Driver-side front seat belt will not stay connected. Door locks broken (will not lock), and lock key works in the door locks sporadically. In addition, driver-side exterior door handle recently (1/15/2114) will not open door.
1996 Ford Explorer: doors won't lock, open or latch
35 of the 1,448 complaints about the 1996 Ford Explorer describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 35
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 3 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
The driver side door will not unlock properly, trapping the driver and child in the vehicle. Pressing the 'unlock' button does nothing. So far, the ford dealer wants around $400 to fix this problem and says it is not a recall item.
Rear passenger doors will not open from the inside. Vehicle is equipped with the child safety locks which may be the cause of defect.
Bothe rear doors do not open from inside...sometimes left rear door will not close due to child safety latch not working properly.
Defect with faulty interior door latch/release mechanism prevents doors from being opened by passengers.*mr
When shutting off engine automatic door locks engaged. Driver's rear door lock was replaced in september 2001, passenger rear door lock was replaced december 19, 2001.
Power door locks are not working, therefore the doors do not open from the inside. This could be extremely dangerous if trapped inside. Shouldn't they always open manually? Isn't there a law providing safety for door locks?
10/2000 - the left rear door latch from the inside would not work. Anyone who attempted to open the door from the inside of the vehicle would be unable to open the door. I brought the vehicle in for repairs. The dealer replaced the door latch assembly. The repair cost me approx. $175.00. March, 2001 - the right rear door latch has now broken. Again, anyone trying to open the door from the inside will be unsuccessful. This is a big concern since I have children who sit in the back and if there was an emergency they would be unable to exit the vehicle from the right rear door. I will be getting this door fixed next week by the same dealership. I feel that these safety defects put any person sitting in the back in grave danger if there is an emergency. These failures should not happen. Please advise how I can be reimbursed for these repairs. Thank you.
This firestone wilderness/at tire, p23575r15 was looked at by a garage when tread sepration was noticed.*ak consumer states first faulty tire resulted in a blowout, 2 others were noticed at a garage with tread separation. Consumer states inside passenger door handles on both left and right do not work.
While driving interior lights comes on and off without manual operation. Problem occurs within electrial system which causes door locks to malfunction. Please give any further details.
Door locks will lock and unlock for no reason, dealer stated there is no way of testing the locks, consumer is concerned that if there is an accident, the locks might lock.
I bought this SUV used and I thought I was getting a great vehicle, boy was I wrong. It has been one thing after another with this SUV. Please check all of my complaints this is an interior problem, these things cannot be caused by evey day use. The problems I am having are, back seat door handles are broke, the spare tire release broke the first time it was used, the air bag light went off and caused an inconvience to my family, the tires have been replaced and the alingment hasen't been right sense I've owned it, the back seat doesn't work properly, it will not release to fold forward, and the motor on the hatch hasen't worked properly from day one of my ownership. Please help me with this matter. Thank for all you do. Margie hulsey. Ml
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- What is wrong
- When in the secondary latched position, the driver door latches may open when subjected to transverse loads less than that specified in fmvss no. 206, "door locks and door retention components."
- Risk
- The driver's door, when closed only to the secondary latched position, may not sustain a 1,000 pound transverse load.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the driver door latch.
Recall number 96V070000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1996 Ford Explorer door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 1996 Ford Explorer?
35 of 1,448 owner complaints about the 1996 Ford Explorer (2%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 1998.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Ford Explorer?
There is 1 recall and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Ford Explorer
Tire blowout 259Seat belt 46ABS 38Adaptive cruise 33Brake failure 25Sudden acceleration 24No deployment 23Fire or smoke 21Stalling 16Transmission failure 15Grinding brakes 14Check engine light 14Pulling 13Engine failure 9Loss of power 9Slipping 9Headlights 8Ball joint 7Jerking 7Steering noise 7Wipers 7Won't start 7Won't shift 6Hesitation 5
VIN decoder
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