Transmission Not Go Into Gear problems of the 2006 Ford Explorer

Complete and total catastrophic failure of transmission while driving 65 mph on highway. I was traveling in my car with my family when we heard a loud explosive bang from under or car. I shook my wife and scared my children. I knew it definitely was not good and felt an immediate loss of forward momentum at highway speeds, we were traveling in the fast lane at the time and other vehicles were following behind us. They were not happy and hammering their horns at our sudden and unexpected deceleration. Luckily no one rear-ended us or panicked and slammed on their own brakes which could have caused a major collision on a major interstate. I was able to coast over to the emergency lane and come to a safe stop with in a few feet of a yellow emergency call box. We signaled for assistance and help came to me and my family within 10 minutes. (thank you to all by the way) we had the car towed to a local major brand transmission shop where they found the transmission fluid to be burnt and black, metal pieces in the pan and determined the transmission to be a complete loss and have it replaced with a certified rebuilt transmission. 69,000 mile at time of failure. Not acceptable at less than 100,000. This is a safety issue because if this were to happen to an inexperienced driver or other drivers around these vehicle when it happens at highway speeds, a serious possibly life threatening or fatal accident could result from this type of mechanical failure. This is not a slipping transmission or a car that wont shift gears or an issue similar to those type of complaints. This is a total and complete failure of a major vehicle component under normal operating circumstances. I don't have pictures, as I am remote from the vehicle until I pick it up when service is finished but I will be able to provide towing receipts and repair bills from servicing transmission shop.

My 2006 Explorer has recently started shifting hard and sometimes will not shift into gear right away. When I pull up to a stop light or become stationary it will try to die and sometimes will. And will also not go into gear unless I give it a lot of gas and then it takes a minute to pick up complete speed. I have already had to replace multiple things on this vehicle and am seeing that others have been having the same trouble. Ford do the right thing and recall this vehicle. Also my interior lights have gone out and is not the fuse or bulbs.

The vehicle was hesitating and would not engage into gear when accelerating during a turn causing the rpms to rev . This caused several cars to swerve to avoid an accident. After taking it to the shop as it was a known problem with 2006 Ford Explorer that it was a failed transmission. Cost to fix is $2,508.

Ford has an ongoing issue with these vehicles. Right after purchasing the vehicle, Ford increased the vehicle warranty from 50,000 to 75,000 miles. The transmission slips, fails to go into gear, slams hard when it goes into gear and is safety issue. The vehicle also has issues with the radiator, which in my case has been replaced twice at my expense. The transmission should have been recalled and replaced. In talking with my Ford dealer, it is a known issue that Ford has failed to address. If you search the internet you see it is an issue as there are many complaints about this same failure. I first experienced this a couple years ago when the vehicle had 53,000 miles and I was told to drive it until it failed and then replace it. Ford should be replacing this transmission. They should assume responsibility for the defect in design or manufacturing.

First incident occurred in early April 2012: my car was emitting a foul smell and overheating. Upon inspection, it was discovered that my radiator was leaking. I turned my vehicle into Ford and it was replaced. Second incident occurred early-mid oct 2012: my car was jerking and the check engine light came on. It was taken to have the codes checked and it was indicated that I had 2-3 random "miss-fires" to my spark plugs. As this is normally an easy at-home fix, we were able to replace all the spark plugs. The issue with this incident was that in the process of removing the spark plugs, all but one broke in half. This is such a common problem that Ford has designed and sells a specific tool to remove broken spark plugs. Once the tool was purchased, I was able to fix the problem and my car no longer jerked and the check engine light went off. Third incident occurred late Nov 2012: vehicle started jolting and jerking excessively and check engine light came on. Feels like transmission is not engaging gears properly. After much research, I found that this is a common and major safety issue regarding this vehicle. A safety recall needs to be done imminently. Another issue, started in the end of 2011: when going from park to reverse or drive, stick shift will stick and I will have wiggle and pull hard to make it move.

2006 Ford Explorer with a defective gear shift. Consumer states that the repair work was made for the recall. Then was further advised that this repair would not fix defect and consumer would be responsible for paying for the repair. The consumer stated the vehicle was a part of a customer satisfaction program. The program was to repair the transmission gear shift lever from getting stuck in the park position, by replacing the gear shift lever circuit board free of charge. Prior to notification, the consumer noticed the gear shift would periodically and temporarily become stuck in park. The consumer had the repair performed. The first circuit board replacement did not fix the defect. So a second circuit board was installed and seemed to fix the problem. However, a month later, the gear shift lever became stuck in park several times. The consumer contacted the dealer, and was informed the repair would not be covered. The consumer was informed other parts within the gear shift would need to be replaced. The consumer was informed the repairs were outside the limits of the recall.