2002 Ford Explorer Driveline Problems
- 31
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
What owners report
- wheel bearings · 11 records
- rear differential · 10 records
- rear wheel · 8 records
- both rear · 5 records
- coming rear · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 19 |
| 1–30k mi | 5 |
| 30–60k mi | 3 |
| 100–150k mi | 2 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Driveline
2002 ford explorer , had rear end repaired at 75000.0 miles by ford dealer and again it's making a grinding noise at 101000.0...like all others, they state out of warranty and want customer to pay. *tt
ODI 10414654
Driveline
2002 FORD EXPLORER REAR END GROWL/WHINE. *TR
ODI 10389800
Driveline
2002 ford explorer differential subject to increased whining @ 85000 miles and rapidly failed over the course of one week @ 99,000 miles. R side wheel bearings have failed at same time. Differential has locked up and drive gear jumps gear teeth during any turn. Dealer claims they've never seen such a failure but located a ford 'fix kit' very quickly so am very suspicious of their statement. I pulled the explorer…
ODI 10335905
Driveline
Noise from rear wheel hub bearings. Ford tsb 05-25-8. I have only 35,000 on this vehicle and am concerned that if there is a bearing failure on a rear wheel hub you could lose control of the vehicle. I feel that ford should be responsible to correct this defect. *tr
ODI 10346323
Driveline
I had to go into town. Some roads were snow and ice covered. On a small hill my vehicle started spinning and fish tailing trying to get up. I had not experienced this type of traction and handling problem before and it was unexpected. I managed to turn around in traffic and took another route. Same thing happened again on a slight incline. I realized that the [redacted] was not working. I tried to manually engage it…
ODI 10308448
Driveline · Wheels
2002 ford explorer, replaced front left and left rear wheel bearings. Now the right rear bearing is going out. Mechanics at ford dealership said its a common problem. Ford needs to recall these. *tr
ODI 10294830
Driveline
Ford explorer 2002 just would not accelerate when pulled out into traffic. Now o/d flashing and told that it is a transmission problem. Many thousands with same problem but ford won't do anything. *tr
ODI 10295118
Automatic Transmission · Driveline
When i go to or from park the car jerks and has almost cause me to get into several crashes. This happens at least a couple times a week. *tr
ODI 10274012
Driveline
2002 ford explorer eddie bauer 4.6 has a loud whining/howling noise coming from rear differential. This is a known and documented problem/defect with these vehicles. Ford has many tsb's about the problem, but will only replace the differential gear assembly at a cost of $1100.00. *tr
ODI 10256381
Air Bags · Driveline
Have had to replace both rear wheel bearings on 2002 ford explorer limited, also had to replace both rear springs. Lucky my wife has good hearing so she noticed the noise as soon as it started or else may have went far enough to loose wheel. Had rear springs and wheel bearings replaced at a cost of approximately $1100.00 . After reading complaints and talking with other explorer owner i feel it should have been a…
ODI 10254367
Driveline
My 2002 ford explorer xlt currently has 79,000 miles. Loud grinding noises could be heard and a grabbing sensation could be felt from the back of the vehicle. I thought the tires were cupped so i purchased new tires and had the vehicle aligned. The noise was still evident. A certified mechanic stated to me that both rear wheel bearings failed and they need to be repaired. Along with that, he stated my differential…
ODI 10258234
Driveline
Transmission light blinking. Transmission slipping. *tr
ODI 10250907
Driveline
Wheel bearing on my 2002 ford explorer is completely shot and causes vehicle to loose control and shake uncontrollably. Well simple wear and tear and extremely poorly manufactured parts on a 2002 ford explorer is responsible for the failure. On most vehicles these problems don't occur until well after 160+ thousand miles i have personal experience with this problem right now and from what i have read this is a…
ODI 10248940
Driveline · Fuel System, Other
Throttle stuck and car would not slow down, almost caused an accident, put car in neutral but engine kept on racing, searched internet on found that the throttle cable is defective, ford changed design from 12 to 9 wire design, saw alot of posts on internet with similar experiences, can't believe no recall. Car accelerated on its own. *tr
ODI 10246051
Driveline
Wheel bearings and rear differential bearings where identified as being worn out (dangerously) to the point where the wheels could have come off the vehicle during normal operation. This was on a 2002 ford explorer with just under 55,000. This included all wheel bearings and bearings located in the rear end (differential) causing a loud whining noise. *tw
ODI 10307252
Automatic Transmission · Driveline
- ford tsb # 06-4-4 (binding during turning); solution is limited slip clutch pack replacement - ford tsb # 05-23-3 (rear diff. Hum); solution is axle repair kit - ford tsb # 4-24-17 (5r55w transmission - no 3rd gear or slipping 2-3 shift); solution i
ODI 10319207
Driveline
Stuck in 4x4 mode and cannot turn. Almost caused an accident. *tr
ODI 10240299
Driveline
My 2002 for explorer has a growling sound coming from the rear end. Took it to the dealer ship they took 30 minutes to tell me that the rear differential needed rebuilding. I thought this was a bit quick until i found out that this is a common problem with this explorer model. The cost is 1600 and i was told that the rear end could lock up. This sounds like a safety issue that should warrant a recall. I did a…
ODI 10237624
Driveline · Suspension
I'm reading many, many, many and multiple complaints about the same things for the 2002 ford explorer. Mainly the wheel bearings going which can cause the wheels to fall off with the potential for severe injury or death and the rear differential going out. Ford needs to recall these vehicles and fix this matter! *tr
ODI 10236589
Automatic Transmission · Driveline · Engine
My wife's 2002 ford explorer had a whine in the rear end since it was new and it continued to get worse with time. At about 55k miles it was so bad that we had to have the entire differential rebuilt at a cost of over $1,000. At 65k miles the engine had begun to make noise and it became much louder rapidly. The entire cam drive (timing chain, sprockets, tensioners) had been ground up. The tensioner pads had 3/8"…
ODI 10234331
Driveline · Mechanical
Rear bearings on 02 ford explorer xls defective. *tr
ODI 10233478
Driveline · Power Train
2002 ford explorer limited, 4wd, 4.6l - 84,000 miles: rear differential unit whining/roaring for a few months and getting progressively worse. I have mechanical background and looked at the vehicle on rack with mechanic. Rear differential is obviously very bad and i am lucky i did not take my family on vacation with this problem as if the wheels would have locked at highway speed it could cause serious…
ODI 10232457
Driveline
The vehicle is a 2002 ford explorer .the rear transfer case bearings wear out prematurely and can seize up while driving on the highway and cause an accident and is due to manufacturer defect. *tr
ODI 10234925
Driveline · Mechanical
WHEEL BEARINGS AND REAR DIFFERENTIAL. *TR
ODI 10230509
Driveline · Equipment · Unknown Or Other
Ford explorer rear differential - replaced 3 x's over 6 years. *tr
ODI 10230324