Door ajar light and beeping sensor is always going off. Causing the doors to unlock while driving and also causing the inside dome light to turn on and off. I have done some research and alot of Ford Explorer are having this problem.

- Forked River, NJ, USA

2002 Ford Explorer limited electrical issues: 1)when I push the rear defroster button the 'door ajar ' notice comes on 2)when the rear defroster is on the mirror adjustment switch does not work 3)if I leave the automatic headlight switch on and I shut the car down and lock it with the key farb the horn beeps twice (indicating the door is ajar) and the interior light stays on. I have to either switch the automatic headlight switch to off or manually turn the interior light off. 4)the back up beeper switch sometimes goes off when I put the car in reverse. Thanks for helping me out.

- Baldwin, NY, USA

On Dec 4th 2009, my 2002 Ford Explorer was driving fine one minute and the next the O/D light started flashing. I turned off the ignition and restarted the vehicle. The O/D light blinking went away. The very next day again, with the light once again flashing, the vehicle refused to move forward when gas pedal was engaged; however the RPM revved up between 3 and 4. throughout that same day, I attempted to get vehicle into drive mode...eventually the vehicle just inched forward and finally stopped moving altogether. After a consultation with my local transmission repair shop.. I was dishearten to learn that in order to repair, what he described as a bad transmission, which is very common with the 2002 Ford Explorer..I'd have to pay $2868....since this incredible revelation, I'm discovering Ford knows all about but refuses to do the conscionable thing and recall these defective, dangerous but costly vehicles. I regrettable paid the $2868 repair charge for a rebuilt tranny with absolutely no assistance from Ford. My vehicle is paid off and I really cant afford to just invest close to 3K in a vehicle that should've been recalled and fixed especially since the Ford corporation is fully aware but doesn't care about the people who still buy american and want to continue supporting american made products. But since Ford refuses to stand behind their product, it may force a loyal customer to go elsewhere in the future when purchasing a new vehicle. My vehicle was recently repaired on 2/8/10.. so far I've driven it once... so far so good...I received a better warranty from my tranny shop than the Ford company was willing to stand behind. The drivers side door ajar alarm chimes while door is securely closed. The locking mechanism opens and closes. This issue is also known and a problem for the 2002 Ford Explorer and yet still no recall... thank you for listening to my complaint.

- Springfield, MA, USA

Since May 2007 vehicle has electrical problems reported to armstrong Ford in homestead fl. They are never able to ascertain problem with simple diagnostic. However constant diagnostic and fix this and that and do or don't do this have cost me hundreds of dollars. In the meantime I continue to have problems.

- Cutler Bay, FL, USA

2002 Ford Explorer XLT: Rec'd recall notice about cruise control switch with fire hazard and brake fluid leakage driving or in park. Called dealer 'armstrong Ford in homestead Ford twice. Once sent to voice mail of service manager with no return call. Following day 11/17 spoke with service advisor who stated to call back on fri or mon 11/20 or 11/23 as part was unavailable. I find this unacceptable. In addition I have electrical problems that consistently create shorts with parts or displays in console which this dealer has been unable to resolve thus costing me hundreds of dollars each time. Thank you.

- Cutler Bay, FL, USA

My wife and I owned a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT with 4WD. And a 4.0L engine. On the night of 1-15-2009, I picked my wife up from work at 11:35pm we went to the grocery store and afterwards proceeded to our home, this whole trip took a total of twenty to twenty five minutes and a distance of about one mile of driving round trip to my wife's work the grocery store and then to our house.we arrived home, parked the vehicle behind our residence and prepared to go to bed. Around 2:00am I got up from my sleep to get a glass of water in our kitchen, which faces the area that we park in, as I was filling my glass I noticed an orangish red glow in the back yard, upon looking out the window, I saw that the front end of our vehicle was on fire. My wife came down from our bedroom crying as I called the fire department. I went out with a fire extinguisher to see if I could put the fire out myself but the front end of the vehicle was burning too much for me to be able to do anything.the fire department put the fire out and my vehicle was towed. There was hardly anything left of the front end, just the frame, motor, rims and some other parts. The insurance company had a fire investigator of theirs do an inspection of my vehicle and they determined that the fire had started on the drivers side of the vehicle around the master cylinder, probably as a result of the cruise control switch located on it. Do to the extent of the damage from the fire and the fact that they were unable to locate the switch because the master cylinder had melted, they were unable to proceed any further in contacting Ford. The vehicle was a total loss, unrepairable ! about 1 - 2 months before the fire, I had checked with dealers and online myself and was told there was no recall on my vehicle for this type of problem, the sad part about this whole mess is we only had about six more months and the vehicle was paid for, now we have to start all over again.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

