2002 Ford Explorer XLS from North America - Comments

Ever since boughten it has a whistle on cold days (under 35 degrees). Dealer still can't find what causes this.

Within 10,000 miles bushings were replaced that caused the front-end to squeak going over bumps (warranty covered)

At 55,000 miles replaced belt and water pump pulley due to squeals on wet days (warranty covered)

Around 60,000 miles had air box for air cleaner "fixed" - had dealer apply urethane tape to stop rattle coming from dash. Also had known lift-gate glass hinge and brackets replaced due to defect (warranty covered).

Oh yeah and at 80,000 the engine blew due to intake valve spring broke on cylinder, dropped and damaged head, engine block and piston broken. Ford replaced the whole engine under warranty. I did not have any difficulties getting Ford to replace the engine under warranty. Warranty also covered rental car for the week it was in the shop.

At 85,000 the bearings needed to be replaced (warranty covered).

Note that I opted to buy the extended 100,000 mile warranty from Ford.

I have owned several Ford SUVs over the years (1980 Bronco, 1985 Bronco II, 1993 Explorer). The room, power and handling of the Explorer is good. However, in the re-designed interior of the 2002 the seats are hard and not as comfortable as the older models. Gas mileage is OK - about 18mpg or so on average.

I think Ford's quality has gone down hill quite a bit over the years. I'm not sure if I will continue to buy a Ford SUV in the future. My latest Ford SUV has seen too much time in the shop, although not at much expense to me (except time) as most everything has been covered under warranty. If Ford had not been helpful with warranty work, especially for the engine replacement, I don't think I would buy any more Fords. However since I have had no problems dealing with Ford, I may give them a chance in the future when this Explorer needs to be replaced. My previous 1993 Explorer ran to 250,000 miles with very few problems, I don't think this 2002 Explorer will last as long - the quality has seriously degraded.

I totally agree with this review. Mine has had many problems mentioned here, although the expenses have been out of pocket. Mine has 73k miles. I have to keep it due to finances.However, my next new vehicle will not be a Ford of any kind.

I agree with the above comments. I also believe that Fords quality is going down hill fast. I used to be a GM fan, but then many years ago, while I was overseas, my wife bought a 1987 Ford Taurus. I reluctantly lived with it, but over time I became very impressed with the quality of it. We drove that car to 120K miles without a single failure other than the alternator. It still looked and ran like new when we traded it in.

We finally traded it in on a 1995 Ranger, which also gave us very few problems, but did have a few electrical glitches from time to time.

I currently have a 1998 Ford Escort. Now approaching 132K miles, and nothing has gone wrong with it yet. Regular maintenance, that's it.

Now, the bad part. I also have a 2000 Ford Focus. Aside from all the recalls these cars had, it is truly disappointing how cheap this car is. Everything on it just feels absolutely cheap and of poor quality.

Before you say it. Yes, I know. It is an economy car. It's cheap, so what should I expect. But, before you comment. Remember, I also have a 98 escort for comparison. Also an economy car. And when you compare the quality and workmanship of the Focus verse the Escort. The Focus makes my Escort look like a higher priced luxury car. It is that bad.

To make this as short as possible. I am just disappointed with Ford. It's not just my Focus. It's all the recalls on other Ford vehicles. The rollovers due to the Firestone tires. The engine fires in their trucks. And more so, it's the fact that when something is wrong with their vehicles, they have to be forced by the government to do anything about it. I have read so many comments on this sight, where someone has a problem with their Ford product, even if it's in warranty, and Ford just refuses to fix the problem. The 02-05 explorer is on the Consumer Reports list of used vehicles to avoid, among other models.

I want to believe in Ford, and continue buying their products. I am currently looking at possibly buying an Explorer Sport Track, but I am very hesitant. I am just on the edge of switching to another manufacturer. All it would take is one more major manufacturing problem on the news, that Ford refuses to address, and it will push me over the edge to another manufacturer. It's one thing to be a loyal customer, it's another to be an ignorant consumer.

And Fords attitude lately makes me feel that is exactly what they think of all of us Ford customers.

Just keep pushing the product out, never mind if it works or not, because all of the ignorant consumers will still buy our products.

Thanks for listening, and I apologize if that was a little long. I would love to know how all of the other long time Ford fans feel right now.

I'm kind of leaning the opposite way as the previous poster. I always looked down on Ford, and was driving 1970's and 1980's Dodges and Plymouths up until this year because they were such reliable vehicles. However, when I needed to replace my truck, I realized that Dodge didn't really offer anything that fit me anymore because I wanted a 2-door SUV, but something smaller that got better mileage, so I decided to give all makes an even shot.

I considered the Nissan Xterra (too expensive), Toyota 4Runner (wildly expensive), Jeep Cherokee (too small and cramped), Jeep Wrangler (almost bought one, but turned off by poor mileage; 15/18 mpg from a 6-cylinder in such a tiny frame? Come on!), Dodge Durango (turned off by horror stories of ball joint, transmission, and engine failures), Chevy Blazer (seriously considered), Oldsmobile Bravada (turned off by stories of transfer case/drive train failure).

I ended up buying a 2002 Explorer Sport and really love it. I've found it to be such a great vehicle that I would be willing to seriously consider a Ford or Mercury when it comes time to buy a sedan for daily driver use, and park my old Dodge.

FYI, just replaced the rear axle bearings and rear end (differential) to the tune of 1800 bucks at 100K miles. My Ford F150 has almost double the mileage w/o any major problems.

That's interesting about the rear end. It seems like I've heard other people mention rear end problems.

Tonight I got the whim to check my differential and transfer case fluid levels on my 2002 Explorer Sport, because I'm a freak about maintenance.

I had to add a quart of 80W-90 to the rear differential. The front differential was full, and the transfer case needed about 8 ounces of Mercon added to it.

Even though I had both the 60,000 and 75,000 mile schedules performed when I bought the Explorer at 79,000 miles, I think the dealer didn't check those fluids, because it's not part of either schedule.

I guess I could see a quart of gear oil seeping out in 85,000 miles of hard use, although it seems like a lot to me. What surprises me is that the Ford recommended service interval doesn't even have you check the differential fluid until 100,000 miles, at which time, mine probably would have been bone dry. Under those circumstances, I could see how somebody could burn up their rear end by 100,000 miles.

My old Dodge truck recommended that the differential fluid levels be checked at every chassis lube, at 15,000 mile intervals. All machines leak or consume a little fluid, but I think Ford could increase the frequency of checking fluids. From now on, I will stick to the recommended service intervals in my Haynes Manual, which is about half the intervals recommended by the manufacturer.