NHTSA Complaint #10258940 — 2004 FORD EXPLORER

PURCHASED USED 2004 EXPLORER XLT 12/6/07 AT 53,000 MILES. APPROX 6 MOS LATER, IT BEGAN HAVING DELAYED SHIFTING AND WOULD JERK INTO REVERSE. AT TIMES I HAD PULLED OUT TOO FAR INTO THE ROAD AND NEEDED TO BACK UP TO AVOID A COLLISION AND THE CAR WOULD NOT SAFELY REVERSE QUICKLY. IT WOULD HESITATE AND THEN JERK INTO REVERSE AT A HIGH SPEED. THE TRANNY WOULD SLIP AFTER SLOWING DOWN AND THEN ACCELERATING. ONCE AFTER SHIFTING INTO REVERSE, I HIT THE GAS AND IT REVVED UP AS IF IN NEUTRAL. I PAUSED AND HIT THE GAS AGAIN WITHOUT CHANGING GEARS AND IT REVERSED. THE FIRST DEALER SAID ITS TRANNY FLUID WAS LOW AND THEY TOPPED IT OFF. NO CHANGE. THE SECOND DEALER REPROGRAMMED IT WITH NO CHANGE. THEY REPLACED THE SOLENOID WHICH SEEMED TO FIX THE JERKY SHIFTING AND IMPROPER ACCELERATION. NOW IT IS PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE AGAIN, JUST LIKE LAST TIME. IT STARTS OUT ONLY HAVING ISSUES ONCE A MONTH AND THEN THEY BECOME MORE REGULAR UNTIL IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE THE CAR. I DON'T THINK THE CAR IS SAFE AS I CANNOT GET IT TO MOVE QUICKLY WHEN I NEED IT TO. THE CAR HAS A NEW APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER AND I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE SEEN SITES WHERE HUNDREDS OF OTHER EXPLORER OWNERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, SOMETIMES EVEN MUCH WORSE THAN THIS ONE. THE DEALERS ARE STUMPED BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SHOW ANY CODES. ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER NOTHING IS WRONG WITH MY CAR WHEN EVEN I CAN TELL THAT IT HAS MAJOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. IT NOW HAS 80,000 AND I HAVE PAID THE DEDUCTIBLE AT LEAST THREE TIMES AND STILL NO CHANGE. I BETTER HAVE A NEW TRANSMISSION COMING TO ME... *TR