Any Ford Explorer Owners?

Vegas1

Vegas1

Member
The other day the Mrs. decided she should get an SUV! Whatever you want dear!



Her only requirements are that it has 3rd row seating, and the 2nd and 3rd rows fold flat for all her trips to Home Depot and Lowes. And she doesn't want anything too large.



So I started my research and off the bat removed all GM and Dodge products from the table (Dodge, bad past experience myself, and a relative who's had nightmares with his Dodge Durango. GM, from 3 friends who have their products and their own set of headaches).



So I narrowed it down to the:



Acura MDX

Honda Pilot

Ford Explorer



We drove the MDX and loved it, but it's on back-order (they can't keep them on the lot), and the best they'll do on price is 2,000 to 3,000 over sticker. Nice wheels but that will be the day I pay over MSRP.



The Honda Pilot was nice, but my wife and I think it's truly ugly and the 3rd row seating, even for our little nieces and nephews would be torture.



That brings me to the Explorer. We first drove a V6 and I thought it was really slow and ponderous. But then we drove the V8 and it was like driving a different vehicle, and they have a bunch on the lot with the options she's looking for. They also are more than willing to deal, plus 0% financing for 36 months.



I'm mainly an import guy, so I have 0 experience with Ford products. So if anyone has some experience, good or bad, please fire away.



Thanks!
 
I own a 1997 Ford Explorer and have almost 80K miles on it with almost no problems. Just basic stuff like brakes etc. Recently one of my Oxygen Sensors died, I replaced it for $60, but I do most of the car work myself. I think the Explorer is an excellent choice.



I am a member of an Explorer only forum, it's more for mechanical work but they discuss many other things as well. www.explorerforum.com



Good Luck!
 
I own a '96 Explorer, and have 83K on it. Just got back from SEMA. Sure is a dusty town. One day and the vehicle looked liked it hadn't been washed in 2 weeks. Pretty reliable, except I am still trying to figure out why my check engine light is still on. I've replaced the 5 sensors and a control module. The only thing I haven't changed is the EGR valve because I cannot get a tool on the lower nut. Sure like my colour of green, even the Ford parts desk guy asked what year it was, "Looks like a newer Explorer"
 
I have a '96 Explorer Eddie Bauer with a little more than 83k miles on the clock and it's still running like new. I love it!! At 70k, it had some work done to the transfer case because it wouldn't engage to 4WD but that's about all the problems I have.



The new Explorers are pretty nice. It's got a sealed transmission that's filled with 100% synthetic ATF. You won't have to service til 150,000 miles. The rear independent suspension gives the SUV a pretty nice ride. But if you take it off road, forget it. The third row bench isn't a great place for adults, it's more like for the children. If you're looking for a usable third row bench, you should look at the Envoy XL, or Trailblazer EXT.
 
I don't know what your budget is but if an Acura MDX was a contender, go look at the new Volvo XC90. You can read about it in the Dec. '02 Motor Trend. My wife an I are looking for a mid-size SUV and have trimmed our selections down to '03 4Runner w/V8, '03 XC90 w/T6 or the Lincoln Aviator.
 
My wife has been driving a '91 Explorer XLT since we bought it used in '95. It has 160,000 miles on the speedo and still runs great. No squeaks, body is still tight. Had the problem with the 5-speed running out of fluid, but got it fixed, and no more problems. Just last year replaced the radius rod bushings. We just bought an Expedition, but she didn't want to get rid of the Explorer. She's still driving the Explorer mostly.

It has been a very good investment.
 
I don't like the new 4-Runner's front seats. The one I sat in felt like a bench in the park. It's very firm and you can feel your butt bone crushing against the seat. The second row seats are much more comfortable.
 
03 4runner V8 is an excellent truck, i think it is one of the best riding/driving SUVs i have ever driven. PM me, i can get u a deal on one if u want to take a trip to mass. I also believe it will have 3 row seating available soon, or that might be the highlander.
 
