Ford question

[Porcupine]

I'm planning on buying the Explorer sometime in the spring to late spring. maybe an 05, not sure yet. I wanted the V8 but will probably get the V6 auto possibly 4x4.

I talked to a close, trusted friend of mine and he knows I want the Explorer. He's also a Chrysler mechanic and a good one. (not to mention he owns a Mustang)

He told me to stay away from the Explorer as they have too many sensors that have issues. Do you Ford guys know anything about this?

He wants me to get a Grand Cheroke Jeep. Jeeps are ok but I'm not big on Jeeps. So far my daughter's 05 Escape is great but too small for me.

Other than the sensor issue, is there anything else I should be concerned about with the Explorer.
Thanks

[Daniel Wood]

Porcupine, your friend sounds very knowledgeable and I agree with him. My advice to you is, buy a Chevrolet, you know, a GM product. LOL

[dougbfresh]

A friend of mine had an Explorer a couple of years ago. OK, no big problems till he got over 90K on it then things started wearing out. The leading edge of the hood rusted through too. I wasn't that old, maybe 5-6 years old.

Except for the stability control to keep that beast from flopping over like a turtle, it should have roughly the same number of sensors as it's competitors. I'll bet the v6 and v8 mileage on the 4x4 is almost identical since the 6 has to work harder to turn all the hardware. Can't say I'd be in a hurry to buy a Jeep either-the last Grand Cherokee I was in had less interior room than my Bonneville and the area behind the rear seats wasn't much bigger than my trunk.

[Racerock]

Is he talking about engine sensors?

Now, I don't know about the Explorer, but from what I've seen, they moved to the independent suspension like the Expedition. The Expedition is a great ride, and the rear seats fold flat. Personally, the Expedition is now a great SUV for the street (is that an oxymoron?).

I do know that the older Expedition had air system problems (bursting lines), problems with a coil pack, head problems (launching spark plugs), front sway bar problems. Pretty sure they have fixed these, especially the spark plug.

There is a Ford Truck Forum that I had found before that would be a great place to do some research on this.

[Racerock]

Originally Posted by Daniel Wood

Porcupine, your friend sounds very knowledgeable and I agree with him. My advice to you is, buy a Chevrolet, you know, a GM product. LOL

My vote is anything but GM, and I used to be a GM guy.

[carsandcycles]

You have to get what you want, and I won't try to dissuade you, however, my last purchase was one of the last Oldsmobiles, i.e. Bravada, and this puppy has the straight six with 275 hp and 275 ft.lbs of torque. It gets alone quite well, and with the six I'm getting a most respectful 23 mpg on long highway trips (okay, maybe 22.5). Anyway, aside from being a GM (which is in my arena of choice), I'm pretty happy with my decision. Of course, the Oldsmobiles are gone now but you still could have your choice of Chevrolet, GMC or Buick. (Trailblazer, Envoy or Ranier) Good luck in whatever you choose.

[vetteonr]

This says it all porky..........

[KA9MOT]

Well Porkie, you know how I am voting on this. Buy what you like regardless of brand. They all have their own "issues".

I wish to take issue with the following statement:

Originally Posted by dougbfresh

Except for the stability control to keep that beast from flopping over like a turtle,

Stupid people flip their vehicles over like a turtle. The Explorer is not prone to rollovers. People say the same thing about the Bronco II and I believe I have proven that to be incorrect on a couple of occasions.

Stupid people believe a battery will lose it's charge if set on concrete. It is like concrete is a magic substance that sucks the juice right out of them.

Stupid people believe professional wrestling is real.

Stupid people believed the Corvair was unsafe at any speed.

Stupid people believe that terrorism is nothing more then a nuisance.

Get my point?

Drive any vehicle with a high center of gravity and physics dictates to us that if we are stupid it will roll over.
You can't drive down the road at 80 MPH with a cell phone in one hand and not expect to have problems if a tire blows or you need to take an evasive maneuver.

Stupid people also believe everything they see in the media.

[KA9MOT]

BTW, for those of you who don't believe.

I placed a nearly new battery and a good 2 year old battery on my garage floor for 1 month in the winter when I lived in Minnesota. I did this to prove a point to my stupid neighbor.

The results were:

The nearly new battery displayed normal voltage loss and started my Bronco with some difficulty.

The used battery discharged very rapidly and froze.

I forgot to mention that the used battery was placed on a short 2X12 board.

[dougbfresh]

Well, you can certainly debate this BUT, FORD must have thought it was an issue after all the bad press. Hey, for everyday driving I still do not see the need for SUV's in general. Their actually less safe than many people think, they use more fuel, they are more prone to rollover in an accident (even if the driver was NOT at fault) and many of the ones I've been in had less room than many full size sedans. BUT, it's a free county (more or less) and he can buy anything he likes. The point I was trying to make is that it should not be any more or less complicated than many of it contemporaries. When I need a truck to haul something I borrow or rent one. If you need something large to haul stuff with alot, I can see getting one but living where I do, 90%+ of the SUV's I see are driven by 1 person (generally a female these days) who hauls a couple of kids to soccer, never to go off road. A few gals I know that have one, do not even know how to engage the 4 wheel drive.

Hey, I used to drive pickups all the time for work and there is a need for vehicles like these, just not is the numbers we have in this country. $3 a gallon gas ought to slow the sales I would imagine.

