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Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2006 and newer

859 messages,  Last post on Feb 28, 2012 at 4:00 PM

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

Messages Page 83 of 86

#820 of 859 2002 mountaineer transmission dead by RPOHOUTX

Dec 15, 2008 (8:03 pm)

how many people have had the problem with the od light coming on, the message transmission light comes on, transmission slips, up shifts, then it just started slipping, i had only 88,000+ miles on vehicle, transmission was checked and had to be rebuilt, there was a a bad design somewhere, when a piece of equipment wont even last 100,000 miles, it just gives you doubts about ford products. all maintenance work was kept up through ford dealership.

#821 of 859 Re: 2002 mountaineer transmission dead [RPOHOUTX] by waygrabow

Jan 10, 2009 (9:02 pm)

Replying to: RPOHOUTX (Dec 15, 2008 8:03 pm)
What engine and transmission does the Mountaineer have? It is hard for me to have doubts about (all?) Ford products because your (one) Mountaineer has a problem. I've had Ford products that gave me wonderful service and some that weren't so great, but I never thought that I could make a blanket statement about all Ford products.

#822 of 859 '07 Ford Explorer Transmission Issues V8 (4WD) by camatt1

Jan 19, 2009 (7:34 pm)

I'm looking at an '07 Ford Explorer (4WD) in the V8 & wondered what are some
of the problems associated with this years model,...especially from current owner's
out there. My impressions is that the '06 experienced more reliability issues than
the '07 Explorer but I don't have an factual data or knowledge if that's true, especially
involving the transmission. Any comments regarding reliability, what to look out for
and if the '07 Explorer SUV (4WD) V8 is a good vehicle to pursue in the "used"
marketplace? Anyone recently purchased one, in the Eddie Bauer Trim, and
what was the final deal price?

#823 of 859 Re: '07 Ford Explorer Transmission Issues V8 (4WD) [camatt1] by gldnbr2

Jan 20, 2009 (5:36 pm)

Replying to: camatt1 (Jan 19, 2009 7:34 pm)
There are many nice things that I like about the 06 Mountaineer, but I would not buy another used or new. The transmission in the 06 is horrible. From nearly day one through today it slips and hesitates at slow speeds. It takes a second or more to engage which can be dangerous if you need sudden acceleration. the transmission also suffered an astounding problem of clunking when slowing down to a stop. It felt as if the vehicle was struck from behind. After over a year Ford came out with a fix that has actually limited this problem. My mountaineer still will clunk on a rare occasion, but luckily much more minor then before. Many other aspects of this vehicle are exceptional. If deciding to buy be sure the transmission has had the latest fix for the transmission. I would test drive by slowing down to nearly a stop and then re-applying aggressively the accelerator to see if the transmission lags and doesn't engage quickly and smoothly. There should also be no feeling of a jerk or clunk. Good luck.

#824 of 859 Re: '07 Ford Explorer Transmission Issues V8 (4WD) [gldnbr2] by baggs32

Jan 22, 2009 (7:44 pm)

Replying to: gldnbr2 (Jan 20, 2009 5:36 pm)
It takes a second or more to engage which can be dangerous if you need sudden acceleration. the transmission also suffered an astounding problem of clunking when slowing down to a stop. It felt as if the vehicle was struck from behind.
 
Like you said there is a software fix for this from Ford. Most who have had it done seem to think it did the trick.
 
There's a good explanation of the problem by a Ford engineer somewhere on a Ford forum I frequent. It's not a problem with the transmission exactly but rather a side-effect of the new tranny design. Something about it not using a clutch pack or something like that. It wasn't intended and is, IIRC, inherent to the design. I believe the software update changes the shfting algorithm enough to smooth that "bump" feeling which is supposedly not harmful to the tranny at all.
 
I have an '06 V6 with the 5-speed tranny and it's as smooth as butter so far. However the V8 does get slightly better FE and has a lot more power if you can live with the "bump" or have it fixed and live without it.

#825 of 859 My 2006 Explorer Is Wonderful by fsmmcsi

Jan 26, 2009 (1:48 pm)

My 2006 Explorer EB V8 with rear wheel drive has 52,000 miles on it and has been a wonderful vehicle. It is a work vehicle, and has no third row seat and no factory subwoofer, thus making the rear storage area wide enough for my 15' Little Giant ladder and various tools and supplies used for inspecting and testing for toxic / hazardous materials. I installed an pioneer AVIC-Z1 navigation and sound system, with XM, XM Navtraffic, Bluetooth for wireless cell phone use, and a rear view camera, plus four speakers, just after I bought it.
 
When I destroyed one of the factory tires, I replaced the factory tires with the excellent Pirelli Scorpion STRa tires, a substantial improvement.
 
All of the negative comments regarding the transmission really seem to eb comments regarding specific dealer mechanics. My 2006 EB V8 had a problem with a rough downshift to first when coming to a stop, but it did not bother me much. I only had it fixed just before the warrantly expired to take advantage of the free service. The mechanic at Santa Margarita ford kept it for several days, and took it apart twice to get it right.
 
I lock and unlock the doors many times on a typical day, so was not surprised when the power lock on the driver's door failed last week. I removed the door latch on Saturday, dismantled it Sunday, found a small gear worn at one end, flipped the gear on its shaft, and lubricated the mechanism. It should bb good for another 50,000 miles..

#826 of 859 Re: My 2006 Explorer Is Wonderful [fsmmcsi] by baggs32

Jan 27, 2009 (10:32 am)

Replying to: fsmmcsi (Jan 26, 2009 1:48 pm)
My 2006 EB V8 had a problem with a rough downshift to first when coming to a stop, but it did not bother me much.
 
That's the one everyone is talking about. I'm not sure why your dealer was taking the tranny apart because there is a software fix for it. They should be able to take care of it in less than an hour.

#827 of 859 Re: My 2006 Explorer Is Wonderful [baggs32] by dave1309

Jan 27, 2009 (10:47 am)

Replying to: baggs32 (Jan 27, 2009 10:32 am)
Have to agree with Baggs.
 
I had the same problem and the fix was two stage. First time a new code was released to flash the system but I still had problems. Second time (several weeks later) another new code was released along with replacing something called a Valve Body that evidently had a new design.
After the second trip the mechanic told me he cleaned out all the adaptive learning memory and suggested I drive it normally for 50 miles (short trip down the highway) and give it a few miles to readjust. First five miles it had some mild shift problems then it seemed to adjust and have not had any problems since.
Lucky for me this was all under warranty however I did buy an extended warranty just in case.

#828 of 859 Panel under rear hatch glass is cracked, noticed others with same issue.... by igozoomzoom

Jan 27, 2009 (2:06 pm)

My sister has an '04 Explorer XLT and the exterior panel (plastic, I think) located between the rear hach glass and the license plate recently cacked into two pieces! Since that happened, I've spotted at least four other Explorers with the same broken panel...so I'm guessing this isn't an isolate incident?
 
Does anyone else know about this issue or perhaps you've experienced the same problem? I'd love to find out that Ford will replace it (even though the warranty is long gone), but I'm wondering if it was a defective part altogether that they should be paying to replace?
 
Any advice will be appreciated!

#829 of 859 Re: Panel under rear hatch glass is cracked, noticed others with same issue.... [igozoomzoom] by baggs32

Jan 28, 2009 (7:37 pm)

Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jan 27, 2009 2:06 pm)
I've read about your cracked hatch problem before. IIRC, Ford does not fix that under warranty unfortunately. Others have stated they had to pay for it out of pocket. That's not to say you can't try if you still have some kind of warranty working for you though. I've only read about it a few times.

Messages Page 83 of 86

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