My mother has an '02 with a 3.0 and average mileage for the year. I have to say it is the LEAST RELIABLE car she has ever owned. She is absolutely in love with it it but it's had several issues, all of which have been fairly major and expensive to repair or just very annoying. She bought it I think two years ago, It spent half of the first year that she owned it broken down, in the end it needed the computer replaced. Last month it died while going up hill on the highway, it needed all three catalytic converters replaced and now the exhaust is loud even after being repaired. Now it doesn't always want to start, the shifter never wants to move out of park (you have to FORCE it) and the check engine light is on AGAIN. It also has done weird stuff since she first bought it, like while sitting in traffic at idle it does all sorts of weird revving and acceleration things. Iif you take your foot off the gas in traffic it will slow down, rev up and accelerate on its own for a few seconds, then slow down again. Add all that to the fact that it's FWD (it does have 4x4) so it feels like a weird little FWD car, it has cheap feeling plastic interior panels and the most uncomfortable leather seats in existence (I took it on an 1200 mile road trip last year and my ass was asleep after the first 20.) I would never buy one. I miss her '94 Explorer.
