Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTHER | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 135000 | 1 | 02/01/1999 |
| Spare tire lost from lift/hanger. at the time of purchasing new tires i learned my spare tire was missing. the cable used to lift the tire was broken, it did not appear to be cut. i don't know when the tire was lost, but this could be a very serious hazard to other motorists if it happened while driving. *jb | |||
| 10/01/2006 | 100 | 06/15/2006 | |
| 1998 ford explorer radio (electronic, with single cd) display periodically fails to operator. all lighting fades out, cannot cause it to return. no know cause or preceding event... but it might be temperature-related. radio/cd/tape still functions well. this is an ongoing event. an internet search for comments from other drivers results in many replies, appears this may be more common an occurrence than just me. *jb | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Consumer has given 1998 ford truck to a family member and wants to update information. *ts *jb | |||
| 04/04/2006 | 120000 | 1 | 06/16/2005 |
| On april 4, 2006, my 1998 ford explorer caught fire and was totaled. i arrived at work at approximately 3:15 pm. i went in and went to work. at about 3:55, i was paged over the intercom to get to the north entrance immediately. when i got there the security guards told me that my truck was on fire. as i looked out the doors, the front of my truck was engulfed in flames. the fire department had got there and was in the process of putting the fire out. when the fire was put out, all that was left was a big mess. my truck was gone. the vehicle had been running fine. my cruise control had went out about 1 month prior to the fire. i was unaware of any recalls except for a screw in the drivers seat (which was the only recall letter that i had received.) for days that they can't speak to me about the vehicle or incident because i have an insurance claim and my insurance adjuster says that they won't speak to him either. what are we as consumers supposed to do when the products we purchase, and for the amount they ask for their product , are lost due to the manufacturers defects? how are we as consumers protected? *jb | |||
| 12/15/2003 | 80000 | 1 | 09/01/1997 |
| The spare tire which was located underneath the vehicle, snapped and fell to the ground while driving. *jb (the wench system) *sc the passenger side mirror was replaced. *jb | |||
| 10/09/2003 | 76000 | 1 | 01/01/1998 |
| The accelerator pedal would stick causing sudden acceleration. this will eventually get someone killed. ford should recall vehicle. *ak the vehicle would surge when the brakes were applied. the problem remained the same. *scc the reverse lights were inoperative, the heater control valve was replaced, the left rear brake light was replaced. *jb. surges into oncoming traffic with brakes on. the consumer received a response from nhtsa that indicated that review of the evidence during the investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to include the 1998 ford explorer 5.0 liter engine in the scope of recall 00v-422. *ak | |||
| 10/14/2002 | 76000 | 2 | 01/03/2002 |
| Issue: ford explorer has fuel cut off switch directly below the glove box against the passenger side pillar (directly above the carpet on passenger size) approximately 1 foot above floorboard. passenger may be able to knock the connector or switch loose, causing fuel shut down and loss of power in the vehicle. connector is on bottom of switch; cable runs directly below carpet and can be tugged loose with enough force (connector is standard ford locking blade type). incident occurred on interstate 10 w in los angeles on the interstate 5 north on ramp. heavy traffic caused wife to straighten legs and kicked the connector loose at 60 mph. vehicle lost total engine power and stalled in traffic. vehicle was towed to dealership once before this incident. fortunately it was in a parking lot. dealer mentioned issue was resolved after plugging switch back in. resolved issue using cable ties, but a more suitable recall should be done to ensure other owners do not encounter the same situation. recommend a plate or fastener that makes it impossible for plug to come loose when hit with foot or other objects. also recommend repositioning switch to rear of vehicle, or underneath rear seat on newer models, if it has not already occurred. discussed this with a friend who recommended i file a complaint, even though it occurred almost a year ago. *jb thank you.*jb | |||
| 11/10/2002 | 1 | 09/01/2000 | |
| Radio display went out investigations on web have proven this is a wide spread problem on 98-00 explorers. a circuit board in the radio overheats causing it to melt the power supply board in the radio. who knows this could cause a fire at the worst, and cause the loss of all radio display at the minimum. since this is such a widespread issue i feel there should be a recall on the radio. dt | |||
| 12/06/2002 | |||
| While consumer was parking the vehicle, the gas pedal broke completely off of the pedal bracket. the dealership do not know how to fix the problem. please provide more details. ts | |||
| 09/17/2001 | 3 | 09/19/1998 | |
| Consumer stated the check engine light illuminated on several occassions, the first time the vehicle overheated and the dealer replaced the thermostat, when it happened again the dealer cleaned the injectors.*jg | |||
| 12/07/2001 | 0 | ||
