Ford Explorer (2010 and older) SUV | Crossover

Ford Explorer (2010 and older) SUV | Crossover 

DESCRIPTION

The Ford Explorer is a 4-door, up to 7-passenger sport-utility, available in 6 trims, ranging from the XLT 4.0L to the Limited 4.6L.

The XLT 4.0L is equipped with a standard 4.0-liter, V6, 210-horsepower engine that achieves 14-mpg in the city and 20-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard. The Limited 4.6L is equipped with a standard 4.6-liter, V8, 292-horsepower engine that achieves 13-mpg in the city and 20-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 341-350 of 395  
[Oct 26, 1999]
Sherman

Strength:

Interior room
Great in winter
Comfortable

Weakness:

Sluggy V-6 engine
Poor off road abilities

I have been driving one for three years. It is a pretty decent vehicle for the family type person. This vehicle is not very good for off roading due to it's low clearance. I find it great on the highways and gas consumption is not too extreme. The interior room is unmatched by any other SUV in its class. Great for hauling stuff in the back when the seats are down. The vehicle is easy to work on and so far has not had too many problems. The control trac 4WD and ABS braking combo is great for the ice and snow.

One problem I have had is the windows fogging up when I turn on the heat when it is cold or raining outside. It takes about 15 seconds for the fog to clear.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 27, 1999]
Dennis Price
Model Reviewed: explorer Sport 3dr

Strength:

Paint job is beautiful. Umm, thats about all the compliments this review will contain. Oh yeah, it taught me buyer beware and the other adage Fix Or Repair Daily.

Weakness:

around 38,000 miles you name it. I bought this vehicle for its reputation of durability and customer service both of which are a sad joke.

Here is the problem, which some of you may find trivial, however you hopefully will never experience this yourselves. At 38,000 miles I was driving and the engine "sputtered" then I started noticing a loud humming sound. The more I drove the louder the sound would become, until I step on the gas. Up till this point I had used the ford garage for every oil change, tire rotation, and periodic check-up, even though they where more expensive for the work I niaevly assumed they valued me as a customer. So i took the vehicle in and was told by ford that it was the way my suv "breathed". They could fix it for about $215 but it was most likely it would reoccur.
When I drive less than 35 mph it sounds like my horn is blowing. when I drive down the street in a small town a loud constant "HMMMMM" that makes everyone stop and look at me. When I drive into a parking lot the "HMMMMM" makes people turn with a pissed off look at me. When its late at night an I am driving on a winding back country road the loud "HMMM" does keep the dear away, one positive. Everyone asks with a look of disgust and asks "WHAT IS THAT NOISE". T o which I reply from my leather interior, best sound system, lumbar enhanced seat "thats the way my suv breathes" their reply is always "no way, who told you that?" I say dumbly "ford".
I take the next step an write ford a letter concerning my problem with the vehicle. Ford replied with a postcard to dicuss the problem, I think alright these guys ain't badd afterall. I call a $5/hr operator without a care in the world about me, my problem, in fact he was struggling to read the pre-typed responses to me. After 15 minutes I decided I was getting nowhere but angrier an feeling more ripped of so I politely was wrapping it up when the operators computer screen told him to say this classic line."We (ford) are currently experiencing this problem with our 98 explorer sport model, however we ask that you continue to support our company and service department. Thank you". My response " this is not a problem that ford is experiencing I am and everyone else who made the mistake of purchasing this model I only hope that the problem was addressed before the release of the 99 models".
I re-wrote ford again an no answer, I figured but I got my monthly bill, wanna bet if I don't keep my end of the deal they come after me.
I am currently trying to sell the suv but anyone that test drives it say I'll have to think about it. I haven't got a single bid yet.
Bottomline: Ford knowingly put an inferior product into the marketplace and will not stand behind it. If Ford would have offered to fix the "HMMMM" sound an it recrred I would have said at least they cared enough to try; but they didn't instead I have to talk to a regional rep who the service department doesn't feel it is necessary so they won't give a contact number. Thanks for the screw job Ford.
DON'T BUY ford PRODUCTS, DON"T WASTE YOUR $$$$. Thanks

Similar Products Used:

chevy suburban, dodge ram

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jan 22, 2001]
Scoop
Model Reviewed: Explorer "Eddie Bauer" 4X4

Strength:

It has a lot of cool options, and the best sound system i have ever heard.

Weakness:

The V6 engine is a little week.

