My 1997 ford explorer started fire in the engine area after practicing football for 45 min in the school. It was a total loss by the time fire men arrived. They said it was either fuel or electrical related.
1997 Ford Explorer electrical complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 80, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On monday, january 7, 2008, I parked my vehicle and noticed a burning smell. I opened up the hood and noticed flames shooting out of the alternator. By the time I was able to get a fire extinguisher from the nearby house, my SUV was fully engulfed in flames. Fire department and police came to the scene. Fire department extinguished the flames. The SUV is a total loss.
Tl*- the contact stated that he had not been able to start up the 1997 ford explorer since 02/09/07. The contact had replaced the starter, the spark plugs, and continues to experience the same failure. They pulled the front end of the motor and noticed something snapped and was sitting in the pan. The contact had been on the internet and had noticed that other explorers were having the same problem. The current and failure mileage were both 98000 miles.
The cars heat/AC would switch between high heat to max cool. I took it to the local ford dealer and was told it was a problem with the blend door and would cost about $1100.00 to repair. The repair would include a updated blend door motor and a new air plenum the service person also stated this problem is very common in explorers and it is just a matter of time before they all fail.
Blend door actuator on 97 ford explorer eddie bauer is not working properly. Dealership is quoting $1000 to fix it because dash board have to be removed to fix it. I think there should be some sort on recall on this because it is a common problem with this vehicle.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds the cruise control was inoperative when engaged. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined the cruise control switch needed to be replaced. After the cruise control switch replacement, the problem persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop who determined the electrical wiring had melted in the interior dash panel area. No fire was seen. After new wiring was installed, the problem was corrected. There was a the federal safety agency recall, # 05v388000, regarding the vehicle speed control. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. The manufacturer was alerted. Updated 9/22/2006 -
Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 50 MPH on any road condition, the vehicle swayed violently from side to side. The sway bar was replaced in 2003. A few months later, the contact noticed there was a the federal safety agency recall, #00v402000, regarding the suspension. The service dealer was contacted and determined that a diagnostics test needed to be performed before any work was to be done. The test showed the upper and lower ball joints along with the camber castor kit were damaged. Also the passenger and both rear doors did not open. The front driver's door had difficulties closing on two occasions. The contact received a letter from the manufacturer which offered $6000 for a trade in. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. The locks were inoperative, the headlamp switch was broken. The vehicle needed upper and lower ball joints, however the consumer declined all repairs. Updated 10/11/06.
Our 1997 ford explorer was parked in the driveway while we were asleep. It caught on fire and burnt completely up destroying a 6000.00 stereo system, 2 sets of golf clubs, part of a deck, and parts of another vehicle.
Dt*: the contacted stated while starting the vehicle the fuses for the horn, cruise control, dashboard lights and compass burned out. While driving at 40 MPH. With out replacing the fuse, the engine warning lights illuminated. When the engine compartment was inspected, brake fluid was observed to be leaking. The vehicle has not been to service dealer however the manufacturer contacted. The manufacturer informed the contact, that the vehicle was not included in the recent ford recall expansion, which the contact heard about on the news, due to the VIN.
Several problems with this auto, it seems to be falling apart. The driver side seat belt no longer latches. We have to loop the driver side through the passenger side. It appears this is an issue with several of these models. This is a serious safety hazard and seat belts are mandatory by law. Is there anything being done? The left turn indicator has had electrical issues for years. It makes a zzzz sound and no longer works. I am also down to only one door that the key works on. That is the back lift. The door key had not worked on the driver side for years, then the passenger side went. I have the same heat problem the others are having. You either get full on heat and have to turn it on and off when it gets too hot or you get partial AC, always a little warm. Both the AC and heat has been serviced, the problem is in the switch somewhere. And now the reason I'm writing is I have major electrical problems. Fuses and solinoids have been looked at, there are no longer lights in the dash area. The lights on alarm (ding ding ding ding) remains on when the car is off, the keys out and the door shut which has drained my battery completly. I have jumped started it twice and now it sits in my driveway because it will cost a fortune to have the electrical looked at. If this is an issue with anyone else it should be reported to ford. Not only can I no longer drive this car, it would be totally unsafe to use it. I need 4wheel drive just to get out of my driveway in winter and have no idea how I'm going to come up with the money for all these repairs. Please advise if there are any recalls that address these issues. The incident date I listed below is for the time the seatbelt started to fail completly. We were on a vacation trip!
Dt: the engine light came on. Consumer took vehicle to dealer ,who said they could not get it in until saturday for repairs. Tuesday the vehicle caughton fire with the engine not running. The vehicle had been parked with engine turned off for about 5 minutes , and when consumer returned the vehicle was in flames. The fire was most prominent in the front. The fire dept came, and they said the vehicle caught fire from the dash and head area and it was electrical in nature. The vehicle was totaled. There are police and fire department reports as well as photographs. No other indication as to why this happened.
