NHTSA Complaint #10127514 — 2004 FORD EXPLORER

WITHIN 7,000 MILES OF PURCHASING MY 2004 FORD EXPLORER (EDDIE BAUER EDITION) I BEGAN NOTICING A PROGRESSIVELY WORSENING SLAMMING INTO GEAR. AT FIRST IT WAS JUST INTO REVERSE, THEN IT WAS FROM REVERSE INTO FORWARD DRIVE GEARS, THEN IT WOULD SLAM EVERY TIME IT CHANGED GEARS. WHEN I TOOK IT IN, FORD REPLACED THE VALVE BODY FOR THE TRANSMISSION, THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL, AND A SOLENOID. SEEMED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 10K MILES. THEN THE REVERSE SLAMMING STARTED AGAIN AND SOME SLIGHT SLAMMING WHEN GOING FROM REVERSE TO THE FORWARD GEAR. SO I TOOK IT BACK AND ALSO ASKED THEM TO DO SOME ROUTINE MAINTANENCE INSPECTIONS, DURING WHICH TIME THEY INFORMED ME MY REAR LEFT WHEEL BEARING WAS BAD AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVEABLE. AT THIS TIME THEY ALSO TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. NOW, 10K MILES LATER, IT'S BACK IN THE SHOP WITH SLAMMING GEARS AND WHINING NOISES COMING FROM WHEEL AREA. THE SLAMMING TRANSMISSION IS BASICALLY SHAKING MY VEHICLE APART BIT BY BIT. MY FEAR OF COURSE IS THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. I'M HOPING I CAN GET RESOLUTION BEFORE A PART ACTUALLY FALLS OFF WHILE I'M GOING 70 DOWN THE HIGHWAY. I'VE BEEN READING NEWS RELEASES AND OWNER FORUMS AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A RATHER COMMON ISSUE, THOUGH LUCKILY NO ONE HAS BEEN HURT AS OF YET.