I previously had a 2000 Explorer “Eddie Bauer” 4X4. I thought it was a very nice SUV, but it was not the right one for me. (The Explorer Sport Trac is) At the time this car was ordered, I was not driving yet, so I only honestly drove it for eight months. My brother had it before I did. Overall, I think it was a very nice SUV. Let’s start at the top, and work our way back.
The 2000 Explorer “Eddie Bauer” 4X4 that we got had a 4.0 SOHC V6. For those of you who have read my Lincoln Navigator or Explorer Sport Trac review, you know I do not car for this engine. It performs nicely, but it is not as swift as a V8. Along with the 4.0 V6, we got a five speed automatic transmission. This made the ride quality smoother as compared to a four speed because it allowed the car to shift through gears quicker. The five speed automatic also allows the car to accelerate faster (as compared to a four speed.)
The next option we had on our Explorer was the 4X4 electronic “shift on the fly.” This allowed us to shift the car from A4WD to 4X4 without stopping the car. Just click the knob over from A4WD to 4X4. For those of you who are unsure of the difference between A4WD, and 4X4, let me specify. The difference between A4WD and 4X4 is that A4WD allows the rear tires to spin until they loose there grip, then it sends the traction to the front tires. But on 4X4, all four of the tires spin equally as hard. Just in case you do get stuck, the 4X4 Explorer is equipped with 4X4 Low, which is designed to help your car get out if it were to get stuck in snow, sand, ect. Next, we got a 4.10 limited slip axle. What this limited slip axle does, is it allows (if the car is in 4X4) all four tires to independently spin, were as if you had the 4.10 axle, then only one rear, and one front tire would spin hard.
Moving into the interior, the Explore has a roomy cabin. It comes standard with leather seats, and optional front row heated seats. Ford also put is premium MACH audio system into the Bauer. This truly is the best sound system I have ever heard. It also comes with the optional six disk CD player. This comes in handy if you listen to a variety of CD’s.
The Explorer seats five people. The driver and passenger seats are powered, and the rear seat fold flat down. This allows you to store large objects inside of the car. The back of the Explorer is fairly big. There is a lot of room in the back to sore things even without the rear seat folded down.
The Explorer “Eddie Bauer” comes standard with a lot of useful things. Some of them consist of:
- A cargo cover – This allows privacy for whatever is in the back of the car. Just pull it over the cargo, and close the back.
- Electronic Mirrors with automatic lights – This allows you to easily adjust your mirrors from inside of the car. The automatic lights are a nice luxury because they come on automatically.
- A Homelink with travel Note – This is mounted onto the driver’s flap down mirror. What it is, is the Homelink allows you to program your garage door opener into the homlink, and then activate it by the push of a button. The travel Note I found very useful. What you do, is you push a record button, record yourself a memo, and the later play it back and delete it.
- The Explorer also comes with privacy glass, and a tilt/ speed control steering wheel.
The Explorer also offers some nice options such as an engine block heater, - which comes in handy in the winter - front side airbags, a power moon roof, a skid plate – Which protects the underside of the car when you go off-roading. (Like the fuel tank.)- And a reverse sensing system. This comes in handy because when you are backing up an SUV, it can be hard to see. What this system does is, the closer you get to an object, the quicker it beeps. In the past, this has come in handy.
In conclusion, I feel that the 2000 Explorer “Eddie Bauer” 4X4 is a nice SUV. It has comfortable seats, an awesome sound system, and a lot of hand options.

Similar Products Used:

Ford Escape - It is much better than that ecause it has more powerand more standard options.
Murcury Mountaineer- I am yet to drive one.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 28, 2001]
Billy colsen
Model Reviewed: explorer 4dr 4X4

Strength:

Powerful SOHC 210 hp V6
lots of cargo space
Safe
reliable
Tough

Weakness:

Firestone Tires =(
Better gas mileage wouldn't hurt

I recommend to everyone great suv

Similar Products Used:

nissan pathfinder (very nice suv but not powerful, truck like enough)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 27, 2001]
Chris

Strength:

Head Room, Visibility, looks great(nice Design)

Weakness:

Lack of space in back seat, limited space in rear, several recalls

My 98 Explorer is JUNK, I bought it because I liked the way it looked, and at the time it was a fad, but I wished I would had bought a Blazer or Jimmy instead. My Explorer now had 43,000 on it and everything is going wrong on it. In the past three months, I have had it in the garage 6 times and have put over $1500 in it. All the problems were little things that cost a lot to get fixed. The problems have included a leak in the vaccum on the intake manifold, the idle air controller sticking & tire problems. I should have know from the start that this truck was junk when I ordered it. When I received it the material on the front seats were different from the back seats. The drivers seat was broken and the drivers door squeeks. This car is a headache DON'T BUY ONE!

Similar Products Used:

96 GM Blazier, Blazier MUCH BETTER, Blazier had as much space, better gas milage, and GM took care of little problems without hassle.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Feb 02, 2001]
David
Model Reviewed: Explorer

Strength:

Cost
Cargo space
Safety/collision ratings and low insurance costs

Weakness:

Awful engineering
Poor service from dealer
Weak engine

We bought the Explorer for its price, storage capacity and safety ratings. (We were about to have a baby.)

Despite its spacious interior, you can still only fit three people in the back seat or two baby seats and one squished adult.

We also noticed early on that our ten-year-old four cylinder Corolla had better pick-up on the highway than the Explorer.

