Just purchased a 2003 Explorer. I am experiencing a vibration at highway speeds of 60 mph and above. It is not in the sterring wheel, or like an out of balance tire. It is more of a resonation through the seat.

Any ideas on what it could from those that know ?? It has 3:55 gears and I have noticed a whine from the rear end. I'm thinking a bad gear or driveshaft problem.

What do you think ??

Thanks !!

 

Your problem is most likely the rear end.
I work for a Ford dealer in the parts dept. I've seen
a few warrantied already.

 

Do take it back to dealer. What kind of Explorer do you have and do you know where it was built. I am assuming you just bought it from a dealer new, riight?
Intrested to find out what dealer said.
Let us know.

 

Hey, all!

Can anyone give me more info. on that vibration/resonation? My 2003 Explorer, too, does it at 60 mph and faster and it fees like driving on a very slightly graded road. (You almost hear it sometimes more than feel it.) My Ford dealer told me "it's like that on most of the Explorers." **sigh** Any help anyone? Thanks!

 

Mine does this also, the dealer has told me "it's a truck you know, you should have driven the previous Exploders"!! I also have a whine from the front end, more of a slight rubbing sound at low speeds. This also has been ignored by the dealer.

I tried going the route of calling Ford Cusomer Service, they called the dealer with me on hold, and told me word for word what the dealer said! And told me I had no other recourse.

Along with all of this, my drivers seat is not solid, it slides to and fro about 1/2" with every start and stop. This too is normal according to the dealer, they can't do anything about Ford's designs.

Now, maybe it's just me, but I don't think Ford would intentionally design and build crap, so it seems that the dealers are not willing to stand behind what they sell. Kinda got a sour taste in my mouth from my first Ford.

Scott
2002 Explorer V8

 

We just passed 1k miles on our '03. No problems. That seat thing is certainly not right, ours doesnt move....On the other questions, I presume you have plenty of warranty left so just monitor it, if it is a real problem it may get worse then take it back..

JIm

 

I really would like to hear from any of you folks with the 60mph+ vibration problem. Mainly, did any of you manage to track it down and make it go away?
I am an extremely frustrated owner of a "Certified" 2002 Explorer XLT 2WD with 20,000 miles. I've had it six weeks. I'm an ex-USN helicopter pilot and believe me, I know vibrations. It's definitely there, and several of you described it very well. So far I've had my wheels balanced three times--the first time by a Ford dealer who signed it off after putting one 3/4 oz. weight on one wheel and then rotating front tires to back. That didn't do a thing. I then had the wheels and tires "computer matched' at a tire dealer. Still no improvement. Just last week I went to another Ford dealer who noted sligt cupping of the rear tires (which used to be on the front). He recommended tire replacement. That didn't please me--the Michelin Cross Terrains are 65,000 mile tires, and I purchased the vehicle as Certified Pre-Owned with everything supposedly A-OK.
I do not want to buy new tires just to trouble shoot but my inclination is to let the dealer do that. I.e., I agree to let the dealer put new tires on, but I don't pay if the vibration persists. My suspicion is that it really isn't the tires, but something else like design flaw, driveshaft or rear end. (Yes, I have a little whine as well, in the 50-60mph range, mostly. ) I'm almost fed up enough to trade-in my recently-acquired Explorer on a new Toyota Forerunner if I can't sort this out soon. Can anyone out there help? I would even appreciate commiseration, if no one has any answers!

 

Hey all, I a ford dealer mechanic and I've alot of explorers come in for a vibration and noise that was caused by the tires if you rear tires are cupped they will cause a noise and your front tires may now be cupped just rub your hand across them and see if they feel uneven they should be smooth if not they will cause a noise and vibration especially on an explorer you may need an alignment. Regular x pattern tire rotation is a must on an explorer and a good allignment or else you will have a noise and vibration, and just for info i check in alot of used cars and i've found the same prob on other SUVs.

