While vehicle idled engine started to race. Then, vehicle was trying to move with brakes applied.
1996 Ford Explorer engine complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 82, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving at any speed and without warning, the engine shut off, which caused the consumer to pull over. Dealer had been notified. *ak the lower engine locked, the power steering leaked at the rack assembly, the belt tensioner was faulty and there was a whining noise from the power steering when turning left, right or at stand still. *scc
Repair shop stated that the explorer by ford has a weak spot that he has had to repair on numerous occasions. It is the l cylinder #4 that cracked.
The fly wheel in the engine was replaced 4 times.
1) no heat, only blows cold air. 2) transmission does not shift smoothly from reverse to drive.
The vehicle check engine light comes and stays on all day. Dealership change several sensors within the engine, but engine light still remains on. Please provide more details. Ts
Vehicle stalls at at a stop. Consumer has to rev engine hard to keep idling. Dealer has been informed, but has found no problem.
Engine overheated due to leak from head gasekts. Too much wear on gaskets for only 75,000 miles.
While driving, vehicle makes a loud humming sound which comes from front end of vehicle. Also, transmission has failed. Consumer constantly has to take vehicle to dealer. *ak the check engine light illuminated. The speed sensor and the o2 sensor were replaced. Jg
At 65mph the vehicle lost all power because flywheel's center hub broke. Vehicle is currently being inspected by a independent mechanic. Manufacturer and dealer have not been notified. Please add more information.
While traveling at various speeds (5 MPH - 75 MPH), the engine stalls without warning for approximately 5-10 seconds and then either resumes operation on its own, or must be restarted while coasting in neutral. Sometimes the engine will restart easily, but sometimes it turns over several times before restarting. Obviously this has created some extremely dangerous situations for myself and my family. Losing power assisted functions (steering, braking) at high speeds has left me with little control of the vehicle on several occasions. I have had this problem investigated twice at a ford dealership but they have been unable to find a problem. They also installed a flight recorder on the vehicle to monitor the error codes when the problem happened but were unable to fnd anything conclusive. After reading the many reports of stalling on this website I find it hard to understand how this issue could not be considered a defect and a serious safety issue. I would truly like to receive any assistance or guidance on how to resolve this matter. It is unfair that ford sells the explorer with obvious saftely issues but is unable to fix them.
Vehicle will stall out and lose power steering and ABS system while driving on the freeway. Contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do any work on vehicle.
The crankshaft split directly in half.
The vehicle shut off completely while the consumer were driving on highway, the dealer found out that the crankshaft had split in half, consumer wants the manufacturer to pay part of the cost of repair.
On the freeway car stopped running. Crank split in two. Service rep couldn't believe it.
3-4 hours after driving vehicle caught fire in engine block, fire marshall thought fire started in engine cooling fan. Vehicle still at dealer at this time.
Consumer states he heard a strange noise coming from front part of vehicle, he took vehicle in to be inspected and when mechanic put the key in the ignition and turned it, there was a loud banging sound and the engine seized, according to the mechanic's report, something behind the torque converter locked up and ruined the transmission, the transmission, flywheel and starter motor had to be replaced.
While having vehicle repaired at the ford dealership for anti freeze leaking from the head gaskets the repair was not done properly, the dealership damaged/scatched vehicle and did not bolt down repair areas properly.
Transmission failed twice under normal driving conditions. Lost power under certain circumstances. Same problem both times. Engine seized when vehicle hit a puddle of water at low speed. Air intake is mounted unusally low on this explorer allowing water into the combustion chamber and causing hydrostatic lock. Ford motor company has been contacted and reads a scripted response when I have tried to get any additional information about what I consider a serious design flaw.
Was driving and engine check light came on & stayed. Been to dealer. Had sensors replaced, but problem came back. Temperature gauge had failed to register. Fuel guage was not working, and stablizer bar had broken and was replaced. Also, power locks failed to release. *ak the sensors were being replaced over and over again.
Engine check light came on, and consumer made an appointment, but head gasket blewout before appointment.
Vehicle was idling for approximately five minutes.
Returned vehicle to dealer many times complaining about brakes, he replaced one pad on one tire. Says it was the only one worn, now car skids on braking and pulls to the side. Egr valve is also bad and he refuses to acknowledge anything is wrong with vehicle. He states he replaced oxygen sensor unit but, it still appears old and rusted in.after the first day of having vehicle I complained about brakes.idler bearing imobilized car 2 days after purchase,he geryy rigged it without fixing it properly.
We have owned this explorer since 1996 and every year the thermostat or the sensor has to be replaced. Is their a fix to this problem from ford.
Engine failure lost oil pressure locked engine
Vehicle will suddenly stall, usually when weather is really hot outside unexpectedly which put consumer and family in dangerous situation. Consumer took vehicle to ford, but dealer could not determine cause.
The side rear tail light is broken.
When driving my 1996 explorer at 50 MPH on a highway I heard a loud click and lost all power. I managed to steer the car to the side of the road. The car cranked but would not turn over. My mechanic towed the car and upon examining the car found that the crankshaft was broken. He felt that my explorer's crankshaft has a definite manufacturing defect since the car mileage is only 28000miles. He urged me to contact tower ford where I purchased the explorer. Tower ford advised me that they would not pay anything toward the repair of my vehicle since the warranty had expired. I am frustrated. I was lucky that I was able to escape injury on the highway and now I have a vehicle with only 28000miles with a broken crankshaft -with no help from ford. I believe that the crankshaft in my explorer has a definite manufacturing defect and ford needs to be investigated.
Oxygen sensor failure no.1 at 10300 miles on 12 nov 1996, covered under vehicle warranty. Oxygen sensor failure no. 2 at 46200 miles on 4 may 1999. Oxygen sensor failure no. 3 at 64600 miles on 18 jul 2000.
Head gasket failed. Nlm
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