| While driving around engine check light came on dashboard. took vehicle to dealer for a tune-up to correct the problem, but did not help, engine check light still popped up. please provide more information.*ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer received recall notification (00e11) consumer immediately set up an appointment shortly before the schedule date, consumer received a call from dealership stating they had to reschedule, consumer has received two more calls to reschedule consumer was advised that dealership was backed up with their work schedule, consumer also received another recall notification (00s58) consumer was advised to drop off vehicle and they would get to it on monday because of scheduling problems. *jb | |||
| 10/01/2000 | 1 | 01/01/1998 | |
| The temperature gauge reads cold all the time, the engine whistles sometimes at low speed and idle and the condensor went up - all pretty much at the same time these started. (tiresize: p3575r)( dot number: tire size: p3575r ) | |||
| 08/01/1998 | |||
| I have been to three tire dealers. one a firestone dealer, two tire dealers, and my ford dealer. the ford dealer and the two non firestone dealers have told me these tires are dry rotted and seperating from the caseing with a lot of cracking on the sidewalls. all four tires are visiblely in the same condition as described. both these dealers and ford have told me these tires should be replaced. i just got off the phone with a patty in firestones consumer affairs office (800)367-3872 after waiting 20 to 30 minutes to talk with. after explaining my problem to her she said she could do nothing as these tires were not recalled or at present being recalled. she said i could possibly have the tires replaced on a prorated basis at my expense. i am totally discusted with the attitude of firestone, both at a dealer level and patty at the consumer affairs office. you people at ntsa need to get on the stick and get to the bottom of these 16 firestone tires. something needs to be done immediately. before someone get seriously hurt. (dot number: w20co1px20 tiresize: 255/70r16s) | |||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak( dot number: tire size: 235/75r15 ) | |||
| 01/01/1998 | |||
| No summary | |||
| 32 | 05/01/1998 | ||
| Continued problems with the entire vehicle. purchased through overseas military sales while deployed to persian gulf, accepted delivery in oregon. attempted resolution with mfgr and notified of drb on the day of the board. request assistance in filing lemon law with or state. | |||
| 03/01/1998 | |||
| When our explorer had 29,000 miles on it, i brought it into the dealership because the check engine light had come on and the vehicle was stalling out at stoplights. they replaced the oxygen sensor, a gasket on the intake manifold, and a fuel injector. now, 3,000 miles later, i returned to the dealership complaining about the same problem, except that the check engine light had not come on. at times, the explorer sounds and feels like it's going to stall out at stoplights or when shifting from reverse to drive. the dealership had the truck for 2 days and ran up 11 miles on it, but they could not recreate the scenario. they could find no problem at this time. | |||
| 08/20/1999 | 2 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Part has been replaced and broke again after a few uses. i have asked if stronger material was considered. a few of my friends that also own this particular model have also had failures with this component. no safety defect listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 03/30/2000 | 1 | ||
| Check engine light stays on after repairs made to the engine. yh | |||
| 01/01/1999 | |||
| Engine manifold leaking. engine check light warning light is on. parts have been on back order from ford for over 2 months. the dealer says this is most likely a possible recall problem, but can not give specifics. we have concerns about driving vehicle with warning lights on for a prolonged period of time. *ak | |||
| 1 | 05/01/1998 | ||
| Dash board vibrates while idling. yh | |||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 11/06/1999 | 1 | 05/01/1999 | |
| Crm loves vehicle but there is alot of noises and vibrations and being a secon owner and having so many miles on the vehicle i haven't contacted about these problems nor had them fixed due to cost of repair.crm is looking into buying another vehicle of this sort but now not necessarily ford. *ak | |||
| 09/01/1998 | |||
| No summary | |||
| 10/23/1999 | |||
| Vehicle was involved in a frontal collosion at 35 mph. upon impact, the airbags did not deploy, resulting in minor injuries. manufcturer will be notified. *ak | |||
| 09/01/1998 | |||
| No summary. | |||
| 08/11/1999 | 1 | 09/01/1998 | |
| On several occasions the overdrive light repeatly coming on / flashing intermittently. on 6-1-99 replaced sensor to correct abs light problem. problem still exist. *yc | |||
| 11/01/1997 | 3 | 11/11/1997 | |
| On two occasions vehicle stopped running while driving, due to battery failure. on another occasion the vehicle stopped running due to a short in the instrument panel. *yc | |||
| 03/28/1999 | 5 | 07/01/1998 | |
| Check engine light comes on. repaired 4 times ready to take back for 5th. dealer replaced part. just had in last week, did not fix properly, doing it again. *ak | |||
| 6 | |||
| Check engine light illuminates intermittently. | |||
| 08/01/1998 | |||
| When traveling over 70 mph the engine check light illuminated on the dashboard. also, the headlights flashed off and on . consumer has contacted the dealer. dealer has replaced parts, problem still occurs. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| 12/08/1998 | |||
| Consumer says the navigational temperature system above the rear view mirror flash a bright light. when the outside temperature reaches below 38 degrees light is so intense that when flashing it is blinding while driving, it obstructs the consumer's view. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| 12/17/1998 | |||
| Unspecified. | |||