2004 Ford Explorer Sport: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 23 complaints
23
Total Complaints
50,000mi
Median Mileage
STRUCTURE:BODY
Top Issue
5
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

35,133 25th Percentile
50,000 Median Mileage
62,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY
6
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
3
STRUCTURE
3
AIR BAGS
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
VISIBILITY/WIPER
2
STRUCTURE:BODY:TAILGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
1
POWER TRAIN
1
SEAT BELTS
1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1

Severity Assessment

5
Crashes
0
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WE HAVE A 2004 FORD EXPLORER V8 SPORT. WE HAVE HAD TWO MAJOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND NOW WE HAVE A SHAKING IN THE FRONT END AFTER THE LATEST REPAIR TO THE TRANSMISSION. *JB"
"2004 FORD EXPLORER. TRANSMISSION SHIFTS ROUGHLY INTO REVERSE AND THIRD GEAR. CAR WAS PUT INTO REVERSE IN JUNE, 2004 AND DID NOT MOVE UNTIL A FEW SECONDS LATER, AND THEN LUNGED BACKWARDS, HITTING MY WIFE AND BREAKING HER ARM. STILL SHIFTS ROUGHLY TO THIS DAY. *JB"
"NOTICED THAT THE BACK PANEL OF TAILGATE IS CRACKED ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008. THE CRACK RUNS FROM UNDERNEATH THE REAR WINDSHIELD TO THE FORD EMBLEM AND THE CONTINUES TO THE HANDLE OF THE TAILGATE. THE CRACK IS OPEN, AND I HAVE CUT MY FINGER ON IT WHEN CLOSING THE TAILGATE. I'M TRYING TO CLOSE ..."

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