After vehicle is out of warranty and only 88K old (I purchased in 2004 and was brand new), I was getting on hwy and attempted to accelerate. The SUV hesitated and then did a hard jump and finally accelerated, and at the same time the CHECK TRANSMISSION light came on and O/D light started blinking on and off. Took to Ford service center the next day. Of course they "test drove" vehicle (don't see how they did that because when I got my vehicle back it had same mileage as when I turned it over to them) and did not reproduce the problem. Did self test, found codes P0735 and P0775. Ran Oasis, found TSB 09-12-12 for similar conditions. Suspect servo bore has worn and causing abnormal transmission action. Was quoted a price of $1100 to install servo bore kit (not Ford piece) without a warranty guarentee, because would be fixed with non Ford parts. Was told that they had done this on 4 other vehicles over the past year and it fixed the problem. Was also quoted a price of $4500 to replace trans assembly (with a 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty). But of course, neither of these fixes would guarentee that it would finally repair the problem that I have. When asked why wasn't this fixed prior to warranty expiring, when I originally reported similar problems, was told that it's not the same problem and they usually see this type of problem occuring at 88K miles. What????? Vehicle is only 6 years old with 88K miles, never driven off road or under harsh conditions, never pulled trailer and always serviced (by the same Ford service center) at it's regularly scheduled times. Why transmission problems? Why not fix problem now without charge when originally detected problem prior to expriration of warranty?

Update from Nov 29, 2010: Had servo bore fixed (had to talk with owner of Ford dealership to talk down the price). Seemed like it fixed the problem. Now as of 11/26/10 my SUV took on life of it's own. I put in park, left it running in order to close my garage door. The SUV started to drive forward into my garage. I had to jump in the vehicle and put on the brakes, did not stop the vehicle. I let up on the brake and then the engine reved up and took off all the while while I am trying to slam on the brakes to stop the vehicle. Ended up driving through the back of my garage, into my yard, drove over a tree, ran through a fence and ended up hitting my neighbors house (concrete foundation finally stopped the out of control SUV). Put in a call to Ford customer service to report a vehicle rollaway and wondering why my vehicle never stopped. Was it the servo bore "fix" that caused a problem with my vehicle that made it have a life of it's own and not stop or was it something else? Now I have to wait 3 weeks to get packet back from Ford office of general counsel to see what they are going to do about checking my vehicle.

Update from Nov 29, 2010: Had servo bore fixed (had to talk with owner of Ford dealership to talk down the price). Seemed like it fixed the problem. Now as of 11/26/10 my SUV took on life of it's own. I put in park, left it running in order to close my garage door. The SUV started to drive forward into my garage. I had to jump in the vehicle and put on the brakes, did not stop the vehicle. I let up on the brake and then the engine reved up and took off all the while while I am trying to slam on the brakes to stop the vehicle. Ended up driving through the back of my garage, into my yard, drove over a tree, ran through a fence and ended up hitting my neighbors house (concrete foundation finally stopped the out of control SUV). Put in a call to Ford customer service to report a vehicle rollaway and wondering why my vehicle never stopped. Was it the servo bore "fix" that caused a problem with my vehicle that made it have a life of it's own and not stop or was it something else? Now I have to wait 3 weeks to get packet back from Ford office of general counsel to see what they are going to do about checking my vehicle.

I bought a 2004 Explorer in 2007 it had 36,000 on it. It drove fine for about a year then I stared to notice the transmission jerking. As of July 31, 2010 it has 108,000 miles on it and the tramission jerks really hard, the ABS light come on and goes off when it want's to. The rear end of the truck sways like it going to flip over if I go around a curve. When I let my foot off the gas there a jerking motion from the truck. I had it check out and the guy said it might be the transmission. I will not be buying any more Fords Explorer. I own a Ford minvan that I relly love. I just decided not to drive it any more.

Like others I had a problem with the transmission from the time it was bought. Dealer fixed it, it was fine until of course the warranty wore off. This was another Ford purchase after I swore I would not purchase another. Well I guess I don't have to be hit over the head a third time. No transmission that has been properly taken care of should have to be rebuilt at 70K miles on a decent truck. I can't believe Ford has not recalled this, it is obviously defective with so many people having the same issue.

FORD SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND ALSO THE CRACK BELOW THE REAR WINDOW!!! I TOOK MY EXPLORER TO THE DEALERSHIP IN TOWN AND THEY SAID ONLY WAY TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE WAS TO PUT A NEW SELENOID TO THE TUNE OF 800.00. I ASKED IF THERE HAD BEEN ANYMORE COMPLAINTS THAT THEY KNEW OF ABOUT THE FORD EXPLORER AND THEY SAID NO. THEY ALSO ADVISED ME THAT THE SOLENOID MAY NOT FIX THE PROBLEM!!! I ALSO HAVE OWNED A 2000 FORD EXPLORER BEFORE THE 2004 AND NOW I REALIZE IT IS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT. WAS STUPID FOR BUYING THE SECOND ONE. BUT I CAN PROMISE THERE WILL NEVER BE A 3RD OR EVEN A FORD AT THIS POINT!!

