COMPONENT SPOTLIGHT

Ford Explorer transmission problems

2,441 distinct owner reports with a transmission-specific component in this snapshot.

General power-train reports are not automatically counted as transmission problems. Related recalls and investigations must also name this component; they are not linked by narrative keyword alone.

89 crash reports24 fire reports36 injury reports

Reports by model year

Recall and investigation columns show each year’s full history. A report naming several years can appear in more than one row.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

242

0–25K

245

25–50K

392

50–75K

339

75–100K

321

100–150K

150K+

1,608 reports with mileage · 833 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What owners actually said

2,441 reports

2003 model year · 110,000 miles · Dec 19, 2009

Power Train

DRIVING MY 2003 FORD EXPLORER ON HIGHWAY WHEN GEAR SLIPPED..O/D LIGHT STARTED FLASHING! IT NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION THEY SAY BUT I HAVEN'T DONE THE REPAIR YET. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10296448

2002 model year · 101,779 miles · Dec 18, 2009

Power Train

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DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 72 MPH GOING UP A SLIGHT INCLINE WITH MY NEWBORN TWINS AND 2 YEAR OLD IN THE BACK OF MY 2002 FORD EXPLORER. THE CAR STARTS JERKING AND SPUTTERING AND GOES COMPLETELY INTO NEUTRAL. ON THE HIGHWAY. TAKE IT TO MY MECHANIC...TRANSMISSION SHOT. PER MY MECHANIC, THIS IS VERY VERY COMMON WITH THIS YEAR AND MODEL TRANSMISSION AND HE SAID I AM VERY LUCKY THERE WASN'T MORE TRAFFIC AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. MY TRUCK IS IN THE SHOP AND HAS BEEN THERE FOR ALMOST A WEEK, HAVING A NEW SOLENOID PACK AND TRANSMISSION REBUILT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10296327

2006 model year · 60,000 miles · Dec 18, 2009

Power Train

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LAST NIGHT THE CAR WAS IN DRIVE BUT WOULD KEEP KICKING OUT OF GEAR... I WOULD PUSH THE GAS, THE ENGINE WOULD REV, BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T GO ANYWHERE. I EVEN ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN A HILL ON A HIGHWAY AND ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR! I HAD TO SHUT THE CAR OFF, AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO GET IT TO BACK IN GEAR. THIS HAPPENED 10-15 TIMES IN A 20 MINUTE DRIVE! I WAS NERVOUS TO EVEN DRIVE IT HOME! IT IS AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP NOW... I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED... WILL NEVER BUY AN AMERICAN CAR AGAIN! IT IS COMPLETELY UNSAFE TO DRIVE! *TR

NHTSA ODI #10296330

2002 model year · 85,000 miles · Dec 16, 2009

Power Train

2002 FORD EXPLORER. THE TRANSMISSION IS UNDER 100K MILES AND HAS ALREADY FAILED. $3,000.00 FIX FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10296128

2004 model year · 99,240 miles · Dec 16, 2009

Power Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP FROM SECOND TO THIRD GEAR. THE VEHICLE SHIFTS VERY ROUGHLY INTO THE REVERSE GEAR. ALSO THE GLASS FROM THE REAR WINDOW HAS LOOSENED FROM THE FRAME DUE TO THE CLIPS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MI…

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NHTSA ODI #10296094

2002 model year · 109,000 miles · Dec 14, 2009

Power TrainCrash

ON A HILL, PUT THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE AND IT ROLLED BACKWARDS ONTO SOMEONE'S PROPERTY WHILE THE ENGINE WAS IN HIGH RPM'S. IT SHIFTED INTO DRIVE THEN POPPED BACK OUT AGAIN! IT ALMOST RAN OVER MY WIFE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10295565

2006 model year · 35,038 miles · Dec 13, 2009

Power Train

MY 2006 FORD EXPLORER FREQUENTLY LURCHES/LUNGES WHEN COMING TO A STOP AND STARTING UP FROM A STOP. IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS BEING REAR-ENDED. I HAVE TAKEN IT IN TO BE REPAIRED AND IT SEEMED TO WORK OK FOR A SHORT TIME, BUT IT HAS STARTED DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN. IT MAKES ME WONDER IF IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10295499

