Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - HEATER CORE | |||||
| 01156 | 08/06/2001 | 623944 | Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. *slc | 10/31/2001 | |
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||||
| BC0833961009 | 10/09/1996 | 50423 | Vehicle may exhibit a 'popping' noise when the power windows is lowered or raised. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||||
| 96221 | 10/21/1996 | 50940 | Windshield and interior glass - fog/film. *tw | 06/17/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 11/23/2008 | 1 | ||
| 96' ford explorer eddie bauer edition climate control stopped working. it only blows cool air. shop wants $900 to replace the blend door. i can't drive during winter if the windows frost or freezing rain. impaired visibility. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM | |||
| 02/02/2005 | 78000 | 1 | 10/30/1996 |
| The air conditioning blend door on my car is stuck and will not defrost the windshield even on cold winter and ice days, including during ice storms. this is a huge safety issue because we cannot get the ice off the windshield. we have been trying to get this problem resolved and fixed by ford motor company for a long time now with no results. now that its summer, the blend door is stuck on hot and its only blowing completely hot air - this is due to a known design and material defect with the blend door and has been reported by thousands of owners for all 1995 - 1999 ford explorers and still ford refuses to fix it and to provide coverage to its consumers to fix it. in the winters this is a very serious safety issue because of the car's inability to defrost/defog the windshield. *jb | |||
| 01/10/2002 | 06/01/1998 | ||
| Experienced failure of heater/defroster in cold weather. ford dealer in athens al wanted $1000 to correct failure.*ak | |||
| 12/21/2001 | 12/01/2001 | ||
| The plastic blend door breaks and you have no control of hot/cold temp on truck. *ak | |||
| Part that switches heat to air conditioner is warped ,cause unknown. please give further details.*ak | |||
| 10/15/2000 | 1 | 03/01/1999 | |
| When driving this fall i found that when using the vent i got nothing but hot air, then the automatic setting on the heat/air temperature control would not regulate properly. it would go to extremes to 85+ degrees, then drop off and blow until it was down to 60 and then back up to 85 continuously. i went according to the owner's manual, which stated i needed to have it put on the computer and checked at the dealer. after they kept my car 2 x as long as promised and charging me $100 to call the engineers at ford itself, they told me it was the blend door in the heater plenum. this door is apparently made of plastic and breaks. in my case it worked for a little while, but very slowly, and was in the process of breaking. it currently does not work and is stuck in the air conditioning side. i get no heat and can't defrost my windows. i live in wisconsin and we are expecting freezing rain today, not to mention snow later this week. the dealer has told me that the engineer they talked to said this has happened before. if it is a bad design, but because it is not officially a defective part on their list, they could not fix it without charging me another $700 on top of the $100 already spent to diagnose the problem. i have found on the internet that i am not the only one this happened to (see mightyautoparts.com, on the line with larry hammer - exploring the limits of patience). the newly designed door is made of nylon that is stronger and less susceptible to breaking. when contacting ford customer 1st to let them know about my visit, they said an advisor would be assigned to me and would contact me the next day, that was 2 weeks ago. i feel i am being given the run-around. i am driving in an unsafe vehicle. ford will not take any responsibility for the bad design. i fully appreciate and accept that things wear out on vehicles and need to be replaced, but defective design shouldn't be at my expense, in dollars or safety. | |||
| 12/28/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1997 | |
| Due to defective rear defroster, car burned and was complete loss. ford was contacted but claimed that they were not liable because no open recalls existed. the representative in the consumer affairs refused to give me their name and refused my repeated (3x) requests to speak with their supervisor. *ak | |||
| Fords service bulletin 99-8-8 admits to defective air plenum. consumer cost to replace is $700-$1000. has become a dealer stock item. when the air door brakes there is no air flow hot/cold/def control. can't see where you are going with fogged windows. ford revised the plenum out of nylon (#f87z-18471-da) claiming it would not break like the plastic which was originally installed. consumers should not have to pay $1000 for a factory defect. crashes will occur without defrosters. they admit it in the mentioned service bulletin but refuse to make the repairs. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Due to faulty design of air plenum door which was made out of plastic, it caused a loss of ability to control defroster/ heater and air conditioning. ford has sent a tsb (99-8-8) for defect. a new redesigned plenum was made out of nylon (f87z18401da). *ak | |||
| 2 | 12/30/1995 | ||
| Front differential vent tube sprays out lubricant beacause the vent mechamism is deffective. yh | |||
| 1 | |||
| Function selector knob turned on , driver returned to vehicle to find interior covered with snow. | |||
| 10/01/1996 | 7 | 08/16/1996 | |
| Evaporation system keeps failing, causing gas fumes to come into vehicle and overflow gas from top of tank. also engine check light keeps coming on. | |||
| 1 | 07/01/1996 | ||
| Consumer states that defogger system is not affective, instead of clearing the windows, visibility becomes hazardous. *ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - BLOWER | |||
| 09/14/2005 | 69000 | 1 | 01/14/1997 |
| My ford explorer '96 suv cabin climate control stopped working 2 yrs ago at 70k miles. it only blows burning hot air or freezing cold air. dealer wants $900 to replace the blend door. ford will not fix this. the vehicle was expensive & this is a manufacturing defect that ruins the utility of the vehicle. in winter, windows frost impairing visibility. this is the top-of-the-line eddie bauer edition...ford needs to take responsibility for its manufacturing defects. *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - CONTROLS/WIRING | |||
