- #229 of 252
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Re: 2003 Ford Explorer has blinking O/D light. [redruby529]
by jmathis555
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Mar 31, 2009 (8:56 am)
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Replying to: redruby529 (Jan 06, 2009 10:10 am)
I've got a 2002 & same thing happened, O/D light blinking & slipping between gears. Unfortunately mine was a "needs a new transmission" issue. Sounds like it's very common, I posted a complaint on CarComplaints.com & were well over 200 other complaints for the exact same thing. I'm not sure how to post a link on here but hopefully this helps you: http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2003/
Looks like it's a huge problem that affects multiple years. My 2002 has an enclosed transmission so apparently it's a bigger deal to get to & fix. Not sure about the 2003 but I'm guessing it's the same. Good luck!
-John
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- #230 of 252
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2003 Ford Explorer has blinking O/D light
by redruby529
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Mar 31, 2009 (9:17 am)
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Thanks for the response. Within a day of posting the problem, it started slipping realy bad (on the way to the mechanic). The problem progressed REALLY quick! Unfortunately mine was also a "needs a new transmission" issue as well. To the tune of $2800. Needless to say....it's now running great but I am kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. My husband has an Expedition that had a transmission problem as well thankfully it was under warranty....We will still remain a Ford family but from now on will just buy trucks! His F-150 had 185,000 HARD miles on it and it was a great truck...it actually still had a trade in value!
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- #231 of 252
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Re: 2003 Ford Explorer has blinking O/D light [redruby529]
by jmathis555
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Mar 31, 2009 (11:28 am)
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Replying to: redruby529 (Mar 31, 2009 9:17 am)
Ha, same situation with us, I've got a high-mileage 1999 F-150 we use as a plow truck & only had some minor brake problems... nowhere as expensive as our Explorer's transmission failure was. I traded our Explorer soon after I had it repaired because the rebuilt transmission only had a 90-day warranty. Actually I had it fixed, was happy with the repair (not the price) & forgot about it for awhile, then one day I thought I felt it slip a little & that was all the reminder I needed!
-John
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- #232 of 252
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Re: 2003 Ford Explorer has blinking O/D light [jmathis555]
by acunningham1
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Apr 02, 2009 (7:23 pm)
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Replying to: jmathis555 (Mar 31, 2009 11:28 am)
Join the club. Last year, June 2008 I had to have my transmission replaced at 42,000 miles and was out of pocket at about $2200. I bought it new, original owner. The O/D light came on and the gears were shifting from first to third. I have a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT. I called Ford's customer service department, sent letters to everyone from the Customer Service director to the CEO in hopes that someone would at least reimburse part of the costs. There is obviously a defect in these transmissions and Ford will not take responsibility.
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- #233 of 252
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Re: Transmission Slips when COLD! [brizendine]
by skyapple
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Apr 09, 2009 (2:40 pm)
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Replying to: brizendine (Mar 21, 2009 5:30 am)
I have the same thing..only noticed it w/ this cold weather (in early am's trying to leave my driveway ). The car sort of bucks.. and makes clugging noises.. When i get going straight, it's all ok. What to do? What is this? Thx for any help.
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- #234 of 252
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Re: 2003 Ford Explorer has blinking O/D light [redruby529]
by jk2309
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Apr 17, 2009 (4:19 pm)
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Replying to: redruby529 (Mar 31, 2009 9:17 am)
my o/d light started blinking at 95xxx miles just a month after i had a new tranny put in. i took it back to the mechanic that fixed it and he said there was nothing wrong. i told him to drive it for a couple days and then tell me if there was anything wrong with it. he called me 3 hours later to pick him up because he was broke down on the highway. he fixed the problem but at 110xxx miles the whole transmission wouldnt catch in any gear. he fixed it again claiming that he had to order a sleve to go in the transmission somewhere. it ran until it was just a month out of his 30xxx mile warranty. now at 142xxx miles it went out again. the new mechanic i took it to says that this year explorer (2003) has a defective case and if you rebuild it it will go out agan between 35xxx and 50xxx miles. its only 160 bucks for the updated case but the new selenoid packs and everything with labor is 2800 bucks and he said he'd warranty it for 5 years. i dont recommend going through what i did. just have them patch it for about 600 bucks and then trade it off for something else.
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- #235 of 252
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Re: 2002, XLT [fordex1]
by wpd029
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May 04, 2009 (5:20 pm)
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Replying to: fordex1 (Oct 01, 2007 12:50 pm)
Same thing happened to me, I have a 2002 Explorer XLS, Ford completed an overhaul on the transmission and it was under warranty. I just brought my car into Ford for transmission issues. Slipping and shudder from 4th to 5th. Ford wanted $4370.00 to fix. You know what I told them. Brought it to another Transmission Repair Facility and they said $2755.00. When conducting a follow up with the facility they asked if tranny work was done in the past because their was a plug in the vent. The rep told me this is not normal. They also found water or coolant in the tranny oil. Check this last year I brought the beast in for a brake job and the rear coil springs on the truck were cracked. The rep told me it was due poor parts quality. I feel your pain. I'll probably write a letter to Ford just to vent because their not going to do anything. And I only have 61000 miles on it.
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- #236 of 252
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Re: 2002, XLT [wpd029]
by acunningham1
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May 04, 2009 (7:21 pm)
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Replying to: wpd029 (May 04, 2009 5:20 pm)
I have a 2005 Ford Explorer XLS and the transmission went out at 43,000 miles. Did not purchase the extended warranty because this was my second Ford Explorer (1998) and did not have any problems. The O/D light came on and called Ford dealership. They told me it was a transmission problem but did not have a mechanic on site as it was a Friday evening. I took it into an independent and was told the car was shifting from 1st to 3rd gear so I let them fix it. I kept all the replaced parts and had the mechanic write a letter explaining the defective gears. I contacted Ford Customer Service and was told because I did not take it to a Ford dealership they could not help me. Either I got the shaft from the independent or obviously at 43,000 miles there had to be a defect. I purchased the SUV new. Ford customer service was no help. I even sent letters to the Director of Ford CS and the CEO. I knew they would not read them but hoped to get the problem escalated. I might as well sent them to my dog for what it was worth. At this point there is no way they would have a recall and I can't believe they don't know about these problems. Anyhow I won't purchase another Ford.
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- #237 of 252
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98 Ford Explorer Automatic 4WD Transmission
by agrywczynski
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May 07, 2009 (8:46 am)
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I have a 98 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition. It is a 5.0 liter V8. It will go into gear but will not move. I am trying to find a used transmission but need to know if anyone knows what transmissions will fit this?
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- #238 of 252
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Was it worth it?
by wasitworthit
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Jun 03, 2009 (9:59 am)
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I have just recently purchased a used 2002 ford explorer, eddie baure edition, with 100,000 miles on it. Now as of right now it has had (to my knowledge) no transmition problems, But does have a noise durring idle. I have breefly researched the car before I got it, but aparently not quite enough because of all the transmition problems I am reading about. Now my question is " Did I make a bad buy?" I have owned all fords before, and have done almost all of my own mechanical work, including transmition replacements. But this is the newest vehicle I have owned, and would like it to last a while without any major repaire.
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