general problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer - part 1

Back windows fell off track and windows fell down, cannot roll them up. Ac and heater broke and won't work at all. Fuel system is too lean. Transmission is going out timing chain and tensioners making loud knocking noise. Burning oil.

While driving the vehicle dash lights start blinking and car stops accelerating, turns on by won't move. Mechanic says engine is not communicating with transmission. Electrical issue seems like. When it rests it will work but then after driving it happens again. It just stops while you are driving, dangerous.

In 2004 Ford Explorer with v8, the cruise control turns off engine when traveling 35~45 mph and going down a hill or decline. This affects power steering and brakes making it difficult to control and slow down the vehicle. This has happened repeatedly for the past 10 years, so I am used to this defect. My workaround is to put the vehicle in neutral and restart the vehicle and then continue.

Transmission shifts harder and shakes the entire SUV. When I press the gas and get to about 35-40 it will start knocking really bad and feels like it's losing power. When I stop the exact same thing happens with the knocking. I was going 35 around a slight curve on I-45 freeway by little york shepard gulf bank area to be exact and the SUV was driving fine. I was just getting onto the freeway at this time. Hints the reason I'm not going so face. When I started picking up speed the transmission jerked so hard I flew into the next lane. Luckily no one was around me but image if I was in traffic and this happen.

I have already put a complaint in about my throttle body issue. This evening I went about a mile and a half, and my wrench light came on and my truck started to not to be able to move. I pulled over, turned it off. Waited a bit and restarted it. This time it took a bit to get it to start up. I then proceeded to go back home because of how it was acting a mile and a half after driving, not often two minutes later it happens again, and the engine started chugging, I couldn't move, and I almost got rear ended again! I then again turned it off and waited and then started the truck up. It took sometime once again to start. I finally made it back home in tears. I was able to get codes off, since I picked a up a code raffia few days prior. I got code p2104, p2111, and p2112. This issue needs to be addressed. I will be calling Ford tomorrow!.

I was driving on a highway going 60mpg, out of no where my Ford Explorer stops moving and decreases in speed fast. At that same time a wrench symbol popped up on my dash. I almost got rear ended due to the speed dropping so fast, I could not pull over fast enough. Once pulled over, I turnoff my Ford for a few minutes. After a few minutes I started it back up. The wrench symbol was gone, I was able to then accelerate and get to the correct speed for the speed limit. Once I got home I stopped at my local shop and they scanned the computer to see what was going on. I was told that it was my throttle body. I was not giving any codes and the shop owner cleared the codes out of the system. He told me that if it comes back he did say that if it comes back I would have to replace my throttle body. This is very dangerous I know there are recalls that are being petition on other Ford vehicles and I have read many complaints on other websites in regards to this issue Ford should really replace these because they can cause a very hazardous accident when it the throttle body stops performing. I hope this can be looked into and corrected in a reasonable amount of time I know that I am not the only one with this issue. Thank you.

Transmission failure with overdrive light blinking . No first gear,shifts hard , sometime it wont shift without letting off gas . With codespo731,po733,po734,po745 needs total rebuild this happened while driving down the road at 40 miles a hour , abs light is on . Codes show wrong line pressure. Engine knocking , timming chain issues.

The throttle would not respond after starting. Electronic throttle control and engine service warning lights lit on dash. Engine would not rev over 1000 rpm. Had to get electronic throttle body replaced at a cost of $875 plus $65 towing. Electronic throttle control failure has been common Fords going back to 2002. Ford has replaced over 1. 6 million units under their consumer satisfaction program. However, there was no recall. Called Ford, and was assigned a case #, however, Ford would not assist with payment. Vehicle out of warranty. 31,155 actual mileage.

Problums with timing chain the guides and tentioner always braking or the timing chain it self braking , it is all I hear about the 4. 0 motors , I my self this is the second one that it has happened to me.

Came home from work Friday evening and sat. Morning the vehicle would not start. Took battery in and tested, it was dead. Replaced the battery and the car still would not start. Only clicked, relay and starter were fine. Had to tow it to a mechanic who has determined that the anti-theft system has shut down my engine for no reason. The key no longer connects to the system. Why is there not a recall on this issue?? I have seen online forums and many complaints about this issue. Now I have to tow my vehicle to a dealer 40 miles away and pay to have my vehicle and keys reprogrammed. Over $120!!! this issue left me stranded with no vehicle for over a week. I think Ford should be responsible for the repair and tow costs!!!.