2003 model year · 82,549 miles · Dec 7, 2009

Power Train

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I STARTED NOTICING THAT MY EXPLORER WAS NOT SHIFTING CORRECTLY AND THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT WAS STAYING ON, ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. I HAD THE COMPUTER TESTED AND IT RESULTED IN CODE P0775. I CALLED FORD (IN BETHLEHEM PA) AND THEY COULD NOT GET ME IN UNTIL THE W/O 7/20. SINCE I WAS LEAVING FOR VACATION AND NEEDED IT, I TOOK IT TO BETHLEHEM TRANSMISSIONS. AFTER THEY FIXED IT REBUILT THE TRANSMISSION AND $3309.70 LATER, THE OWNER STATED TO ME THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE 2003 EXPLORERS. SO I CALLED FORD, WHO TOLD ME TO TAKE MY RECEIPT TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP, THAT WAS A WASTE OF MY TIME B/C THE SERVICE MANAGER WAS RUDE, AND DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE PROBLEM. MY TRUCK ONLY HAD 82,000 MILES ON. I UPGRADED TO THIS VEHICLE TO NOT HAVE PROBLEMS. WELL, I RECEIVED NO SATISFACTION WITH FORD, SO I AM NOW COMING TO YOU. THERE ARE NO RECALLS, BUT THIS NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF, I SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO SPEND THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO FIX A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL. THE TSI FOR THIS ISSUE IS 5R55W. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME? THIS IS ALOT OF MONEY AND I THINK FORD SHOULD BE STANDING BY THEIR PRODUCT AND FIX THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE THE COMPLETE RECEIPT FOR THE REPAIR, BUT I DO NOT HAVE THE OLD TRANSMISSION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10294693

2006 model year · 32,000 miles · Dec 7, 2009

Power Train

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I HAVE A 2006 FORD EXPLORER XLT V6 WITH 55K MILES ON IT. I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE WITH APPROXIMATELY 30K MILES ON IT AND WITHIN ABOUT 2,000 MILES OF THE PURCHASE I STARTED NOTICING SHIFTING PROBLEMS. FOR SOME REASON THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO SHIFT FINE, BUT HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN. MOST VEHICLES SHIFT 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, SO ON PER THE SPEED AND SHIFTS TO ASSIST GAS MILEAGE AS WELL. WELL, MY EXPLORER WILL SHIFT INTO WHAT I BELIEVE IS 5TH GEAR AT 30 MILES PER HOUR AND ITS SOUNDS LIKE ITS BOGGING DOWN AND THERE IS ALMOST NO ACCELERATION AT ALL! AS WELL IT WILL SHIFT INTO 5TH WHEN CLIMBING A STEEP HILL AND WHEN IT FINALLY DOES DOWNSHIFT IT MAKES A "CLUNK" NOISE AND DROPS INTO 2ND GEAR CAUSING THE ENGINE TO REV WAY UP AND IT SUDDENLY FEELS LIKE YOUR TAKING OFF IN AN AIRPLANE. IF YOU LET OFF THE GAS TO SLOW DOWN IT DROPS RIGHT BACK INTO 5TH GEAR AGAIN AND THEN THE STORY REPEATS ITSELF. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES NOW AND THE ONLY CHANGES MADE WERE A TCM UPDATE AND ADAPTIVE LEARNING STRATEGY MEMORY CLEARING AND NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS FIXED THE ISSUE AT ALL. I NOTICE AS DAYS GO ON THAT THE PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE AND I NEVER GET A GOOD ANSWER. UPON DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME TRANSMISSION RELATED ISSUES FROM LUNGING, TO CLUNKING, TO SEVERE SHIFTING DELAYS. I'M WORRIED THAT MY TRANSMISSION OR DRIVETRAIN WILL EXPERIENCE SOME KIND OF CRITICAL FAILURE AND FORD WONT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY. I CONTACTED FORD DIRECTLY AND THE ONLY ANSWER I GOT FROM A CSR WAS, "UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE NO COMMENT TO ASSIST YOU AT THIS TIME." I WOULD REALLY LIKE SOMEONE TO LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE FOR A POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION OR DRIVETRAIN RECALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10294812

2002 model year · 106,000 miles · Dec 4, 2009

Power Train

I HAVE A 2002 FORD EXPLORER AND MY TRANSMISSION BAND BROKE. I HAVE KEPT UP MAINTENANCE WITH THIS VEHICLE AND NOW I HAVE OVER $4,000 WORTH OF REPAIR. I CAN'T SHIFT INTO 3RD GEAR AND MY O/D LIGHT IS BLINKING. I'VE SEEN HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE AND FORD NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PRODUCT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10294508

Related Official recalls

26V402000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Jun 24, 2026

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in park system damage.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Park system damage may result in a vehicle rollaway, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, and inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 10, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in April 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S48. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on June 26, 2026.

23V199000 · Parking Brake:electrical; Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Mar 24, 2023

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L RWD, 3.3L GAS, 3.3L FHEV, or 3.0L ST powertrain. The previous powertrain control module (PCM) update completed under recall 22V-255 did not include the automatic electronic parking brake feature when the vehicle is shifted to park, as intended. In addition, the rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Without the electronic parking brake applied, the vehicle could rollaway if the driveshaft disconnects. A disconnected driveshaft can also result in a loss of drive power. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will update the PCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 31, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S16.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Parking Brake:electrical

Consequence: Without the electronic parking brake applied, the vehicle could rollaway if the driveshaft disconnects. A disconnected driveshaft can also result in a loss of drive power. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will update the PCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 31, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S16.

Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

23V069000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Feb 10, 2023

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine and 10R60 automatic transmission. An unintentional powertrain control module (PCM) reset may occur while the vehicle is in motion and result in park system damage.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A park system that is damaged may not shift into "PARK," resulting in a vehicle rollaway and increasing the risk of injury or crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the park system for damage and repair as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S05.

