Vehicle Data Hub

2004 Ford Explorer engine problems

113 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2004 Ford Explorer, which is 7% of all its NHTSA complaints.

At a glance

Complaints
113 7% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
74,000 miles 97 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
2 and 5
Injuries and deaths
3 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2004 Ford Explorer Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 74,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 13 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 11 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 13 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 18 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 11 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 7 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 10 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 8 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 3 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 74,000 miles
Based on 97 complaints that include mileage. 38% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles13
20k to 40k miles11
40k to 60k miles13
60k to 80k miles18
80k to 100k miles11
100k to 120k miles7
120k to 140k miles10
140k to 160k miles8
160k to 180k miles3
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 97 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 74,000 miles, and 38% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 2 crashes, 5 fires, 3 injuries.

What owners wrote

I backed SUV out of garage and put in park, got out of vehicle while still running (to close garage door), closed the SUV door, turned around and saw that SUV was moving forward into my garage. I opened the SUV door while it was moving and jumped in the drivers seat, pushed on the brake and SUV did not stop, I was looking down at the floor to see why SUV did not stop, pulled up my foot and placed it back down on the brake. SUV still did not stop.

Reported at 91,031 miles, November 2010 CrashInjury

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated that when driving anywhere from 30-50 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle would stall. The vehicle would have to be placed in neutral in order to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised the contact that they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Reported at 100,000 miles, October 2011

Other problems reported for the 2004 Ford Explorer

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Ford models