2004 Ford Explorer Sport
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Ford › Explorer Sport › 2004
These records cover every 2004 Ford Explorer Sport. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport. Newest first.
Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy
Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. the recall began on april 3, 2006. owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.
Owner complaints
18 complaints3 involved a crash4 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Structure › Body
The rear lift gate on my explorer cracked on the left side of the ford emblem. The gate cracked during normal operation of the vehicle. I have a habit of looking over my vehicle. The crack was discovered when I inspected my vehicle before going into my home. On my next service visit I asked my…
The rear lift gate on my explorer cracked on the left side of the ford emblem. The gate cracked during normal operation of the vehicle. I have a habit of looking over my vehicle. The crack was discovered when I inspected my vehicle before going into my home. On my next service visit I asked my ford dealer if there had been a recall for this defect. I was told that ford had not generated a recall for this defect. There may be thousands of explorers with this defect, I see them every day. I am very disappointed with the ford company for not taking care of this defect. I have purchased my last ford. *tr
- Structure › Body › Hatchback/liftgate › Hinge and attachments · Visibility/wiper
Liftgate glass hinges both broke causing glass to fall off of rear door and now glass cannot be opened. this IS the same problem as the 2002-2003 ford recall #04s20. Ref nhtsa campaign ID number 04v442000. Ford does not include the 2004 explorer in their recall but the problem IS the same. *tr
- Unknown or other
Defective body mounts and bushings. I am the owner of a 2004 ford sport trac and was advised that the body mounts and bushings are deteriorated and crumbling. After researching the problem I discovered that this IS a common problem with the sport trac years 2001-2005. This IS a very serious problem…
Defective body mounts and bushings. I am the owner of a 2004 ford sport trac and was advised that the body mounts and bushings are deteriorated and crumbling. After researching the problem I discovered that this IS a common problem with the sport trac years 2001-2005. This IS a very serious problem as well as expensive to repair. I called a body shop and the parts are $1,695 with $720 for labor. The ford dealership wants $1,882 for parts and $400 labor to replace 6 mounts even though the vehicle has eight (8). Ford should be made to recall these vehicles and replace the parts (that should last the life of the vehicle). Evidently not enough serious injuries or death has occurred to make this happen, so they just quit production as a cheaper way out. Shame on ford to not take care of their customers.
- Air bags · Exterior lighting · Structure › Body
Driving 65 mph, lost control of my vehicle while switching lanes to avoid a high speed vehicle approaching behind me. Ran in to a median 2 times before stopping faced traffic head on. Fortunately, I wasn't critically injured, but serious enough. Neither air bag deployed!!!! I would like to know why not???? *tr
- Air bags
TL* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the side of a church. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was the only person injured during the crash. The vehicle was towed away, but the failure…
TL* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the side of a church. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was the only person injured during the crash. The vehicle was towed away, but the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were 2,000. ...Updated 09/12/12 *bf updated 09/19/2012 *js
- Structure › Body · Visibility/wiper
We were driving down the street and the hatchback/liftgate fell off the hinges. I have not been able to drive this car in over two years due to the fact that I cannot afford to pay for a manufacturer's defect. I have filed numerous complaints on this vehicle over the years. It has been sitting in…
We were driving down the street and the hatchback/liftgate fell off the hinges. I have not been able to drive this car in over two years due to the fact that I cannot afford to pay for a manufacturer's defect. I have filed numerous complaints on this vehicle over the years. It has been sitting in the garage. I know that you investigated in 2008 rq08003. I hope we get some assistance. My previous complaint file numbers are 05687908: lists the engine blowing up, mirror falling off, cruise control shutting off, etc. But I have received no assistance from nhtsa. I have spent over $3,000.00 on this car for manufacturing defects. (Documented). *tr
- Structure › Body
TL* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when she noticed that the hinge on the rear liftgate was not properly holding onto the glass. As a result, the glass was sliding down into the lift gate panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized…
TL* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when she noticed that the hinge on the rear liftgate was not properly holding onto the glass. As a result, the glass was sliding down into the lift gate panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Power train
Started in 7/2007 had vibrations in drive train, ford stated it was the drive shaft. Ford replaced the drive shaft with a high-performance balanced one. Vibration stopped. In 10/2007 the explorer was slipping during acceleration, and slamming into gear. Overdrive light would be blinking on and off.…
Started in 7/2007 had vibrations in drive train, ford stated it was the drive shaft. Ford replaced the drive shaft with a high-performance balanced one. Vibration stopped. In 10/2007 the explorer was slipping during acceleration, and slamming into gear. Overdrive light would be blinking on and off. This time they had said that they had to rebuild the transmission due to a bad oriface. Later I found out they only replaced the valve body at 24072 miles. I asked about the lag time between pressing the accelerator and actually moving and was told that this was the way the vehicle drives due to no cables for the throttle it was electronic and there might be a computer update at a later date. It hesitates upon acceleration just had to learn and accept it. Vehicle had been fine until about feb 2011 when it started to slam into gear again, after scheduling for 90000 mile check told ford to please check this out. I was told that this time it was the servos for the overdrive and that the transmission had to be rebuilt or a new one purchased for about $3500. They stated it was a design problem, that the servo rods were made of steel and the trans casing was made of cast aluminum, hard metal slamming into soft metal wearing the orifice to an egg shape causing pressure loss. The new design trans has been corrected. Upon checking on a ford explorer forum on the web found out that this IS an issue with the 2002-2005 5r55s and 5r55w transmissions due to the design flaws. If it's a design flaw they should correct it and not charge $3500 when you already purchased there product.
