2006 Ford Explorer

TRANSMISSION DELAYS THEN LUNGES HARD AFTER PLACED INTO REVERSE. IF A DRIVER APPLIES GAS DURING THIS PERIOD, REVERSE WILL ENGAGE UNDER SUFFICIENT POWER AND LUNGE THE VEHICLE 5 TO 10 FEET BEFORE IT CAN BE CONTROLLED. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF OTHER 2006 EXPLORERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, WE FELT A SAFETY COMPLAINT WAS IN ORDER. THIS VEHICLE HAD 40,000 MILES WHEN IT STARTED 3 YEARS AGO. ITS SPORADIC, SOMETIMES NO PROBLEM, SOMETIMES ANNOYING, SOMETIMES IT IS SCARY. AT ITS WORSE, SHIFTING INTO REVERSE IS DELAYED 2 TO 5 SECONDS BEFORE A VERY HARSH ENGAGEMENT. THE SPEED THE LEVER DOES NOT SEEM TO IMPACT THIS CONDITION. IT OCCURS ABOUT 30% OF THE TIME WHEN REGARDLESS IF THE ENGINE IS COLD OR HOT. THIS HARSH ENGAGEMENT WILL SPIN THE WHEELS AND LET OUT A LOUD SQUAWK IF ON PAVEMENT. THIS ENGAGEMENT IS VERY HARD AND FEELS LIKE A MINOR COLLISION. WITH EXPERIENCE, WE HAVE LEARNED TO HOLD THE BRAKES HARD UNTIL IT ENGAGES TO AVOID THE TIRE SPIN AND KEEPING THE VEHICLE FROM JUMPING. LAST WEEK WE GAVE EVERYONE A SCARE WHEN IT DIDN'T ENGAGE UNTIL AFTER WE LET UP ON THE BRAKES; BY THAT TIME A MOTHER AND TWO CHILDREN HAD WALKED BEHIND THE VEHICLE. THE WHEELS SPUN AND THE VEHICLE JUMPED ABOUT A FOOT TOWARDS THEM EVEN WITH SOME PRESSURE STILL ON THE BRAKES. THIS PROBLEM ALSO OCCURS GOING UP THRU THE GEARS WE WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE A HARD SHIFT, AS THOUGH SOMEONE HIT THE VEHICLE WITH SLEDGE HAMMER. OF ALL THE SHIFTS, THIS HAPPENS ABOUT 20% OF THE TIME NOW. COLD OR HOT IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A FACTOR. *TR

RANGE SHIFTER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, TRUCK IS JERKING WITH ACCELERATION AND CHANGING GOING BETWEEN 1ST TO 5TH GEAR JOLTING THE VEHICLE. VERY BIG SAFETY ISSUE AS I HAVE ALMOST BEEN REAR-ENDED MULTIPLE TIMES. FORD SAYS NO RECALL ON TRANSMISSION ISSUES. MINE IS A 6R60 TRANSMISSION IN THE 2006 EDDIE BAUER EXPLORER WHICH HAS THE RANGE SHIFTER LOCATED INSIDE TRANSMISSION. WILL COST $2300 TO FIX! *TR

THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN JERKING WHEN I AM GOING SLOW TO THE POINT AS IF SOMEONE HIT ME IN THE REAR END OF THE VEHICLE. IT IS A VERY STRONG JERKING SENSATION ENOUGH TO FRIGHTEN ANY REASONABLE INDIVIDUAL. IT ALSO HAS BEEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE WHEN MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND NOT IN CRUISE CONTROL WHILE GOING WELL BELOW THE MINIMUM SPEED NECESSARY TO USE THE CRUISE CONTROL. THE AUTO ACCELERATION WAS WHILE AT 10 MILES PER HOUR OR LESS AND MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. THIS HAS BECOME MORE AND MORE FREQUENT AND I AM WORRIED IT COULD BE THE COMPUTER, THE TRANSMISSION, THE ENGINE, OR A CONTROL SYSTEM NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WITH PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE. MY PARENTS WERE FRIGHTENED WHEN IT HAPPENED. I AM WORRIED THE THING MAY ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN AND HURT ANOTHER VEHICLE(S) OR ITS PASSENGERS. THERE HASN'T BE A FIRE OR CRASH YET BUT IT IS MY FEAR THAT WILL HAPPEN UNLESS THIS SAFETY ISSUE IS MEANINGFULLY ADDRESSED. I ALREADY HAD CERTIFIED AUTO REPAIR OF ROCKVILLE MD LOOK AT THE VEHICLE AND THEY TOLD ME THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG FOLLOWING A COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC. THE JERKING AND AUTO ACCELERATION ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE FREQUENT AND I AM REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY VEHICLE AND OTHERS ON THE ROAD. ALSO, THERE ARE HEAVY VIRBATIONS OCCURING DURING THE IDLING PROCESS AND I AM NOT A MECHANIC BUT THIS MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SAFETY CONCERNS ON THE VEHICLE. *TR

STICKS IN PARK, BANGS WHEN SHIFTED TO REVERSE OR OTHER, SLIPS OUT OF GEAR WHEN DRIVING THEN ENGINE WILL REV AS IF IN NEUTRAL, STICKS IN PARK WHEN ON HILL WILL NOT SHIFT TO DRIVE OR REVERSE ( OUT OF PARK), WHEN THE VEHICLE LOOSES GEAR IT WILL REV AND I AM UNABLE TO ACCELERATE AND HAVE TO PULL OVER TO ALLOW OTHER VEHICLES BY UNTIL I CAN GET IT TO ENGAGE AND GO INTO GEAR OTHERWISE THE CAR JUST REVS AND GOES NOWHERE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN SHIFTING INTO DRIVE OR REVERSE, THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK VIOLENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE FAILURE COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY AN INCORRECT DIFFERENTIAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE THEN RAPIDLY ACCELERATED TO APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH AND BEGAN TO DECELERATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE TO BE REBUILT OR REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000. UPDATED 02/20/13*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS AN EMMISSION ISSUE AND THE RADIATOR WAS LEAKING. UPDATED 02/20/2013 *JS

FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED IN EARLY APRIL 2012: MY CAR WAS EMITTING A FOUL SMELL AND OVERHEATING. UPON INSPECTION, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT MY RADIATOR WAS LEAKING. I TURNED MY VEHICLE INTO FORD AND IT WAS REPLACED. SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED EARLY-MID OCT 2012: MY CAR WAS JERKING AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IT WAS TAKEN TO HAVE THE CODES CHECKED AND IT WAS INDICATED THAT I HAD 2-3 RANDOM "MISS-FIRES" TO MY SPARK PLUGS. AS THIS IS NORMALLY AN EASY AT-HOME FIX, WE WERE ABLE TO REPLACE ALL THE SPARK PLUGS. THE ISSUE WITH THIS INCIDENT WAS THAT IN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING THE SPARK PLUGS, ALL BUT ONE BROKE IN HALF. THIS IS SUCH A COMMON PROBLEM THAT FORD HAS DESIGNED AND SELLS A SPECIFIC TOOL TO REMOVE BROKEN SPARK PLUGS. ONCE THE TOOL WAS PURCHASED, I WAS ABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND MY CAR NO LONGER JERKED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OFF. THIRD INCIDENT OCCURRED LATE NOV 2012: VEHICLE STARTED JOLTING AND JERKING EXCESSIVELY AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. FEELS LIKE TRANSMISSION IS NOT ENGAGING GEARS PROPERLY. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON AND MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE REGARDING THIS VEHICLE. A SAFETY RECALL NEEDS TO BE DONE IMMINENTLY. ANOTHER ISSUE, STARTED IN THE END OF 2011: WHEN GOING FROM PARK TO REVERSE OR DRIVE, STICK SHIFT WILL STICK AND I WILL HAVE WIGGLE AND PULL HARD TO MAKE IT MOVE. *TR