Ford Explorer Problems

[rsc6288]

My Ford Explorer 2005 has brought nothing but problems for me since I took it out of the showroom IN 2005. The frustration never seems to end!!!!! I got myself the top of the line Eddie Bauer 4x4 Ford Explorer for P2.2 million in July of 2005. Upon delivery that day when I picked it up, I noticed there were traces of adhesive materials stuck on the wooden trim of the dashboard but I was quickly assured by the salesman that they can easily take them out when I go for my 1st 1000 km checkup. During the 2nd day after delivery of the car, I noticed there was a ratttle on the trunk lid of the car. I brought it to Ford and they told me there was a plastic that they neglected to remove somewhere on the back which was causing the rattle. After that was fixed, I began to notice that there was a rattle under the car, underneath the steering wheel and the back window. This all happened with less than 5000 km on the odometer. When I 1st send the car in, they said the rattle underneath the car was caused by lack of lubrication somewhere on the suspension mechanism and they just did some gresing on it. On my way home from that repair, I noticed the rattle was still there and I asked the driver to send the car in again the very next day. I had to go back around 3 more times and I had to contact my brother in law who happens to know the owner of Ford Global and tell the owner about the problems I was having with my car. The problem turned out to be the lack of insulation between the running board and the part it is connected to which creates metal to metal contact. As for the other problems, I had to fix them myself because they were not able to fix them. The rattle from the back window turned out to be caused by a plastic assembly underneath the interior quater panel that wasn't installed properly. The people at Ford removed that quarter panel and they didn't see the problem. On top of that, they didn't put back the seatbelt assembly properly. I had to fix all of that myself. I had to disassemble that quarter panel because I was so frustrated I didn't want to send the car back to the dealership without any results. Now we go the noise from underneath the steering wheel. I also had to find the solution myself. The problem turns out to be a metal clip that came loose. This all happened with less than 5000 km on the odometer. Before I forget, let's go back to the traces of adhesive that were left on the wooden trim of the car. I went for the 1000 km checkup but the people at Ford didn't seem to have any idea how to take them out so I called the salesman and he told me to take a picture of it so that he can show it to his boss. I didn't want to wait so I just decided to fix the problem on my own. I had to spend a couple of thousand to have my new car detailed and had them take out the adhesive traces. So much for Ford reliability and service. For P2.2 million, I'd expect a lot more. I was such a regular fixture on Ford Global that I know most of the service reps there already. I've had a host of other problems with the car from owning it for less than 2 years. At present with barely 15,000 km on the odometer, the brake pedal has an irritrating screaching sound, the sunroof cover is misaligned, the cover on the sunvisor mirror doesn't stay open if you open it, and the smoke from outside comes in even when the air recirculation system is switched on. I just got myself a new Fortuner so I decided to have the driver bring the explorer to Ford Global to have all these problem fixed. My driver came home this morning with the car saying Ford Global refused to take the car in because we didn't make an appointment. I certainly didn't need an appointment when I bought the P2.2 million junk from them and now that I am having problems with my car, I need an appointment??????? You want to know the best part????? I was so frustrated with the quality and service of Ford that I decided to look around for possible buyers. People are offering me P1.2 million for my car, one million less than the price I paid for it. So, I am in a dilemma right now...Should I or should I not sell the car?????? What's ironic is I just sold a 1998 Toyota Revo with 130,000 km on the odometer for P250,000. The original price on that car was just P650,000.00 in 1998. Losing P400,000.00 on the car for a car that's been used for 8 years with 130,000 on the odometer seems worth it compared to losing a million for owning a car that's barely 2 years. I had no problem whatsoever with the Revo except for the aircon which broke down last year which is expected for a car that old. Lesson learned: DON'T EVER BUY FORD.

[miogimd]

So sorry to hear that.

I did consider the Explorer late last year when we found ouselves in the hunt for an SUV. After test driving the Chevy Trailblazer, which we really liked, The Explorer rode well....like a truck and the dash rattled like crazy on slightly uneven pavement. I asked the sales guy if the tires were overinflated and with grim look on his face, I decided not to follow up on the question I just asked. I gave the sales guy a second chance and this time we test drove an even "older" unit of a congressman who traded in his 05 Explorer for an Expy. Wow, talk about rattles and squeaks and this happened after we test drove the Honda Pilot.

