Rear Suspension Coil Springs Problems of Ford Explorer - part 1

Both rear coil springs broke. Replaced front and rear wheel bearings replaced ball joints replaced transmission has now failed and is now undependable. May fail with out warning no accidents, any of the above could have resulted in an accident Ford is aware of all of the mentioned problems and refuses to rectify the problems. This is a wide spread problem with all 2002 Ford Explorers.

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Inspection found both rear coil springs broke and driver front coil spring also broke. 3 broken springs. Never heard of spring breaking, ever. Seems to be a problem with Ford exployers.

Bearing keep have to be replaced, an the rear coil sping is cracked an the tirer came off while driving my truck, have replaced the wheel bearing 3 times already. An I have replace the transmission 2 times.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance when the dealer stated that the rear coil springs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 118,000.

Both rear coil springs rusted through and broke.

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Heard a clunk noise in the rear of truck. . . Come to find out both rear strut coils were rotted out and broken. . Trucks has never pulled a trailer or been off road!.

Rear coil springs are rusted and cracking, piece fell off. It appears that inadequate or deficient metal was used. Mechanic says very rare for coil springs to rust like this, springs look as though they have been in a junk yard for 30 years. This vehicle is a family car, not used for off-roading and kept in a garage. According to my research many other owners have had the same issue, some have even had the pieces puncture tires causing a blowout while driving. I can only assume that Ford is not concerned with consumer safety, but only with their own profits and are waiting for people to die before taking responsibility. This is just one of many issues with this model and Ford needs to step up.

Brought vehicle in for routine maintenance ( brakes ) when it was discovered that both rear coil springs were broken. While having springs replaced it was discovered that the rear wheel bearings also needed to be replaced along with the rear shocks. This vehicle has been driven only less than 55,000 miles under normal driving conditions on paved city and highway roads. After inspecting the broken springs we realized that the damage wasn't a recent occurrence. They could have been defected at 40,000 miles or less. I believe Ford motor company should be made aware of possible defected rear suspension parts it may be using in some of it's vehicle models and the potential safety risks this may pose on the general public.

I am a mechical engineer, and do a lot of my own car repairs, when I was adjusting the emergency brake I noticed that my rear coil spring was broken in 2 places and rusted through, I went online tobuy replacement springs and struts, and I came apon a website with others also with this issue of broken springs on this Ford model. This is a serious safety issue, a broken spring could drop and puncture the tire. At highway speeds this could lead to serious injury and fatalities. The NHTSA should hold Ford accountable for this serious manufacturing flaw I am lead to beiieve that the springs where manufactured in china. The nstha should get some guts and expose this serious safety issue. As a personel note this vehicle has never been off-road .

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for replacement of the rear wheel bearings when the mechanic noticed that the driver and passenger side rear coil springs were fractured and would have need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

This complaint is in regards to the 2002-2005 Ford Explorer/Mercury mountaineer models (4 doors). I own a 2002 Ford Explorer 4 door xls with 150,000 miles. Recently my vehicle became very dangerous to drive. When I accelerate and then release the pedal the vehicle would "push" to one side or another. Also going around curves I would get a "death wobble" where the vehicle would "push" from side to side in almost a swinging motion and when you attempt to correct it, it continues to swing excessively back and forth. Tonight I went to check my wheel bearings thinking this was the problem, and I found 3 out of the 4 coil springs on the struts were broken. Both rear coils were shattered (easiest way to describe it) at the top of the spring. I could literally pull pieces of coil spring out of the coil. The front right spring was also cracked all the way through, near the bottom of the coil. I have spent alot of time working on cars and I have never see 3 coil springs fail at the same time especially since they are less than 10 years old!!! I also did a google search and read where other owners have had spring failures as low as 75,000 miles!! please look into this issue there are so many of these on the road. I work in law enforcement and this I feel is a significant safety risk after experiencing the loss of control you have when driving the vehicle in this condition. If this would have happened in the illinois winter with ice on the roads it could have been disastrous. I will be replacing the entire strut/coil spring assembly sing the rear springs have collapsed in such a way that the spring is rubbing on the strut bodies. One of the issues is, with exception of the handling characteristics, the vehicle sits level and close to its normal ride height and its is very difficult to tell 3 springs are broken. I will be taking pictures to document this failure and I will be willing to provide this to you. I may also save the old parts if you would like.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle failed state inspection because the rear coil springs were fractured. The vehicle was repaired by a local mechanic. The dealer was contacted and stated that there were no related recalls to the failure. The manufacturer was not been notified. The current and failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Both rear coil springs on my 02 Ford Explorer broke. There wasn't any indications prior for us to know it would happen. When it did it fell onto rubber stops but tracted crooked and spring almost hit tire. I went to dealer they said no recall call Ford. I called Ford rep said nothing they could do not enough complaints to justify a recall or fix my exploror. I went to local parts store and bought monroe quik strut. . Installed myself. Saved old parts just in case because Ford said get rid and save my receipt for parts in case of future recall. Vehicle mileage at time was about 46000 miles.