The contact owned a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact heard a loud boom and discovered that his parked vehicle was on fire. The fire department extinguished the flames. The insurance company determined that the vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.

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.

Had my used 2004 Ford Explorer for a week and I noticed the transmission jerking when it shift into the last gear. Sometimes when I put it in reverse, I have to wait for a full minute for it to finally reverse. Sometimes it jerks hard when I put it in reverse or drive. I'm sure the dealership knew about all this but never revealed it. Of course when you buy as is, your screwed.

I was at a stoplight and when the light turned green my car would not move. The car was in drive and it would just rev. The cars behind me started honking. I put it in the lower gears and finally started moving forward and drove it to the dealership. As I was driving to the dealership in the lower gears the car shifted out of gear while in traffic, I put it in neutral and back into 3 and it started moving forward again. This is very dangerous since the car will just shift in and out of gear and stop moving forward. At the dealership the car would not move while in drive or reverse. They told me the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $4,200, this is after I just had the throttle body replaced two months ago at a cost of $1,800. Ford need to do a recall in these transmissions it could lead to an accident.

When I slow down or come to a stop, the truck cuts off. Even whil in mide turn.

This is the second Ford Explorer I have owned and both of them had the same transmission problems. Yet Ford has no recall or even anything to fix them except $3,000. 00 to a dealer out of you pocket for their mistake. I guess since no one has been proven to have gotten injured or died due to this issue, then there won't be a recall made on it. This is totally unsatisfactory for the Ford motor CO. Because they have workers that screw up, the consumer ends up footing the large bill of repairing it. There is a known problem with the transmissions of these Explorers from 2000 - 2005 yet no one seems to want to address it. Ford motor should be ashamed of putting such faulty vehicles out on the road and endangering another humans life for their profit. This is the last time I will buy and Ford product and I will encourage everyone I know not to buy Ford either. I wonder how Ford would like the media exposure for this issue. No good customer service or product.

The back hatch window dosnt seem to line up with the latch. The back hatch also cracked right near the Ford logo. I have seen many of the Explorers that this has happened to. Its time Ford fixes this defect. Also while doing around 60-65 mph my timing chains broke, all 3 of them at the same time. I could understand 1 maybe but all 3 ? this to has to be a manufacturer defect.

While was driving on I-95 I gave the car a boost of speed to pass another vehicle. I noticed my back window become "dirty" (covered in coolant) and while the car seemed okay I moved to the right lane. There was no shoulder to pull off due to construction. Without a shoulder I had to keep going another couple miles; after a couple miles I started loosing speed gradually. With children in the car this was a safety issue - I was fortunate to make it to an exit where upon immediately the car died as I slowed and white smoke started billowing out of the engine compartment. The problem was the thermostat housing failed causing the car to lose coolant. Since I was unable to pull over it resulted a blown head gasket. Due to design of the engine this repair is prohibitively expensive. I have seen this thermostat complaint numerous times and it is time that Ford take responsibility for the plastic parts that are connected to the engine. This part should be aluminum according to my mechanic. Please consider recall to replace plastic thermostat housing with metal: Ford must use metal parts because plastic warps in the heat. The affected parts are the thermostat housing and it's connection to the engine. I have good maintenance, oil changed regularly, fluids checked and maintained regularly. I also drive very conservatively and am easy on my driving. Ford must fix this! between this issue and a bolt in my steering column falling out (causing a loss of steering) my confidence in Ford is diminished.

This is in response to the investigation of Ford for "limp mode". Every time that I use my cars cruse control under 50 mph the car goes in to limp mode. After I pull over and restart the car it run normaly,.

At about 65,000 miles, my transmission began slowly acting up; it vwas difficult to put into gear and clunks while driving. It is getting worse, and Ford will not help with repairs because it is out of warranty.

On the body the tailgate panel keeps cracking this makes my truck look bad compared to the money I put into it. My engine or transmission acts as if something is wrong it is not shifting gear right. On the electrical tire pressure light keeps coming on and it also keeps leaking water from somewhere. Ford needs to go out of business for selling these pieces of junk. It makes no sense.