So we ended up getting the Honda Pilot(now a month old). A lot dearer, of course, but the Explorer didn't really do well as far as (international) reviews are concerned. Info from the internet helped me reach this decision. The Explorer really looked sharp, but my wife and I also looked at the resale value 5 years down the road. Knowing friends who previously had Fords, the resale at the very least, was "not good".

[redorange]

Sorry to hear about your problems but I guess you didn't know that FORD stands for Fix Or Repair Daily. Anyways there's a reason why it's called by most Explorer owners as the Exploder and you just found out. Good luck trying to get things fixed.

[oldblue]

post edited. wont even bother posting here again ...

[rsc6288]

I should have researched more I guessed before putting my money on this junk. I saw a lot of explorers on my trips to Canada and the US and figured it couldn't be that bad if there are a lot of people driving them over there. I did test drive the vehicle and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I guess owning one is a totally different experience all together. Seems like the whole car was put together using chewing gum because everything seems to be falling apart and the big clincher really was when my driver came home yesterday saying FORD refused my car because I didn't make an appointment. That really blew my top off......I was treated like near royalty when I handed them the P2.2 million check. I even got to meet the sales and service manager. Both people assured me that I can call them if I have any concerns. And now I need an appointment????? Talk about a..holes!!!!!! If I could dissuade just one person into not putting their hard-earned money on Ford, my job is done.....Hate those bastards!!!.......Should have just shelled out more money and got myself a PRADO..........

[baker123]

sorry to hear about your explorer sir rsc6288. but yes, american cars/trucks are known for their rattles and not good fitment of parts.

thats why in the states japanese cars have overtaken them in terms of sales of volumes of vehicles. i think, even the f150 which was best truck for like a decade was overtaken by a toyota pickup truck last year on sales.

american people like japanese brands due to its better fitment and it last a long time. example would be the toyota corolla.

on a side note: you can keep the explorer if the Ford Global can fix it under warranty, i hope. but if not. and its really bothering you. sell at a loss. no point keeping it if everytime you use it it makes your blood boil and shout curses at it.

[IMm29]

on a side note: you can keep the explorer if the Ford Global can fix it under warranty, i hope. but if not. and its really bothering you. sell at a loss. no point keeping it if everytime you use it it makes your blood boil and shout curses at it.

+1. If Ford Global can fix it, then keep your Explo. If they can't and it just brings you grief everytime you see and/or use it, dispose of it. You probably got stuck with a lemon unit, or other owners aren't just as particular as you. No sense in losing much more sleep and comfort than you've already lost. Sell it at a loss and go for a Santa Fe, Sorrento or the like so you don't lose much space. I had an '99 Exped XLT 4x4. Despite not using it much due to its size and appetite for fuel, it had exhibited its American make of not being as tightly built as its Japanese or European counterparts. Though I miss the ride comfort and power, maintenance was another problem and a headache. Sold it and went with a Toyota instead. Bland, some motoring hacks say, but reliable.

[mazdamazda]

IMO

Those are just minor inconveniences as I thought that your Explorer self-detonated from your posted topic. On a side note, those problems will seem trivial should you be the lucky owner of a lemon Fortuner (please see the D4D woes thread).

Heck, I can jot down a longer list of minor faults on my Rav4 since the day we got it. Frikkin Toyota bulletproof quality my arse. Defective front disc brakes that ate away the brake pads in less than a year, defective shock absorbers, rattling in the tailgate, squeaking sound from the tranny, oops - almost got carried away. :furious:

Before giving up on your Explorer - try to have the problems dealt with another Ford dealership (their Balintawak branch does good service ). It seems that the problem lies with the after-sales team of Ford Global. :nono:

As with the appointment thing, well that's an SOP in a lot of casa nowadays. Well, they can take in your unit but they won't work at it though until the next day since they are fully booked already (happened to me in Ford Quezon Ave but not in Balintawak).

[oliver1013]

Whoa...pogi pa naman explorer...

