Ford Explorer?

Hey guys,

Long time, no post...

I came upon some hard times a while back and had to sell my Tacoma. I have been riding around in a beater Buick for the time being. I would give anything for another Tacoma but they are just too much and it isn't going to happen. I really need something with 4X4 and prefer body on frame builds.

I see many Ford Explorers out there on (and off) the roads and for sale. How are they with the 4 Liter V6? I am looking 07 and an 09 in particular. Any mechanics in here have any positive or negative feedback for me?

Good? Bad? Common problems to look out for?

I would look in to a Ford Forum but I would just get biased fan boy responses on how great they are.

You guys know your stuff. What do you think?
(Some day I will have another Tacoma once I dig out of this mess)

I appreciate the input!

 

I drive a Explorer as my DD. It is a 2007 with 139,000 miles. It has not been a bad vehicle, but for comparisson, my Tacoma is a 2002 model, and I have not spent anything in repairs, other than a $80 sensor.
The Explorer, only half the age, has had 2 radiators replaced, thermostat, gear shift lever, window button, and I have to take it in next week for sway bar link. It idles rough, and surge at startup, which is either a vacuum issue, EGR or ICV issue - i have to get that fixed also. Oil leak drips on the exhaust and smells like burning rubber.
Gas mileage is 16 mpg, average, 20 if only highway.

So, it is definately not nearly as reliable as the Tacoma, but has served me well. In fact, it is my third one - both previous ones have had about the same mileage and similar issues.

Now, the good thing for me is that the Explorer(s) are company vehicles, so they pay for all the repairs. If I had to pay for it, I would rather go for an older used Tacoma. Don't want to sound negative, but that's my honest experience with 3 different Explorers, and we have a whole fleet of them that other guys drive and all of them have these little issues every now-and-then that I have not had with my Tacoma.

So, long story short OP, they are okay. If you go that route you will have a decent vehicle that with regular maintenance should last you a long time ( but it is just not a Toyota)

 

Also, we have had Ford, Chevy and Chrysler vehicles in the work fleet. please don't even look at the others. Again, not biased, but personal experience with multiple vehicles.
The company only buys American, which is okay. Ford has been a step above the rest.

 

What about a 3rd or 4th gen 4Runner. Obviously much more reliable, and 4runners seem to depreciate a little faster than a Tacoma.

 

I'd go back to Chevy before I ever bought a Ford. My Tahoe did everything well and I regret trading it in from time to time..

I had a 2014 Exploder as a rental for two weeks last summer when I moved back to the states. It had 8k miles on it and the electric mirrors flapped in the wind and were unusable. It was heavy and rode like poo and got way worse gas mileage than my Tahoe did, even with its 'efficient' 6 speed auto transmission.

Last month I was in DC for two weeks and had a 15 Ford Focus hatchback.. it had 4k miles on it and while driving in the snow one morning I got an error message on the dash "Transmission overheating, pull off road safely and place in park for 6 minutes." It did it again twice more in the 6 miles I had to drive.

 

I honestly would stay away, and I love Fords myself, I have a few older pre-80s Ford trucks and Broncos, along with a 1997 7.3 Powerstroke. My wife drives a 98 Explorer Eddie Bauer with the 5.0 V8 and it is a really nice rig, but an electronic nightmare. Not sure if the newer ones are like that, but the electronics in hers are so screwy it's unreal. I do not trust it to take her any distance more than 20 miles out of town to be honest.

Idk, maybe it's just hers, but it soiled the Explorer rep for me at least. I myself would never own one after having to deal with this one. I hope to get her in a Toyota soon like a 4Runner or something.

 

Little things my wife's rig does: Sometimes, the interior lights and mirror light will come one when the doors open, sometimes they don't and won't for days or weeks at a time, then all the sudden they start working flawlessly again. The radio will do the exact same thing. The diagnostic center will sometimes tell her she has 200 miles left before needing to fill up the gas tank, and then sometimes it will say 50 miles.

I have been through every single fuse in the car, tested every circuit and plug with a test light and cannot find any shorts or blown fuses anywhere. Sometimes if it sits for awhile, it will drain the battery for absolutely no reason. I can charge it back up, she drives it for awhile and then it sits for a week or two and the battery is just fine all over again. It's a really strange car. Who knows, maybe it was one of those rushed "I don't give a fuck it's almost the weekend" builds that is done on a Friday afternoon on the assembly line when payday comes around.

 

A cool old Ranger I could see be but Jesus, Mark you think you're in shit now, an Explorer will put the final nail in your coffin, IMO.

 

Its not just yours, my friend had a explorer and had electrical gremlins as you describe

 

Thank you all for the input! I really appreciate it!

I found an 06 4 Runner SR5 4X4. It looks pretty clean from what I can tell. It has 153K on it. That is a lot of miles but I think it is my best bet. I will feel better about being in an old Yota than an old Ford.

I am going to look at it Wednesday. If it looks good, I may jump on it!

 

Great choice, I had an 04 sr5 and I loved it.

 

If it's been taken care of, that's hardly any miles at all for an old yota!

 

When I was 17 and a senior in high school, my best friend negotiated a turn incorrectly, got into a ditch where his tire hit a culvert, flipped his explorer, had his seatbelt on yet managed to fly through his sunroof, 35 feet over an apple tree and landed on someone's doorstep. When I viewed his body in casket his head was twice its normal size and he was unrecognizable. I remember visiting his wrecked explorer in salvage and it was gnarly.

To this day I refuse to sit in one. Enjoy!

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