Purchased a new Black, UX Explorer 4.0lt v6 in August 2003. Have had a list of 10 problems so far, however my questions relate to the 3 problems that have not been able to be fixed. I am in no way a mechanic and I just want to know if anyone has heard of these problems before?

1. Along both sides of the roof, inside the joint gutter, where the roof panel is welded to the side panels. The colour of the black paint has turned navy blue. I have had an initial check and been told that it's caused by the sealant used after welding, and that it cannot be rectified.

2. When the car is placed into reverse gear, first thing in the morning from a cold start, the cars revs drop dramatically and it struggles to go. After a few seconds the car will either stall or a small noise can be heard from the engine (like the air con switching on) and the cars revs will pop up and return to normal. The car is then ok for the rest of the day, untill first thing the next morning. The problem started off slight, and then became more obvious over the last 6 months. The dealer has had 7 attempts at fixing this one, without any success. I think they changed the fuel injection system last time and it did stop for a few weeks but it is now starting to return.

3. I have only just noticed this one, last weekend. It happened a few times and then was fine. A couple of times when accellerating from stop (not hard) the car did not change out of first gear until around 4000 revs normally it quickly changes at just over 2000. I did not accelerate quickly, which would normally drop the gear down if say going uphill. It happened while turning slowly into a side street, and also at a set of traffic lights.

Here in Australia we do not have any kind of lemon laws and the dealer has been really unhelpful. Ford are not willing to replace the car and a refund is out of the question. I am in the process of dealing with this in the courts.

Any insights would be really helpful.

 

Question 1: Probably true as to the cause. But if the truck was primed properly and painted, there should be no color change in the paint. Not buying it. Something else has caused the change. You can take it to a reputable body/paint shop and have them determine what can be done. I would say the the finish will need to be taken down to bare metal, re-primed, painted and clear-coated.

Question 2: Replace the IAC or at least have it checked. Go here for more info: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...hreadid=166103

Question 3: Probably tranny issues, although these can be resolve by much less expensive fixes. First, check throttle cable for damage or adjustment. This cable attaches from the throttle body on your intake (same place the gas pedal cable attaches) and goes down to the transmission's throttle valve. This is the cable that causes the downshift when you "floor it". Make sure it's adjusted right. The SPEED SENSOR should be checked for proper adjustment. This is an electronic device that tells the trans when to shift. An electronic governor, if you will. The THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR may be maladjusted. On the throttle body on the upper intake. FLUID LEVEL! 'Nuff said.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Karlnlola,
I had an independent assessment of my truck done on Saturday, the guy noticed a small leak from the transmission. I am guessing that this could be the cause or at least part of problem 3. I will be letting the dealer know.

As for the paint problem 1, I am going to take your advice and get a specialist paint/body shop to assess that. Last week I called Ford to find out what their official reason for this was, they said that this is absolutely normal. I have already found 2 Black 2003 Explorers here in Sydney that do not have this problem. When I told the guy at Ford, he said that other owners either havn't noticed it or they don't care. I am going to put a call out to all Black 2003 Explorer owners on FTE to check their paint work. We'll show Ford that it is not normal.

How could anyone not care if their beloved Black Explorer started turning blue.

 

We had that prob. with the tranny and it had many broken items it cost 1500 to fix it so thank god that it was under warranty. hope this helps

 

I am covered by the warranty, thank god. If it wern't, I would have had to sell my house to pay for the list of problems I've had!