2004 Ford Explorer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1647 complaints
1647
Total Complaints
65,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
69
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

38,000 25th Percentile
65,000 Median Mileage
96,874 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
308
STRUCTURE:BODY
209
POWER TRAIN
108
STRUCTURE
80
VISIBILITY
59
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
58
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
55
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
54
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
47
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
46

Severity Assessment

69
Crashes
21
Fires
100
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE, CAUSING THE DRIVER TO RUN OFF THE ROAD. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE 4-WHEEL DRIVE FAILED. *AK"
"THE TRUCK DOESN'T COME WITH A CARGO NET OR A DEVICE THAT CAN BE USED TO SEPARATE THE CARGO AREA FROM THE TRUCKS CABIN. WHICH IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES TO THE OCCUPANTS BECAUSE THE CARGO CAN FLY FORWARD AND HIT THE OCCUPANTS. CONSUMER WAS TOLD AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE THAT..."
"THIS IS INTERMITTENT STALLS, POOR THROTTLE, NO START. *JB"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28