I bought this 2002 Explorer XLT V8 in August 2003 (new) and have driven it for 22,000 miles in the 15 months since then. In that time, and from the 2nd week I had it, it has been to the dealer 15 times for about 11 different issues. Total time at the dealer is about 35 days in 15 months, or about 8% of its time.

List of issues:
Faulty remote keyless, reprogrammed.
Broken shock on rear glass, replaced shock.
Broken shock on rear glass, replaced rear glass.
Hinges loose on rear glass, tightened and adjusted.
Airbag light on, replace seat belt pretensioner.
Grinding noise in front end, replace bushings.
Grinding noise in 4WD under sharp turn, normal.
Oil leak, replace drain plug.
Grinding/ squealing in front end, normal.
Vibration at speed, normal (I think it is the driveshaft).
Drivers seat moves forward/ backward, normal to Explorer.
Vibrating plastic, dealer tried to fix, some worked, some didn't.

And now, the check engine light came on yesterday after running like crap in the morning, and I had it diagnosed, and it was a misfiring in cylinder #7, so now it will have to go to the dealer once again.

Is there anything I can do about all of this, or did I just get a Friday built POS? I cannot believe the build quality on this and the only way I will get another Ford is if they bought this one back from me and I got an F150 or F250 to replace it. Otherwise, I guess I will get out of this and take the huge financial hit!!

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

You mean Aug. 2002 ??

I'm not sure, but I think for it to be a 'Lemon' vehicle, it's got to go back for repairs 3 times for the same problem.

Definetly sounds like ya got a POS one.

I'd tell the dealer that this ones givin' ya sooo many problems ya want another. Then threaten legal action if they give ya any problems.

 

Yep, August 2002, but it won't let me edit it!

 

those seem like littel thing's to me...and it was a first year..what do you expect?

 

Hyper,

I had an 02 with a few of the problems yours does. The squeek in the front end (mine was over bumps like speed bumps) is the swaybar bushings. I had to bring it in 5 times for them to find this.

The vibrating plastic is very annoying. Trust me, I know. They could never fix mine.

I was having other issues as well (AC was making squeeling sound, trans would squeel early in the morning, etc).

I can tell you mine would engage 4x4 when making sharp turns (especially in reverse) all the time. I bought an 04 explorer that doesn't have the same problems, but it is still only 3 weeks old, so we'll see. The 04 will engage 4x4 sometimes in really sharp turns, but not like my 02 did.

I filed a dispute with the settlement board. They took my case, but it is a long process (like 4 months), so I decided to just cut my losses, trade it in, and get a new one. I was pissed at ford, and I didn't want another explorer, but after looking at the competition, ford has the nicest one around (IMO).

I found this website after I had traded mine in. On the right hand side, it has a lot of phone numbers for management at Ford, I would start calling them. Also, I had the idea of going into the dealer on one of their 'super sales' days and bitching in the showroom, but I really couldn't do that. It isn't their fault my car was a lemon.

Check this site out!
http://www.blueovalnews.com

=Steve

 

ford_tr_man, sorry, but that excuse is buII***** about first year autos! What I expect is that for my $35,000, I get something that does not have to go back for service once a month, and I expect better build quality. Sorry to be so flamed about this, but I don't buy into it, you don't hear the same excuse from Toyota and Nissan, you just get quality.

No, I'm not pissed at the dealer, they have tried to do everything they can and have not given me any static about fixing it. I took it in this morning for the check engine light and talked to the service manager. He is going to go to bat for me and try and get Ford to comp me with an extended service warranty for another 24K miles, so we'll see how that goes. I am going to also get all the records together and start taking it to arbitration, as long as it is under warranty, I can deal with it, but once that warranty is up, I will be driving something else, financial hit or not...

 

In some states the dealer is required to provide you with the lemon law form & info. Ask your dealer for it. If you qualify under your particular state's lemon law, it would probably be that best way to go.

 

whatever..

 

From what I have heard about the lemon law, I don't believe this case would qualify. It varies state by state, but I believe you have to have 3 problems that "severly impair the use of the vehicle" within a certain time period.

When they mean severly impair the use of the vehicle, they are usually talking about no starts, transmission problems, etc.

I'm not saying Ford isn't at fault, but they probably won't offer much assistance based on the type of problems you had. If you could get a free extended warranty, that would be ideal.

Good luck

 

Well, I talked to the service manager when I was in for the airbag light. He said that you can take it up with Ford, but it is a long hard process that is rarely won. He said he would talk to the local Ford rep the next time he was in and see what could be done about extending the warranty.

He called back yesterday and Ford has given me a Platinum Extended Service Warranty that is good for 5 yrs/ 75K miles (which is about 3-1/2 years for me) at no cost to me. Says it is a $1,700 warranty with a $100 deductable. I would still have preferred to have them buy it back, but I can't complain, they have stood behind it.

Anyone know anything about this warranty, is it a good one?

 

Court. There is a Lemon Law. I don't know the terms of it but it is a certain amount of repairs or time in the shop and they have to give you a replacement vehicle the same as what you have.

 

Already looked into the Lemon Law, basically it is a joke. You have to have been in the shop for the same issue 3 times before 12,000 miles or 1 year. The issue must be a safety or debilitating problems, not typical build quality things and electronics.

 

Scooter I know how you feel having so many problems with your Explorer. I have many with mine, I went though the lemon law and that got me a ESP for free, now I'm going through the Dispute Board to try and get the vehicle replaced, if you look in the back of your owners manual you will find a number for the Dispute Board, call it up get an application and send it in, it's free and worth a try. My case hearing is next friday the 14th, hopefully I'll be getting my Explorer replaced.

 

I had a 1993 XLT V6. The tranny blew up. Had to have it rebuilt twice. Mass airflow sensor, A/C compressor, u-joints seized up, and a whole host of other things went wrong. Also, it had bad valve seals, and fried piston rings because it burnt a quart of oil every 600-800 miles. It was bad news. So I sympathize with you cause yours is fairly new. Did I learn? Nope, I'm currently driving a 97 explorer with 96 mustang cobra in the garage.

 

No matter how pissed I am at ford, when I am on the market, they have some of the sharpest looking suv's out there.. And for the price, it is hard to compete.. I drove every other SUV before going back to Ford, but I'm glad I did. Haven't had a problem with my new one.

But, I must say.. The Jeeps Cherokees with the steel plate under the front grill look pretty sharp.. Didn't see those when I was shopping around.. But, I would never own a Chrysler product. Talk about POS's.