My wife and I owned a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT with 4WD. And a 4.0L engine. On the night of 1-15-2009, I picked my wife up from work at 11:35pm we went to the grocery store and afterwards proceeded to our home, this whole trip took a total of twenty to twenty five minutes and a distance of about one mile of driving round trip to my wife's work the grocery store and then to our house.we arrived home, parked the vehicle behind our residence and prepared to go to bed. Around 2:00am I got up from my sleep to get a glass of water in our kitchen, which faces the area that we park in, as I was filling my glass I noticed an orangish red glow in the back yard, upon looking out the window, I saw that the front end of our vehicle was on fire. My wife came down from our bedroom crying as I called the fire department. I went out with a fire extinguisher to see if I could put the fire out myself but the front end of the vehicle was burning too much for me to be able to do anything.the fire department put the fire out and my vehicle was towed. There was hardly anything left of the front end, just the frame, motor, rims and some other parts. The insurance company had a fire investigator of theirs do an inspection of my vehicle and they determined that the fire had started on the drivers side of the vehicle around the master cylinder, probably as a result of the cruise control switch located on it. Do to the extent of the damage from the fire and the fact that they were unable to locate the switch because the master cylinder had melted, they were unable to proceed any further in contacting Ford. The vehicle was a total loss, unrepairable ! about 1 - 2 months before the fire, I had checked with dealers and online myself and was told there was no recall on my vehicle for this type of problem, the sad part about this whole mess is we only had about six more months and the vehicle was paid for, now we have to start all over again.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Door agar light. All the doors will be shut and while driving the door ajar light and beeping noise will come one. Which results also in the interior lights to flicker on and off. It does it everyday and keeps going till the veh is in part. Also when the car is parked the lights will come on and off, I cant even lock my doors anymore.

- Columbia, TN, USA

When I tried to remove my key from the ignition, the entire ignition cylinder came out!! my car had to be towed and have a new cylinder installed! a year later, it happened again!!! so I have had to replace my Ford ignition cylinder twice and my car only has 60,000 miles on it now---so probably had only about 40,000 miles the first time it happened and 50,000 the second time. Also-- now my fuel gauge says empty all the time, even after I just filled it with gas! and it's too expensive to fix! I did get the driver seatbelt fixed, because it didn't tighten, but now it's too hard to pull out and use! lastly, both inside mirror covers have just cracked off when lifting open, and I can't afford to replace both of the entire visors! we have 3 Ford and this is the only one that's ever had problems. Dates are spread out so it's too hard to complete that part of the form below.

- Stafford, VA, USA

2002 Explorer started out with alot of electrical problems and now depending on how much you push in the gas pedal the transmission starts slipping. Just like alot of other complaints. Had some similar trouble with it about 2 years ago dealer said had to wait till it got worse to find exact problem.

- South Fork, PA, USA

Approached stop sign at a slow rate of speed - basically coasting 30 - 40 feet from a driveway, as the brakes were applied, the engine started to rev up, liken to the cruise control engaging, and brakes could not restrain vehicle and it was basically pushed through the stop sign and collided with an oncoming vehicle, there was insufficient time to put the vehicle in neutral or turn off the engine, this was the first time this ever happened, vehicle was in good condition and mechanically well maintained, the weather was clear and the roads were dry, the vehicle was taken to a dealership to have on-board computer read - no error codes were noted, as a result of the accident - the vehicle was totaled.

