dealer was notified and informed the contact that there were no recalls on his vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who stated that the vehicle had been repaired under the recall NHTSA campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) 8 years prior and provided no other assistance. The failure and current mileage was 130,000. Pmb.
I went to leave for work one morning & I noticed the rear panel was cracked. It wasn't like that the night before, so it literally happened overnight. My mechanic said it was cosmetic & common problem with these trucks. I was told the window would be fine, but there is a chance of the panel piece falling off. I haven't had it fixed yet due to the expense, but I am afraid a piece may fall off while driving which could injure someone. To add insult to injury, a week later, my transmission started slipping & the o/d light was flashing. I had it towed & sure enough, it had to be rebuilt. It also needed a new hub bearing and both front ball joints had to be replaced.
When I was switching the gear from reverse to drive at a gas station, the shifter lever was snapped off. I cannot move the car any more, and the key got stuck in the steering column. I find loads of others have same problem happened and Ford is not doing anything on this dangerous/could be fatal problem.
Timing chain tensioner failure with valve cover damage provoking oil leak and heavy smoke out of the engine, wich lead to spill of oil in the highway (oil dropping) and engine out of sequence due to a plastic "casset" tension break, I have read over the internet alot of complains about the same incident.
The transmission on my 2003 Ford explore is gone.
Bought pre-owned Explorer and after $84,000 miles (when I noticed - so, probably well less) the wheel bearings need to be replaced. I'm finding way too many occurrences online for this to be an occassional thing.
My transmission failed while trying to cross a busy intersection. It would not shift and I was unable to accelerate. It was a scary moment; luckily there was no crash. Ford knows about the high failure rate for transmissions in the 03 Explorers, but refused to do anything other than offer to put in a new transmission at an exorbitant rate. They should have issued a recall on these transmissions, but have refused to do so, in spite of many complaints.
Driver side wheel bearing failure.
Paint on hood bubbling with corosion under hood.
Transmision failure, replaced at dealership. New transmision failed within a week, replaced at dealership also replaced all hub bearings, excessive noise. Rear end also has excessive noise. Rear back up sensor frequently turns off and does not work.
Car suddenly lurches forward and rocks back and forth. Car was parked in driveway when started, it suddenly lurched forward, rocking back and forth leaving a bruise across my shin from the running boards. Two days earlier, my daughter closed the back hatch which caused the truck to lurch back and forth, luckily, just bumping her. This has happened numerous times over the past several years, even though the gear shift was always properly in park when it happened.
The back panel of my 2003 Ford Explorer cracked right down the middle. It is the panel just below the back windshield. It was fine one day, and split down the middle the next. I know it is nothing I did. I googled to see if anyone else had this problem and I was shocked to find hundreds and hundreds of complaints for the exact same thing! this needs to be recalled. Ford should be responsible for this defect, not the customer. Please, please, recall this for us. We put our trust in Ford by purchasing their vehicles and we would hope they would take care of their mistakes. Thank you very much.
I payed 18,000 for my 2003 Ford Explorer XLT with the flex fuel in 2006. Its a very nice looking SUV but I only drove it for 2 years before the transmission started to fail. I beleave a transmission should last more than 2 years. My concearn is that its defective all around the transmission and I could still drive it if I wasnt in fear for my life. I have had it to Ford dealership and they could not diagnose the problem, they wanted me to pay them to taket out the tranny and wanted way to much for any parts,so I had it looked at by a transmission place that been around a long time and he had no idea what was wrong. Replaced the selenoid for like 900 and my it ran fine for like 2 weeks until I put in 4 w/d than my o/d light started bliking again and the transmission slipped, the o/d light eluminated the first time my transmission ever slipped. And if I went and drove it right now it would cause an accident and some people might still depend on there defective Explorer to get somewhere. It accelerates by its self it sometimes dosnt want to go in gear and if this is electrical someones vehicle could stop in the middle of a highway with no warning but a blinking o/d light. And worst thing is, if Ford would reconize this problem with out selling new transmissions that will eventually have the same problem with I could have it fixed but no one but Ford knows what is wrong and they obviously dont know how to fix it or know if they admit their mistake it was a design flaw I want my money back. I bet you they wouldnt even take my Explorer on a trade in. And if you just google Ford Explorer anything from 1999 to 2007 I think. . . . Its going to have like thousands of people with the same problem as mine and probaly like from 40,000 miles up, way to early for transmission replacement.