| 12/11/2000 | 1 | ||
| Heater control valve was leaking causing a burning antifreeze smell. nlm | |||
| 1 | 04/04/1996 | ||
| Blower fan relay fails intermittently. | |||
| 07/01/1996 | 1 | 06/01/1996 | |
| Heater switch failed. | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - HEATER CORE | |||
| 01/04/2003 | 1 | ||
| The blend door froze -this disables the cars heating air condition and defrosting systems i contacted the dealer- and was told it would cost $100.00 to determine if that was the problem and that ford would not help(the dealer checked) ---i then contacted ford myself--i was told too bad--no help . *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | |||
| 04/19/2006 | 1 | 08/10/2005 | |
| Ford explorer rear window: on 4/19/2006, temp. never reached over 80 degrees and the rear window exploded. summer of 2005, i have 5 co-workers stated their rear window exploded as well. the company who replaced the rear window, stated they (ford exp.) are notorious for this. why is there no recall for this or ford be made to put a higher quality window in? *jb | |||
| 08/08/2004 | 1 | ||
| Sudden tread separation on left rear tire of ford explorer caused loss of control and on-road rollover. tire was a cooper eldorado radial zr1, size p23575r15, dot# 3dhlekn2900. | |||
| 06/13/1999 | 1 | 04/01/1996 | |
| The rear window shattered while vehicle was parked, no reason why it shattered. *yc | |||
| While pulling vehicle into driveway rear window exploded for no reason. cause of problem unknown. *ak | |||
| 08/01/1996 | 2 | 12/01/1995 | |
| Rear window seal failed. | |||
| 08/09/1997 | 1 | ||
| Rear window exploded/shattered while in upright position, no apparent reason, vehicle parked approximately 20 minutes, glass shattered onto head of owner, no injuries, vehicle with dealership for window replacement, reason unkown, vehicle parked in shade. *ak *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 06/03/1996 | 1 | 03/26/1996 | |
| Power window motor failed. | |||
| 5 | 04/01/1996 | ||
| Power windows failed. | |||
| 12/01/1996 | 1 | 03/01/1996 | |
| Window regulator failed. | |||
| 04/09/1996 | 1 | 05/09/1996 | |
| Motor for power windows failed. | |||
| VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES - EXTERIOR | |||
| 12/01/1996 | 1 | 10/01/1996 | |
| Side view mirror failed. | |||
| VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES - INTERIOR | |||
| Design of console causes rearview mirror placement to be too low. this creates a blind spot for driver when trying to merge right. vehicle was taken to dealership. dealership seems to recognize that this is a design flaw. ford has agreed to look into this matter. please provide any furhter information.*ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - SUN ROOF ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/01/1996 | 2 | 11/01/1995 | |
| Problem with sunroof. | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||
| 07/01/1996 | |||
| Glass is soft - pitting and chipping occur easily | |||
| 1 | 05/01/1996 | ||
| Window failed. | |||
| 1 | 12/24/1996 | ||
| Windshield failed. | |||
| 02/18/1996 | 1 | 02/18/1996 | |
| Problem with windshield. | |||
| 10/01/1996 | 1 | 04/01/1996 | |
| Problem with front windshield. | |||
| 05/01/1996 | 1 | 11/15/1995 | |
| Problem with windshield. | |||
| 12/29/1996 | 1 | 03/03/1996 | |
| Windshield weather striping failed. | |||
| 07/01/1996 | 1 | 01/07/1996 | |
| Front window inoperative. | |||
| 12/30/1996 | 1 | 06/01/1996 | |
| Windshield cracked. | |||
| 02/23/1996 | |||
| Windshield is continually dented by any debris on the road. *ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 01/16/2007 | 147789 | 10 | 07/06/2001 |
| Front windshield wipers fail to operate during wet/raining weather. the condition is intermittent, ie most wet conditions cause this 'lock-up' condition. turning ignition off-and-on again in attempt to reset function does not work. in addition the interior lights, rear wiper, all power windows, and 4-wheel drive functions fail. the dealership ended up replacing the, you guessed it, gem module - the same one cited in the recall for other year vehicles. there is a recall (number 00v072000) for a similar problem on the same vehicle make and model but for years 1999 and 2000. this is a 1996 ford explorer 4x4 and has exhibited this problem for several years now, only recently was the dealership able to determine that the gem module was the apparent culprit. *nm | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 4 | ||
| Wipers fail regularly. 5/01 motor replaced. 10/02 stem replaced. 1/03 relay replaced. 9/03 motor replaced again. | |||
| 02/02/2000 | 02/01/1998 | ||
| I was driving along and heard a big thump, like someone threw something and hit the side of the truck. i took it into ford and they couldn't find anything wrong. in the meantime my engine check light came on (second time within 16000 miles) and my window washer was broke so they had to order the part. i went in a week later and they put it up on the rack and that's when the bolt fell out holding my front end together. i was told i was lucky to be there for them to fix it. if it went out on me when i was driving i would have be killed. i was also told that seeing how they couldn't find the problem the first time i would have to wait until it did it constantly . if i would have waited , i wouldn' t have been around for them to find the problem. no one could explain to me why this happened. i was told by ford motor company that this isn't a recall item. $500 plus later i was also told that they couldn't pay for it because it was out of warranty. how would they like my family owning ford motor company for their shoddy workmanship??? that could have been a nice law suit. i have owned this vehicle for 2 years and i'm constantly putting money into it (besides my monthly car payments) to keep it on the road. i am very dissatisfied with this vehicle and will never buy a ford product again. i just want the buyers to beware!!! *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The design of the wipers allows ice to build up on wipers and windshield resulting in poor visibility. | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER - MOTOR | |||
| Intermittently the windshield wipers become inoperable, causing poor visibility. dealer has been notified. *ak | |||