- Painter, VA, USA

Severe cracks in back window housing. Crack is so severe, consideration of window falling out is possible. Information panel registers door ajar which consequently flashes internal lights, re-locks doors, sets warning bells to go off. Often, door ajar does not register, but electric locks lock re-lock and lock many times with warning bells going off, interior lights flickering, many times in one instance. All activities happen intermittently, without cause or reason causing severe distraction to driver. Theft alarm goes off after vehicle has been locked several hours; for no apparent reason. When unlocked and re-locked, continues to go off intermittently. I believe the rear window housing break is the root of all this activity.

- Redding, CA, USA

Have engine problem warranty will not cover because dealer put back odometer.

- Waterbury, CT, USA

Ford Explorer O/D flashing and check transmission coming on it was at the Ford dealer for 3 weeks they said it was my PCM and now they are saying it a wiring problem but my car is doing the same thing it was before I took it to them.

- Detroit, MI, USA

It started very early after buying the 2002 Ford Explorer...electrical prob..couldn't get veh started...100 miles away from home dealership....towed to closest Ford dealership...fixed; or so we thought. Same thing happened a week later. Home dealership advised us that the other dealership installed the wrong part and it could have caused life-threatening problems....we contacted the other dealership and advised them what our home dealership said...of course the dealership denied this...anyway...home dealership installed new part...veh ok....then wheel bearings had to be replaced in front 1st left side-then right. (this was after the rear end was replaced) boy, was that a major fight with the home dealership! now! the transmission is gone!!!!! isn't there something we can do" Ford has been using defective parts!!!!and now asking for government money??"!!!!Ford should be paying for this!

- Hamptonville, NC, USA

Battery died on 2002 Ford Explorer. Installed new battery and 4 wheel drive module quit working. Bought new part for $202. Fixed problem with new part. Obviously the realized the defect and refuse to do recall.

- Lisle, NY, USA

Reading the forums and many people have been having problems with their Explorer 4X4. I have the same problem. Seems like if you disconnect the battery or your battery dies so does your control module for the 4X4. Mine stopped working when that happened. That is when my 4X4 selector switch lights stopped working and my 4X4 was not engaging. Seems like Ford needs to recall this part. I got a new control module and it started working again. Could be dangerous in winter time for this type of vehicle to have no 4X4.

- Wyoming, MI, USA

Door ajar constantly on. Interior dome light front and cargo come on and off for minutes at a time. Beeps and chimes sporadically for no given time or reason while driving, stopping, turning or any other action. A distraction to driving; especially dome lights at night and beeps/chimes which can also interfere with radio sound output and attention. Has been in and out of dealer with no result. Have provided other online complaints to service manager regarding same issue with no result.

- Cutler Bay, FL, USA

Purchased a 2002 Ford exp eddie bauer ed used with 35,000 miles. Transmission had to be repaired within 3 weeks due to 4WD malfunction covered by warranty. Passenger side window motor assembly has been replaced once, and window regulator has been replaced once, and is in need of a second replacement. Took to local dealership and was told window was not meant to be lowered halfway. The rear hatch has also cracked completely down from window to lower panel. Dealership will not acknowledge issues with this occurring, but upon further research have found this to be a common problem with this vehicle make and model. Overdrive light blinks continuously and dealership reports it to be a malfunctioning electrical switch repair cost at around $400. Have continued to drive vehicle, but will no longer drive vehicle after discovering that this is a precursor to transmission failure. May possibly trade-in this vehicle and lose monetary value for private sale. Will not be responsible for selling this vehicle to a private party and risk injury to next owner. Shame on Ford for not taking care of their customers.

- San Angelo, TX, USA

My dashboard has digital mileage/ temp and trip....however, since I got the SUV in December of 2007, the cluster that shows that information has not been up. The dealership I bought the SUV from refused to have it fixed and I need to know what I can do without spending alot of money.

- Tucson, AZ, USA