We found the following complaints for FORD EXPLORER SPORT (1997)
Read complaints for FORD EXPLORER SPORT (1997)
Consumer states that there is a sensor that is causing vehicle to heat up, causing vehicle to not be able to restart. The camshaft was replaced. The radio goes off at anytime, the consumer has difficulty shutting the radio off manually.
I owned a 1997 ford explorer. On july 29, 2005 my truck was in my yard and caught on fire. I was not home at the time. My insurance paid a portion of the loan i still had on the vehicle. Ford motor has not recalled 1997 explorers but have 1998. The fire report issued claims it was an electrical fire. My vehicle was a total loss.
Driving along everything is fine, lose power pull off the side of the road and the vehicle i see black smoke and then flames, couldn't get out because of power windows and locks.went to the back of the vehicle and kicked my way out and the vehicle was engulfed in flames in minutes and burned to the ground.
The problem i'm having involves a 1997 ford explorer sport (4.0l-5spd-non-auto climate control)--the temp is not controllable and remains hot all the time except for max a/c--this problem seems to commonly involve but is not neccessarilylimited to the blend door, blend door actuator and heater box--to my knowledge there have been no deather or injuries caused by this problem but it is significant non the less .
To best describe my problem is that the camshaft broke off right at timing pulley.this break cause the serpentine belt to wrap around all the other components. I was traveling along the express way at 65 mph, when i loss of power steering, and a loss controlof the vehicle for a period of time until i regain control.
Consumer states that there is a sensor that is causing vehicle to heat up, causing vehicle to not be able to restart. The camshaft was replaced. The radio goes off at anytime, the consumer has difficulty shutting the radio off manually.
I had taken my vehicle to the dealership on three separate occassions due to coolant loss and the temparature guage reading cool.on each occassion they replaced the thermostat.the last time was just prior to the expiration of the extended warranty.i specifically requested that it be tested and checked thouroughly becasue i did not want to replace an engine after the warranty expired.they replaced the thermostat.shortly after i experienced the same difficulty.i took the vehicle to a private garage and they reported that the head gaskets had failed and were leaking.i contacted the service manager at the dealership and he requested that i bring the vehicle to them for tests.several days later the service department called and informed me that the head gaskets had failed and that coolant was entering the cylinders.they offered to replace the engine for $4600.00.not going to happen.
The camshaft chain was replaced.*jg
The engine on my 1997 ford explorer caught on fire and destroyed my vehicle.
The crankshaft broke off and went into the fan shield. The ford mechanic says he has not seen this before and it looks like a defect in the metal. It was good that i was going only 30mph at the time or it would have gone throught the fan its self. It could have had many consequences.
I have a general recall, i have a 1997 ford explorer sport, my front camshaft chain guide needs replacing, i took it in at the dealership where i purchased, he told me my vechile is no longer under warranty(102000), i ned help with this matter. Thanks
The radio turns on and off without any physical response.this happens intermittently and consumer cannot manually turn the radio off.*jg
- the contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport.while traveling 30 mphshe smelled something burning in the vehicle.she then saw a bit of smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle.she pulled the vehicle over and a person came up to the vehicle and advised her to get out of the vehicle because the vehicle was on fire.another person approached the scene with a fire extinguisher, but by this time the flames coming out from under the hood. They used up the entire fire extinguisher, but could not put the fire out. The tires exploded and all of the windows blew out. The fire department came, they tried to put out the fire, but there wasn't enough waterpressure by the time the second fire truck came out the fire was very close to the gasoline tank.luckily they were able to put the fire out before it got to the gas tank, but the thing that is left of the vehicle is the metal frame.she has not yet called ford, but believes this is a manufacturing defect. There were no injuries sustained. The damages were so severe they were unable to tell what caused the fire.all she knew was that the fire started underneath the hood of the vehicle on the driver side. The vehicle had been very well maintained and she doesn't know what triggered the fire. She never received any sort of recall notice.the current and failure mileage was 95,000.updated 5/18/09 according to the fire inspector, a fuel to the left side of the engine fromreturn hose was the cause of the fire. Updated 05/20/09
The contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked on an incline when it rolled forward and crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was not destroyed. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop and the repair shop stated that the transfer case needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 148,600 and the current mileage was 148,700.
The contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport. While driving approximately 45 mph she heard a ticking noise. She was unable to identify where the noise was located. She stated that no warning lights illuminated on the dashboard of the vehicle. She continued to drive home and parked the vehicle. Two hours later she started the vehicle, shifted into reverse and it continued to make a noise. The contact stated that when the vehicle started the noise was not there but as soon as she shifted the vehicle into reverse, neutral or any gear the noise began again. The vehicle was not taken to an authorized dealer or local mechanic. The contact stated that the failure began on september 20, 2010. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 229,000.
While driving the vehicle, automatic transmission doesn't shift properlyand engage fromdrive to neutral. Dealer has inspected but wasn't able to duplicate or correct the problem. Please provide further information.*ph
Consumer states there is a clunking noise when in reverse.
I have a 1997 ford explorer that is difficult and sometimes impossible to get into first and reverse.it exhibits typical premature slave cylinder failure.
Transfer case had to be replaced.upon investigation there was a safety notice from ford, but no recall.the repair shop said it was the third explorer they had fixed for the same problem in a week.
Consumer's vehicle is equipped with automatic 4-wheel drive and option was turned on.while drivingthere was a noise, thevehicle began jerking and transmission started clunking almost causing consumer to lose control of vehicle.
I purchased a 1 owner,used 1997 ford explorer in april 2004.it has 105.000.3 monthes later,the transfer case went.when my mechanic had it on the lift,he saw that the transmission had already been rebuilt.now 6 monthes later,the transfer case,which came off of a 1997 explorer with 60,000 miles on it,is going bad.i haven't even put 10,000 miles on it since having it replaced in august.i spoke to other ford explorer owners,and they too have had to repair,or replace the transmissions and or transfer cases multiple times in theirs.it is getting extremely costly to have this problem fixed.as well as the inconvenience of having to find a ride while its in for service.is this a familiar complaint? i was not told by the dealer of any transmission problems,or the fact that the original transmission was previously fixed.is there anything i can do?please help.
I have 2 complaints one of which while looking online see that many other ford owners also seem to have.this is a problem with the heater blend box door not working and blowing hot air when in the vent position.this seems to be a problem not only on explorer models but ranges, f150 and other ford vehicles.the repair as stated online by others as well as from the dealer is over $1000.00.it seems that there should have been a recall on this part with so many people having the same problem.also the seat belts get stuck on our explorer it is the passenger side which sometimes takes 10 to 15 minutes before it will work.
Safety problem with back seat belts. When on vacation we had a serious problem the back seat belts locking up several times each day.the seat belts on one or both sides would not release so they could be apply around 2 small children and we had to pull & yank the belts several times to get the belts to release.the suv was off and the brake was not apply at the time of the problems.this problem could discourage seat belt useage.
Both seat tilt levers bend and then break off after attempting to straighten them once too many times. New design strengthens the brackets. If the brackets break off and there is a small child in the back, adults will not be able to remove small children quickly during an emergency since they can't tilt the seats forward out of the way.
1997 ford explorer and began to back out of my parents driveway on the way to work.i used the electrical seat mover button to move my seat back a few inches and within only 10 seconds smoke was in my face.i jumped out of the car, turned the car off, and ran in my house.i got water to try and extinguish the smoke and opened my back door and looked under the seat and there was intense sparking which turned into flames and within minutes my entire vehicle was engulfed in flames.fire and police came and extinguished it after flames reached about 20 feet. There was property damage, with along losing the entire vehicle (engine was somehow in fine shape), but luckily, it happened when i was in my driveway and not on the highway as i am alive.i sent ford 40 pictures, police report, video of the incident that we caught, title of vehicle, etc. It has caused me an incredible inconvenience in my life, i now walk a mile to a subway station which takes me to a train station which then gets me to work.knowing it was an older car, but a popular one at that, i figured that ford would reimburse me with a used car and the property damage, especially given how lucky that no death or injuries resulted.they informed today they wouldn't give me a dime because they don't deem that a defect through their analysis (though the car sits like a toxic wasteland in my driveway with no one from ford even inspecting it).they came to their decision within one day of having my materials.
Front drivers side seat tilt lever broke off, passenger side bent. There are other reports of the same thing happening to other owners.