 

pita can you please email me when you get the chanc..My name is Jonathan Hromy. I own a 2002 Ford Explorer and I noticed you said you were a mechanic for ford. I have a question/concern with my car and I'm looking for some help. My email is jts1982(No Email Addresses In Posts!) Thanks Jon Hromy

 

I have a 03 XLT V6 4X4 with 11000 miles that's had this problem since new. I have had the driveshaft rotated, then replaced. Vibration is still there. About 2 weeks ago the Ford Field Rep, lookad at it. As soon as the Service Manager told him the issue, he knew what it was. Ford is designing a new driveshaft. It will be available in 60-90 days they say. I do believe it is the driveshaft because the speed at which it occurs changed when the shaft was rotated and then when it was replaced. Call the dealer and have them check with Ford.

 

I read 03xlt's post in this string and went to my Ford dealer to check on a new drive line being designed by Ford for the Explorer. I had my service advisor pull up issues on my 03 Explorer on their Oasis database and....lo and behold....there was a service bulletin on it from Ford that wasn't there a week or so ago when he checked. The service bulletin stated that Ford is "aware of the issue" of the vibration at over 60 MPH and that Ford engineering is currently working on a fix. So hopefully the info that 03xlt got from the Ford Field Rep. goes along with this. The service bulletin didn't give a date for a possible fix but said for Ford dealers to check back with them often for updates. So maybe we will all get this issue taken care of! Bravo to Ford for finally getting on this issue! If anyone hears of what the fix turns out to be, please post!! Thanks!

 

This is going to sound dum. Had same problems put 55 pounds of air in tires. NOT 32 pounds. Fond small dent in drive shaft. Truck was off dealers lot. With bran new tires


NOTE see side of tires for amount air

 

I have a '02 Explorer XLT 4X4 w/ the 4.0L 6 cyl, and have recently had the vibration problem arise. I can feel this low rumbling start at 30 MPH or so, and continues to the really noticable 60-70 range. My vibrations seem to be more severe on acceleration, and subside a bit on deceleration (off the gas). My truck spent 3 days at the dealer this week, and no luck. They did tell me that they checked the driveline for runout and rear diff and all is normal. I wondered if it may be torque convertor related, they said they checked it too and it is ok. They went through some other troubleshooting that lead nowhere. I guess that they checked the tires, and nothing there too. I have the truck back, and they are saying they are "awaiting service repair information", evidently that means info from ford engineering on what direction to go next.
Dang, and this vibration happens just 6 weeks after having a entirely new rear differential put in. That service took 3 weeks due to lack of available parts. I took it in then because I noticed a bearing droning sound in the rear. Evidently the rearend was eating itself up. I have heard that the aluminum diffs of the IRS have been problematic (??), which is a shame... I really love the way this truck drives.
While it was in for the rearend repair, I had them rotate and balance the tires, I can only wonder if that may have anything to do with my problems now. I read references on rotating that said to "cross rotate" tires??? I thought these days you were only suppose to rotate front to rear, because crossing makes the tires roll in reverse and can lead to tire problems like belt seperation. I am going to ask them what method they used.
If anyone has any insite, comments, or suggestions, I am open to all. Thank you, Roc

 

Hey, was talking to a freind .He works on ford all the time. He asked me do u have any problems backing up? Like does the truck feel like it is fighting you backing up? If so need to dig deeper into the trans. Planetary geers are mess up. Cost around 1400.00 for r@r trans This problem is his biggest doller make with Fords SUV and F-150.

 

I'm having a similar (possibly the same) issue with my 2003 EB 4WD Explorer w/ 24,000 miles: When doing over 50mph, if I take my foot off the accelerator and coast, a very strong, repetitive thumping vibration occurs about twice per second. This thump shakes the entire vehicle and almost feels like it's causing the truck to lunge forward each time it occurs. It had the dealer stumped: They replaced most of the rear axle and clutch along with quite a few other drive-line parts -- no difference.

Finally, the service manager asked if I'd replaced any tires or had to use the spare recently. (He should have known that because they replaced the left-rear tire at 20,000 miles due to a puncture in the sidewall and it was in their computer.) He claims that this is due to the newer tire having a larger circumference than the others which causes the sensors to try to kick into 4WD because one tire is rotating at a different speed than the others. He claims that they fixed this problem a few weeks ago on another Explorer by replacing all four tires.

At this point, they still have the vehicle (they've had it for week) and haven't made a final recommendation. However, I'm going to have a hard time swallowing the cost of four new tires to take care of what seems to be a design flaw in the 4WD system. (Figure the odds of Ford paying for four new tires under warranty when there is nothing wrong with the tires.)