No longer a Ford guy
I have had 5 different Explorers (I still have a 2007), and all but one have been great cars, and one of the reasons I loved the Explorer was because it was very affordable for what you got. Unfortunately, my 2004 Explorer was an absolute lemon, and Ford didn't stand behind the factory defects, of which there were many. EVERY SINGLE EXPLORER with that body has a CRACK IN THE TAILGATE below the window. The fact that they didn't do a recall on it is inexcusable. Also, there WAS a recall on the defective transmission, but all they did was put an ADDITIVE in the transmission fluid! That isn't FIXING it; it is just masking it. I had to have the fluid added twice, and then the transmission went out at 100,000 miles (just like EVERY other Explorer of that year-all of the transmissions will go out before they hit 120k miles). In addition, I was treated like garbage by Ford Credit when calling to get a lien release when I bought a new vehicle, which is a 2016 GMC Acadia. You will pay a lot more money for a GMC, but it is ten times the vehicle that the Ford Explorer was. I guess I should be glad that they made the 2004 so poorly, because if they hadn't, then I wouldn't be driving the best car I've ever owned, which is the GMC Acadia.
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