4th May 2004, 23:23
My only real problem with the Explorer is the spare tire placement, the fact that it drains the gas tank faster than a Lincoln Continental and that the Explorer eats brakes. Literally, the front pads go out nearly 3 times as fast as the rear. And yes I have had major problems with the transmission, seems to be a real defect with all other 94'Explorers. One other thing, mine is a 4.0 liter inline 6, did they ever make a V6? I know that Ford issued the inline 6 and the V8 and I don't even want to know the fuel consumption with that.
28th Jun 2004, 19:17
I myself own a 94 explorer. I have had it for a year and it did eat brakes up fast so I bought expensive breaks and now they last forever even with me driving everywhere. Today I just found out that have no second gear, the mechanic told me that it could've been the filter being a little clogged and low oil that caused the damage. so check the oil, and have that transmission serviced. So far I think my explorer has done good for me and I will pay the 800 dollars to fix it because it's my fault for driving fast.
12th Aug 2004, 17:35
I own a 1994 Ford Explorer 4x4. It has 158000 miles on it. I have never had any trouble with it. It has been a great vehicle. I bought it new. I am wondering if anyone out there has more than 200000 miles without major problems.
16th Oct 2004, 00:53
I have a 99 Explorer and a week after I bought the truck, used, the brakes went completely out. A Ford mechanic said someone must have mixed transmission fluid with brake fluid and that I was lucky not to have gotten into a crash. Now the transmission has gone out and the front brakes need to be redone again.
19th Oct 2004, 22:24
I've got a 1994 Limited Ford Explorer with 137,231 miles. I've read threw the comments and yes about 7 months ago I had to replace the transmission .. $1,500 along with the front brakes. the truck was running poor so I brought it to a ford dealer. They called me back within the hour saying the computer wouldn't respond. replaced the computer for $560 since then its ran perfect I like to think I've got the bugs worked out of it. always done tune-ups on-time. I am most impressed with its performance and reliability getting 18 mpg highway lot better then when I bought it a year ago at 11 mpg.
5th Nov 2004, 09:13
Can any one help!!! I have a 97 explorer, and the transmission is gone. Am in southern Spain and there is no one here that I can find how can fix it. (tough luck I hear you say). I have spoken to fords and guess what they no longer sell the complete box (bloody great I say). I now know this is a common problem with the explorer so is there anyone who can guide me...
10th Nov 2004, 19:48
We have a 94 Explorer XLT with an automatic trans. Had approx. 80,000 miles when we purchased it. Has been a great vehicle. Has 176,000 miles now and runs great. Changed the spark plugs and spark plug wires once. Engine oil is changed every 2000 miles and transmission fluid every 30,000 miles. Gas mileage is fair considering the performance. Hauls mail every Saturday. Daily driver.Great rig.
31st Jan 2005, 17:18
01/31/05 Had my Ford Explorer for about 2 weeks (used), already have transmission problems, The transmission shop states that it will cost me $2200.
3rd May 2005, 08:00
I have a 94 Explorer. I would like to think the problems were from a rollover (tire blew). I have gone through 3 transmission replacements. Finally I quit trying to save money, replacing the trans with the same model year. The last one was rebuilt with all new parts. Seems to have done the trick. I am at 180,000 and perfer to drive it over the new Mountaineer. I believe there was a problem with the supplier not with ford.
21st Aug 2006, 00:18
The reason why there is a very, very common problem with transmission failures in the 1994's is because Ford put an experimental transmission in these. The 1993's transmissions are bullet proof, mine only had the transmission flushed twice since I drove it off the lot in 1993. 1994 and maybe 1995 are the only years with noted transmission failures at low mileage.
28th Feb 2003, 09:50
I have a 97 Ford Explorer. The engine was a new SOCH V6. It was touted to give the power of a V8 with the gas savings of a 6 cylinder. The timing chain tensioners went out at about 110K miles. Every mechanic I talked to told me my best option was to buy a new engine. Ford mechanics were unsuccessful at rebuilding that type of problem (an infamous known problem). They suggested a new engine. I didn't believe them and went with having my engine rebuilt with a different company. It ending costing me over $3000 (a horror story in itself for they quoted me $1800). The price Ford quoted a little over $2K, but I believe their total would have been less than the $3K I paid. That was a year ago. Today my transmission went out. I'm at 127K miles.