2007 Ford Explorer

The 2002 through 2008 Ford explorer is a great riding, good handling, capable and useful SUV. If you are looking for a used model, there are hundreds of thousands to choose from. Since there are so many to choose from take your time and choose wisely as there are some issues to be wary of.

The transmissions go out early. I’ve found that 85,000 miles seems to be about the average and $3000 is the average repair cost. Ouch!! If you find one that has had the fluid changed regularly you may get a few thousand more out of it, but from my experience, you will re replacing/rebuilding the transmission sooner or later. Another issue that plagues these vehicles is body/paint issues. I’ve seen way too many lift gates crack below the rear window. If you replace the panel, it’ll come back. Figure $500 or more for this repair. I’ve seen problems with the wiring to the rear wheel speed sensors. This cost varies depending on where the problem is and how extensive the repair is. I hate to bash a vehicle but there are many other issues on the list. Rear differential gears howling like a wolf (figure $600 or $700 to fix), wheel bearings letting go early to the tune of almost $600 and the same faulty 4WD system as the earlier generation vehicles. Now I could go on to mention the other issues I’ve seen but we need to be fair here. While I have seen many problems with these vehicles we have to keep in mind that there were millions of these sold versus other SUVs. It would make sense that one would see plenty of problems on the most popular selling vehicle for years running. My advice, besides the usual pre-purchase inspection would be to talk to other folks who own the same generation vehicle you are considering. This is the best advice I can give.

If you decide to purchase an Explorer you will have a comfortable vehicle that is easy on the eyes and easy to live with day to day, as long as the problems stay at bay.