I have owned 3 explorers since 2001. Every (Exploder) as I call them has been a real pain and a real inconvenience for me. it has been a consstant fight to get anything done. I have spent more on repairs than should have been necessary with new cars from Ford. I have had this 2004 for one year and already the transmission is slipping. I know, because my 2003 did the same thing. I spent $600.00 to replace the wheelbearings on the front wheels because it seized up and wouldn't drive. Now this one is not shifting when I put it in reverse. The ABS light keeps coming on and the 4X4 High keeps coming on. It has always shifted hard and the rumbling in the inside of the car is so loud even the radio won't drowned it out. Of course, like every other Explorer owner, my back hatch is also cracked. I catch myself going down the highway to look at otherExloders hatches to see if theirs is cracked too.

Ford should be ashamed of this product and to have it out on the road knowing that the transmission has the shaving in it and will eventually have to be replaced. At the price of the auto to begin with you would think they could at least fix their MISTAKES. I guess if no one gets seriously injured or killed it's worth recalling this. I won't buy another ford in my life. What a piece of crap they have turned out to be. Fix or repair daily, Found on Road Dead. Yep that's their motto. How Proud that makes them. Maybe 20/20 or 48 hours would like to do a story on this problem that seems to be every vehicle at any mileage. I am so disappointed in this vehicle I will black mark the Ford name and I have relatives that work at Ford.

Well---Again-- picking up the Explorer from the Transmission place--they tell me there is no problem--I am thinking they just don't want to fix it--it's funny the car sucks for not only myself, my husband and my father and this man tells me "he finds nothing!" One of these days the car is going to jolt so bad into drive I am going to run into something! Seriously! I put into reverse--hit the gas--nothing happens!!!! Then bam! we jolt backwards! Same things happens while putting it into drive! Even when it I put into park! How in the hell am I to sell this car? No one would buy it! I am scared to sell it to someone! Called Ford--they took my complaint and said sorry at this time we do not have a recall! I am out of money and soon to be out of a car!!! The warranty from the Transmission place is up--I started calling them well before this time! they fixed a switch once! Now he says nope not going to fix it-can't find anything--your warranty is up! I paid you $5,000 for a new tranny and now looks like I will be in a wreck or buying another transmission (oh hell no-i will be walking)! And definitely not from That Transmission place--Ford problem or not! They just made me feel like I am "harassing" them. Not happy!!! Come on Ford I have had previous Fords!!!! Not getting another!

Ok guys, here is the scoop. 2004 V8 transmission problems just like most others- slips between 3rd and 4th only. And a delay/hard clunk in Reverse. Well, I got it fixed by replacing the solenoid pack- it was $600 total from an independent shop. Ford quoted $1000.

Replacing solenoid may only temporarily fix the problem- I just got mine done so not sure how long it will last.

The problem is that the metal shavings (something is wearing inside) get clogged in the little pinholes in the solenoid. If the magnet inside the transmission doesn't pick up some pieces, it can get recirculated and cause problems. The real solution is to rebuild the transmission to stop the excessive wearing and creation of metal shavings. But I am hoping, with the low miles I drive, that the problem will not surface again for a while- maybe I'll sell the car by then.

My car shifts perfectly now and no hard/delayed shifting.

I have owned 5 Explorers before this one. This car has been nothing but problems! The transmission has been slipping since approximately 70,000 miles. My father was an automatic transmission mechanic so he trained me to take care of the transmission by coming to a complete stop before transferring gears. Along with regular servicing...etc... Nothing worked with this one. I tried to baby it and it lasted another 10,000 miles before it became unbearable. The transmission mechanic told me to drive it until the ABS light came on a stayed. He was right...the week that it happened, the overdrive kicked off and the transmission started to seize!!!!! This is the same model that my best friend has and hers did the same thing! What's the deal FORD!!!!! The only help that I got from Ford is like always...this isn't covered!!! It should have been a recalled item...Especially after being a loyal Explorer owner! I am looking at an Acura MDX now....Your loss Ford!!!

