Differential Unit problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer

All four seals where leaking including pinion seals. Clunking noise 40 to 50mph when you let go of the gas ,holds back,heater gauge+mph gauge don't work most. Of the time. Paint chipping away all over. Replaced all seals 5 times +yoke cvhalf shaft. Replaced front differential still making the noise. Poor lighting at night. It has a miss fire gave it a tuneup and still is doing it. Radio volume won't turn down it goes louder when turning down.

Paint peeling roof hood differential replaced twice bearings wear out repaired twice back of tailgate panel cracked replaced 3 times.

I've have my vehicle for 10 years. Paid the dealership $450 to have a warranty for the power train and when I went to the dealership for them to fix it they wouldn't. I find out that my major issues are the mechanical differential. Still having the this issue to this day and can never have my transmission cleaned or flushed because of that. Also, my fuel system gets clogged a lot and gas mileage is horrible. Also, my antifreeze leaks after I paid money to have the cracked seal fixed. This is just scratching the surface. I have many things wrong with my vehicle I feel should be covered by the manufacturer but I would like to know what defects are out there for my vehicle.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear liftgate body panel was cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the body panel needed to be replaced. The contact also stated that while driving approximately 25-35 mph, a noise was heard coming from the rear differential. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the rear differential needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 80,000. The VIN number was not available.

I have had issues with my transmission jumping out of drive when I am going down the highway. I have three children and I feel this is very very unsafe. I have had the car in the shop three times for the same issue and everytime they have told me it was the reardifferential/transmission. I have called Fords customer service line and they will not do anything. My Explorer is now having issues going into reverse and staying in any gear. Please look into these problems with the 2004 Explorer before someone gets killed or injured from this. I have researched this problem and thousands of oither 2003-2004 Explorer owners are having the same issues with the transmission and rear end. The 2004 Ford Explorer is a death trap.

Vehicle purchased with 78,375 miles - it was previously a us gov. 't vehicle. Rear-end noise noticed and seller had Ford repair at a cost of $1,387. 50 - vehicle was driven less than 12,000 miles and began making same noise in rear-end. Due to distance to Ford dealer, vehicle was checked out at a private repair service. Diagnosis- rear seal failed causing severe damage to all rear-end parts. Repairs included ring & pinion gears and differential bearings at a cost of $1,429. 54 when contacted, Ford stated that although it was within the 12,000 mile, 12 month warranty period, they would not cover any of the costs because the service was not done at a Ford dealership.

2004 Ford Explorer with 49,000 miles. Howling noise from rear. Took it to Ford; they rebuilt the rear differential at a cost of $1600. 00. Car has always been serviced at Ford for routine maintenance. Don't understand how this vehicle with such low mileage had to have rear differential replaced. In looking at service bulletins; this sounds like a defect that Ford has not acknowledged.

2004 Ford Explorer required new transmission in first year. Later, a loud whine developed from the rear of the car on acceleration. Annoying, but I didn't know if meant trouble. Abs and 4x4 high lights later began to come on intermittently. Mechanic found no cause. Just recently, at 79,000 miles, the vehicle began to feel like it was about to fall apart. Ford dealer has had it for over a week, they say, after doing $1000 worth of useless work on it, that the entire rear differential has gone bad, and must be replaced. Apparently this was not caught up till now, but must have been responsible for the whine, the errant lights, and a ka-chunk that the brakes have been making for years, also never able to be diagnosed. (note: I didn't know where to categorize this, so I entered it in the other category because I didn't want to misclassify; also do not have VIN as the vehicle is at the dealership).

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. While driving between 40-60 mph on normal road conditions, the contact heard a whining noise when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure occurred continuously and there were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the failure was related to the rear differential. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 39,000. Updated 03-27-09 updated 04/01/09.

I purchased a 2004 Ford Explorer last year. Almost immediately after the purchase but after warranty expiration I had to pay for a new wheel bearing. A few months ago I had the car serviced and was told the rear differential has issues. A loud roar as I drive. About a month ago I heard the familiar sound of another wheel bearing talking to me. I pick my daughter up everyday from school and rely on this vehicle to be functioning in a safe manner. I researched a bit and found complaint after complaint regarding these issues. I can see that this complaint is old news but it is a serious safety issue and an on going problem. It is not cheap either! I am disgusted with this car and demand this widespread issue be resolved. Thank you for your time. Joseph sullivan.

