2002 Ford Explorer Sport from North America - Comments

None so far, but we only owned this vehicle for two weeks now. Hopefully she will be reliable, and I think there is a good chance of this. I have owned Ford vehicles before and they were relatively well made and problem free.

We purchased this SUV about two weeks ago and I can't state enough how much I love it! I really like the over-all look of the vehicle and it is in excellent shape for being three years old. The previous owner must have really taken care of her well. I also like the fact that I shouldn't have any problems with getting stuck in the snow like I have every year previously. I really wanted a 4X4, and now I got one!

When I first bought this auto I was expecting a choppy truck like ride, but this was not the case. It almost handles as well as a medium sized sedan and around turns I feel very confident even at high speeds. Small bumps in the road are softened extremely well, but bigger bumps still have that bounce feel to them and remind me that I am driving an SUV.

The Explorer sport has a different suspension than the regular Explorer model. It only has independent front suspension and is basically the same as the new Explorer Sport Trac in regards to ride quality. Ford changed the suspension only in the regular Explorer model and added an anti-roll feature to repair the bad publicity that surrounded Ford and Firestone at the time. They rebuilt the SUV from the ground up in 2002 and improved many aspects of the vehicle with the most notable being the addition of rear independent suspension. All these changes were made to help revitalize the name and paint the image of safety, but neglected to mention that the Sport model stayed the same as the previous year. The only changes made were to the bumpers and a few other odds and ends. The vehicle looks much better than previous years and has a much more modern feel to it, but lacks the updated features. Even without the changes made I believe the vehicle to be very safe and stable around turns. I think the whole SUV tipping publicity got dumped on the best selling model just for the reason that there were so many of them. The more there are, the more incidents that are going to occur. I feel very safe and confident even at high speeds and believe it was all just blown out of proportion.

It's amazing to see an Explorer Sport and an Explorer Sport Trac side by side. It looks as though Ford just cut the back end off and attached a pick-up truck bed. It is a good sign though as it means that the old design is good enough for a new vehicle. I also looked at the Explorer Sport Trac, but decided on the Sport model as it was more useful for my purposes.

The Explorers engine is a 4.0 liter SOHC version as oppose to the old VHC engine that has numerous improvements over the previous years. It has 210 hp and lot's of torque giving it great pulling capability. In the city it is spunky and gives me great gas mileage. On a full tank of gas I get over 300 km, which is better than the rental I had which was a 2005 Ford Torus with a 3.8 liter engine. On the highway it is easy to speed as it seems to creep up past the 100 Km mark as though it wants to drive faster. Passing power is very good and over-all I am impressed with the power this engine has. I thought a 4.0 liter was going to be sluggish in a vehicle this large and heavy, but it has proved me wrong. The five speed automatic transmission really utilizes all the power this engine puts out and is a perfect match for it. At 100 km an hour the engine is only running at 2000 rpm! The 8 cylinder version is only thirty or so more hp than the 6, and much worst on gas. I am glad I have the 4.0 liter and am extremely impressed with it.

I was very lucky to get a model that had all the bells and whistles. I really like the puddle lights that are automatically turned on when the doors are opened. They are situated under the side mirrors on both sides allowing you to see the ground when stepping out. This has saved me once or twice from stepping into a huge pile of mud.

The power seats work great and allow a short person such as myself to drive perfectly comfortable. My brother stands 6 foot three and he can be just as comfortable as me when driving.

One feature I am very happy with is the rear passenger seat controls. They control the stereo and air conditioning. Even if the front passengers want the air shut off, it can be left on in the rear. The rear seats are rather tricky to get into for an adult, but easy for a child. This doesn't bother me as if I wanted easier access I would have opted for the four door. Once an adult is back there though, it is fairly comfortable and can easily be tolerated on long rides.

My Sport model came with four wheel drive. I have four wheel high, four wheel low, and two wheel. I have not had the chance to use the four wheel drive yet as they say it is a bad idea to use it on dry pavement and can cause power-train damage. In the winter I will finally find out how well it works. I'm sure it will be great, as a friend had an Explorer last winter and he sayed he couldn't even tell when there was heavy snow on the ground.

Another thing I should mention is the rack and pinion steering. I find it is responsive, but some what disconnected from the road. It is a little hard to turn when parking, but it's not a car and I have to remember this. I think this is because the wheels are so much bigger than I am use to. In the city and on the highway the steering is very good and makes maneuvering easy unlike older 4X4's. Over-all I like the feel of the steering and rate it better than average.

I am very happy with my choice of SUV and I hope it is as reliable as my other Fords have been. I have high hopes for this vehicle, and a lot of confidence in Ford in general. I think people have to remember they are not driving a car and there are going to be differences. Even though it is an SUV, Ford did a great job making it feel like a mid-size sedan in some ways. I really would like to drive a four door Explorer to see how much difference there is with it's new independent suspension. Guess I'll have to rent one for a few days.

I am the owner of the Explorer Sport above and I just wanted to say I have now put on 80,000 more Kilometers and have not had any problems at all! This is one of the most reliable vehicles I have owned to date.

I just wanted to point out one thing I found out recently. I was on a clear highway and wanted to see how the car felt at high speeds. I got the speedometer up to 175 km. per hour and the car felt very unstable. It felt as though it was lifting up off the ground and almost hovering! I would say any faster and the vehicle could have rolled. Really, no one will ever need to go that fast, but I just wanted to see for myself how it would perform. Funny thing was the gas was only three quarters of the way down and had quite a bit left of travel to reach the floor. I am sure the top speed is somewhere around 220, but I don't think you could get there without killing yourself.

It was a silly thing to do, but I had to try it. Anyways, the car is rock solid reliable and even after all the kilometers I put on the vehicle it still feels stiff and like new. No noise or loosening of parts like on my old van.

