While driving at 65 MPH vehicle suddenly started to decrease in speed without warning. Engine had blown.
1997 Ford Explorer engine complaints
Page 3 of 8: complaints 41 to 70 of 202, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have experienced loss of power in the engine in my 1997, ford\explorer(purchased used, in june of 1999) causing me to lose my brakes while driving, I have taken this vehicle to several mechanics (for diagnosis) and have been told that this is a recurring problem, that ford knows about, and that there is something defective in the timing system, and I should take it to the dealer, for further diagnostics, after taking it to the dealer I was told, that the timing chain and timing casette had went and that there had been a service bulletin out pertaining to this problem and that owners had been notified, however I was never notified that there were problems with the engine in this vehicle, the dealer also told me that it would cost me $4500.00 for a remanufactured engine-replacement because the car was beyond the milage of the service bulleten. After paying $28,000.00 for a vehicle, as a consumer I would not expect to be subject to repetitive safety concerns for self, family and the public at large, especially when the manufacturer knows of the defective product (1997 explorer), and then told that I must pay the amount it would cost fora down payment ($4500.00) on a new vehicle, just to keep my investment safely on the road. Everytime I have taken this vehicle to the dealer I have been robbed of my finances and dignity. I should not have to keep paying for repairs of this car, when ford knows they have manufactured a defective product. This is not the first time I have had to take this vehicle to the dealer for expensive repairs for defects that ford knows about and refuses to take responsibility for.merican auto manufacturers want to know why the american citizen has stopped buying american cars? Well the answer is simple. We want to get what we are paying for ($28,000.00 worth)!! And ford auto manufacturer, is not giving us what we are paying for... Instead they are taking us to the cleaners financially..
Idle not returning after cruise control was disengaged and brakes would not work. Cruise control kept accelerating. My three children were in the car, was able to stop the car by putting it in neutral, at that point the brakes worked. Pulled to the side of the interstate and shut the car off. When trying to start car again, engine revved to the point where it sounded like it was going to blow up.
The vehicle was serviced on 4/1/03 for the check engine light. On 4/14/03 consumer entered a parking lot and turned off vehicle ignition. Consumer restarted the vehicle, heard a thump, and noticed the battery indicator light was illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that the serpentine belt popped.
Head gasket - leaking anti freeze
Backed out of driveway and proceeded down street at about 10 MPH. Engine made a "thunk" noise and went into a "no start" condition. My '97 explorer was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the problem as a snapped crankshaft. At 103k miles the dealer did not acknowledge that this was any sort of manufacturing defect and emphatically stated that they'd never heard of this problem. They refused customer request that they review the federal safety agency webiste for history of prior reports. The dealer stated that the engine was only designed to last 100k miles but that might be extended with regular oil changes. This customer asked if engine replacement at 100k miles was an expected event and the dealer repeated that it could be. Ford's national customer service was no help. The zone manager would not meet to discuss the problem. Customer paid $4,800 to replace the engine. Customer kept the broken shaft which shows multiple internal surface textures. To date there have been other complaints about this same problem without a response on this safety and manufacturing issue from ford. Other websites report ford employees aware of this problem, loosely referred to as a "stacking of tolerences" whereby the tolerences exert pressure on the crankshaft just behind the key where it attaches to the dampner. This is reportedly not a condition that the owner can prevent, diagnose or otherwise be aware of until the crankshaft breaks. Ford reportedly cannot make a prior determination either, seemingly leaving it to chance whether a vehicle will have problems. Certain engine compnents are expected to fail during engine life such as water pumps, alternators and so forth but major components should not. Ford should address this issue by revealing the design life of the crankshaft. J.d. Powers relayed to this customer that crankshafts are routinely designed to last 200 - 250k miles, contrary to dealer assertations. The federal safety agency needs to investigate this issue and take appropriate action.
Broken crankshaft on a 97 ford explorer.crank broke while driving on the interstate at 55 MPH. All dash lights came on and engine quit.ford dealer confirmed crank was broken and new engine was needed at a cost of $4400.00.
Engine is a 1997 4.0l sohc. There is a very noticible miss in the timing at idle. When the vehicle is sitting still, it bucks and shudders the whole truck, but the idle speed never varies more than 100 RPM. Had same problem with 1991 explorer 4.0l. Dealer ran on the vehicle and could not find any problems. Mechanic said this is common with these engines. Dt
The consumer stated, while driving, the crankshaft sheared off. The consumer contacted the dealer and was told that there was nothing they can do.
My vehicle suddenly started accelerating when I was proceeding down the interstate. I could slow the vehicle down somewhat by aggressively applying the brakes. However, this would just get me slowed down a little until I would release the brake. The vehicle would suddenly speed up again. I was traveling on a fairly busy stretch of interstate at the time of the incident. I luckily did not have a need to stop quickly while this problem occurred. I tried hitting the accelerator a few times to get it to stop sticking in the "wide open" position. I even tried manipulating the cruise control (which was off). After several failed attempts to remedy the problem, I started trying to think of a quick game plan to get out of this potential disaster. I am very thankful that my wife was not driving at the time and that I did not have others in the car during this nightmare. I was finally able to find a shoulder where I could pull off the road. As I said, the road was extremely busy and I was very worried about getting off the road safely with a semi-truck not far behind me. I pulled toward the shoulder and put the car into "neutral". The RPM's, which had been running extremely high for about 3 minutes, moved even higher at this point. The RPM's were pegged to the top of the gauge for about 30 seconds. As soon as I felt I was off of the roadway enough, I turned the key to the "off" position. When I got out of the car there was a horrible burning odor coming from the front of the car. I am not only concerned about the problem that may have triggered this incident, but I am also very worried about collateral damage that this undoubtedly caused. I feel that this caused an excessive amount of wear and tear to the engine and the braking system. On top of all of the physical damage done to the car, the experience was scary to say the least. My wife refuses to even get in the car at this point. Needless to say, she doesn't want my kids to ride in it either.
