Automatic Transmission Gear Indicator Problems of Ford Explorer - part 1

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the windshield wipers were in the on position, they wipers went off the vehicle and had to be pushed back into place. There was an unknown yellow warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while making a turn, the driver's and passenger's front wheels detached on two occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the vehicle received an unstated repair. There was an abnormal sound while driving at various speeds. While shifting gear, the vehicle jumped. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the result of the diagnostic test was unknown. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.

See all problems of the 2011 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle in the driveway and shifting to park(p), the gear position indicator failed to indicate that the vehicle was in park(p). The contact turned on and turned off the vehicle several times before the vehicle operated as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The manufacturer was contact and informed of the failure. The contact was referred to the NHTSA to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was in park it inadvertently shifted to reverse and the vehicle hit a tree. There was no failure warning lights. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic and repaired from back-end damages. There was no failure diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

I was putting my car in gear when the gear shift snapped off in my hand.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer 🔎.

When shifting into park the shift linkage coupler snapped and the shifter came off in my hand. Upon inspection the coupler is a cheap resin and should not snap with normal wear usage. This is a link to a forum with 129 complaints of similar issues. . Read more...

I have noticed over the past 2 weeks the gear shift lever getting harder to move from park to reverse and vise-versa. Now, the steering column mounted gear selector (prnd321) at times won't come out of park. I have to play with the gear select lever/brake pedal in order to get the interface to release. I haven't as yet taken the vehicle to my mechanic for repairs.

See all problems of the 2003 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and the gear shift lever broke. . Read more...

My 2002 Ford Explorer gear shift lever broke off. I was going to pick up my son from school, and when I pulled it out of park to put it in reverse the shifter broke off. . Read more...

Changing gears (park to drive) in order to drive car. Gear shift lever came off car. Have found other complaints on this model on web where gear shift lever falls off steering column. What car has a gear shift lever that falls off????.

Driving vehicle, stopped, put vehicle in park, got out of vehicle briefly , got back in vehicle, pulled on gear shift leaver to put in drive would not go in drive or any other gear, prndl leaver broke off, could not remove key, could shut off the motor, had to have vehicle towed to Ford dealer for repairs. Total cost of repair $1,501. 19. I did not by this vehicle from ourisman Ford. I bought it from a private owner.

See all problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer 🔎.

At 65,000 miles I had to have both clutch packs in the drive train replaced at a cost of $300. At 72,000 miles the transmission failed and the cost was $1,750. Just recently at 91,000 miles the gear shift (prndl) fell off of the steering wheel and is currently sitting at a dealership waiting for a "back ordered" part.

: the contact stated the vehicle was placed in park while running and the emergency brake applied. As the contact was standing outside the vehicle and releasing the parking brake, the vehicle engaged into reverse, and caught the contact in the side. The vehicle proceeded to drag the contact into a 4 lane highway then ran over the contact and pinned the contact's leg. The contact was ran over by the driver's side front tire and trapped. A bystander watched the accident take place and to release the contact from underneath the vehicle, the bystander was required to drive back over the leg to save the life of the contact. Major injuries were sustained to the leg and side. The police were contacted to investigate the incident and provided a written report. The vehicle has remained parked and has not been taken to the dealership.

See all problems of the 2005 Ford Explorer 🔎.

While driving in July the owner noticed that there was a problem with the shift mechanism. The gear position indicator was not correct. The vehicle had a normal position indicator for about 7 years. Then one day it went out of wack. The reverse was where neutral should be, neutral was where drive should be, and drive was where second gear should be. The owner has not taken it to the dealership or contacted them yet. The owner has not contacted the manufacturer. There was no problem with the transmission's performance, the owner is just concerned because he doesn't know what gear the car was in. The owner added that the gas pedal got stuck yesterday. The owner was backing out of a driveway. The owner was going slowly and and went to push the accelerator and it wouldn't accelerate. The gas pedal was jammed. The owner thinks the pedal was down a little bit and there was no reaction. The owner stopped the vehicle and shouted for husband to come over and look. Then she tried again. This time the accelerator worked. This was the first and last time the vehicle has ever this problem.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The gear shifter broke off while shifting from park to reverse. The shifter completely snapped off the assembly rendering the 2002 Ford Explorer completely inoperable. Mileage was only 56,000 miles and been driven for only 4 years. The car has to be towed to the dealer's location. The dealer replaced the steering column assembly (part # fmc4l2z 3c 529 da) at a cost of $706. 20 to the vehicle owner.

Gear shift broke off. Consumer said shifter broke off and landed in his lap. Consumer was shifting into gear when this happened. No previous problems. Vehicle is serviced regularly. Consumer had hightech auto center fix problem, they replaced the whole column. Ford refused to do repairs, said warranty expired.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. After starting the engine, the gear shifted from the "park" position to "reverse". There was a forceful forward shifting motion when that occurred. In addition, when the gear shift was placed in the "reverse position" and shifting into the "drive" position there was immediate hesitation. There were no warning light indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician stated the failure was contributed to the shift solenoid which was replaced. An authorized dealer previously replaced the solenoid for identical failure. The contact is aware of the safety risk. The failure mileage was 8,804 and the current mileage was 55,000.