I just purchased a used Ford Explorer XLT from a dealer and took for test drive seemed ok purchased the vehicle and noticed the next day upon driving that the transmission going from park to reverse out of my garage took a few seconds before cluncking into gear almost causing me to hit my garage I took to my mechanic which he changed out my fluid adding the additive that he new was required he owns a trans shop and is very reputable he stated about the recall also he checked my differentials in front and rear and noticed rear was all full of silver shavings we changed out fluids also but the shifting and vibrating still is occurring I did purchase a full warranty and after reading all the negative press on this site I hope the purchase of a Ford vehicle and warranty was worth the money.

Differential went out when driving SUV rear axle grinds chatter.

I have taken my Ford Explorer (2004 XLT v8 4wd) to the dealership four times to have the differential fluid that is leaking fixed. I have spent about $800 getting it fixed, not to mention the gas that it takes to get there and back and each time I pull in my driveway and look out to see it still leaking. After the second time that I took my vehicle to the dealership, the service department lady told me that they didn't know why it was leaking and that they were going to have to contact Ford to see if it was a recurring problem--and of course it is---and they had to order a different part (that is still not working) to fix it. Couldn't they have known that in the beginning? now they are telling me that if this doesn't work they are just going to have to replace the axles. I have read on several websites that this is a problem that Ford is not willing to do anything about. I will no longer be a Ford customer due to this. Thank you Ford for wasting my time and my money!.

Whining noise in rear end of 2004 Ford Explorer, dealer said there's nothing they can do about it, said don't worry about it , it doesn't hurt anything, 36,000 miles.

1. I have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 Ford Explorer. The vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while I am on the highway. 2. Rear differentral, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vechile to break down and if that happens the vechile is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. I have brought it to the Ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me.

1. I have had bad vibration and a loud noise from the rear end of my 2004 Ford Explorer. The vibration has been so bad it has actually blown out 2 tires in the rear while I am on the highway. 2. Rear differential, it happens all the time, it is going to cause my vehicle to break down and if that happens the vehicle is no good to me because of the cost to fix it. 3. I have brought it to the Ford dealership for the problem and they want to charge me over a $1000 to fix it when they are aware of the problem with it because there has been over 3 more cases other than me they have told me.

Repeated rear end housing failures. Jan 06 vehicle was taken to the dealership for whining in rear end, "clunk" noise when shifting to reverse, hesitant transmission, and hard to shift between drive, park and reverse. Rear end from factory was found to be extensively damaged and cracked due to broken clip present in rear end found when it was being removed. Rear end was replaced for whining noise. 2 weeks later, car was taken back to dealership because it was leaking rear end gear oil. I was told this was overrun and was ok. 4 weeks later the rear end oil puddled in my garage and the vehicle was towed to the dealership. Once again the whole rear end housing was replaced. We I picked up the vehicle after over 3 weeks in the repair shop, I only drove 24 miles and the rear end began to leak gear oil again. Also the muffler was cherry red and extremely hot when the car was returned to the dealership last week. The technicians were puzzled due to the fact that the catalytic converter was cool, but the muffler burning hot with charred spots present. The transmission has also been a problem, especially in reverse. The transmission hesitates when engages and clunks into gear. The solenoid was replaced to fix this problem but the car has not been out of the repair shop long enough to see if the transmission is fixed. This vehicle has been in the repair shop 37 days since Jan 1 2006. At this point, the rear end could lock up due to constant leaking of oil and the extremely hot muffler posed a substantial fire hazard.

Hello, I have a friend who works at carmax, he told me all Explorers no matter which suffer from really bad ring and pinion gears. My father in law bought a brand new Explorer last year, this year it has 50k miles and the ring and pinion are whining like crazy. Ford knows about the defect but they want to wait until 2010 when most of the people's warranties expire in my opinion. They say the same to everyone, that its not too bad to consider replacing it.

In addition to hard shifting in the transmission, the rear differential "chatters" loudly when turning at low speed. The vehicle feels extremely loose and sloppy at 14,000 miles.

My 2004 Ford Explorer has had a problem with chattering in the differential and delayed shifting of the automatic transmission gears, especially reverse, since it was purchased. When I am in an urban parrallel park situation, I have hit the car behind me hard on several occassions because of the delayted shifting. As you shift, you naturally put a foot on the accelerator. When there is a delay, the car then bolts into reverse at a high speed. I have brought my car to the dealer 5-6 times, and they have always done something, but nothing ever works to eliminate the chattering and the delayed shifting.