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Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2005 and earlier

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

You are in the Ford Explorer Forum.

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

Messages Page 230 of 336

#2284 of 3348 Re: [benderofbows]Thank You! [02xls] by benderofbows

Feb 10, 2005 (8:26 am)

Replying to: 02xls (Feb 09, 2005 10:30 pm)
Thank you for bringing some of your own research to the table, now we should be able to have discussions which are more interesting. It is frustrating to try and debate someone who doesn't support their claims. Good work by the way.
 
I never tried to make the argument that the Explorer is among the best in reliability. I was countering your claims that is was un-reliable, to be avoided, definately will have problems, etc. I am happy to come to an agreement with you that it is "average." What model year did CR list as to be avoided? I just find it interesting that everyone on this forum agrees that the 1991-2001 Explorers were really reliable, durable long-lasting trucks; and now even though CR indicates improving reliability and other indicators are showing average or above, you still try to say they aren't as good as they were.
 
Of course Ford and GM still have a way to go to match the quality of the imports. Don't snub Hyundai, they are making dramatic improvements in quality, spending very large sums of money and implementing impressive new technologies and processes. Interesting you should mention the Trailblazer and Rendezvous, their sibling the GMC Envoy was actually rated 4/5 by AIS also. I still consider 4/5 to be above average, on a 5-point scale. I'd say three was average.
 
I stated that the NHTSA ODI had not issued any recalls for the Explorer based on consumer complaints, even though they had conducted three investigations. That was to show that either there are not as many people out there complaining as you lead on, or that their complaints are the individual dealers' (service departments') fault and not Fords. There are no recalls '04 and above, I'm not sure if the letter for the tranny additive counts. It's not showing up yet if it does. For '02 models there are 4 recalls, concerning the liftgate and running board lights. For a good comparison, take a look at the '02 Chevy Trailblazer, they are pretty scary: "front lower control arm brackets may fracture... result in separation of the front lower control arm from the frame- loss of vehicle control, resulting in a crash; vehicle can roll when the transmission is in "park" and a crash could result without warning; air bag inflator could fracture at a weld during a deployment, pieces of the inflator could strike and injure vehicle occupants and the air bag cushion would not inflate fully, reducing the capability of the bag to protect the driver; In a crash missing welds could degrade performance of the third row seat and safety belt anchorage and occupants could receive greater injuries; windshield wipers can cease operation while in use, causing reduced visibility resulting in a crash." Way more serious that the X.
 
Here's the whole story behind post #2223, which I had abbreviated for use as an example of how a good relationship with your service department can make a big difference. I noticed during a very high-speed run on the freeway that I was getting a very slight vibration in the steering wheel upon light brake application. I consulted some friends who know more about vehicle mechanics than I do and they said it was most likely warped brake rotors. This made sense to me because I know I have been very hard on the brakes. If you read my profile you will see that before this I drove a Mazda 626 which weighed about 2,850 lbs. The Explorer is about 4,475 lbs. That's a big difference! I had to adjust my driving style big-time. Anyways, when I told my service advisor about the vibration she thought it would be warped rotors as well. I told her not to fix those that day as I wanted to wait until it got worse before I shelled out the dough (I assumed that, as normal wear items, pads and rotors would be excluded from my warranty, as stated by the papers at time of purchase). However, she suprised me by saying she'd get them taken care of under warranty. However it turned out a tire was out of balance and causing the vibration under certain conditions. Even if it had been the rotors, why would that mean that Ford had definately used a cheap supplier or installed them incorrectly? Those are the kinds of slippery slope arguments which irritate me. Doesn't driving style play a big part in brake life?
 
The main thing I don't understand is how everyone can agree (even you yourself have said) that the older Explorers last a very long time relatively trouble-free, and we have both done research showing that the newer models are rated as good or better as their predecessors, but yet you still try to put them down and call them unreliable. It doesn't make sense.

#2285 of 3348 Re: [benderofbows]Thank You! [02xls] [benderofbows] by explorerx4

Feb 10, 2005 (6:27 pm)

Replying to: benderofbows (Feb 10, 2005 8:26 am)
i think my '02 explorer has pretty good brakes. just over 40k, still on originals, no pedal vibration. although i try not to use the brakes, i have to drive in an urban setting when commuting and take lots of trips with a heavy load(not towing though). they still have good 'feel', although i'm pretty sure i will have to get them serviced before i hit 50k, but you never know.
the transmission issue may be what is termed a 'customer satisfaction program', or something like that.

#2286 of 3348 Re: [ANT14] by ottav

Feb 10, 2005 (7:27 pm)

Replying to: ANT14 (Feb 09, 2005 11:03 am)
Ant:
Do you think the 2006 will be significantly more expensive than a 2005?

#2287 of 3348 by ANT14

Feb 10, 2005 (7:41 pm)

Hardly, prices will increase by a few hundreds, but mainly to reflect the changes. Otherwise they will level off at what you currently see now.

#2288 of 3348 With the 292HP V8 by marsha7

Feb 11, 2005 (6:34 am)

and the floor shifter, the Mountaineer is now competing (in my mind, that is) with Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi...

#2289 of 3348 Re: [ANT14] by ottav

Feb 11, 2005 (10:06 am)

Replying to: ANT14 (Feb 09, 2005 11:03 am)
Ant:
Are any of the '06 going to be two-tone, or are they all going to be monochromatic? Also, in the literature, it seems that they are not going to have the cladding that the current models have. Is the bottom part going to be steel?

#2290 of 3348 by ANT14

Feb 11, 2005 (3:31 pm)

Yes, 2-tone will continue.

#2291 of 3348 2002 Explorer fog lights by ryana97

Feb 14, 2005 (10:52 am)

I own a '02.5 Explorer EB and on my vehicle I noticed that the fog lights will not go on if the headlight switch is in the automatic mode. I tried to pull on the switch. The fog lights work when the headlight switch is in the park or normal headlight position by pulling on the switch. The owners manual states that the fog lights should be able to be used in all switch locations. I brought the vehicle into a dealer last week and said that the automatic mode had a different circuit so the fog lights would not work. Recently had a rental '05 Explorer and the fog lights worked in the automatic mode. Just want to know the real story before the original warranty expires

#2293 of 3348 Re: 2002 Explorer fog lights [ryana97] by pnewby

Feb 14, 2005 (12:08 pm)

Replying to: ryana97 (Feb 14, 2005 10:52 am)
My early '02 works like yours. No fogs on auto mode. I think it was a mid yaer switchover, so you might have hit the early switch with the '02.5 My OM stated it worked this way on auto.

Messages Page 230 of 336

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