So I bought an 04 Ford Explorer XLT from Carmax and 60thousand miles later the transmissions seems to bog down when it attempts to upshift to a higher gear or do the upshift by fail to engage immediately. There is an obvious wait period of the engagement at the lower gear. Even when I jam the peddle to the floor it takes it like 5 seconds to actually get to the gear that is needed. It will bog down, upshift, and then upshift again. My previous SUV (95 Chevy Blazer) never had this pause in upshifting. I haven't gotten the rough shift into reverse or the lerching of the vehicle. Just don't like have to preplan when i will need to extra power to get to a faster speed.

In 2003 I traded my older model explorer in for a 2004 explorer. That was a horrible mistake. My fiancee noticed that the car was sliping as the gears were shifting when we were driving up a hill on the test drive! But of course I ignored it for my new shiny "loaded" car. It wasn't "that bad" in the beginning. However at just under 15,000 miles I took it into Ourisman World of Ford in Alexandria, Virginia because it was getting persistently worse. My exact complaint was "the car jerks into gear when put into reverse - it is more pronounced when turning and backing up." They "tested trans; performed pinpoint test; R&R trans pan; and added a replaced solenoid body." I had owned the car less than a year when this happened! I never had any problems with my original Explorer but after looking back over all of my service slips, I have had problems with this one since the beginning. I will never (read my lips) ever, buy another Ford. And I will tell everyone that will listen not to either. My old roommate used to tell me Ford meant Fix Or Repair Daily. She was right --- this problem (and a whole host of others) still persists to date!

I just paid off my truck, but I will probably have to spend just as much repairing it. Granted it has 130,000 (daily commuting & leisurely traveling) miles on it - but this has been a problem car since it left the dealership (Ourisman World of Ford, Alexandria, VA). The car seems like its never going to shift gears. I was on a slight incline crossing the Woodrow Wilson bridge last week and my car felt like it was an airplane taking off. This is exactly what I told my fiancee. The gears don't shift until I'm at 40 mph and then they slip just to get get there. And the jerking that happens when I shift gears is a running joke between me and my kids. When I back into my parking space I have to wait a full 30 seconds for the car to finally catapults into reverse. Its worse than the hurler at Kings Dominion. My neighbors have learned to go around me. Ford replace the solenoid body in 2004 (9 months after I purchased the truck brand new) and now, 6 years later this probably has persisted and gotten even worse. I can't believe they will not recall this and instead leave us consumers to replace the transmission. I'm sure I will have to - but it will be at the cost of Ford losing a loyal customer for the past 10 years. I am going to take the truck to Ford to see what they will say - but I'm sure they willl be singing the same song they've sung to the others - it's your problem now...not ours!

I am a 59 year old very careful driver who takes care of his cars. I own a 2004 Ford Explorer That I purchased two and a half years ago. It has 97,000 miles on it. The check engine light came on last month . I took it to the dealer . He says the bands are worn and that I will need over $3,000 for a new trans. A car with 97,000 miles on it shouldn't need a new transmission.Obviously Ford knows they screwed up.

Here's the rub. I have owned this car for two years. Prior to that I drove another 2004 Ford Explorer that my company provided for me. The bands got worn at 60,000 miles and the transmission had to be replaced. I figured it was a fluke and bought this one. I know , I'm an idiot . I have learned enough this time to never buy another Ford product.

Just add me to the growing list of 2004 Ford Explorer owners with transmission problems and rear bearing problems. Had to replace transmission and rear bearings at 63,000 miles. I reported the issue to the Better Business Bureau and called Ford Motor Corp to enter a complaint. Ford would not negotiate with me at all on cost of repair. Everyone having this problem please call Ford and maybe we can get a recall. Hold on to your repair receipts. If Ford recalls we can get a refund as long as you can produce your receipt.

My sister had transmission trouble on her 04 Explorer at 46,000 miles. It went into gear slowly, and shifted hard in 2nd-3rd. I looked all over for the transmission dipstick and couldn't find one. The book said it had none and to take it to the dealer for a check-up. I took it to Dorian Ford in Detroit and they put in the new solenoid the same day at a cost of $460. My sister was livid that her vehicle could have such a major problem, so soon. She bought it with 24,000 miles and never planned on such a repair. It sounds like others have had worse situations than my sister did. Dorian Ford (Kyle) was very understanding and fixed the problem on the same day I took it to them. Wow!

My 2004 Ford Explorer is the 3rd Explorer that I have owned. I started experiencing transmission problems around 50,000 miles. I took it to the dealership 6 times before I finally got a competent person to ride in the car with me and experience the same problem that I was complaining of. They had the truck around 3 days and supposedly fixed the problem. Shortly after my 60,000 mile warranty expired I was experiencing the same problem but only occasionally. I now have 140,000 miles and the transmission is horrible. Of course every time I took it to the dealership thy want to charge me ridiculous amounts to even diagnose the problem. My vehicle is barley operable now and I am still paying on it. Seems to me if it is the same problem they have fixed before that maybe they should fix it again, but Ford doesn't see it that way. My father has worked for Ford since he was 18 years old and I have always bought Ford vehicles until now. My daughter recently turned 16 and there was no way in hell I was letting her drive around in a Ford. When this Explorer finally dies, which I anticipate to be soon, as I have no money to pay thousands of dollars for a transmission, I will never buy a Ford AGAIN!