The heater no longer works and no matter where the heat dial is turned, it makes a constant ticking sound. I looked into getting it fixed at a local shop and was told it was going to be at least a $1,500 charge.
I just recently took my 2003 Ford Explorer XLT 4. 0l v6 to my local dealer because of a cold draft coming from the glove box and or floor panel on the passenger side. Upon not even going into further explanation about my problem they knew exactly what the problem was; stating it is the "blend door. " they said "the pins from the door break off and causes the door to fall making it not function properly creating a cold draft and the heater or air conditioning not to work properly; is a "common problem". ¿ when I called down there two days later, to get my quote on fixing it, the manager in parts said the part was $50. 00 and was going to require 4 hours of labor because of having to take the whole dash off to get to it; I was looking at roughly $330. 00 with parts, labor, and tax. ¿ I personally feel this is a manufactures defect and why should the consumer have to pay for a manufactures defect? also, if this is such a common problem why is there not a recall for it being faulty; other than because it's not a safety hazard. I appreciate any time you put into my question and dilemma. I will be looking forward to an explanation as to why it isnt a recall.
I am attempting to rectify a well know problem on my 2003 Ford Explorer regarding the heater blend door for the front heating unit. In this particular instance I have no heat here in michigan of all places. Does Ford have a recall for this problem? I have spoken to several Ford people and they say this is a very common problem. If the air blend door breaks and the system is locked in the a/c mode, defogging/defrosting the windshield will be a challenge. Ever tried to melt ice with an air conditioner? we have a responsibility to report safety issues. When the dealer called back , the first question was the vehicle?s mileage. When I reported 79k miles they said sorry, the cut-off for assistance was 75k miles. I argued that the problem was logged at 40k miles with numerous follow-up calls. They refused. I called the 1-800 assistance number again and got a real bonehead. She confirmed that 75k miles was the cut-off. I asked to speak to the gentleman to whom I had previously registered my complaint, giving her his identification number. She refused. I hung up and dialed the 1-800 number again. This time I got a kind lady who told me that the field engineer had the authority to offer compensation. I contacted the dealership to schedule an appointment and then learned that the field engineer had backed out of the deal and I was about to fork over $700 for replacement. How in the world does the customer get hosed for this amount of money. I bought the truck, kept it insured, did my maintenance and due to a factory defect, I still have to pay? unless the vehicle is in a crash or fire, an air plenum should last longer than the body of the vehicle. The on-going saga continues, as this becomes a safety issue, now I can't see out of my window due to snow and ice.
Paint is bubbling up and peeling on my roof in 3 areas. I can see the metal.
The vehicle's paint is bubbly/blistering on the front edge of the hood. The vehicle was taken to a german Ford dealership who noted the corrosion, took pictures, and initiated a report to Ford motor company. At this time the dealer refuses to repair the vehicle at no charge because the vehicle's 36/36,000 warranty had expired, and is awaiting a formal response from Ford motor company. The vehicle was not involved in a crash or fire.
We own a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT. We were driving on I-79 and all of a sudden the car lost power so that we could not go above 25 mph on a very busy highway. We were towed over 100 miles back home to the dealership and were told that "for some reason the air mass system went bad and caused the catalytic converters to go bad. " the mechanic stated that he would try to get the dealership to pay for the catalytic converters since they are so expensive, however, I believe this offer was made in order to cover up an issue with the manufacturing of the vehicle. The car is still in the shop 5 days later and we do not know anything more as to how this could have occured. We have been diligent at keepingup regular maintenance and the car only has 43,000 miles on it, so this is not something that should have occured with no warning whatsoever. We have two small children and are very greatful that no large trucks were right around us as the time of the incident or we could have been seriously hurt as they can not slow down from 75mph to 25mph in a quick manner.
Tl-the rear end or the transmission and they cannot find the problem. You push on the accerlartor the engine revved up and then it slammed into gear. It you come to a stop sing some times it will go and sometimes no it feels as it some thing drops from under the trunck.
I was traveling in reverse (less than 1mph) when I struck a tree. The entire back window of my 2003 Ford Explorer shattered sending shards of glass into the rear third row seating area. The glass wasn't safety glass. The amount of damage (glass and body) is over $2,500. 00. There are two areas of concern. First, if there were passengers in the 3rd row seat, they would have been covered in glass especially in the facial area? number two. Why shoul there be so much damage at less than 1 mph? if I was rear ended at let's say 40 mph, the car would be totalled. I find this incident points out a design flaw and a safety problem. James hutchison.