There has also been a surprisingly long series of small mechanical defects that are attributable to shoddy engineering--problems with the windshield wiper timer, pieces of trim that fell off, a window that won't roll down, etc. When the Explorer was under warranty, we took it to our dealer when these problems arose and they generally said that this was how the Explorer is supposed to work or they made short-term fixes that quickly fell apart. In the process, they were pretty rude. They were supposed to give my wife a ride to work when she dropped the Explorer off and they made her wait for over an hour for the shuttle both times. (To make matters worse, she was six months pregnant....) They were supposed to pick her up at work at the end of the day and blew her off entirely.

We won't buy another Explorer nor another Ford in the future from this experience.

Similar Products Used:

Toyota, Honda, AMC

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Feb 03, 2001]
Alex Wester
Model Reviewed: blue

Strength:

Strong big cheap

Weakness:

Rolls over easy hard to handle drives bad

Although they're showing their age the Explorer and it's cousin the Mecury Mountaineer are still compettive.They're roomy cargo space is especially generous with the rear seat folded down.Handling is sound and the brakes are competent.But the ride is is stiff and choppy on bumpy roads and busy on smooth roads.The 210-hp overhead camshaft V6 is the engine of choiceand it's 5 speed automatic shifts smoothly.

Similar Products Used:

it is like Cheorkee and Expedition

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
3
[Feb 13, 2001]
John

Strength:

SIZE ONLY!!!

Weakness:

Lousy Transmission, POOR QUALITY WORKMANSHIP

I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD (FOUND ON ROAD DEAD)!!!!
Defective transmission, Fuel guage broke, Leaked oil within first month. Broken Flywheel of all things. All of this on a vehicle that was pampered!! I only recommend buying Honda or Toyota period.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Feb 12, 2001]
MFenley
Model Reviewed: 4dr - XLT

Strength:

At this point...not too sure there are any.

Weakness:

Quality Workmanship from Ford
Ability to stand behind Ford Warranty
Service to Customer
Dragging a Repair out..trying to wear the Customer down

I have been a loyal Ford owner for almost 15 years. This was the 5th new vehicle I have purchased from Ford, and will definately be my last.

I purchased the Explorer because of good reviews I had read, and wanted to
change from the Ford Windstar that I had been driving.

Another reason was the attractive financing that Ford Motor Company offers that other car makers do not.

My 1999 Explorer has been one little problem after another. The major one has been a squeak from the right rear wheel well area that has been going on now for the last 10 months and approximately 13,000 miles.

Until you have had a squeak in your car, it only seems like a minor thing. But when one starts and won't go away, it becomes a huge problem. Since this problem began, my family has not been able to take a drive anywhere without this squeak going with us.

My local Ford Dealer spent the first 4 visits telling me that they couldn't duplicate my problem. Ford service is famous for this, "Not being able to duplicate your Problem". They have certificates hanging in their offices where they went to workshops to learn this phrase.

Finally, they began to try and find the problem. First they removed my right rear window and then re-set it. Then they replaces the shocks and stabilizer bars. Then they loosened all the factory torqued frame bolts...no luck.

We have now had a Ford Engineer in twice, most recently just this past week. They drove my car over 500 miles in 2 days. Once I had to take off work to drive the engineer and the service manager because they couldn't, "Identfy the squeak". After driving them for 2 hours and listening to it squeak for 2 hours, the engineer basically gave up. She had been crawling around the back with headphones attached to a listening device trying to narrow down where the noise was coming from. No luck. The service manager, sitting in the front with me commented, " Boy that sure is loud"...Duh......

Well, the engineer had them re-set my right rear window a second time. She was sure that was the problem. The day I got it back on our very first drive, the squeak was still there.

Ford Motor Company and my local Ford Dealer have basically told me they will do nothing else to help me. They give me lip service and smile and act real concerned, but cannot fix my car.

They also have not done anything to help me get out of the car either. No assistance toward a new vehicle, no extention of my warranty, zip.

I would not recommend to anyone that they buy a Ford Motor Company vehicle. The warranty that comes with it is worthless. If they dont fix your car, they really don't care.

If anyone else has had this problem, I would like to hear from you. Maybe we can share notes.

Similar Products Used:

Bronco II

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jun 07, 2001]
Chuck
Model Reviewed: XLT

Strength:

Premium sound... Leather electric seats... cargo area...holds two large bucks... or lots of fishing tackle...

Weakness:

Value has cropped considerably since january of this year... the big scare I guess...

Bought at 30,000 miles...also bought an aftermarket 100k warranty which I have used around $1300 in repairs...thought it would help me sell it when I got 95k miles on it....normal defects, window motors, a couple of recalls, a radiator. Tows my boat with no problems... Will probably sell it soon as I may buy another.... still worried about rollever problems...replaced my original tires with michelins... drives totally different....handles like a sports car... drive with one thumb if you want... have 65k on them and not even down to the wear indicators...
Got 21 mpg on a recent trip..

Similar Products Used:

Isuzu trooper.. much more comfortable but trooper went 175k without major repairs...

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 341-350 of 395  

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