1993 Ford Explorer Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
1993 FORD EXPLORER NEEDS HUBS FOR THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE.*MR *NM
WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DID NOT SHIFT PROPERLY FROM FIRST TO THE SECOND GEAR. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB
CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION FAILED, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE NOT TO ACCELERATE.*JB
VEHICLE STALLS OUT WHEN DRIVING. CONTACT DEALER . TRANSMISSION FAILURE. HAD PART REPLACED 3 TIMES WITHIN 3 YEARS.*AK
RE: FRONT HUB ASSEMBLY: FAILED INFIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP AND WAS REPLACED BY FORD. SECOND FAILURE THIS YEAR. ALTHOUGH MY CAR HAS A LOT OF MILES ON IT I ONLY RARELY USE 4 WHEEL DRIVE. I WOULD ESTIMATE ABOUT 1000-2000 MILES OF 4 WHEEL DRIVE RUNNING TIME. DANGER INVOLVES NOT BEING IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE. SECOND CONCERN: CAR HAS OCCASIONALLY STALLED WHILE DRIVING AND RUNNING PERFECTLY FINE AND WILL RESTART AFTER 20 -30 SECONDS. HAPPENS IN WARM WEATHER AFTER CAR IS WARM. SEEMS SIMILAR TO CALIFORNIA COURT MANDATED RECALL ISSUE BUT FORD DENIED ANY RELATIONSHIP. DANGER IS CAR MAY STALL WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC.
THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE IS DERIVED FROM A MAZDA MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND IS WELL-KNOWN TO LEAK LUBRICANT RESULTING IN TRANSMISSION GEAR FAILURE.*AK
WOULD LIKE TO BE CONTACTED IF ANY RECALLS OR INFORMATION REGARDING THIS VEHICLE COME UP. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK
ENGINE OIL LEAK SINCE I BOUGHT THE TRUCK
I'M TRYING TO FIND THE RECALLS ON MY AUTO. NO SAFETY DEFECT MENTIONED IN SUMMARY. *AK
TRANSMISION FAILED GOING UP A HILL AND ALL TRANSMISION FLUID WAS LOST AT ONLY 78000 MILES. TRANSMISION HAD TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE ALSO HAS ABNORMAL SHAKING ABOVE 55 MPH.*AK
CAR WAS PARKED WITH ENGINE RUNNING ON MY RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY IN PARK. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR TO BRIEFLY GO INTO THE HOUSE TO GET MY SON. I WALKED FROM THE CAR INTO THE GARAGE, AND WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE HOUSE THROUGH THE DOOR INSIDE THE GARAGE WHEN I SAW THE CAR ROLLING INTO THE GARAGE. I TRIED TO GET INTO THE CAR TO APPLY THE BRAKES, BUT THE CAR HIT THE WATER HEATER. THE WATER HEATER WAS MOVED OFF ITS BASE AND INTO THE WALL. DAMAGE TO THE WATER HEATER, GARAGE WALL AND INTERIOR UTILITY ROOM WALL OCCURED AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO MY EXPLORER. I HAVE TRIED ON MANY OCCASIONS TO DUPLICATE THE CONDITION BUT CANNOT. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE AND GET OUT WITHOUT THE CAR IMMEDIATELY ROLLING FORWARD. THE DRIVEWAY HAS A SLOPE GOING AWAY FROM THE GARAGE AND YET IT STILL IMMEDIATELY ROLLS FORWARD. IN FACT, IT ROLLS FORWARD FASTER THAN I CAN WALK AT A NORMAL PACE. HOWEVER, I HAD WALKED APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET WHEN I NOTICED IT COMING TO ME THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT. I'VE TRIED TO DUPLICATE THIS WITH BOTH A COLD AND WARM ENGINE, BUT CANNOT. IN OTHER WORDS, IT ALWAYS ROLLS FORWARD AS SOON AS I RELEASE THE BRAKE WHILE IN DRIVE. THIS SHOWS ME THAT I COULDN'T HAVE LEFT IT IN DRIVE. IF I WOULD HAVE LEFT IT IN REVERSE OR NEUTRAL, IT WOULD HAVE GONE BACKWARD. I LEFT IT IN PARK, BUT SOMEHOW IT WENT FORWARD, AFTER I LEFT THE CAR AND WALKED SOME DISTANCE. I'VE CONTACTED FORD MOTOR AND THEY SAY THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNLESS MY INSURANCE COMPANY FILES A COMPLAINT WITH THEM. APPARENTLY MY INSURANCE COMPANY IS NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. MEANWHILE I AM OUT 2 DEDUCTIBLES (AUTO AND HOME) AND BEWILDERED AS TO HOW THIS HAPPENED AND CONCERNED IF IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN TO ME OR SOMEONE ELSE WITH MORE SEVERE RESULTS. *AK