When starting up the car, a loud noise came from engine. My personal mechanic advised it was a timing chain. Ford towed it to the dealership and I found out that there was additional warranty coverage for this part. It was a failed timing chain guide. They are now in the process of reviewing it for ford to pay for repairs. Entire engine may need replaced.
Timing chain was making a rattle noise and we had it checked out and they said that they had a safety recall .
There is a constant rattling noise when driving. Dealer determined it was the timing chain. Please provide additional information.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
The engine locked up and was replaced twice, the dealership refused to pay for any repairs.
I was making a left turn in my 1997 ford explorer. All of a sudden the car engine just died and I lost steering power and the car would not start again. After having it towed to the dealer they examined the vehicle and told me that the crankshaft had broken and that it was unrepairable, and that my only option was to have the engine replace. From my understanding if I had been travling at a high rated speed I could have been seriously injured from that piece breaking off.
Cranckshaf/pulley disconnected from engine.
While driving crankshaft sheared off. Vehicle then completely shut down. Consumer contacted the dealer. However, problem has not been resolved as of yet. *ak
While in motion, the vehicle developed a problem with the engine. The cause of the vehicle failure was the crankshaft. The crankshaft had a crack half way through which has been there for a while due to weathering on the area.
I ha d a warranty through ford motor co. They will not honor it nor will the dealership I complained about this loud metallic rattling noise they (the dealerships service writers) said that the problem was fixed back in october it was not nearly a half a year later there was enough engine damage that it needed to be replaced my extended warranty states "if the front cam chain guide is not functioning properly it will be replaced by ford free of charge any other engine damage clearly resulting from a worn or broken front cam chain guide is also covered by this extended coverage" again this extended coverage is not being honored by ford or the servicing dealership.
Drivers door lock not working properly, gasket cylinder front cover, torque converter shudder, catalytic converter, rt bank exhaust manifold; these problems have been corrected, but new ones mount every week. Now there is a problem with the steering, being checked tomorrow.
While backing out of our yard , the engine just stopped working. Had it towed to a local automotive repair service. Was told that the crankshaft was sheared off . Ford motor co. Will not admit any equipment fault, leaving me with a $4200.00 price tag to get it fixed.. I have been told that crankshafts do not just shear or break off by other mechanics that I have talked to. Looking at your site has shown me that this is not just an isolated case and it should be looked into by ford. I am thankful that this didn't happen while traveling at highway speeds which could have caused injury.thank you.
Consumer states that there is a significant safety hazard with this vehicle. The vehicle is experiencing revving and stalling. Consumer feels that the vehicle is unable to be corrected. The problem has been able to be fixed temporarily to reduce the severity of the problem, even in consultation with ford motor company engineers. Consumer has continued to experience several unexpected surges in the engine revs in different situations.
Consumer stated when vehicle was being started it sounded like a diesel engine, the engine light was appearing on the dashboard, consumer was informed that a new engine was needed, consumer states vehicle is now on its 3rd engine.
While driving vehicle completely shutsdown without warning, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Cylinder heads or head gasgets failed causing coolant leak into cylinders and out exhaust. Suspect faulty heater valve leaked coolant causing engine to overheat and damage heads or gasgets.
Well, the first thing that stopped working was the thermostat, then the window regulator and seat bealt, I went to the dealer and just to see the problem I was charged 160usd . I think it's unfair but they said I had to pay and nothing was done to the car. The tires were replaced at sears because I was scared and simply replaced them 4 months after I bought the car. I called the dealer and firestone recall but they are now asking for a dot code in which sears did not give me. Now I am only asking to please try to refund something. I will never buy a ford vehicle because they give too many problems and the dealer gets away with problems in which they need to fix because they are factory problems. *ak (tiresize: 15inches)
Cam tensioner broke. Metal piece from tensioner ran through engine and damaged it. There was a recall on vehicle's make/model; but, consumer's vehicle was not included because it exceeded 100000 mile warranty. Consumer bought vehicle and didn't know recall.
The crankshaft fell out while driving, as the crankshaft fell out it caused the vehicle to lockup resulting in the vehicle not steering or braking very well. Nlm
New engine needed. I have had ford replace the cam tensioners, only to have had it fail now for the 3rd time in 8 mos. I am going to request the engine be replaced at dealer cost, as it was a recalled part. The warranty was extended to 72k miles back in jan 0f '01. I now have 90k and the problem has reocurred. The problem was never really corrected, so its my opinion that ford is obligated to correct this. Was told engine needs replacement. Have had a constant 'ticking' since purchased. Now very loud clattering and 'rapping' noises in timing chain area. I was told there are 6 chains on this engine and they only replaced the front, saying if the back ones are bad, the engine needs to be replaced...and that that is the problem since the first 2 replacements have gone bad again.
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