While driving 35 mph transmission engaged itself into 4-wheel drive. As a result, vehicle lost power, and would not shift gears. Dealer stated transmission burned itself out, and needed to be rebuilt.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford Explorer 🔎.

When shifting gears from drive to reverse a heavy knocking noise is produced. The gear selector would hang up in drive and the selector did not return. The vehicle would also unexpectedly jump out of drive. The shift solenoid was replaced but the problem remained the same.

My 2 year old son was standing on the seat and was able to pull the vehicle out of park and into drive. The car was not running, the key was not on. The vehicle rolled down a hill and upon striking another vehicle, my son fell out. There is significant body damage to the vehicle, only minor injuries to my son. I was standing next to the open passenger door when it happened. I have been told that this it is not possible for the vehicle to be taken from park to drive without the brake on (the vehicle is equiped with this safety device). No repairs have yet been done.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Explorer 🔎.

While vehicle was parked and key out of the ignition vehicle rolled backwards, colliding into a tree.

Gear shift indicator is misaligned since about September, 2003. There are other complaints about this problem indicating it is a common problem. There are probably many people who have experienced the problem but who have not filed a complaint. This is a potentially dangerous problem in emergencies that require you to immediately put the transmission into neutral or reverse. If you put the transmission into the position indicated by the n=neutral indicator, you are actually putting the car into reverse. This could cause death in certain situations where pedestrians are nearby, or death to occupants when an attempt is made to move the transmission of a moving vehicle to neutral. There may already have been deaths related to this defect. Moving a transmission to neutral is often a first attempt to disengage the engine and power to the wheels.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Dashboard gear position indicator has misaligned. Should p,r,n,d,2,1 r(park),n(reverse),d(neutral),2(drive),1(low),----(low).

Gear shift will not move out of park. Vehicle can be turned on ,but cannot be put in gear.

Several times when vehicle was turned on there was a stream of smoke that came up from the gear shifter. Also, gear shift indicator was misaligned. When vehicle was in reverse it looked like it was in neutral, and when is in neutral it looked like it was in drive.

Consumer states while parked vehicle jumped into gear and rolled down a hill.

The vehicle will not shift back to auto, its stuck on auto low. Please provide any further information. Ph.

Consumer states, vehicle is unable to shift gears properly. Dealer notified. Please provide additional information. Ph.

2002 Ford Explorer can slip from park into reverse, causing a roll-away accident. The gear shift is loose enough that a driver can shift the truck into "p" on the gear shift, but the truck is not actually all the way in park. When this happens, it can slide into reverse. This is what happened to my wife and daughter. She put the car into reverse and backed up the driveway. She left the vehicle in park on the level driveway to run a bag of groceries inside. She opened the rear gate, went inside, dropped them off, then heard a loud crash. The truck had slipped out of park and into reverse, causing it to crash into the house. I can reproduce this behavior easily. I took it to bob tomes Ford of mckinney, TX and spoke with maureen pollack of Ford's consumer affairs. They said that they could find no defect (of course). I believe that they found nothing out of the ordinary because all 2002 Ford Explorers have ambiguous gear shifts. I urged her to have Ford issue a recall or a service bulletin at the least. She declined, saying that the technician at the dealership said it was ok.

2002 Ford Explorer gear shift broke completely off when cast aluminum ring failed. . Read more...

When shifting to drive, indicator shows it's in drive, yet it's still in park. Also, when shifting to reverse it shows reverse, but it's in drive. Please add further information.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. When attempting to shift into reverse, the gear shift broke inside the steering column. The contact stated that the gear shift has always been difficult to move from the park position. The dealer stated that the gear shifter was sheered off the steering column. The steering column was replaced. The contact stated that she also has trouble inserting the key into the ignition. The dealer has not inspected the vehicle for the ignition failure. The current and failure mileages were 66,000.

Putting SUV in park when the gear shift indicator broke and relocated to the 1st gear position. Now stuck on 1st gear and there is no visual way of knowing what gear the SUV is in. Ford is covering the defect through warranty, but this is a real safety issue. Repairs being performed at orr performance in atlanta, texas.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Gear shift knob pulls off into your hand as you are shifting, this is a danger especially when you are making turns and having to accelerate fast.

While the truck was parked with the ignition running, the gear popped out of park and took off in drive. The driver was able to jump in the truck and turn off the ignition switch. The truck hit a mail box, and the hood and fender were dented.

Vehicle was parked and left in garage, vehicle jumped out gear, rolled forward, impact 12:00 position in for repair, found not problem, occurred again Dec-95.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Explorer 🔎.