After spending a lot of time on this message board, I find myself in a state of paranoia every time I get behind the wheel. After reading about all the things that can go wrong, I find myself waiting for them to happen. I sometimes drive with the stereo off so that I can listen for the telltale noises that warn of impending disaster. I guess IF they can fix my a/c, I will be more at ease? Am I the only one or are there others out there that find themselves with a heightened level of anxiety? Maybe we should start a thread such as "you know you are paranoid about your new expedition falling apart when..."

P. S. the voices in my head told me to write this

 

As someone who has one of the "gremlin posessed" Expeditions in his driveway (my dad's vehicle) all I can say is put it out of mind. If "poop" happens, it happens. For every posessed Expedition in a driveway/on the road/in the dealer service shop, it seems (based on feedback here on the forum) there are a few problem free ones, too. Stop obsessing, and keep on driving. The more common problems on the Expedition are not of the variety to totally disable the vehicle and leave you stuck somewhere. Stop worrying. Just light a candle every once in a while at church and pray that your dealer's service facility is actually somewhat competenet...

 

Bear in mind that a forum like this is designed to provide advice for problems, so that's mostly what you see.

There are plenty of guys like me out here who are happy as can be with their Expies. They just don't chime in every day to sing the praises on an internet forum!

 

As long as you don't hear disembodied voices inside the X whispering "Get Out!", you should be fine.

There are times that ignorance can be bliss. Just remember, Tahoe ownership isn't idyllic either.

 

I would agree (knock on wood) - I have had mine for 5000 miles now (I know, not too many) with zero issues......

 

I love this post, and it is so true. As a new owner of a 03 Expie, I find myself falling into the same silly trap, especially after trouble with a 2002 Explorer (in shop 44 days in 18 months).
***Start of Soap Box*** In the end, we all need to remind ourselves that it is just a truck, problems or no. For example, we should count our blessings that we have the time to research our truck on the internet, instead of dealing with much more somber issues that really matter, like searching the internet for advice on how to treat a childhood cancer in one of your kids. Or, imagine the young American soldier patroling the streets of Bhagdad right now. I'll bet he wishes he had the time to worry about his new Expedition and if this gizzmo or that gizzmo was working or not. I know I need to just enjoy the truck and know that it will break, and when it does, it can be fixed. ****End of Soapbox****

 

Undeniably the best damn soapbox rant I've read in years.

 

I agree with most of the stuff you read on this or other boards like it are help related stuff. Like one of the earlier post states not to many guys jump in here and say I drove all week problem free!

Bottom line is competition is driving prices down, which in turn drives quality down. I would venture a guess that 40% of every Expy, Tahoe & Sequioa come from out sourced vendors, It's just the way the auto industry is now and will forever be. Sure you could argue a point to say they are built to manufactures specs, but it's not the same as that manufacture having total control of the situation.

Every one of the big 3 auto makers haves there problems, I believe Ford is the best bet tho. They will be getting my money shortly, tonight or 2morrow I am buying a '03 Expy..

Later, BLUE

 

Thanks for the shoulder to cry on...I agree whole heartedly with rahach. I just needed to lighten things up a little on here, so that we could read something other than problem posts. My dad and brother have yukon xl and tahoe and they have had problems as well. The '02 yukon transmission went out last week. I too, think quality with all products (not just autos) has suffered in recent years due to cost cutting/price wars. In our "throw-away" society, maybe we should start building disposable cars?

 

I will tell you what the worst thing in my daily life is this pice of ***** DELL pc I'm on!! It cost 6 grand and works part time and really slow... Where is my SGI....

BLUE

 

I have to admit to having a bit of the same paranoia about my 03 Expedition. I bought it used with only 1100 miles on it and got a terrific price. After having it for about three weeks I found that I had at least three problems with it. This was a new record for me as far as warranty issues are concerned.

The problems in detail were:

1) The front end vibration in 2H only that disappears when in A4WD or 4H. There is a TSB that covers this which I discovered on this site.

2) Erratic behavior of the backup aid. It would work about 4 times out of 5 then deliver an error.

3) Moisture in the tail light lenses.

I took it back to the dealer and as I expect I got it back with none of the issues fixed as they had to order all the parts required. I would be called when they came in. Yeah, right!

Imagine my surprise when 3 days later they called to let me know that the parts were in and they wanted to schedule the repairs ASAP. Under the bumper to bumper warranty with no cost to me.

Since I had the ESP warranty they provided a rental for me. They completed the repairs in two days and returned the car cleaned and washed. All the repairs were done properly as far as I have been able to tell. And I received a followup call two days later to make sure that I was satisfied with the service.

Now what was interesting to me about all this was that the dealer that did the service was not the dealer that I purchased it from. I had gone to them when I was shopping but their prices were too high, I got a much better deal elsewhere. But I went to them for the service because they were much more convienent to my house.

This went a long way toward restoring my faith. I have had no further problems with it so far and would have no trouble recommending one to someone else.

Mike

 

I agree if you look at all of the post one could wonder how Ford is staying in business. This is not indicative this manufacture, but all manufactures. My family has had 16 Fords and we have had one that was problematic, of course, it is my wife’s Expedition. Just on the ones that my family has owned they have been a good line of automobiles.


1988 – Escort – Sold with 89,000/ no problems (Brother)
1988 – Ranger XL – Sold with 110,000/No Problems (Parents)
1989 – Escort GT – Totaled (My fault)
1990 – Tempo – Sold with 93,000/no problems (Mine)
1993 – Ranger – Sold with 76,000 No problems (Parents)
1993 - Mustang GT – Sold with 55,000 worn out demo car (Mother)
1995 – Thunderbird XL – Sold with 65,000 (Parents)
1996 – Taurus – Sold with 98,000 (Brother)
1996 – F-150 XLT – Sold with 77,000 (Parents)
1996 – Mustang GT – Sold with 45,000 (Brother)
1997 – Ranger – Sold with 145,000/ Starter @ 85,000 and Clutch rebuilt @123,000 Wish I had this one back, but got ride of it for the family.
1998 – Mustang GT – Lease return (Wife)
1999 – F-150 XLT – AC Seal @ 22,000/ 52,000 and no problems still driving
2001 – Expedition XLT – Transmission @ 21,000, Tire @ 22,000 (Not Ford), Fuel Pump @ 31,000…..still driving
2001 – Mustang – Brother
2003 – Expedition – Brother

Parents had a 1984 Suburban that ate transaxles ever 3,000-5,000 miles and GM said that there was nothing wrong. So all manufactures have bad cars, but some are retroactive about fixing the problems.

 

before i purchased my '03 eb expy i did some research and what i found almost stopped me from buying. but knowing human nature, most only speak up when something goes wrong so it seems that all i saw were complaints, and justly so. but if you consider how big the population is, the odds are that a majority of people are pretty satisfied. not to say that what we get will be problem free, but then it's highly probable. on the other hand, i'm not naive to the fact that there is a chance that problems will be encountered. knowing this, i pushed through with the purchase and am happy so far (only 1500 miles on it though). i also know that i have this (and other on-line forums) to go to to consult other interested people in the chance that i need help. my only hope is that people from Ford are tuned in so that they can continuously improve.