1997 ford explorer and began to back out of my parents driveway on the way to work.i used the electrical seat mover button to move my seat back a few inches and within only 10 seconds smoke was in my face.i jumped out of the car, turned the car off, and ran in my house.i got water to try and extinguish the smoke and opened my back door and looked under the seat and there was intense sparking which turned into flames and within minutes my entire vehicle was engulfed in flames.fire and police came and extinguished it after flames reached about 20 feet. There was property damage, with along losing the entire vehicle (engine was somehow in fine shape), but luckily, it happened when i was in my driveway and not on the highway as i am alive.i sent ford 40 pictures, police report, video of the incident that we caught, title of vehicle, etc. It has caused me an incredible inconvenience in my life, i now walk a mile to a subway station which takes me to a train station which then gets me to work.knowing it was an older car, but a popular one at that, i figured that ford would reimburse me with a used car and the property damage, especially given how lucky that no death or injuries resulted.they informed today they wouldn't give me a dime because they don't deem that a defect through their analysis (though the car sits like a toxic wasteland in my driveway with no one from ford even inspecting it).they came to their decision within one day of having my materials.
Broken front seat latch on 1997 explorer sportfrod motor co acknowledeges part defect (refer techinacal service bulletin 98-25-15) but does not feel that they should replace part becuse a recall was not ordered.i have seen articles on the web about this being a warranty repair but ford will not honor on vehicle
Consumer complains of clunking noise when braking. *jg
Dealership mechanic says that the seizing od brake calipers is a common occurrence.if so, it seams that there is a potential safety issue.
Ford explorer sport (1997, ~58700 mi) was driven at highway speed. A stop was made at a shopping center. Upon leaving the shopping center the brake pedal dropped to the floor as an attempt to stop at an intersection was made. Fortunately swerving avoided an accident. At this point the vehicle had no brakes (other than parking). Hydraulic fluid was dripping from an area above the rear axle, driver side. The abrupt loss of brakes with no warning could have lead to a very serious accident. We were just plain lucky.
The contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport.while driving 30 mph he depressed the brake and the brake pedal went down to the floorboard.he noticed brake fluid leaking.the dealer stated that the brake line on the rear driver side rusted and caused the leak.the dealer replaced the rear brake line, and the rear brake hose.the dealer stated that the remaining brake lines on the vehicle were rusted, however they were not leaking.the failure mileage was 36,200 and the current mileage was 35,663.
A front sway bar link did fracture causing a near crash.
Consumer experienced tread separation, he was advised that he did meet the recall criteria, but the tires that he has were not manufactured in decatur il.
I have 2 complaints one of which while looking online see that many other ford owners also seem to have.this is a problem with the heater blend box door not working and blowing hot air when in the vent position.this seems to be a problem not only on explorer models but ranges, f150 and other ford vehicles.the repair as stated online by others as well as from the dealer is over $1000.00.it seems that there should have been a recall on this part with so many people having the same problem.also the seat belts get stuck on our explorer it is the passenger side which sometimes takes 10 to 15 minutes before it will work.
1997 ford explorer sport. Consumer would like information regarding an accident that occurred in sept 2010. *ta
On february 16, 2004 at approximately 2:30 pm i was pulling my wife's 1997 ford explorer sport into a diagonal parking stall. I had almost come to a complete stop when the engine began to roar and the car began to accelerate against my braking. I pressed as hard as i could on the brake pedal but the car continued to move forward until it struck a car opposite my parking stall. I pushed the gear shift into neutral and turned off the engine. I checked my right foot position and confirmed that i was only pressing on the brake pedal. When i released the brake pedal the car rolled back a couple of feet. I shifted the car into park and restarted the engine and backed the car up another 3 feet. The sudden acceleration has not recurred but i am concerned that it might again.
Blend door cracked on 1997 ford explorer, causing lack of ability to defrost windows.i live in wisconsin and the windows fogged up badly.very difficult to drive when it's 20 below out and the defroster doesn't work. Cost to replace air plenum with revised, redesigned one about $900.
The heating system stopped operating and caused poor visibility to the driver because the windshield could not be defrosted.an independent auto mechanic determined that the entire heating system needed to be replaced.
The contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport.the windshield wipers at any speed other than high didn't operate normally. When the rainwas heavy or light the windshield wipers only operated on higher speeds.the failure mileage was 116000 ,and the current mileage was 126000.
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