1996 Ford Explorer seats problems

Filed Feb 15, 2020 · Acceleration, Electrical · 180,770 miles · WA

While driving in "d" in first to second it has had a problem shifting between the 1st and 2nd gears when accelerating and will rev high rpms and sometimes do absolutley nothing when drying to move forward unless I de accelerate and then try to accelerate agine then finally it will catch and go in to 2nd and proceed to 3rd and then 4th and then 5th ,4th and 5th when accelerating sounds very rough when accelerating like it's trying to hard to drive, lately it just the other day I had trouble getting it to go in to d to 1st 2nd 3rd automatic transmission shifting was not wanting to catch had t ok try 3-6 times de accelerating and accelerating to try to get it to go finalt it caught and I was able to drive it so I stopped at the parts store had them do a scan and the only code that came up was p1701 they looked it up and it said something to do with trouble in reverse witch in reverse has no problem at all so I'm a little confused about it and also a little scared to drive it when this is my only transportation and if it won't engage in to gear when accelerating when in d that could be potentially dangerous also the odometer and speedometer do not work was told it was vehicle speed sensor so I replaced it still had issue so I replaced the odometer spiral gear hopefully it will fix the problem also the back seat double side would not go down fixed it after pulling it apart and drilling another hole into the spring loaded circle that has a tenchener on it fixed that ....and the driver and passenger automatic seats just stopped moving about half way so it's very hard for me to reach the pedal and the automatic side mirrors don't work eather one and the all fuses are good theas are all safety issues that have me concerned since it's all I have so anything or anywhere I can take it or do to it please contact me so it can get fixed asap for the shifting issue. Ty

Filed Sep 5, 2012 · Body, Seats · 139,161 miles · CA

Noticed that the recliner handle was bent on the drivers side. The next time I went to recline the seat the handle broke off at the rivet point. Common problem according to the dealer. The part can only be bought from ford and the cost is $100. There was a service bulletin for this problem for a later year explorer. Dealer said the new part is more heavy duty and made to replace the stock version that was light duty. No recall was issued and they have stopped making the part.

Filed Sep 26, 2011 · Seat belts, Seats · 222,000 miles · WA

Drivers side seat belt receiver does not clasp seat belt. We are taking the vehicle to a local shop to replace the receiver at $100 for the part plus labor. A seat belt receiver should be built to last normal driving conditions. This vehicle has not been in any kind of accident. The driver's side seat collapsed in the recline position on 8/24/2011, fortunately this occurred when the vehicle was not in motion. The recline mechanism does not work, and the seat does not stay upright. These two items are definitely safety issues.

Filed Nov 24, 2010 · Lights, Locks · IN

My wife and I are scared to drive our 96 explorer once we learned of all the recalls ( rear side glass, bad suspension, exterior lighting, headlights.) just to name a few I know of.

Filed May 15, 2008 · Seats · 130,000 miles · TX · 1 injury

Drivers seatback failure. The drivers seat in our 1996 ford explorer collapsed. The upper portion of our seat suddenly flew backwards only stopping when it struck the rear seat. Luckily this failure occurred in our driveway. My wife was hurled backwards her feet flying upwards and striking the underside of the dashboard. Her hands came off the steering wheel and she was left prone staring at the ceiling of the vehicle. This should be a great concern to the federal safety agency since any driver experiencing such a failure while driving would be in grave danger. After removing the seat and researching issues with explorer seats I found the 1998 explorer recall that exactly described our seat failure. The same exact bolt in the 1998 recall was the cause of our seat collapse. I have said bolt ( broken in two pieces)and would greatly appreciate the federal safety agency examining it to determine whether the failure was due to bad bolts or if the seat design caused the bolt to fail. I have since replaced the bolt with a new bolt and steel spacer (I believe that was the remedy called for in the 1998 recall) if I had not removed the seat the whole process would have taken under 20 minutes and the parts can be had for under $2 . Please correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your web seat say that if a safety related repair is necessary the manufacturer will have to pay for said repair. This repair clearly falls into that category. I would hope the federal safety agency shares my concern and does a through investigation. Thank you, greg campbell

Filed May 2, 2008 · Seats · 130,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford explorer. While sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle, the seat spontaneously collapsed backwards. The contact called a dealer and a technician stated that he would have to replace either the recliner bolts or the seat assembly at his expense. The manufacturer stated that there was a recall for the recliner bolts, but his vehicle was not included because it was manufactured at a different plant. The vehicle has not been repaired because it was a recall for the same model. The recall number was unknown. The failure mileage was 130,000.

Filed Jun 6, 2005 · Seats · 135,000 miles · MO

Dt: the driver's seats broke from the metal part by where one adjusts seat forward and backward. Was sitting in the seat and the bolt that holds seat in place broke. A mechanic that installs the seats in the ford explorer come looked at it and said it should have never of happened. Was injected into the back seat, and then got out. Then husband got in and moved vehicle , injected him forward . Also, it blew all the electrical fuses , bought new fuses and now it works.

Filed Jun 24, 2004 · Seats · 120,000 miles · NM · fire · 1 injury

My family drove to a store (6/21/04) and left our 1996 ford explorer in the parking lot for approximately one hour. When we returned the front of the cab was filled with smoke. We started trying to find what smelled so bad, and what was smoking. My husband realized the smoke was coming from under the drivers seat. He was able to move the seat up (electronic) and after burning his finger he was able to unplug the six way seat adjustment motor. When we called ford they would not do anything, but did say they would charge us $72 to diagnose what was wrong. It is evident the electronic motor had caught fire and has a hole burned through the side of it. If we had not returned to our SUV we would now have ashes, as the electric power is a constant feed. I contacted ford, in michigan, with this matter. I was told on 6/24/04 that I would need to pay for the diagnostic in order for ford to even look into the matter. They stated I could call my insurance and go that route. I explained I was worried about the safety of others and they said it was up to me what I did. They would not do anything unless I paid for the diagnostic. I stated that it was not my responsibility but ford's and she responded yes. In frustration I hung up and began this complaint. If someone were to leave his or her child in the car and this happens the child will be severely injured. If I had been alone when this happened I would not have known to unplug the seat motor. This is very dangerous. My husband stated that the heat was so intense he was surprised the seat had not caught on fire. He has since taken the motor out and will replace it when the part comes in. We still have the original motor. Please do something before someone is killed.

Filed Mar 17, 2004 · Seats · AL

Consumer noticed that driver's seat broke. Dealer fixed it at consumer's expense of $593.00. On february 19, 2004, the seat broke again. A recall had been issued on similar makes and models. However, this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN. *ak

Filed Jan 25, 2004 · Seats · 70,900 miles · NY

Went to drive car and the driver seat flew back as a result of a broken bolt.