I am a very happy owner and praise Ford for such a solid and reliable vehicle!

Me again, just wanting to let people know what has happened lately. I have now put on 190,000 km and the car has been trouble free up until about a month ago. The front left wheel bearing started to make noise and I noticed a small power steering leak. I brought it to the dealership and they looked at it and gave me their diagnosis that surprised me. They said the both front wheel bearings were gone, front tie rods, lower ball joints, upper control arm and power steering rack! Also, the stabilizer bar end fitting was totally absent. I was shocked, but even more shocked when they gave me the estimate. It was $4400.00!!! I told them to fix the leak and then I would come back for the rest at another time as I was tight for cash. They replaced the power steering rack and also the tie rods as they said I wouldn't have to pay for labour to change them since they had the rack removed anyways. Total was $1500 including tax.

I went home that night and noticed that the power steering fluid was still leaking. I looked under the car and it was leaking in the exact same place as it was before I got it repaired! It was even leaking the same amount and nothing had changed. I brought it back in the next day and they checked it out. Turns out it was a fitting that was leaking. I told them that from what I could see they miss diagnosed the problem and replaced a perfectly good rack. I asked to see it since it was taken off just the previous day. They told me they had already sent it back to Ford and it was impossible, but they would try to recover it. I waited and never got a call. I complained to Ford and all they did was call the dealership and take their word for it. I truly believe they replaced the rack when it was perfectly fine, but there was nothing I could do to prove it since they didn't have the rack anymore - at least that's what they told me.

I know quite a bit about cars and I inspected the leak before I brought it in. I couldn't tell where it was leaking without jacking up the car, but I do know the leak was in the same place both times. I was angry, so I decided to check out the other things they said were wrong with the car. If everything was wrong like stated I was ready to believe them.

I brought it to a friends mechanic and he checked everything out. He said everything was 100% with the exception of the left front wheel bearing. He replaced it for $380.00 including tax and labour! He also said the lower ball joints and control arms were solid as a rock! He said he would put it in writing so that I could complain to Ford, but I already been there - done that, and it got me no where.

Another thing I should mention that happened about a year ago. I brought my car in for brake pads to be replaced and they told me I needed all new rotors. I didn't have the money and told them to just put the pads on and I would fix them at a later date. The next week I went to another shop and had them checked as they were putting on new tires anyway. There was nothing wrong with the rotors and were thick as new and not scored at all - perfect condition! I figured it must have been a mistake on Fords part and thought not much of it. Now with everything else that has happened I realize it can't be all just bad luck. I will never go to a Ford dealership again, at least locally!

Last negative point to mention, the last time I brought it to the dealership for the power steering leak they also changed the oil and filter. After a couple days returning it to get 're-replaired' and getting it back home I noticed a huge puddle of oil under my car. Turns out they had forgotten to tighten the oil filter and I lost three quarters of my oil! I decided not to complain again as I was through with bringing it there anyways and was sick of being screwed around.

So basically the only thing that went wrong with my car to date has been a small leak from a fitting under the power steering rack, the left front wheel bearing and a left rear tail light bulb. Pretty good for a car with close to 200,000 km on it. So I would say the car has been great and Ford did an excellent job of making a good reliable vehicle, but the dealerships need some better regulating. If you complain all they do is call the dealership and take their word for what happened. I think if Ford fixes there problem with their dealer ships ripping people off, they would be a perfect company to buy from. I blame Ford for the dealership problems since they regulate it and it is their job to make sure they keep Ford's customers happy - at least within reason.

I don't know if I will ever purchase a Ford again after all that has happened. I know the car has been great and it is just a problem with the dealership, but it really left a bad image in my mind about Ford in general.

Tom.

I know what you mean. In December 2006 I bought a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. Because it was the newest vehicle I'd ever owned, and because it was too cold to do my own maintenance at the time (I always do catch-up maintenance on any used car so I know where I am), I took it to the Ford garage in town so they could do the 60,000 and 75,000 mile scheduled maintenance.

I later realized that they hadn't checked the rear differential, which was half empty, even though they said they had checked all the fluids and I had asked them about it specifically. After that, I've gone back to doing my own routine maintenance (fluid changes, oil changes, filter changes, etc.) rather than trusting it to others.

I'm not convinced that the dealer was shady, or that they're trying to gouge you, but just that the quality or knowledge level of the staff varies (to put it nicely), and maybe their attention to detail isn't always what you'd like.

I would still buy another Ford, because I've been really impressed with this one (my first Ford after decades of Dodges), but I will probably continue to avoid dealerships in general, or at least shop around to find somebody trustworthy when something comes up beyond my ability. I don't believe that the dealers are bad, I just think it's a case that nobody else will care about your car as much as you do.

Here I am again, the author of the review. Last month was a sad month indeed. I got cut off going down the escarpment (I live in Hamilton Ontario) and to avoid from being hit I tried to go up on the curb and avoid the accident completely. Unfortunately for me I didn't see the light pole and hit it going about 50 Km an hour at a 45 degree angle. The Explorer was a mess, but took it like a champ and still drove home like nothing was wrong. Poor Explorer was a right off though.

It was good I missed the other car though as there were two small children and a baby in the back seat. The insurance gave us $8000,00 which totally took me by surprise. We accepted and now I have a 2003 Accent. It was given to me by my father and only has around 80,000 Klm. He still has his 2006 Explorer Sport Trak. Wish he would have gave me that one LOL.

Anyways, the cars total mileage was 230,000 Klm. and it still ran like new. She will be missed greatly, and yes I would definitely buy another Ford. I love the Fusion with a pear; paint job. Oh well, RIP Zeena.

Tom.