While driving 55 MPH vehicle caught on fire on its own. Pulled over, and the fire department extinguished the fire. Vehicle was towed to a garage for inspection. The cause had not been determined at this time.
(1) cruise control, normal useage (2) when the cruise control is on for more than five minutes, the cruise control switch controlling accel, coast, resume, on the steering wheel becomes hot. Furthermore, approximately 30% of the time, the vehicle will suddenly accelerate when the coast button is depressed, resulting in two near misses, with temporary loss of control of the vehicle. (3) the failure still exists, however I have not used the cruise control for two months. I had contacted a ford dealership fully explaining the problem and was told that there was no recall; I would have to take the vehicle in and pay for it.
Few months ago I have purchased a set of bosch spark plugs (platinum 2 part # 4305). About 3 weeks after I installed them wile driven on the expressway one of them exploded ruining the wire and causing to flip flop all over sparking lucky I stop right away. The ceramic portion of the spark has come out of it clean can not even find a trace of ceramic on the plug but unfortunately the electrode or portion of it fell in to the cylinder ,causing an irreparable damage to the engine, I have reported the damage and details to the manufacturer and even send them the plug for inspection and explain every thing, but they have return the plug and a letter sating that the reason the plug exploded was because improper torque. I have been installing the plugs on my vehicles for the last 20 years and I have never had a problem like this and people I talked to said the plug should not explode for that reason. I that is the case I feel this is a safety issue on this particular plugs and there is nothing on the package indicating to the consumer of this danger.
I was driving the truck on my way home. I had driven 12 miles when I notice smoke coming out of the dash board by the steering column. I pulled over and by the time I grabbed my laptop and walked approximately 10 feet from the vehicle to call for help the truck was filled with black smoke and was on fire. I have pictures of the burndt truck, if you would like to see them. I also still have the burndt truck. I have always felt there was a fault somewhere in the dash on this fire. If you would like to see the pictures or the vehicle that can be arranged.
Replacement of engine due to defective parts; throttle body plate and cam chain guide on motors. *bf the engine throttle plate stuck while the consumer was warming the vehicle on a cold day. Recall #00v422000. The consumer requested reimbursement for the defective engine. The starter did not kick in per invoice.
While driving at 35 MPH consumer heard a noise, then vehicle stalled. The spark plugs blew out. An independent technician indicated that engine cylinder need to be replaced.
The vehicle automatically popped into 4x4 mode without warning. When that happened the vehicle made a loud grinding noise and stopped in the middle of traffic. *nlm the vehicles wipers also became inoperable. The windows could not be opened. The interior lights failed. It was later determined that all these failures were as a result of a faulty gem module. The module has been recalled in canada. *ts
Consumer states that after driving vehicle keys can be removed and vehicle will still operate as though keys are still in it. Also, vehicle will start up on its own before the key is inserted.
While driving the consumers vehicle caught on fire under the dash. It was later determined that the consumer never receive a recall notice related to this failure because she moved but the mail was later routed to her. The consumer wants to know what action can be taken since the recall has expired.
Vehicle seems to go through headlight and fog lamp bulbs rather quickly. I have replaced both headlamps once, and the driver side headlamp a second time. I also have had to replace both fog lamps twice. Driver side brake light also has been replaced once and is out again. Dt
Consumer states of having electrical problems with the vehicle. Please add more information. Mr
When starting car a fire broke out under the hood.
When starting the car a fire started under the hood.
While driving on flat surface and no warning vehicle starts smoking under hood. Consumer pulled over. Dealer notified.
When it's cold outside vehicle hesitates to start.*ak consumer adds that the seat belt locked in place on passenger side, consumer's child was locked in and could not get out, seat belt had to be cut in order to release child; ignition locked up and would not crank for 2 hours.
While driving iginition locks up.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
While traveling and when depressing horn it did not sound off . Dealer has been contacted and refused to repair. Please provide further information.
Ford definitely has an engineering problem. Is the federal safety agency gonna deal with it or, are we going to wait till we have another wilderness tire issue. My explorer has consistently shown severe skip/miss for the past 2-months. At first indication....I scheduled it in to my local dealer (rochester auto collection - a division of ford), who determined that it needed new ignition wires. (mind you, this vehicle only has 42,000 original miles, as I bought it new). Three hundred bucks later, I notice the vehicle performing no better on the day I picked it up. So....we schedule a second visit. During that visit, they "dink around" with the throttle. Again, the day I picked it up, I noticed it was no better. So....in we go for a third visit. During that visit I am advised that the timing chain tensioner has broken off and that they will need to pull the engine out to repair. So, we schedule that 3-day service visit. And here I am today.....after having picked up the vehicle, and now it is worse!! This is a $30,000 vehicle with 43,000 miles that runs worse than my son's '95 cavalier. As I review the database of consumer complaints, I note many, many issues relating to this timing belt tensioner. So......when is the federal safety agency gonna step up to the plate, and make ford get their "ducks in a row" and fix this issue. As it is right now, between the tire incident and then this, I sincerely doubt I will ever buy a ford again.
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