Faults:

Fuel pump relay.

Alternator.

Rear wiper motor.

General Comments:

I inhereted this vehicle from my late father, and I have to say, it was well maintained. I replaced a few basic maintenance items and it runs amazingly well for its age.

It's not amazingly fast, but it doesn't feel underpowered, either. It's surprisingly comfy, albeit bouncy, to drive. Never had it leave me stranded, and neither did dad.

Faults:

Factory speakers rattled at the slightest bass. Not hard to replace. They were simply old.

Starter went out.

Slight oil leak.

General Comments:

I inherited this vehicle from my father after he passed, so I at least know its history! It's been extremely reliable and has held up well for its age.

I will say that it rides a bit rough and is noisy, but I think it's the tires.

A little care goes a long way, dad had two, one lasted over 500k miles before 3rd gear went out.

Faults:

Interior door handles broke off for both drivers and passengers doors.

Manual transmission needed to be rebuilt at 40,000 miles.

Rear windshield wiper stopped working at 2000 miles, continued to take it into the dealer until the warranty expired at 36000, but never could it working for more than a month at a time.

Seats wore badly.

Started leaking oil at 50,000, despite replacing all the gaskets and seals on the engine at the dealership.

Spent more weekends at the dealership than I did driving the vehicle.

General Comments:

Worst vehicle I ever owned.

Don't buy Ford.

The vehicle sucked up money like a vacuum cleaner.

Faults:

Brakes, pads and routers have been replaced several times, just regular wear and tear.

The starter and distributor were both replaced at 210,325; both were original.

Currently it leaks: oil, transmission fluid, coolant and steering fluid, however the leaks are all minimal.

General Comments:

This SUV has been amazing. I am not a fan of Fords in general, but I am a fan of this specific truck. It is a 4x4 and has been used to do things beyond what any "normal" driver would expect.

Some examples:

Haul 1440 pounds of 90lb concrete bags when my Pickup died. The concrete was all thrown in the back, flattening out the suspension and lifting the front tires slightly, making it harder to steer... it never complained.

Skid logs on property. One Saturday I was supposed to borrow a machine to move some large logs 500 feet so they could be picked up on Monday by a logging company. I ended up using the Explorer. These were large logs, I just through a chain around them and dragged them with the explorer.

I have also driven this car several hundred miles at a time, to Cape Cod MA, Northern Maine, and Western Mass.

I almost forgot that it regularly tows a boat in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter... still.

The amount of fluids that it leaks is minimal, however it leaks a little of everything, at 237000 miles I expect a car to leak.

I can't believe how long this car has lasted, and the many many jobs it has accomplished.

Faults:

Radius arm bushing went MIA almost as soon as I got it which was around 98,000 miles.

The drivers side door began to fall apart along with the center console... also as soon as I purchased it around 98,000 miles.

Power steering pump and water pump were shot at 102,000 and had to be replaced.

Transmission began to slip at around 105,000 miles.

At 110,000 the engine suddenly decided to blow a head gasket, crack the heads and the block.

After a second motor (out of the exact same make, model and trim vehicle) it still idled VERY roughly.

At 115,000 it developed a fairly complicated electrical problem. I can't say with any real certainty what exactly happened, as no mechanic has been able to diagnose the problem, but it has ultimately ended my being able to use the turn signals or heat and a/c.

At 122,000 the power steering pump had to be replaced once again.

And finally at 128,000 the rear main seal has started leaking AND the transmission is totally shot.

General Comments:

Since my wife and I have had this car, we have had VERY few pleasant experiences with it. We've constantly had to worry whether or not it was going to leave us stranded. We paid around $3,000 for it, and have put around the same in repairs into it. And here we are, 30,000 miles later and still needing costly repairs. We've finally given up hope and decided to get another Honda. If you really want details into our experience with the Explorer, just look above under the "what things have gone wrong" spot, because that's about the gist of our experience with the Explorer.