- Unknown or other
Was driving 2004 ford explorer on highway, and had sudden loss of power and excessive vibration. Brought to ford dealership and was told that the mechanic on hearing the engine start up, knew the problem was in the timing chains as he has seen that problem before. service dealer gave three…
Was driving 2004 ford explorer on highway, and had sudden loss of power and excessive vibration. Brought to ford dealership and was told that the mechanic on hearing the engine start up, knew the problem was in the timing chains as he has seen that problem before. service dealer gave three options, one was for around $3000 they would replace timing chains, guides, and tensioner, but with no guarantee as the timing chain problem could have caused other damage. The other two options were to replace the engine. this 2004 ford explorer we had bought brand new, and only had somewhere around 65K miles. If you were to goggle some key words like ( ford 2004 V6 timing chain guide tensioner) you will find that this IS a common problem caused by a bad design with the timing chain tensioner which looses pressure and allow the timing chain s to jump teeth. my wife called ford headquarters today, and they treated it like this was the first time they have ever heard of that, although they assured her that they no longer make that style of engine. ford knows very well about this bad timing chain tensioner design, and basically when that happened on the highway we could have easily got into a bad accident. this style of engine should be recalled and fixed at ford's expense, I am disappointed as we treated this explorer with tlc, and now we are told the engine IS junk. *tr
- Structure
Crack in rear upper tailgate. *Tr
- Seat belts · Structure
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a crack near the emblem in the center of rear liftgate. The vehicle was taken to a body shop and repaired. The contact also stated that the driver and front passenger seat belts did not retract at…
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a crack near the emblem in the center of rear liftgate. The vehicle was taken to a body shop and repaired. The contact also stated that the driver and front passenger seat belts did not retract at times. She had to repeatedly pull the seat belts so that they would retract. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000 and the current mileage was approximately 70,000.
- Structure › Body
The rear lift glass hinges on our 2004 ford explorer broke during use of the lift glass. The pin broke right through the hinge. we were not driving it at the time thankfully, and also caught the glass before it had a chance to hit the ground.
- Structure
I own a 2004 ford explorer sport. the glass hatch has become increasingly hard to close in the last couple of months, because of this at times the hatch IS not completely latched and will pop open unexpectedly. this past saturday, 05/02/09, the glass hatch hinge completely broke off when I went…
I own a 2004 ford explorer sport. the glass hatch has become increasingly hard to close in the last couple of months, because of this at times the hatch IS not completely latched and will pop open unexpectedly. this past saturday, 05/02/09, the glass hatch hinge completely broke off when I went to close it. my frustration IS that I am willing to pay for problems through normal wear and tear and of course through my own error, but this IS manufacturing defect. *tr
- Power train › Automatic transmission
The problem with my 2004 ford explorer IS when you place the vehicle in reverse from any other gear (most noticeably from the position of park)there IS a delay in the in ballpark of anywhere from 3-10secs before the vehicle will actually engage in the position of reverse. Today(9 mar 09) I took it…
The problem with my 2004 ford explorer IS when you place the vehicle in reverse from any other gear (most noticeably from the position of park)there IS a delay in the in ballpark of anywhere from 3-10secs before the vehicle will actually engage in the position of reverse. Today(9 mar 09) I took it in for this problem & was told that my shift solenoid assembly needs to be replaced. What!?!?!-normal people don't just have $1,100 to shell out for this type of problem(well @ least I don't). I have actually had my vehicle @ the dealers repair shop at least one additional time for this exact same problem. Today (9 mar 09) I was told that this shift solenoid assembly could also be the culprit of the other problem that my vehicle has-which is:when braking my vehicle engine will shutter, buck & die. Losing all engine& electrical power. If I place the vehicle back in park & restart problem will normally be gone. Both of these problems occur on an intermittent basis. My vehicle now has 77,810 miles. Since the latest occurrence of this problem I have been researching it to find that this IS a common problem in this family of vehicles only be disturbed that nothing has been done to correct the situation. The performance of this family of motor vehicles IS subpar. This co & it's oem transmission IS anything but reliable. What happened to protecting the public against unreasonable risks & accidents. Continued operation of this family of vehicles without a recall will inevitably lead to a more serious problem possibly even injury to a an innocent person. Please initiate an recall for this product or least start an investigation into these problems if it hasn't been started as of yet. *Tr
- Structure › Body
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer sport. She stated that the tailgate above the glass cracked. The manufacturer confirmed that there was no recall for her vin. The vehicle will not be repaired since the contact doesn't have a warranty. The failure and current mileage was 35,133.
