Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford explorer sport. The vehicle caught fire while parked. The police and fire departments were notified. The entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames and damaged. The vehicle was towed to an impound. The dealer stated that the vehicle was not on fire when they disconnected the cruise control. There was no power running through the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been diagnosed. A police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were 158,000.
1998 Ford Explorer Sport engine problems
12 complaints (10% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 100,251.
- owner complaints
- 12
- of this car's complaints
- 10%
- typical mileage
- 100,251
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine5
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe2
- Exhaust system: emission control: crankcase (PCV)1
- Engine: gasoline1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Ford Explorer Sport engine problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
What 1998 Ford Explorer Sport owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My name is [xxx] and I just purchased a vehicle from hwy 100 & loomis rd auto sales (414‑617‑5673) in franklin wisconsin on dec 13th. On the way home from the dealership the brakes failed and I almost didn't make it home. I took it to my local mechanic in evansville wisconsin who fixed the rear brakes and I had to pay over 250 dollars to repair it. The dealer wouldn't help me with this cost or even acknowledge that they failed to find that problem on their safety check. After I picked up my truck this thursday the 20th, the check engine light came on and all power to the vehicle has now ceased. My mechanic also informed me when he fixed the brakes that not only the brakes should have been discovered by the dealer but I will also need a new exhaust system as someone has obviously fixed it enough to get it off the lot. That will be another 300 dollars. The power just failed on my way home from my aunts and now the truck is dead in my driveway at home. It wont start and I don't know what to do. The owner of the dealership will not return any calls so I can solve this. I just want them to come get this lemon and give me the money I paid for it back plus all the expenses I have put into it in less than a week. This is ridiculous and I need to know my rights and if I can just get my money back .... I cant afford to not to drive to work and be stuck continuously paying for a truck that had such intense problems mechanically and safety-wise and now its just dead. *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Ford explorer sport 2 door caught fire while parked in the garage. It was not turned on it just caught fire on it's own.
Timing belt and intake manifold which ford says it will not cover and also my warrenty company, I had to pay 1900.00 to fix this problem. I have a 98 ford explorer with 65,400 miles
After vehicle was parked for six hours the owner was awakened by some neighbors and informed that vehicle was on fire. Which was coming out of the fender well and consumed the entire vehicle. The fire department was called to the sceneand determined that cruise control was cause of the fire.
While driving driver heard a rattling noise. Mechanic believed it was the cam shaft. Took vehicle to ford, and ford stated the motor needed to be replaced.
I bought a used 1998 ford explorer for my wife and at 135,000 miles the cam tensioner broke, putting a hole in the valve cover and possibly ruining the engine. I called the local dealership, flaggler ford. Ford's reply at first was, "yes this is a known problem and we will fix this at no cost to you". They towed my explorer in to the dealership and called me later telling me that while the time for this repair is not up, the mileage is over what they will cover. Ford said they would fix it for anywhere from $600 to $6,000! My mechanic, who told me this was a problem with these engines, said he will fix it for $300 plus parts. I have complained to the dealership and ford costomer service, this got me nowhere, and a supervisor was suppost to call me today but as of yet...nothing.after searching the net I found that I am not the only person who has had this very problem. Go to cartrackers.com and you'll find a lot of people who have been taken by ford for this problem. If I was the only person this happened to, well I would be ok with that but ford's stance is that while its a defective part mine lasted longer than expected and that I get nothing but a bill. I have never seen damage to a vehicle like this before, and I have a dodge and a chevy with over 140,000 miles on them and have never had a internal engine part fail and ruin the engine. Please help me and the other people who have been sold these vehicles haveing no idea that at any moment they may have to buy a new engine while the people who profited from these sales just sit back and do nothing. Had I known the life of my explorer was less than 100,000 miles I would have never bought a ford. There was never a formal recall put out for this problem, just a service bulliten, so people who had these defective tentioners were never contacted. My guess is that ford just hoped that the failures would occur after the 100,000 miles, and would just deal with the ones that didn't.
While driving down the road, I heard a snap and a pop like a fanbelt broke. I lost all power. This includes power steering and air conditioning. I driving around a curve, on an incline, and to pull over I was on a slope downhill. I have since been informed that this problem is not uncommon with the motor that is in my car. The crankshaft broke in my car. If this is a common problem why has there not been a recall?
All 1998 v-6 explorer engines (not sure if other models are involved) have a problem with carbon buildup. My 1998 exloroer sport was diagnosed with this problem at 43,694 miles (engine performance was affected). The dealer charged me $388 for the decarbonization process. This will be a recurring problem. I wrote to ford with my complaint and requested reimbursement. Received telephone call telling me I had to resolve with the dealer. Dealer would not assume responsibility. I wrote back to ford telling them I had gone to the dealer and felt this was ford's problem to resolve. This is clearly a manufacturing problem, which customers should not have to pay for. Ford needs to take responsibility and provide the service at no cost to customers.
Vehicle makes a very loud humming noise when the air conditioner is on and the car is running, especially when idling or in traffic.
Questions about the 1998 Ford Explorer Sport engine
Does the 1998 Ford Explorer Sport have engine problems?
Owners have filed 12 complaints about the engine of the 1998 Ford Explorer Sport, 10% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Explorer Sport engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 100,251 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Ford Explorer Sport engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford Explorer Sport have bad engine?
The Ford Explorer Sport model years with the most engine complaints are 2001 (21 complaints), 1998 (12 complaints) and 1999 (10 complaints).
Other 1998 Ford Explorer Sport problems
Locks 33Electrical 18Seats 14Acceleration 12Tires 11Visibility 7Body 5Brakes 5Fuel system 3Lights 3Steering 3Seat belts 2Suspension 2Transmission 2Airbags 1Wheels 1
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