23V070000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Feb 10, 2023

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022-2023 F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Bronco, and 2023 Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. The transmission may contain a loose bolt which could prevent the transmission from engaging the park gear, although the gear shifter position may indicate that the vehicle has been shifted to "PARK."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The inability to secure the vehicle in the park position can result in a rollaway, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the transmissions, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S06.

19V575000 · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/panel; Parking Brake; Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl)

Aug 5, 2019

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The Manual Park Release (MPR) cover may not be installed. In addition, the vehicles may be in Factory Mode, which disables warning alerts and does not display the transmission gear selected. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 114, "Theft Prevention" and 102, "Trans Shift Lever Seq/Starter Interlock/Trans Braking Effect."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Without the cover, the MPR lever may be unintentionally moved, allowing the vehicle to roll away. Being in Factory Mode, the vehicle will not display warnings and/or gear selection on the instrument cluster. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, install a MPR cover. Dealers will verify the instrument cluster is not in Factory Mode and clear any fault codes, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C06.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Parking Brake

Consequence: Without the cover, the MPR lever may be unintentionally moved, allowing the vehicle to roll away. Being in Factory Mode, the vehicle will not display warnings and/or gear selection on the instrument cluster. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, install a MPR cover. Dealers will verify the instrument cluster is not in Factory Mode and clear any fault codes, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C06.

Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/panel

Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl)

07V453000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:cooling Unit And Lines

Sep 26, 2007

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.6L ENGINE AND 6R TRANSMISSION, THE BOLT SECURING THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINE FITTINGS AT THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TORQUED DURING VEHICLE ASSEMBLY. AS A RESULT, THE BOLT MAY LOOSEN AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINES MAY DISENGAGE FROM THE TRANSMISSION, CAUSING A TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IF LEAKING TRANSMISSION FLUID CONTACTS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER, IT MAY POSE A RISK OF FIRE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND HAVE THE TRANSMISSION COOLER LINE ATTACHMENT BOLT TIGHTENED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 30, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.

00V395000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Nov 28, 2000

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 3.27 OR 3.55 AXLE RATION. THE SUBJECT VEHICLES HAVE A POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE THAT COULD ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO EXCEED THE DESIGN INTENT TOP SPEED. AT THESE EXTREME SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE COULD BE CAPABLE OF EXCEEDING THE SPEED RATING OF THE TIRE.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: OPERATING THE VEHICLE ABOVE THE MAXIMUM SPEED RATING COULD LEAD TO A TIRE FAILURE WHICH AT THESE SPEEDS COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE.

91V189000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Nov 4, 1991

WHEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER IS PLACED IN THE PARK POSITION, THE PARK PAWL DOES NOT ALWAYS ABUT OR ENGAGE THE PARK GEAR.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: DRIVER MAY BELIEVE THE VEHICLE IS SAFELY ENGAGED IN PARKWHEN THE GEAR IS NOT TRULY ENGAGED. THIS CAN LEAD TO THE VEHICLE JUMPING OUT OFGEAR UNINTENTIONALLY, VEHICLE ROLLAWAY WHEN PARKED ON A SLOPED SURFACE, ANDINADVERTENT MOTION WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. ALL OF THESE CONDITIONS CANRESULT IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.

Remedy: REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION WITH A NEW PARK PAWL.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

Related NHTSA investigations

EA09013 · Vehicle Rollaway Allegations

Opened Aug 18, 2009 · Closed Feb 12, 2013

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl); Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:column Shift; Steering; Steering:column; Steering:column LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT Device

This investigation is being closed based on several considerations.By the most inclusive counting of all alleged rollaway incidents (i.e., counting all alleged rollaway incidents and assuming a singular failure mechanism), the incident rate is low, however during EA09-013, ODI identified a number of different failure mechanisms in 180 incidents related to the alleged defect.The highest rate for any particular failure mechanism, the failure of the Automatic Transmission Parking System, was 4.4/100K.The next-highest failure rate was for the BSI System, at 3.4/100K.For all identified failure mechanisms there has been a drastically declining trend including very few incidents occurring in recent years.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.For additional information regarding this investigation, see the complete closing resume in the document file for EA09-013. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers:10168454, 10279630, 10280078.

Additional source detail variants (5)

Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl)

Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:column Shift

Steering:column

Steering:column LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT Device

Steering

RQ97015 · Parking Pawl

Opened Oct 29, 1997 · Closed Apr 1, 1999

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train:automatic Transmission

WHEN THE AUTOMATIC SHIFT LEVER IS PLACED IN THE PARK POSITION, THE PARKING PAWL DOES NOT ALWAYS ENGAGE THE PARK GEAR.THIS CAN LEAD TO THE VEHICLE JUMPING OUT OF GEAR UNINTENTIONALLY AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO START ROLLING INADVERTENTLY

PE91127 · Park Pawl Bending

Opened Sep 16, 1991 · Closed Nov 8, 1991

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train:automatic Transmission

There is no summary currently available

Additional source detail variants (2)

Power Train:automatic Transmission

There is no summary currently available

Power Train:automatic Transmission

There is no summary currently available