TRANSMISSION PLATE RUBBER PLUGS ALLOWED TRANSMISSION FLUID TO LEAK RAPIDLY FROM THE CASING WHILE DRIVING A LONG DISTANCE ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND THE TRANSMISSION PARTS AND CASE WERE "MELTED" DUE TO THE HEAT CAUSED BY THE FRICTION OF THE PARTS. MECHANICS AGREE THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON DESIGN FLAW IN THE FORD TRANSMISSION. IF FORD WOULD HAVE USED A BETTER SEALING SURFACE FOR THE PLUGS, THEN THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. FORD NO LONGER MANUFACTURS THESE TRANSMISSIONS.
VEHICLE SLIPPED OUT OF GEAR WHILE PARKED. CAUESED DAMAGE TO ANOTHER VEHICLE. DEALER/MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED AT THIS TIME. SEEKING HELP FROM NHTSA IN THIS MATTER. *AK
TRANSMISSION GEARS GRIND AND STICK, REPLACEMENT OF THE CLUTCH AND TRANSMISSION DID NOT RECTIFY STICKING PROBLEMS. MJS
HUB FAILED INTERNALLY (SEENHTSA BC2261060194) AFTER DESCRIBED NOISE. LOCKING PINS BROKE. FORD DEALER(SAME) ADVISED MUST REPLACE BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT AS PART HAD BEEN RE-ENGINEERED DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. FAILURE OF PART ON LOW USE VEHICLE VERY PRE-MATURE. FORD HAS OFFERED PARTIAL $$. DEALER HAS ADDED TO THIS. MY DECISION PENDING. TOTAL COST OF REPAIR @$679.00.IF THIS IS A RECURRING I QUESTION FORD HAS NOT STEPPED UP TO RE-CALL. WHEN CONTACTED FORD, REP SAID WOULD NOT/ COULD NOT DO ANYTHING - OUT OF WARRANTY. ISSUE SEEMS BIGGER THAN THAT. I WAS TOLD THIS MIGHT ENGAGE AT HIGH SPEED IF NOT (BOTH HUBS) REPLACED. POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS? I HAVE BEEN TOLD I HAVE 30 DAYS FROM 3/29/99 TO ACCEPT OR DECLINE CASH SETTLEMENT. THANK YOU.
TRANSMISSION FAILED. 3RD AND 4TH GEAR CAME APART.
THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND LOST SECOND GEAR. TOOK TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
MANUAL TRANSMISSION FAILED WITHOUT WARNING AT MODERATE SPEED ON THE FREEWAY.
RUBBER PLUGS ON THE TRANSMISSION SHRINK AND LEAK FLUID.
WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED, CAUSING A TOTAL SHUTDOWN, GIVING THE DRIVER NO INDICATION. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
MANUAL 5 SPEED TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE HAD SOME TYPE OF LEAKS FROM A FILTER, WHERE TRANSMISSION LOST FLUID AND MADE TRANSMISSION FAIL. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 25-30 MPH, THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL LOCKED UP, CAUSING THE TRUCK TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. BOTH FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED. *AK
VACUUM MODULE FAILED AND WAS REPLACED. TRANSMISSION CONTINUES TO SLIP UNDER LOAD.
THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AS VEHICLE ENTERED A BUSY HIGH SPEED FREEWAY.
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Quick Summary
The 1993 Ford Explorer has 57 Power Train complaints on file. 4 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.