2 of my buddies have SUV's and their women have both run over their mailboxes SEVERAL times with them. People who think a truck is like a car and drive like it's a car ARE DANGEROUS. Hey, there are a lot of stupid/inexperienced people driving today, I'm sure you've noticed that. Giving them a top heavy vehicle without at least one day of training on it is a problem in my book. They ought to go out with one with those big training wheels on it just to see what can happen in an emergency manuver. For as much as they charge for those vehicles, you think they would do this just to take some of the liability off them-people could not say they didn't know what the vehicle was capable of then!! They don't do it because I'm sure they think they would lose sales.

I watched a program the other day on speed channel that performed the same 40mph manuver in a car and a Range Rover, guess which one flipped? Since people are the weak link, manufacturers have to add electronics to try to compensate for the loose nut behind the wheel.

[Racerock]

Originally Posted by Beefy's Bronco

Well Porkie, you know how I am voting on this. Buy what you like regardless of brand. They all have their own "issues".

I wish to take issue with the following statement:



Stupid people flip their vehicles over like a turtle. The Explorer is not prone to rollovers. People say the same thing about the Bronco II and I believe I have proven that to be incorrect on a couple of occasions.

Stupid people believe a battery will lose it's charge if set on concrete. It is like concrete is a magic substance that sucks the juice right out of them.

Stupid people believe professional wrestling is real.

Stupid people believed the Corvair was unsafe at any speed.

Stupid people believe that terrorism is nothing more then a nuisance.

Get my point?

Drive any vehicle with a high center of gravity and physics dictates to us that if we are stupid it will roll over.
You can't drive down the road at 80 MPH with a cell phone in one hand and not expect to have problems if a tire blows or you need to take an evasive maneuver.

Stupid people also believe everything they see in the media.

Amen. Were you referring to Kerry on the terrorism comparison?

BTW, the newer Explorer has a lower center of gravity now. Oh no, this will allow cell phone use at a higher rate of speed.

[thecarguy]

Beefster hit the nail on the head. Firestone tires arent bad. Explorers dont rollover. Its Bi*ches that dont take care of their tires with alignment, rotation and so on (I will say that on the first explorers you could blame the I beams), then they get a blowout on the freeway, arent used to driving a vehicle with a high center of gravity, the kid is not strapped in the child seat in the back seat, the vehicle rolls over because it dosent handle like her sedan used to, the kid falls out the window, kid gets ran over by a truck, woman crawls her way to saftey across the interstate to find her dead kid. Now she isnt at fault...of course not, its those d@mn tires on that d@mn explorer.

Id go with a tahoe/yukon IMO over a jeep or explorer. Fords newer engines seem to be dogs, expecially in those heavy trucks they build. GMs vortec engines have gobs and gobs of power and the tahoe is a much nicer/larger vehicle than the chevy. My SUV of choice is the toyota sequoia. I know most people here are not fans of the import market, but its a good vehicle. its engine is weak compared to my silverado, but its a much more refined vehicle. Im not much into luxury cars (except getting paid darn good money to fix em) but this is a nice vehicle.

[Porcupine]

Good grief, that does it. I'm getting an Evinrude and a coffin with four pneumatic tires. Lower center of gravity, fine polished finish. (will have to use Endust instead of Meguiars) and no rust by my tippy toes.

Hoods rusting, that's usually a result of where the Ford was made and then shipped to. My Aerostar was made in St Loius and sold in Canada. Our Windsor made Aerialstars did not rust because they were made for winter climates. So, a simple rust proofing (with quality rust proofing KROWN ) would cure that pretty quick.

I suppose you guys are right. Where the Explorer might have it's share of problems, a Jeep or GMC will have their own problems. If you look at an ErrorStar you'll see a much higher center of gravity and if I haven't rolled over the van yet, I'll never roll over the Explorer. Mind you, my wife hasn't been able to runs as fast as the van (even with the blower engaged) so my rollover issues are not issues...yet. You should see her calves woohoo.

The Expedition? I want to use Sunoco not buy it.

Carguy those imports ARE great vehicles, there's no question. Mine is more of a patriotic purchase so I'd rather buy one of the big 3. BTW I have Firstones on one van and Bridgstones on the other.

I am kind of pro Ford and GM. bi-sentual (ahemmm) (is that word?)

I like the line and other things on the Explorer. I haven't ruled the others out quite yet. But it's basically that size of vehicle that I'm after. I'm not 100% postitive about the 4x4. that was just a thought. I don't drive offroad unless she gets a blowout in one of her calves . I'm only thinking 4x4 if we get a bad winter.

I like Beefy's "stupid people" Definately got browny points for that one.

I'm doing some more research but THANKS ALL for your help so far.

[Racerock]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

Carguy those imports ARE great vehicles, there's no question. Mine is more of a patriotic purchase so I'd rather buy one of the big 3. BTW I have Firstones on one van and Bridgstones on the other.

Oh no, this could lead to a huge discussion on where the profits are going vs. where they are actually make

[KA9MOT]

My work van is truly an amazing animal. It comes complete with airbags, seat belts, anti-lock brakes, AWD and traction control.

Thank God the Manufacturer and the "gubmint" is protecting me in case a bad case of stupity overtakes me.