Well, I guess I was waiting for the inevitable... Had very sporadic slipping of gears over the past three years, usually going uphill in cruise control. Just in the past month, the car seemed to be making more noise (which I thought were the new tires) and now a slight vibration. Today, the car began slipping when in overdrive on the freeway on a flat section and again multiple times when going up a mountain pass before making it home. After the first slip years ago, I researched online and found 1000's of complaints on the 2004 explorer with transmission problems. I should have known when Ford issued a recall for the car within the first month of owning saying I must take the suv to a local dealer to get new fluid for the transmission??? I was skeptical at the time and should have asked more questions. I think the mechanics said "Ford put the wrong fluid in that doesn't run at the right temperature"... I'm sure they knew there was a problem and were trying to put a bandaid on their flawed transmissions to make the cars last through their already crummy drive train warranty. Now I'm going to go to my mechanic tomorrow (who I trust) and see what he advises to do. The most frustrating thing I've read is that many people have had their transmissions replaced- only to have them fail within 6 months to two years after? I want to know if it is even worth fixing if I have to spend 1000's of $. I meticulously care for my cars like my dad and he NEVER has had to replace a transmission in any of his Fords (still has his 1985 F350 crew cab for work). SOOO frustrated. Hope something can be done to make Ford liable for this mess.

I just wanted to offer some hope to all the 2004 explorer owners that are experiencing the hard shifting problems so prominently mentioned on this site. I started having the problem in 2011 with aprox 85,000 miles on the vehicle. It originally started out as a LONG time to shift into reverse, especially so if you turned into a parking space and then immediately put it into reverse to back up and straighten out. It could pause for 2-3 seconds and then clunk hard into reverse. This was very scary as it could have been very dangerous if you were applying too much gas and it not being engaged in reverse yet. The problem was intermittent at best and might not show up for weeks . I eventually took it to a mechanic who suggested changing the fluid. I had him do it as well as change the filter (cost approx. $125 ) . That helped a little but it still happened. Then the problem started appearing when shifting from 1st to 2nd. but only if on a slight incline. Once again you would get the pause and then clunk. Finally in the spring when the car had 100,000 miles on it , I went to use it and it wouldn't shift into any gear period. Had it towed to a transmission shop (No name local garage that my son had dealings with) He tore apart the tranny and found metal pieces in the pan from all that clunking. He changed out the necessary damaged parts changed out the solenoid pack and it has worked flawlessly for the past 5,000 miles. Total cost $1500. Did I enjoy spending the money NO! but I think the vehicle will perform for another 50,000 + miles and it will be worth it. I read a lot about how bad this tranny is but the bottom line is it's probably only the solenoid pack that's bad and if you take it to a trusted mechanic before the clunking causes more serious problems you may get by for $500 bucks. Hope this helps

After experiencing slippage last year I had the fluid changed at 85000 and now it is starting again. Last year I looked for problems on the web and found hundreds of Explorer owners disgruntled at Ford for not even making an attempt to address the problem or at least offer a better discount. Now I have a car that is beautiful inside and out and that has given me no problems up until now that I really like driving but want to upgrade because its getting old. Resale value is down because everyone knows there's a problem with these vehicles and the trade in value is affected. You make a good product Ford but you need to stand behind them when there's a problem. Toyota spent millions on a minor problem that might not even be of their making but they did it anyway. time for a Toyota I guess.

FIRST, ONE THING I LEARNED ON HOW TO PREVENT MY TRANS FROM ENGAGING ROUGHLY FROM PARK TO REVERSE IS SHIFT TRANS INTO NEUTRAL FROM PARK FIRST (WAIT A 3-5 SECONDS) THEN SHIFT INTO REVERSE AND THIS SEEMS TO PREVENT THE WHOLE PROBLEM 90% OF THE TIME.

I found out that Ford was aware of the transmission problem before I purchased my Ford Explorer in Sept. 2004. Solenoid becomes damages from the transmission fluid Ford chose to put into the 04' Explorer and other models as well. If only I would have investigated this truck on the net before purchasing it, we would not be stuck with a LEMON NOW!! PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK BY USING THE NET TO EVALUATE ANYTHING YOU ARE PLANNING TO PURCHASE BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT. I WILL NEVER BUY A FORD AGAIN. I give an explanation to the complete circumstance to my situation below if you care to read so that you will see how easily one can be RIPPED-OFF by all these so called transmission shops also. I did have problem fixed immediately and my Explorer now has 105k miles 6 yrs later and O.G.problem is back but with two more gears issues as well which I am filing another report here & w/Ford by phone on those issues after this one.