First issue was with the solenoids now the issue is with 1-2 shift ratio. Shifting into neutral.

I had just purchased this vehicle to tow with. I was driving in the country with the cruise control on and set at about 45mph. All of a sudden I realized I the vehicle had turned itself off. No power steering, no brakes nothing. It did start right back up after getting off the road. Later in the day returning home it did the same exact thing at 50mph with cruise engaged. I talked with Ford shop and they say it is a known problem with no known fix. This is very dangerous.

Transmission shifts very hard so bad that it jerks me and my children's heads forward when it happens. This occurs the worst when going into reverse and into 2nd and 3rd gears. Brakes lock up/stick after being pressed for 3 seconds.

Transmission failure, slips between gears, replacement required.

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer and when I hit the 84000 mile my car started falling apart starting with the heater a/c vent actuator first time in late 2011 then again in Jan 2015 this repair has cost me over $1200 then the engine light has come on and I've been told by Ford repair shop which was $97 just to look at it that it was from different coils that were over $300 a piece which has been replaces a couple of time to the Cadillac converter which was over $3500 to replacing the bearings a couple hundred many times. I'm at the point where I'm not sure to keep this car or junk it these repairs are breaking me! I see that I'm not the only one that is complaining about these problems. . . . There should be some type of recall. . . . !!!!!!!!!!!.

Transmission is slipping, not fully gone yet, only a matter of time before it completely goes. I do not have the $2500. 00 to replace the transmission. Every person I have talked to say this is a common problem with the Ford Explorers. I have taken into the garage over 10 times. Ford should be forced to recall these transmissions and Ford should have to pay for it.

2004 Ford Explorer: engine seized for no apparant or obvious reason at 53,000 miles. Not repairable. Also, rear plastic panel beneath window cracked. Just read that this is a very common occurance.

On 1/17/12 driving on highway and noticed a burning smell. It was a strong smell. Noticed a glow under the dashboard and pulled into a empty parking lot. The truck went up in flames. Called Ford and they said prove what happened. Not sure but the vehicle was in very good condition with no problems that I knew of before this fire. No one was hurt.

My wife was driving our 2004 Ford Explorer eddie bauer uphill on a mountain road when she felt like the engine is loosing power. She stopped, exited the vehicle and saw smoke coming from under the car in the engine area. Then some people stopped and pulled her away because from the point my wife was standing she could not see the actual fire. As a result the engine compartment burned down completely creating a big hole in the hood. The car had about 120k miles on odometer and we have not missed any service maintenance points. She said besides that power loss there was no indication that there is something wrong with the vehicle.

Bought the car used with about 85,000 miles on it. After one year of average use (no towing or off-roading) the transmission failed (about 97,000 miles). Had it rebuilt and now 2 years and four months later it is failing again (at 122,000 miles).

I was driving down the street and heard a noise. We turned around and the liftgate had fallen off its on hinges and was hanging loose on both sides. We had to hold it on and drive the car back home. The car has not been driven since that date in 2010. Ford needs to be responsible for the 2004 model and all of its defective products. This is the second complaint that I have filed against Ford concerning this car. The first was a #2 valve falling in the engine and causing the engine to blow up. Nhtsa please do something about Ford. Someone has to make car manufacturers responsible to the consumer. Every time that NHTSA is contacted nothing is done until millions are negatively affected.

Spark plug blowout while driving home from work . Explorer has only 50k miles.

The transmission failed early on at about 88000 miles, we purchased and replaced this. My husband had been in auto repair and parts for over 20 years, so him and my son done the repair, without counting anything for labor the total cost for the repair was around $2000. 00. From that point on we have had lots of major problems that had to be repaired or parts replaced. The intake and parts cost us around 700. 00, no charge for labor. The timing c+hain failed and we choose this time to take it to the repair shop which cost us $1100. 00!!! now at 156000 miles the transmission has failed, this one has around 68000 miles on it. We have never had one dime in help from Ford on anything. This is the third Explorer we have owned in the past 15 years. We also own 3 f-150's and a mustang. We have never had this kind of problems with any of the other vehicles. I can honestly say we are very disappointed in this 2004 Explorer and I feel we will most likely not purchase another Ford vehicle in the future!!!!!.

2004 Ford Explorer XLT fire.