[rsc6288]

Maybe I am more particular about vehicles then some people but from my experience, problems with cars usually come out on the 3rd or 4th year of ownership not the first 1000 kms. Nothing more irritating than rattling or screeching on a new car particularly if you just spend P2.2 million of your hard-earned money on it and it is not a one time incident. New problems seems to pop out one after the other. I know it is not much of a comparison to be pitting the Explorer to the Revo. The Revo I usually use everyday for work lasted 8 years and piled on 130,000 km without any noticeable squeaks or rattling. The Explorer I usually just use when I go out at night didn't even last a year before problems started popping out left and right. As with the appointment thing, I don't recall having to make an appointment there during my numerous visits to Ford Global in the past. They would normally get a mechanic test drive the vehicle with me and I would always end up leaving the vehicle there for them to fix. I live quite far from Global and I would have been fine had they just take in the car and explain to the driver that they can't start on the car right away since they are fully booked instead of having the driver go back there again. The driver even insisted that they just keep the car there but they wouldn't even hear of it. It just seems so freaking irritating that when you are buying the car, they always make it seem that they are very accomodating and easy people to deal it but once the money is buried deep in their pockets already, they couldn't care less about you anymore unless you are there to buy another car.....How quickly people forget!!!!!! Maybe you are right...maybe it is just Ford Global...anyway, thanks for the tip maybe I'll get better treatment from Ford Balintawak....Just the same, the quality of Ford particularly my vehicle is really bad and mediocre compared to even less expensive cars I've owned in the past. The least they can do is improve on the service. This will be my first and last Ford........

[tsikot]

My Ford Explorer 2005 has brought nothing but problems for me since I took it out of the showroom IN 2005. The frustration never seems to end!!!!! I got myself the top of the line Eddie Bauer 4x4 Ford Explorer for P2.2 million in July of 2005....

Lesson learned: DON'T EVER BUY FORD.

Want to warn others, or help others decide?

Rate the Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer here in our sister site tsikot.ph.

[IMm29]

Heck, I can jot down a longer list of minor faults on my Rav4 since the day we got it. Frikkin Toyota bulletproof quality my arse. Defective front disc brakes that ate away the brake pads in less than a year, defective shock absorbers, rattling in the tailgate, squeaking sound from the tranny, oops - almost got carried away. :furious:

Hehehe! To each his own Toyota experience, I suppose ;)

Maybe I am more particular about vehicles then some people but from my experience, problems with cars usually come out on the 3rd or 4th year of ownership not the first 1000 kms.

Not in this case, they came out early. In my case, it took quite some time to pile up the kms but some rattling and the like did come out, together with some A/C problems, within the first year or two.

As with the appointment thing, I don't recall having to make an appointment there during my numerous visits to Ford Global in the past. They would normally get a mechanic test drive the vehicle with me and I would always end up leaving the vehicle there for them to fix. I live quite far from Global and I would have been fine had they just take in the car and explain to the driver that they can't start on the car right away since they are fully booked instead of having the driver go back there again. The driver even insisted that they just keep the car there but they wouldn't even hear of it.

Hmmm... suplado na. Or they may be busy with other units that have the same, not-so-easily-diagnosed-but-perhaps-simply-fixed problems like your unit's. Do try another dealer, they may be more competent and accommodating.

This will be my first and last Ford........

Same thing I said about mine. I'm happy for other owners who've gotten good service from their Fords, but I won't take the same risk anymore.

[deedee]

sorry to hear about your experience with ford.to hear rattling sounds on a brand new car/SUV/truck would irritate anyone but i cant agree that ford as a whole is just one big piece of garbage when it comes to their automobiles.
ived own/driven 6 ford cars(mustang,ranger,VAN,explorer and my current expedition) and never had any serious problems with any of them.
my mustang was heavily modified for racing and was a daily driver.
the ranger and the van were both company cars and i dogged the crap out of em and never let me down.
my explorer was traded and it had 160,000 miles and in perfect working condition
my expedition right now is 7 years old with 80,000+ miles and its cabin is very quiet and no rattles.engine is very healthy too considering i race the trcuk(supercharger,nitrous,heads,cams,bassani headers and full exhaust,chip) and its a daily driver too.(well..it is pretty loud loud cause of the 3 1/2 inch exhaust when you nail the gas )

lastly...the f150 still outsold every model of pickup from any brand this year. too. 20-30 years best selling pick up

[niky]

Hi, Ford Club member here... you might want to visit http://forum.fordclubph.com and relate your experiences there.

RE: Rattles

Yes, American Fords such as the Explorer and the Expedition tend to have rattly trim and poorer construction compared to locally (ASEAN and Philippine) made Fords such as the Everest and the Focus. Heck, yung plastic sa bagong Everest mas maganda pa rin kaysa sa Explorer!

Even my uncle, who owns a couple (Expedition, E150, Lincoln Navigator), was incensed by the rattling in his Navigator (even more irritating, considering it cost 3 million, secondhand). What he did was have a shop strip all the trim pieces and line them with foam insulation.

