Four problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2004 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Ford Explorer based on all problems reported for the 2004 Explorer.
The oem steel brake line that connects the left and right rear brakes was apparently rubbing against some components over the right frame rail which abraided the plastic coating resulting in corrosion of the brake line and failure of the braking system.
The brake pedal went to the floor as I was about to pull out of a parking space. I shut the vehicle down and called for a tow. I had the vehicle towed to a service station. The mechanic found that the rubber hose component of the brake line had sprung a leak, leading to the complete lack of braking. My concern is that if it had happened on the highway or in traffic, or just about any other moving situation, I would likely have crashed, with dire results to me and potentially to others. There was no warning. There were no lights. I have never experienced a situation like this in over 30 years of driving approximately 1 million miles . Very disconcerting. Very disappointing. I would like for Ford engineers to explain themselves.
Brake failure, front wheel brake hose (burst/failed), 3x in one year including failure of new parts installed by Ford. This resulted in total lack of brakes, in once case while traveling on i287 at high speed! this was in 20011/2012 before we traded car in. Ford insisted there was no problem with the part. The car had about 100,000 miles on it, was 6-7 years old. I have never experienced this type of failure on any other car I owned including many that were much older and had many more miles . . . Let alone 3x on the same vehicle! this really must be a defective part!!! an the problem seems to be ongoing with newer models of the Ford Explorer as well?.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while going 45 mph, the brakes were applied but failed. The contact tried to pump the brake pedal and it would only depress partially. She tried again a few moments later and the brake pedal was depressed completely into the floorboard. The contact had to use the parking brake in order to slow down. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where they informed the contact that there was a failure in the brake line, which needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred several times later. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 115000.