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Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2005 and earlier

3348 messages,  Last post on Oct 31, 2011 at 3:14 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer, SUV

Messages Page 221 of 335

#2201 of 3348 explorer rear end whine by no more fords

Jan 19, 2005 (8:53 pm)

My 03 explorer has now had a new ring and pinion at 24000mls and a complete rear end hub to hub at 36000mls. The second was covered under ESP I reluctantly paid the deductable then called ford and asked for a refund of the $50.00.I was told I should be glad i bought the ESP or I would have paid $1647.00 for the repair.I cant understand why acompany that spends millions to get customers in their dealerships wont spend$50.00 to keep one who has bought 3 new fords since 1999.

#2202 of 3348 Hi ANT.... by svofan2

Jan 19, 2005 (9:39 pm)

ANT, a couple of shows (Detroit and LA) have come and still don't see any news anywhere about the Explorer 2006. At this point I ma undicided about the Explorer or the Expedition, it seems that the later already has must of the "goodies" expected in the 2006 Explorer...will we see anything by April's NY Auto show?....will the Explorer 2006 be available towards the 4th qt of 2005?....I ask you since you seem to have a "Ford crystal ball" into the near future.......thanks in advance...

#2203 of 3348 by ANT14

Jan 19, 2005 (11:31 pm)

We saw the Explorer Sport Trac and where that is headed and what's to be expected of the vehicle. When I return from vacation, I'll be able to give you a production date. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I believe 2005 is a short run year for it, before introducing the new one, or I believe it's 2006 has a short run, with a spring '06 introduction for it. As I stated, I'll try to look for the specific time period.

#2204 of 3348 Re: [ANT14]..Have a good time... by svofan2

Jan 20, 2005 (9:52 am)

Replying to: ANT14 (Jan 19, 2005 11:31 pm)
Thanks for your reply..I will look forward to your info on the Explorer 2006...like I said I am still undecided about the 2005 Expedition..have a great vacation

#2205 of 3348 Re: Transmission / Rear-End Problems [02xls] by tuneguy

Jan 24, 2005 (9:17 pm)

Replying to: 02xls (Dec 26, 2004 7:06 pm)
Hey ya'll
 
If you own a 03 Ford Explorer get ready to have you rear end replaced on a fairly regular basis. I bought mine new 16 months ago and I put a few more miles on per month than most. The first replacement went in at 28000...they paid. The latest one went in at almost the same mileage 58000...I paid. Ford service was unsympathetic at best but the parts rep at the dealership was a little secretive but more than a little informative. The Nashville dealership I bought it at is one of the bigger ones in Tennesse but he told me mine was the 47th in 2004 that he had ordered. Ford is naturally silent about the problem because any TSB or recall will cost them. I'm in the music business with a major label deal so I'll make my noise where I can.
 
Steve

#2206 of 3348 Tuneguy by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jan 24, 2005 (9:24 pm)

Well, it sounds like you're in a good position to give Ford your two cents (or is it .26 cents?).
 
Good luck with the latest replacement.
 
Steve, Host

#2207 of 3348 Re: Tuneguy [steve_] by tuneguy

Jan 24, 2005 (9:34 pm)

Replying to: Stever@Edmunds (Jan 24, 2005 9:24 pm)
Guilty as charged
 
Steve

#2208 of 3348 Re: Transmission / Rear-End Problems [tuneguy] by 02xls

Jan 26, 2005 (10:59 am)

Replying to: tuneguy (Jan 24, 2005 9:17 pm)
What? I can not believe that one single dealer in one city replaced 47 rear ends in Explorers in 12 months. I thought according to many who post on this forum that the rear end whine problem was minor. Some on this forum know people who have a whole fleet of these trucks with out a single problem. Man, I guess this particular dealership just got a bad batch of Explorers. Everyone remember this problem is not Ford's fault, it's their supplier! All sarcasm aside if you buy or own a 02-05 Explorer you better purchase an extended warranty or when the rear end fails you will pay the price.

#2209 of 3348 Re: Transmission / Rear-End Problems [02xls, aka "Mr. Sarcastic"] by benderofbows

Jan 26, 2005 (2:07 pm)

Replying to: 02xls (Jan 26, 2005 10:59 am)
OK Mr. Sarcastic, see if you can follow me here. I will attempt to spell out for you what has been briefly discussed before.
 
It's generally agreed that only people who are strongly opinionated post messages about their vehicles online. And, people who have problems are more likely to be strongly opinionated than those who are merely satisfied. I bet for every one driver on here complaining, there are 20 more out there racking up the miles on their Explorers, happy as clams. But then, that's the story with nearly every single car on the road.
 
In 2004, Ford sold 340,000 Explorers. There are over a million of the new body style (which you love to trash so much) on the roads. This 340k in 2004 accounted for about 12.5% of all of Ford's sales.
 
Here in my state the "larger" Ford dealers sell between 250 and 1,000 total vehicles per month (on average). That means each one sells between 30 and 120 Explorers per month for a total of 360 to 1000 Explorers per year.
 
The industry average for miles per year on a passenger car is about 12,500 (and that's conservative!) So, figure that almost every Explorer sold in 2002 (or in 2001 as an 02 model) has about 37,500 miles on average. And, 2002 Explorers were on the lots in March of 2001! So that number is most likely conservative as well.
 
So, what does all this mean? How does this make sense? Here's how. Let's say the dealership in question, being described as a "larger" dealership, sells about 300 cars a month (again, on average, of course). If 12.5% of their sales were Explorers, they themselves put almost 38 of them on the road each month.
 
If they started really selling them in April of 2001, this one "larger" dealer could very reasonably have 800 POTENTIALLY affected '02 and '03 vehicles on the road, all of which are on average right about 37,500 miles. And according to some in this forum, these rear ends are only good for about 30k.
 
47 rear ends in one year, out of 800 vehicles in service just from that dealer, is less than six percent, or one in 17 vehicles. That's my main point, and a point that has been made over and over. The Ford Explorer is one of the best-selling vehicles around (for good reason). There are millions of them on the road. So, numbers like this one, that got you all sarcastic, really don't seem so big when you look at them in perspective. If we were talking about a vehicle that doesn't have so many examples on the road, that would be a different story.
 
And, don't forget, like I have posted earlier, I am not saying that there is no problem. I have posted before that I know Ford is investigating both the gearset and the fluid used. I just want to show that these problems are much more minor than some people in these forums make them out to be. There is no need to buy an extended warranty (if you weren't going to otherwise) on a 6% chance that something will fail. And yes, I do beleive it is a supplier problem. In fact, I think that they probably used several suppliers, and that is why the problem only exists in a small percentage of the rear ends, instead of with a large portion of the vehicles produced.

#2210 of 3348 The 6 percent problem. by nvbanker

Jan 26, 2005 (3:08 pm)

Replying to: benderofbows (Jan 26, 2005 2:07 pm)
Very well spoken, bender. Exactly what's going on here.

Messages Page 221 of 335

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