I have a 97 Mountaineer, the Explorer sister with 93000 miles. All in all pretty good for a ford product. No major probs. I test drove the V6 '02 Mountaineer and then the V8 and also felt like it was a totally different car. The only bad thing is poor gas mileage.
 
Thanks for all the great replies everyone!:up



The third row bench isn't a great place for adults, it's more like for the children.
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She'll just be using it to transport all the little nieces and nephews.





If you're looking for a usable third row bench, you should look at the Envoy XL, or Trailblazer EXT.
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We did, but as I said in my first post, 3 close friends who have recently purchased GM Suv's, have had nothing but problems since day one. And one is really kicking himself for laying big bucks down for an Escalade.





I don't know what your budget is but if an Acura MDX was a contender, go look at the new Volvo XC90.
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We did, and my wife loves it, but the Volvo dealers in the area are both giving us the same story. "There's a waiting list for the V6 Turbo, and all that come in are all maxed out with extra's". The one that they just got in, had a sticker of $47,000 and they sold it for over MSRP.





03 4runner V8 is an excellent truck, i think it is one of the best riding/driving SUVs i have ever driven. PM me, i can get u a deal on one if u want to take a trip to mass. I also believe it will have 3 row seating available soon, or that might be the highlander.
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Thanks for the offer Al! I havn't read anything about the 4Runner or Highlander getting a 3rd row seat.:nixweiss
 
I have a 1996 Explorer XLT with over 120k miles on it. The first 6 months of ownership were somewhat troublesome. The vehicle was in and out of the shop for about a half dozen minor, but annoying, issues. Since then, the car has been fairly reliable. The car has needed some warranty suspension work, but that's about the most serious issues it's had in the last few years. On the other hand, my local Ford service department does seem to require at least a couple of attempts to fix anything at all.



This vehicle replaced a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder. Overall, the Pathfinder was a better vehicle, but the Explorer was a better value.



A close friend of mine purchased an Acura MDX last year and is quite happy with it. The MDX seems like a higher quality vehicle than the Explorer, but the Explorer seems to have more usable cargo space.



Just my $0.02.
 
The ML320, Mitsubishi Montero, and Land Rover Discovery might be some other choices. I'd rather have an XC90, Pilot, MDX, or even an Explorer over the last two, though.
 
Oh, here's a link to a site with ML third-row info: http://home.netcom.com/~klazys/our_m7.htm



The images on this page attempt to show how much passenger room there is available in the 3rd row seats. Unfortunately none of these images really gives an accurate view of how much room there really is. But suffice it to say anyone under 5'10'' (1.78m) with average length legs and good flexibility (for entry/exit) will be comfortable in the 3rd row seats.



knee3b.jpg
 
There will be an ML350 out in a month or so with a 3.7 litre V6 and 245 hp. 3rd row seats are available and you can get pretty good discounts on them. They are offering a special inspiration edition for 03 which gets you about 4k worth of options for 1k. here is a pic of an 02 ML500 interior that i detail.



2597pic00252.jpg
 
the car is reliable but the price of parts is unreal and the back seats are horrible

Interior trim ain't too good either.



But mum's happy with it.



Is it true that when your hood struts run out of gas you cannot have them regassed?



Many cars gas struts can be re gassed and quite cheaply

I believe that Ford may be trying to rip my mother off wit the strut issue.
 
Vegas1 said:
We drove the MDX and loved it, but it's on back-order (they can't keep them on the lot), and the best they'll do on price is 2,000 to 3,000 over sticker. Nice wheels but that will be the day I pay over MSRP.
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Just as a general observation, whenever I find a car which is in high demand, hard to get and sometimes requires MSRP or even more--this is all the more reason to buy it!



Think about the way resale values work--Detriot keeps cannibalizing their sales in order to crank out cars and keep the union lines going full steam.



This is a big investment; think carefully about your reasons for resisting paying MSRP or having to wait a few weeks.



Just as in the restaurant business--you WANT a place with crowds and full tables and a long wait--because they have the best food!



My 2 cents...hope I haven't offended anyone! At least the Explorer FINALLY has independent rear suspension...



-Charlie
 
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