1998 Ford Expedition visibility problems

Filed Mar 17, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 100,000 miles · WI

We have our expedition for a while and we know the people who owned it before us. While it is raining and days after the power to the truck does not turn off. The radio will turn on, the blower for heat or air will keep blowing, the lights will turn on, the four wheel drive will stop, ABS will stop, and the wiper blades will not work. So because the electrical items will turn on at random, they drain the battery and the truck will not start the next day. We found out that due to manufacturing error, the windshield leaks water into the general electric module. The other problem is the part not only expensive, but if you buy one and it does not work, it is not returnable. And that was told to us by multiple dealerships. So basically ford knows of the problem and it is a safety issue and has done nothing about it.

Filed Feb 3, 2014 · Visibility · 81,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford expedition. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH in rainy weather, water began to leak into the vehicle from the windshield area. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,000.

Filed Jan 28, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 169,000 miles · MI

First, the interior lights and running lights would not power off while all doors were closed, door ajar indicator was on. Took to dealer problem resolved for a month or so. Now need to spray wd40 on latches religiously. Dealer also replaced cruise control harness at this time. Then came the radio and heater running with the key out of the ignition. Beeps and clicks and bad smells coming from under dash. Again to the dealer, no codes found for the issues I was having. Battery draining occurring frequently now and no resolution. I now have to disconnect the battery everynight. Now when I drive down the road I get the many failure lights flashing on the dash, the windows won't work, speedometer fails, truck loses power and the transmisson shifts strangely. I was hours from home and doing 70mph on the highway when evidencing decided to not work at the same time. Then I realize that this is occurring only when it rains or is very wet out. And I was truly afraid for my life and the others that were on the road with me. I had to drift across a lane of traffic with no power to get to the side of the road. I put the truck in park and put my head down, whew, and the motor powered back up and all the failure lights were off. Only after investigating on the internet today do I find out this is a common problem. And the fix... Replace the windshield seal! And possible damaged fuse box and gem! Now why didn't the ford dealer help remedy this problem one of the many times I was in? This problem has been occurring for several years. New windshield $165 and they come to the house. I paid big money for "no codes match your issues, miss." tw*

Filed Dec 21, 2009 · Electrical, Visibility · 65,000 miles · WA

I have a 98 expedition, windows roll down, stereo come on heat turns on, all dash panel warning lights come on and off,the air bag light go on and off,and the wipers and overdrive go on and off ,the starter tries to start while running it started few years ago on occasion when it would rain now everytime ,found out the windshield leaks water on the fuse box and some other generic box, I feel ford should fix the expedition its there default look on the internet ,there are lots of other people with the exact same prob. Please help.

Filed Dec 18, 2009 · Electrical, Visibility · 132,456 miles · ID · fire

I have a 1998 ford expedition eb model. I just had to take it into the dealer because the windshield is not sealed properly and the gem module has been getting wet and needs to be replaced along with the fuse box. Apparently this is quite common with this year and modle.I have to spend 885 to have it fixed and now have to have the windshield replaced as well. The car would not start and the lights flickers on and off while I was driving the power locks would lock and unlock while I was driving. The windows would go up and down while I was driving. This is not safe! It died in the middle of an intersection once then the engine revved up and it wouldn't stop. The only way to stop it is to disconnect the battery. The dash started smoking and a beeping noise came from under the dash somewhere. I was lucky enough to get the battery disconnected before there was any real fire damage. If I had know nothing about cars I would have kept driving and could have been seriously injured.

Filed Feb 23, 2006 · Electrical, Locks · 27,900 miles · WI

Dt*: the contact stated the driver's side power seat mechanism does not work properly, resulting in driver's inability to view the road. The seat moves up and down, but will not go forward or backward. The dealership determined the mechanism needed to be replaced. Updated 3/17/2006 - right front axle leaked, windshield washers failed. The glass in the driver's side window would not go up. The door locks locked the consumer out of the vehicle. The horn was difficult to locate. The rear tailgate window exploded.

Filed Jul 25, 2005 · Visibility · 95,200 miles · NJ

When it rains water leaks onto the gem module and fuse box under the dashboard left of the steering column. Some of the effects are, windshield wipers stopping, transmission going into limp mode with od light flashing, battery going dead if raining overnight, speedometer not working, heater fan running while off, left front power window not working, and instrument panel warning lights flashing on and off. Everything comes back to normal after it dries out. I had the windshield replaced. I had the new windshield resealed twice. I had to replace the battery. I still can see water dripping next to the parking brake. I have browsed the net and found that this is a common problem with expeditions and f150's. I would like ford to take responsibility and repair this defect.

Filed Jun 8, 2005 · Visibility · 45,000 miles · VA

Both outside mirrors separated from the outside, making visual contact very poor. Owner took the vehicle to the dealership but was informed that because the vehicle is out of warranty, there was nothing else they could do. *ak sideview mirrord were delaminating,causing poor visibility. *ak side mirrors are delaminating causing poor visability.

Filed Mar 28, 2005 · Visibility · 10,000 miles · CA

Outside mirrors on both sides of auto have shown lines in the mirrors and they show up in sunlight and when in traffic at night. They cause you to lose some vision. I noticed this condition for some time but the dealers told me this was normal. This auto has only 500 miles now but this started back in 2000. I just went in for service 3/17/05 at ford and they said its up to me to pay for replacement. I feel that this is a safety issue. Please let me know if this is common on ford SUV. Thank you r vusich.

Filed Jan 20, 2005 · Visibility · 40,000 miles · CO

Front windshield/wiper fluid dispenser: cross-country road trip - failure to dispense wiper fluid. Sporadic dispensing of wiper fluid on road trip and continues to this day. Pushing button hard & at different angles sometimes works.