- My '02 Explorer now has just over 30,000 mile on the odometer
and is a week shy of 3 years old. The tour has been trouble free in terms
of reliability, but we've had some problems with rattles and a whining
noise from the differential.
- Two of the rattles were traced to loose fitting plastic trim pieces;
one on the rear hatch and the other was next to the hatch and right rear
window. Ford took a shot at both problems and succeeded in fixing one.
I fixed the other rattle by stuffing foam rubber between the plastic
trim and hatch glass panel. Difficult to understand how technicians
sometimes miss the simple, easy to repair stuff.
- The power window in the driver's door developed a squeek when the
window was going down and that has also been properly repaired by Ford.
The whine from the differential occurred at about 60 MPH and has been
there almost since the vehicle was new. I had read on a number of Explorer
forums that this was not an unusual problem and those owners experienced varied
results with dealer repair attempts. Some said the noise was repaired,
only to return 800 to 1000 miles later. Others said it merely occurred at
a different speed. Few said the noise stopped for the long term.
- As my Explorer approached the end of the factory warranty, I
figured I better at least make it a matter of record that the differential
was making a whining noise, just in case the thing went south in the
future. According to Ford, they completely rebuilt the differential.
When I got the vehicle back the whining noise was completely gone.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. The whining noise returned within
1000 miles.
- Other than the differential whine at about 60 MPH and the occasional rattle
that returned to the front suspension area (only noticeable below 25 MPH), the
vehicle runs well. The engine still sounds good and the transmission shifts
smoothly. The paint is holding up well but the black trim panels around the doors
and rear hatch are starting to flake the clear coat. Upholstery looks good, as do
the carpets. We did have a small problem with the automatic transmission making
an occasional hard shift from second to third when going very slow with a light
throttle but this was corrected with a new firmware update to the on board computer.
- All in all, I'm still fairly happy with our 2002 Explorer but I am
disappointed with differential noise and rattle in the front suspension. I
plan to replace the Explorer in the next year or so and I'm seriously
considering an Acura MDX.
- 7/22/05 - More on the differential: As our Explorer was nearing the
end of the factory warranty (36 months or 36,000 miles) 14 months ago, I
decided to get the problem looked at. Our local dealer/servicer determined
that the ring and pinion needed to be replaced, which they did after
ordering and receiving the appropriate parts. This seemed to cure the
whining noise... for about 1000 miles. After that, I noticed that the
whining noise was slowly returning; quietly at first and than gradually
increasing. The whining noise was only noticeable between about 55 and 63
MPH.
- Since we seldom drive in that speed range, I pretty much forgot about
the noise and let the problem go until we returned from a 3400 mile
vacation trip this July. During the trip, I was forced to drive right in
that problematic speed range because we were towing our tent-trailer. The
whine got noticeably worse during the course of the trip. Worried, I took
the car back to our servicing dealer for diagnosis. Verdict: differential
needs another ring and pinion replacement. The ring and pinion replaced 14
months ago under factory warranty only lasted 9000 miles. Our servicer
only warrants their work for 12 months or 12,000 miles, which ever comes
first. I'm out of luck by 2 months and my servicer wants $825.00 to
replace the ring and pinion again (this price reflects a 25% discount).
I'm not happy. The repair should've lasted far longer than 9000 miles!
- So, I'm now in the process of working with Ford Motor Company to get
some satisfaction. I've discovered on various Explorer Forums that this
differential whining problem is fairly common to the 3.73 LS (limited slip)
differential and Ford seems to have failed to come up with a long-term solution.
How Ford handles the necessary repairs will determine whether or not I
remain a Ford customer and how long I keep this vehicle. I may end up
getting the Acura MDX (or, Honda Pilot) much sooner than I thought.
- So, that was last July, '05. Fast forward to February, '06. I've
been fuming about getting dinged for a repeat failure of the differential
and finally bit the bullet and had it repaired. My Ford dealer/servicer
replaced the ring and pinion and installed some new shims. Total cost to
me was $960.00, a bit more than quoted last July due to a jump in labor
charges and the 2 shims. At least the whining noise is gone... for now.
We'll see how it goes for the long-run. You can bet that I'll have the
car back to Ford in a heart-beat if it starts whining again during the
12/12 repair warranty. I won't make that mistake again.
- On a side note, I also replaced the OEM Michelin tires with exactly
the same type (P235/70R16 Cross Terrains) at my local tire dealer. The
original Michelins went 42k miles and still had some tread on them (they
were just approaching the tire wear indicators). I rotated them fairly
regularly and they never, ever had to be rebalanced. I find this amazing.
The tires ran true and straight for the whole 42k miles. Happily, my new
set of tires run smooth with no vibrations and only required small balance
weights like the originals.
- To be continued...
- Dave
Copyright © 2004 David C. Stafford
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