Yes, it sucks, but, unfortunately, it's normal.

But there's variability. My other uncle has an 06 Explorer with a whole lot of miles on the clock with no problem, and the E150s don't seem so bad. Just chalk it up to American workmanship... and take it to a detailer like Ziebart's and have them stick insulation foam everywhere... that should cure some of those problems.

RE: Air Recirculation:

Are you sure it's closed? AFAIK, you don't get full recirc unless you have the AC thermostat set to full. A stupid decision on the part of Ford.

RE: Brakes:

This is common with big, heavy American SUVs with AT. The Explorer already has soft brakes, and it's heavy and powerful, with an automatic tranny. If you use it in traffic a lot, the brakes will go. Had a friend with an Exped who had to totally replace his brake discs because of the wear.

I suggest you look outside for better brake pads (Ford uses MotoCraft... Bendix gives more bite, more dust, but dust means you're eating pads, not discs, so that's good) and teach your driver to shift into neutral at stoplights to preserve both those brakes and transmission fluid.

RE: Service:

Common consensus amongst those who got to Ford Global City is that the service isn't as good as other casas in the Ford group. Even if you know them, you might want to start shopping around.

RE: Resale Value:

Of course you're going to lose a ton in resale. Ford resale values are already kind of low, and to make things worse, your model is already two years old (even if it's just the start of 07, may psychological effect din yun) and there's a new Explorer out, which tends to negatively affect the resale value of the older model.

As does Ford's fire sale mentality. When they put the last of the old Everests on sale, it sent resale value of the Everest through the floor... who'd buy a secondhand Ev if you could buy a new one for so little money?

Plus, people don't often like to pay good money for a secondhand gasoline SUV, simply because they're not as economical as diesel SUVs. AUVs sell secondhand for a ton of money simply because they're very simple to take care of, and are practical for commercial use... that's why even the crapulent L300 has great resale value... it can't be because of its inherent build quality (I call it the "gas chamber" due to the possibility of dying inside one from monoxide poisoning).

Wait a while longer, you might get a better offer. AFAIK, most you might get on offer is 1.3 or 1.4, but buyers like that will be few and far between.

-----

Sorry to hear about your troubles... best you can do is to go outside to have those rattles fixed, then go to another casa and see if you can claim warranty elsewhere.

As for "First and Last Ford"... I hope you mean American Fords only... ...but I understand your frustration... I went through something similar with Nissan a while back.

[rsc6288]

Lucky you, Dee!!!! The Car Gods must have been frowning at me when I got my Explorer. In any case, this experience is enough to turn me off buying another Ford vehicle. As soon as I get everything fixed, I'll try to dispose of the car....No more Ford for me....

[rsc6288]

Thanks for the tip, Niky..........I've noticed the air recirculation problem while I was driving the explorer on Roxas Blvd during the recent pyrotechnics exhibition at Mall of Asia. I was stuck in traffic behind this bus which if you live in Manila, buses are notorious for being big-time smoke belchers. The fumes that went in to the car was enough to make me and my friend, who was inside the car with me that time, stop to get a breath of fresher air as fresh air is rarer than diamond here in Metro Manila. As with the noise from the brakes, it seems like it is coming from either the spring mechanism or the rubber stopper to which the brake pedal is attached to. It is not coming from outside the car. I just hope I'd have better luck having my car fixed this time.

[cardo]

By default the Explorer(when set to auto) the aircon is set to not to recirculate. Clicking on the recirculate, the climate control will set it to manual. or is it vice versa? hehehe

Well, the explorer EB at home is trouble free. Minor gripes are squeaky brakes, beige interior easily gets dirty... it consumes alot of car shampoo too and its SO difficult to wax malaki

sorry you have issues with your unit.

[rsc6288]

Carlo...For your sake and sanity, I hope your car stays that way......What I am going through right now is every car buyer's nightmare........Am getting that piece of junk fixed and selling it........I'll pass on the headache to someone else.........Btw, the default for the Explorer is not to recirculate...have to press the recirculate button every time you turn on the aircon on the car..........

[rsc6288]

Sorry bro......spelled ur username as Carlo instead of Cardo.........

[Horsepower]

Are you sure it's closed? AFAIK, you don't get full recirc unless you have the AC thermostat set to full. A stupid decision on the part of Ford.

Curious cat here, what's the logic behind this???