Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM | |||||
| 982320 | 11/23/1998 | 603780 | Some vehicles with a very low odometer reading may experience a lack temperature control. *yc | 03/04/1999 | |
| BC9695961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50553 | Electronic automatic temperature control (eatc) invalid diagnostic codes u1235 & 155 may be stored if the ignition switch is cycled from 'off' to 'run' extremely slowly. *tt | 05/27/1997 | |
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - BLOWER | |||||
| 11512 | 04/01/1998 | 613774 | Engineering is investigating concerns of noisy front system blower motors on certain vehicles. *tt | 08/02/2000 | |
| 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 | |||||
| BC9680961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50540 | Concern where the door glass drops when cycled down on vehicles with the power door option. *tt | 05/27/1997 | |
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||||
| BC2246970501 | 05/01/1997 | 52785 | Vehicles built on or after 4/14/97 will no longer have a rear washer bottle - a redesigned front washer bottle will supply the fluid to both washers. *tw | 09/12/1997 | |
| BC9696961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50554 | Vehicles may exhibit a condition where the windshield wipers come in contact w/ the 'a' pillars (& each other) during operation. may be due to wiper arms having been reversed during installation. *tt | 05/27/1997 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | ||||||
| PE99049 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 07/28/1999 | 04/24/2000 | WINDSHIELD WIPER MALFUNCTION | 00V072000 | |
| Odi has received 35 complaints alleging malfunction of the windshield wipers on certain 1997-1999 ford explorers and mercury mountaineers.the complainants allege that the wiper system is prone to erratic operation including failure to operate consistently during precipitiation as well as inadvertent operation when the control switch is disengaged.of the 35 complaints received,11 allege that the wipers stopped sweeping the windshield without warning, 16 allege inadvertent operation, and 8 allege to have experience both conditions.wipers are a critical automotive safety system without which a vehicle operator is unable to adequately see the road surface and other vehicles during precipitation.this inability to see could result in a crash.a preliminary evaluation is warranted to invetigate the alleged problem. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM | |||
| 08/28/2006 | |||
| Blend air door square drive broken causing severe discomfort in summer and improper defroster operation during adverse weather conditions. master techs in area indicate problem occures with excess frequency on various model and years of ford trucks. they further indicate the failure rate is extremely excessive compared to all other makes and models. | |||
| 11/01/2001 | 1 | ||
| Temperature control switch may be defective. no matter what consumer puts temperature on air comes out hot. *ak *tt | |||
| 03/22/2002 | 2 | ||
| While driving, headlights will come off and on by themselves this has happened at night and was very dangerous. dealer could not duplicate. *ak customer adds heat blows cold air. dealer found blend door motor and blend door to be faulty. *tt | |||
| 04/01/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1997 | |
| The plastic air blend door, which is inside the heater air plenum, broke when the vehicle was just outside of warranty. two differenet dealers quoted me $700-$800 to make the repair since it involves removing the dash. i cannot bring myself to pay that much money just to have heat in the car, but it is a safety hazard in winter weather since i cannot keep the windshield defrosted. | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - CONTROLS/WIRING | |||
| 12/15/2005 | 95000 | 1 | 05/30/2003 |
| The hot/cold adjustment on the heater of my 1997 mercury mountaineer is inoperative, which makes it difficult to drive when the windshield is fogged, since the defogger blows only cold air. the problem, apparently strikes all 95-99 explorer/mountaineers eventually, due to poor design of the heat blend door. the estimate from the dealer, who has done many, was over $200 for the redesigned part, and over $800 labor to install. *nm | |||
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | |||
| 12/31/1998 | 10/01/1998 | ||
| I bought this mercury in oct 98 .it is now jan of 99 and i have had quite a few problems .a warrenty came with this car, and we have been there twice ;one for the transfer case, and switch for the power seat , leak on rear hatch window. now im returning it for throttle malfunction. i almost killed my children and myself .i made my children jump out of the car while doing aprox . 5 miles an hour. the more i stepped on the brakes the more the engine idled faster . i dont know anything about cars i am a housewife. i just wish i knew about this defect in the car so it could been corrected before i went on vacation .it is a nice car. i wish mercury would notify theire customers of any defects. thank you very much for this questionair, it helped my family alot . thank you. dawn gag liano. *ak | |||
| 1 | 12/30/1996 | ||
| Rear window glass broke out, owner can not replace it becaused it's unavailable. | |||
| 10/12/1997 | 1 | ||
| After van was driven for about 5 miles and parked the rear windows exploded. no one was injured because no one was in van. *ak *slc | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 1 | 03/14/1998 | ||
| Power windows work when keys are not in ignition. | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 02/24/2002 | 3 | 04/01/1999 | |
| Potential safety hazard mercury mountaineer 1997 i view windshield wiper failure as a serious problem. i know for a fact that ford has replaced a particular part 4 times due to part failure. i have all of these part numbers if needed but it don't want to take the time to type them in here if not wanted. every time i go to have this problem fixed it cost over $100 in labor alone. please look into this matter. when it is raining etc. and your wipers fail it is no piece of cake!!!*ak | |||
| 02/17/2002 | 2 | 04/01/1999 | |
| Consumer stated the windshield wipers will intermittently work, none of the speeds except highest speed will work, contacted dealer and they are not willing to do anything, the highest speed has failed with out warning, making operators view impossible. *jg *ak | |||