We purchased Explorer in Sept. 2004. 1k miles after the warranty ended (31k or 36k miles of June 06'), the trans started having problems. When we would shift from park to reverse, it would take 3-5 seconds for the trans to engage and it would engage with a hard kick and loud bang/thud along with a slight jerking motion.

I took the Ford to 6 tranny shops to make sure we were as sure as possible as to the problem. The first two independent tranny neighborhood shops claimed we needed a partial trans rebuild to a full rebuilt trans and they would not know until they had opened the transmission. They both drove my truck around the block and then gave me their so called professional opinion as to what the problem was. RIDICULOUS RIGHT!! Their pricing was $1600 for a partial rebuilt trans and $2200 for the full rebuilt trans. The warranty was 90 days at 1st shop to 6 months at the 2nd shop. They did not charge for evaluation.

I then took my Ford to two different AAMCO shops where they both evaluated my truck by driving it once around their parking lot. They both gave a free evaluation. They both gave me similar opinions as the first two independent shops but their pricing was a bit more and they offered different warranties depending on the cost of the warranty I would have to select/purchase. Basically, it would cost us $2100 for a partial rebuilt trans which broke down to $1800 for the work and $300 more for a 1 year warranty or $2500 for a full rebuilt trans and $500 for a lifetime warranty.

I then took my Ford to two different Ford dealerships. The 1st Ford dealer in Norwalk, Ca. charged me $90 to hook up my Explorer to their diagnostic machine to evaluate the problem. The final report in writing stated that the solenoid was bad and needed to be replaced. They said that it would cost me $800 to replace the solenoid and they would reduce the cost by $90 which was the first evaluation fee. The warranty was only 90 days. I then took my Ford to the Lake Elsinore Ford Dealership where we purchased the Explorer. I paid them $90 for their diagnostic evaluation which reported exactly the same problem reported at the Norwalk Ford dealership. I showed them my report from the Norwalk dealership hoping they would credit me both $90 evaluation fees explaining that I just wanted to be certain as to the problem. They credited me on $90 only which they deducted it from the $800 cost to do the repair which I had it done their. They would not reduce both evaluation fees as I reiterated that I just wanted to be as certain as possible as to what the problem was and that most tranny repair shops seem to be a COMPLETE RIP-OFF!! They still refused to reduce the first fee.

ONCE AGAIN, I WILL NEVER BUY A FORD PRODUCT AGAIN!!!!

I bought this car used. About 1 day after I had it I noticed the car was shifting hard. Also, after you put it in reverse the transmission takes a little bit to engage. Then you almost get whiplash when it finally does. It hesitates when you put it in drive too. I am so frustrated! You know all my family buys are fords but at the price of these cars nowadays FORD needs to put on their big girl panties and fix this. If not I think I will start to buy something else. I will let all my family and friends know this is what is happening. If this transmission would ever slip out of gear while driving it could cause a serious accident. I wonder if they would like to be sued over this.