Rear coil spring. After having tire rotated was informed that driver rear spring was broken. Had both rear coil springs replaced since this seems to be an eventual problem down the road.

Broken coil springs front and rear causing the vehicle to try and swing around to the right on slippery surfaces. Extremely dangerous.

I went to perfom brake pad replacement and found passenger side rear coil spring broken. When I got around to the drivers side to no avail that rear coil spring is broken as well.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to replace rear brakes where a technician noticed that both rear coil springs fractured. Repaired brakes and rear springs. Was informed by shop that this is a very common issue with 2002 Ford Explorers. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000. Added note, this vehicle has never been used to tow or carry heavy loads, only used as personal transport.

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4wd rear coil spring broke under normal driving condition. Created bad situation with car swaying left to right. Had to replace spring and strut. Also all 4 wheel bearings had to replaced in 5 years.

Noticed fluid on rear passenger side lower control arm. Upon closed inspection, noticed fluid coming from rear shock and both rear coil springs were broken. Repair estimates to replace both rear coil spring assembly range from $655 to $800.

During the 90,000 mile servicing of this vehicle, it was discovered that the rear coil springs on our 2002 Ford Explorer XLT had rusted completely through and needed to be replaced. We do not reside in a coastal area resulting in exposure to the salty ocean spray nor do we drive this vehicle in off road situations that would cause water to accumulate under the vehicle. For these reasons there is no apparent cause for the coil springs to prematurely rust through. I don't want to think what would have happened to my wife or I if these springs would have fallen completely off while the vehicle was being operated.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. The contact noticed that the passenger side rear coil spring was abnormally covered by an unknown plastic sheet. The dealer was notified and informed the contact that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The contact did not inform the manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who advised the contact that the rear coil spring would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was approximately 80,000 and the failure mileage was 78,000. Updated 02/03/lj updated 02/04/jb.

Rear coil spring found broken during routine brake inspection.

Although this defect did not cause an accident or injury, the potential was there for serious damage to this or following vehicles. Specifically, the defect was the rear strut/spring assemblies I. E. Broken and shifted coil spring. As this part sits close to the fuel tank, the piece of spring that broke off could have easily punctured the fuel tank resulting in possible fire. It could also have wedged against a brake line, thus causing a brake failure and/or suspension failure/misalignment causing loss of control and an accident. In addition, if the piece of spring, weighing about three (3) pounds had fallen out, it could have caused severe damage to a following vehicle or it's operator had it bounced up and penetrated a windshield. The reason for the lapse in time in my reporting this condition is because I thought perhaps it was just a one time isolated failure to my vehicle. However, in talking to other Ford Explorer owners, as well as several auto repair shops, I have learned that this has been a common failure on similar vehicles. If this was a simple repair to a component that had little or no affect on the vehicles performance or did not present a safety condition, I would have probably just written it off to normal maintenance and repair. However, with my knowledge of automobiles, and a condition that could potentially cause damage as well as personal injury, as well as being a quite expensive repair, I felt compelled to report it to the proper people who perhaps have a larger data base than I do, and take action against Ford motor company to mandate a recall or reimbursement to those Ford Explorer owners who have experienced the same failure as I have.

