2004 Ford Explorer consumer reviews

I have a 2004 V8 Eddie Bauer with 240,000 miles, 140K of which I put on it. V8 is still strong and with the 5 speed transmission, it is well geared to be peppy and fun to drive. Tows well I think the close ratio gearing helps. But it handle a lot of tongue weight very well too for not being a full size vehicle. 4WD system is flawless in its operation. I have replaced the front bearing packs several times and the rear bearings once. One fuel pump....painful! Same transmission and no motor work. Mileage is 16.5 to 17 combined. For a conventional rear drive vehicle, the Exploder drives great......easy to handle and turns very tight. I paid $9,500 for it 6 years ago and even if you add some repairs and fuel, it is a very inexpensive ride. I have decided to keep it till it dies.

This was my first SUV and it spoiled me. It was very stylish with optional appearance package. If this model hadn't been "updated", I would still be driving one.!

The 2004 Ford Explorer is a great traveling car great 3rd row car an a really nice family car. We have traveled to Florida and New York and it's 2017 still works like brand new.

Without a doubt this is the best car I have ever owed. It now has 230,000 miles and the motor and transmission are in great shape. We have driven it from coast to coast many times and from Canada to Mexico

I think it is a very safe and reliable vehicle. And I think it is great for families. I think this vehicle overtime really shows how reliable it is because the more you drive it you know that's not a lot changes in that long period of time.

It's a great SUV works great and performs great even though it's 10+ years old it's like driving a car of the year.

I purchased my Explorer as a car to use for college. I wanted something big enough to where I could transport all of the materials and team members for engineering projects and it absolutely does that - I regularly make use of the seating space and cargo space. It's also great for outdoors stuff, such as storing kayaks, camping equipment, etc. Also, the car caught my interest because of repair costs - Ford parts are ubiquitous and cheap, and I knew this car was 13 years old when I got it, so I'd have to be replacing something. On the less good side, reliability is certainly an issue. I've had the vehicle about 5 months now and I've already had to have the transmission rebuilt due to the torque converter failing and damaging adjacent portions of the transmission. At almost 140,000 miles this sort of repair definitely isn't out of the question, but I was hoping to not see it until at least 160k. It's been running great since then, however. As a small aside - I recommend being careful with buying used SUVs in certain areas since they definitely see some rough use depending on the owner. Sedans are more likely to experience simple commutes and the occasional launching, but I swear people think their SUVs can take anything. I'm not good enough at examining used cars to see if it was abused in less-than-obvious ways, so I'm probably going to stick to used sedans/wagons until I gain more experience. Overall, the Explorer really is a great car for what it is and repairs are certainly cheap for what they could have been. It's an excellent first vehicle and the gas mileage isn't even that bad if you're a consistent driver; it is prone to using a lot of gas beyond 70 mph or so, overdrive doesn't seem to be helping as much when you get up to these speeds.

When I purchased this vehicle, I did so to save money. The price was not bad and it was a limited edition. The exterior was okay. I was ok with the exterior because it has more of a traditional SUV look which would to me be described as a pick up truck with a permanent camper on the back instead of a crossover which looks more like a rugged van. The reason why I said it looked ok is because I enjoy a little more rugged look with sharp edges and less rounded. As I moved to the interior, I immediately liked the black leather seats. Leather is very easy to clean and I have two children under 4. The windows were tinted, and the seats never got too hot. The vehicle came with AC in front and back. One disappointment was that the standard radio was a cd player with no touch screen. I did end up putting a touch screen in and it made a huge difference in the interior appeal and it goes better with the wood grain panels on the doors. I bought the vehicle used and and the gas pedal was kind of sticky. Turns out all it needed was for the throttle to be cleaned. The vehicle was 8 years old when I bought it and after cleaning the throttle it went from 13 mpg to 15 mpg. It has been 13 years since it has been made and the only problems I am havin with it are a couple speakers are blown (the standard sound system was nice) and one of my window actuators has gone out. No machan cal problems what so ever. I do keep up with oil changes and add in lucks heavy duty stabilizer from time to time. There are no mechanical issues, it has close to 130k miles on it. I installed a k&n air intake which was very simple. The layout under the hood makes it very easy to make adjustments if you choose to. It is very spacious inside and comes with a nice sliding moon roof. I do get compliments on my vehicle which surprised me because of its age but I was told that this style was very popular. Paint is starting to fade a bit on the roof of the vehicle but still looks nice everywhere else. I do hand wax my vehicle and am ashamed to say I do not wax the top which may be why the paint is starting to fade. Overall it is a good vehicle and if you take care of it, lucus additives and wax from time to time, the vehicle will hold up strong.

Great on gas, third row seat, AWD. It's great for trips! The third row seat has a lot of room........

Great car for long trips. Plenty of room for the grandkids with the third row seat. The Explorer handles well on the highway and has excellent emergency response. I bought it new, always garage kept and performed regular maintenance. People still think it's a new vehicle. Love it!