- Structure › Body › Tailgate › Hinge and attachments
Noticed that the back panel of tailgate IS cracked on friday, february 22, 2008. the crack runs from underneath the rear windshield to the ford emblem and the continues to the handle of the tailgate. the crack IS open, and I have cut my finger on it when closing the tailgate. I'm trying to close…
Noticed that the back panel of tailgate IS cracked on friday, february 22, 2008. the crack runs from underneath the rear windshield to the ford emblem and the continues to the handle of the tailgate. the crack IS open, and I have cut my finger on it when closing the tailgate. I'm trying to close it another way, but there's no other place to put your hand to close the tailgate because the crack comes down to the middle of the handle. I am afraid that the panel will fall completely off or the rear glass will dislodge and fall out. I am taking the vehicle to the dealership this week to determine how to get it fixed. *tr
- Power train › Automatic transmission
2004 ford explorer. Transmission shifts roughly into reverse and third gear. car was put into reverse in june, 2004 and did not move until a few seconds later, and then lunged backwards, hitting my wife and breaking her arm. still shifts roughly to this day. *Jb
- Power train › Automatic transmission
We have a 2004 ford explorer V8 sport. we have had two major transmission problems and now we have a shaking in the front end after the latest repair to the transmission. *jb
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Vehicle rollaway allegations
In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated consumer reports of higher than expected efforts when shifting into and out of park could be a result of a groove being worn into the swing arm ramp of the steering column. The swing arm IS a component…
In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated consumer reports of higher than expected efforts when shifting into and out of park could be a result of a groove being worn into the swing arm ramp of the steering column. The swing arm IS a component bolted to the steering column that assists in shifting through the transmission gears.an engineering evaluation conducted by ford of returned steering columns found the groove could be created over time if consumer shift more quickly from the drive or reverse to park than the brake shift interlock (bsi) solenoid pin retracts after the brake pedal IS applied. In november of 2004, ford released a redesigned bsi solenoid with a shorter pin retracting time as a serviceable component. Ford has noted the shorter retraction time significantly lessens the likelihood of bsi solenoid pin to swing arm contact even with rapid consumer shifts.ford also issued a technical service bulletin, tsb 04-22-12, to instruct service technicians on the proper diagnosis and vehicle repair. Reviewing complaints to odi and data submitted by ford, odi has identified 200 alleged incidents of unintended vehicle movement after consumers believe they have shifted the vehicle into park, resulting in 85 alleged crashes and 32 alleged injuries.in addition to the reports of alleged incidents of unintended vehicle movement, odi has also identified 883 reports of consumers alleging difficulty or the inability to shift the vehicle into park.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-013) to further assess the scope, frequency and risk to motor vehicle safety of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.
- Rear liftgate glass hatch failure
This investigation was opened on june 23, 2008, based on 34 complaints involving eight injuries in which the rear liftgate glass hatch on model year 2004 ford explorers or mercury mountaineers broke off and fell, usually while individuals were operating the glass hatch or loading or unloading items from the rear of…
This investigation was opened on june 23, 2008, based on 34 complaints involving eight injuries in which the rear liftgate glass hatch on model year 2004 ford explorers or mercury mountaineers broke off and fell, usually while individuals were operating the glass hatch or loading or unloading items from the rear of the vehicle.ford conducted recall 04v-442 in 2004 to address similar problems on model year 2002 and certain model year 2003 ford explorers and mercury mountaineers.the information ford provided in response to odi's information request letter indicated that failures with 2004 vehicles were primarily liftgate glass hatch hinge failures related to corrosion at the hinge pin, whereas the failures that prompted the recall with the earlier models were primarily related to problems with the glass hatch's struts or fracture of a prior hinge design at the boss/bolt connection at the glass.odi's review of ford's warranty, complaint, and injury data for the 2004 vehicles indicates that these rates are significantly lower than those for the recalled population.a potential defect trend has not been identified at this time.odi will continue to monitor complaints and take appropriate action as necessary.this investigation IS closed.
Every Ford Explorer Sport model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.