Opinions on 2002 Explorer

I Leased one new in 2002.It's a "XLS" with the 4.06L 6 and a 5 speed auto trans and 2 wheel drive. It just came off of lease and I purchased it for the residual of $11,500. In the 3 years I have owned it I have had ZERO problems. It gets an average of 18MPG combined city and highway. All I have done is the regular service, oil change every 5000 miles. The factory tires still look good, no dash rattles, no electrical problems at all. Zero front end problems, It has been a damn nice truck. I had the rear hinges changed on a factory recall AND the plastic panel directly below the window replaced(it cracked just to the right of the "Ford" emblem) Also replaced by Ford at ZERO cost. I know this truck well (after driving it for 3 years) and like it enough to buy it off after the lease end. Hope this helps to answer your question.

I bought my 2002 Explorer XLT 4.0 V6 4wd as a pre-owned with 19.500 miles on it the only problem I had with it so far is that I now have

50,000 miles on it and it's 3rd transmission all replaced by ford at no cost they told me "off the record" that the 2002 explorer transmissions have bugs that weren't worked out of it. But, besides that I haven't had any issues with it it's my first but not last ford truck.

My want to avoid an '02 built before 11/01

've had no real problems with ours except with rear plastic panel cracked and the rear glass hinge problem, Ford took care of both.wth

Top left corner of the VIN decal.... month/year. If you have your dealer check OASIS, the exact build date will be on the printout. This would also be a good idea to ensure that any applicable safety campaigns have been performed.

I've got a 2002 EB v6 with 38,000 miles. Besides the hinge problems I had a rattle in the moonroof when I first got it and a problem with cd's getting stuck in the changer. Both were fixed under warranty. Besides that it's been a great car.