I had saved $5,000.00 dollars. We needed a more reliable 2nd car. So the search began. One guy agreed to sell us his 04' Explorer then turned around & relisted it for way more & never did return my calls or texts. So, I figured I'd go to dealerships thinking that would be my best bet as they check their trade ins & fix them, etc... Or so I thought. Called Mike Castrucci Ford of Alexandria, Kentucky about a 2002 Ford Explorer they had listed. Jeremy Huffman salesman said OH NO, you don't want that, every time we start it, it makes all kinds of noises. Then he told me about the 04' Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer they had for $7,999.00. I told him I ONLY have $5,000.00 period. I said if you'd take $5,000? He told me to come in & look at it & he'd talk to his boss to see if he'd be willing to take my offer. So, I did. Salesman brought the car for me to test drive of course the a/c wasn't working so couldn't hear a thing as I was driving the truck. All the windows were down because it was soooo hot! Not only that the vehicle was sitting on empty. So I couldn't even drive it that far. Got back from test drive. He said, so what do you think? I said I like it but, couldn't drive it that far it's on empty. The a/c isn't working. He assured me all it needed was recharged. My friend that was with me asked if they could check it to be sure, Jeremy says, well if we do that then the cost will go to her & then we'd have to keep the price at $7,999.00! My friend went out to check to see if it had freon. He said it did. They were discussing if it only needed charged it wouldn't cost that much. Jeremy was saying if that's all it winds up being then you got a steal! Then said even if it turns out that the compressor or clutch for a/c needs replaced you still got a steal seeing how we dropped it down to $5,000.00 for you OUT the door! So, I called my fiance' & he said go ahead & buy it we need a car asap. They put a little bit of gas enough for me to get home or to a gas station. Thoughtful of em huh? Right! So, next day I went to my daughters & her driveway is kind of steep so upon backing out it rolled backwards, had to push on accelerator give it gas to keep it from rolling then it would jerk really hard like a bucking bronco! Did that every time I went to her place. Took it to get oil change (which by the way it was 4 qts LOW!!!!) Changed oil filter. Had to rotate tires & re-balance them. It has oil leaks! But, when I was driving it there to have this work done, the o/d light came on, it was shifting strange, revved up to 4000 rpm's, had to let off the gas to get it to shift. Midas wanted to charge us over $800.00 just to check the leaks, transmission flush. NO WAY! Oh and to put 2 new back tie rod ends on. So, I called Mike Castrucci, they wouldn't return my calls. So I called Ford Customer Service to see about a Goodwill Repair. I had searched the internet about the way the truck was acting & there were sooo many complaints about the transmission! Ford Customer service said they'd consider doing a Goodwill Repair but, I'd need to have a dealership diagnose it. They will not accept Mida's. So, I got David Green from Mike Castrucci's Service Dept. to do a free diagnostics (to which he added, "I'll do the free diagnostics but, I am NOT going to fix it!). I told him about the salesman & how he did me, & said Had I known this vehicle had transmission problems & all these leaks, I would NOT have purchased it! He said, well bring it in & we'll see what we come up with. I did. Mechanic got these codes: p0733 & p0745 & said the transmission needed re-manufactured, oh & said the leak is from the Oil Filer Gasket or he may have said oil pan gasket, not sure now. I was so angry at them! I am on a fixed income. That $5,000.00 was all that I had & they basically STOLE it from me! Selling me a car they probably knew had these problems & don't even have the decency to fix it for me. Oh they'll fix it. For $4,275.00!!!!! Oh & I contacted Ford Customer Service & keep getting the run around. They keep saying they're not Recalls or other fixes that they could do to help me out financially! I told them they why tell me to have it diagnosed & then you'd consider the Goodwill Repair. Mr. Ford would be really PISSED I think about how they've done me. I own a 04' Ford Mustang that we actually wound up paying $27,000.00 for after financing & it was paid off! It's ONLY a V6 standard Mustang for Christ's sake. But, because of the way my soon to be EX was handling finances after I left him he screwed up my credit a little so in turn we didn't get a really good deal on the interest rate. (We meaning myself & my fiance'). So, now I'm stuck with a truck that just the other day, I drove to my daughter's & on the way back home, the CHECK TRANSMISSION light comes on along with the o/d light!!! Ford Mechanic also said the ATF was very dirty & had metal in it!!! So here I sit with a piece of junk that right at the moment I cannot afford to fix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will NEVER buy a FORD again. NEVER!!!!!!!

I bought this as a used vehicle about a month ago. I noticed after I bought it (on my way home with it) it was shifting very hard. I turned around and took it back up to the dealer and had the mechanic look it over. He (of course) said there is nothing wrong with it. So I went home. I took a 3 hour road trip that weekend in this SUV and in reverse the jerk or slam into reverse is absolutely horrible. I am scared for my children's safety when in this vehicle. I need a reliable vehicle for my children and for me to rely on for school and work. Ford how about you step up and take care of your customers instead of sitting back and "stealing" all of our money??? It's called put out a recall for this vehicle and maybe so many people would not agree with the statement that Ford is found on the road dead!!!! Because right now that is the exact truth! I mean come one Ford brings in how much money a year???? Its not like they would be out that much to fix our lemons that they created and are well aware of it!