Both rear coil springs (strut assembiles) broken on 2002 Ford Explorer XLT. Breaks in steel coil springs discovered during dealer inspection in 2010. Vehicle is used for standard daily driving on paved roads. Resulted in sagging rear of vehicle and degraded vehicle control in bumpy terrain. Parts likely broken for some time before detection. Replacement parts have been installed to correct problem. Photos of broken parts available.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 35 mph and attempting to make a sharp left turn and the rear of the vehicle swerved out of control. He was able to bring the vehicle to a stop without incident and noticed that the passenger's side rear tire was shredded which caused him to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop. The mechanic stated that the two rear coil springs were fractured which shredded the rear passenger side tire. The mechanic also replaced the two rear tires, spring set with standard suspension, pinion shaft seal, two rear rims and both rear coil springs. All repairs were made at the owner's expense. The failure mileage was 51,898. Updated 06/29/10. Updated 09/21/10.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact heard a noise under the drivers rear side of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the coil springs were breaking off in pieces. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time when the complaint was filed. The current mileage was approximately 96,000. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. The contact stated when he took his vehicle into a local repair shop for routine maintenance, the mechanic informed him that the rear coil spring was cracking; it was encased with plastic and water got into it. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 59,000. Updated 09/15/10. *ljupdated 09/16/10.

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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The rear coil springs on the vehicle broke which the contact was informed of during a brake inspection. The dealer stated that the coil springs were the same used on the Ford taurus model and that they were aware of the failures with the springs. The current and failure mileages were approximately 250,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated the vehicle was taken in for service at an authorized dealer when the mechanic noticed that the rear passenger side coil spring had fractured. The failure had occurred on three different occasions prior to the dealers discovery of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000 and the current mileage was 97,000. Updated 11/9/10 updated 11/16/jb.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a technician noticed that both rear coil springs fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and both rear coil springs are completly rusted and broke in several places. . I realize that my vechile is now 8 years old and has 100,000 miles but I've read online that many people have had this same problem with these springs breaking and blowing tires. Now im paying close to 400 dollars to have this replaced. I think Ford needs to take action and stop neglecting them buying cheap material and playing with people lives and safety. They should reimburse those who have had this problem and fix all vechiles of this year. . .

When I took my 2002 Ford Explorer v8 into the shop to get new tires I was told that my rear coil spring is broke and would need to be replaced. I have never been off road with my vehicle and only drive mostly highway. I was told by the mechanic that this is common for my vehicle and I should file a complaint. I had no idea it broke or how it did but my car started leaning to one side. I have small children that need to be in a safe and dependable vehicle. There needs to be a reall done for this issue before there is serious injuries. My vehicle has 115k miles.

I brought my 2002 Ford Explorer to my mechanic because I noticed a very loud rubbing noise. Upon inspection, my mechanic discovered that both rear coils were cracked. My vehicle is a "soccer mom" car and has never been off-road. He had to replace the coils, rear rotors and rear wheel bearings because of the damage from the coils. My vehicle has approximately 124,000 miles.

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4. 0 engine. Rear coil spring failure. The vehical has never been used off-road and the springs do not have surface rust but both are broken. Car in for recall on cruise control and Ford "found" issue. Turns out it is very common in this model and Ford dealers find it a great way to make extra dollars. U-haul will not rent trailers to owners of Ford Explorers. They say that there are too many claims but will not reveal nature of claims. Ford said that they have no comment on issue. I can forward e-mails from both u-haul and Ford stating such.

2002 Ford Explorer rear coil breakage. . Was driving and my back end dipped no noise just leaning. Went to mechanic and realized coils have just rusted out, are you serious. Explorer only has 87k. Parts just rusted out and broke.