I own a 1998 ford explorer. In january I took it to be serviced because the steering seemed off and I do alot of highway driving. The problem turned out to be the suspension--the upper ball joint separation. I was told I was an accident waiting to happen. This was a very costly repair and I would hope this could be investigated to prevent any accidents that could occur if this is a problem that no one realizes is out there.
1998 Ford Explorer suspension complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 111, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My wife was driving our 1998 ford explorer "eddie bauer" and experienced a sudden pull to the left. Upon arriving at our mechanic, la autobody - newton ma, we were informed that we were missing both of our sway bars. Has there been other complaints from ford truck owners? If so when will a recall be demanded by the federal safety agency. According to our mechanic he has seen this many times and it can cause accidents on the road.
While driving at any speed there was heavy rear vibration. Dealer and manufacturer had to this point refused to acknowledge that there was anything wrong with the vehicle.
No description given. *ak
Defective alternator, rear axle seals, and oxygen sensor.
While traveling on the highway and without prior warning upper ball joints broke, causing consumer to lose control of vehicle. Please fill in additional information.
The upper ball joints and lower ball joints were warped.
Front end felt loose and vehicle was veering to the right due to cracked ball joints. Engine check light appeared, and a red brown liquid was leaking from driver's side because power steering rack was defective. Also, dealer replaced timing gear, and upper and lower intake manifolds.
While driving on a dirt road right front tire got sucked into car. Vehicle swerved, and hit a tree and exploded. Vehicle occupants were able to exit from vehicle.
At high speeds vehicle shakes and will not stay in lane, and steering wheel is very loose. *ak the consumer had rack and pinion installed, but it started leaking and become loose.
When brakes are applied their is a loud noise from front end of vehicle, and underneath of vehicle vibrates.contacted dealer.
While traveling on highway without prior warning vehicle wandered from lane to lane.
Shakes bad, no shock rebound, sways and hard to steer.
When making turns, especially right turns, vehicle slides and almost turns over.*ak. Consumer states vehicle is experiencing acceleration problems,and there was a humming noise coming from the engine, signals are not working, dealer replaced a defective connector and multi-function switch, firestone tires have experienced tread separation, which were replaced in july 2001, the rear seats move/bounce when driving, the rear seat belts were inoperative, the dealer replaced the buckles, there was smoke coming from the steering column, dealer replaced the multi-function switch, the windshield was chipped, the alarm would not chut off at times, dealer replaced a bad loose wire.
On going squealing noise coming from front wheels while driving, vehicle has been to dealer on two occasions, and the problem has reoccurred. *ak consumer was told that the new parts would eliminate the noise, but it has not.
Vehicle was approximately going 60mph when a loss of steering caused vehicle to jerk side to side and roll over. Metal fatigue caused the hydrualic rack and pinion to burst and leak fluid. This manufacturer was notified, and vehicle was totaled.
Consumer states that while driving, vehicle suddenly experienced a rollover, resulting in major injuries to passenger and driver, the roof crushed in on the passenger and broke his neck, consumer is concerned about the design of the roof.
There was vibration in vehicle while driving at any speed and making a right turn. An independent mechanic examined vehicle and determined that stabilizer bar broke on left side, and needed to be replaced. *ak
While driving 35-40 MPH it started to snow rear of vehicle twisted a bit, then started to spin sideways. Vehicle rolled over, and landed on passenger's side. Driver's rear tire was flat. Damage to vehicle was $ 5000.00. No injuries.
Took explorer in to local ford dealer to have firestone wilderness at tires replaced plus a wheel alignment done. Dealer said that alignment could not be done until both front tie-rod ends were replaced. Said that tie-rods were good enough for yearly auto inspection but not for long. I had them replaced but thought that replacement at 30,000 miles was a little premature. After looking at your complaint database, I noticed that others had reported tie-rod and ball joint failures on the '98 explorer's so I thought I should send mine in also even though no accident occurred and it may not actually be considered a safety defect. This truck has never been taken "off-the-road" either.
While driving could feel the vehicle pulling to the side of road. Had taken vehicle to dealer, where an aligment could not correct problem. Please provide more information.
Consumer had experienced some problems with suspension. Had to replace shocks and tires. Currently, dealer indicated that wheels needed to be replaced also to correct the problem. Please provide more information.
While driving about 70-80 MPH vehicle will start vibrating without any notice. Consumer had replaced four sets of tires, and had an aligment done on vehicle. But, vibration still continued. Dealer could not determine what was causing vibration. Please provide more information.
Consumer stated vehicle experiencd premature wear of the front ball joints and tie rods, dealer has been notified. *ak
We towed a boat within the vehicle specs, which caused the leaf springs in the back to fail. Ford has to this point refused to acknowledge that there is anything wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle rides three inches lower in the rear than in the front.
Car driving40 MPH on straight, wet, cement terrain, during daylight hours. Driver attentive with hands at 10 & 2 position beginning to acclerate. Back wheels of vehicle begin to shimmy, shake. Front of vehicle begins to veer left. Driver steers car away from cement embankment, left tire goes slightly up embankment, no collision. Car straightend out, driver begins to acclerate again car veers sharp right hits embankment head on, vehicle does complete rollover. Tie rod completely severed. Both times car veered driver attempted to correct car, but unable to steer vehicle.
When back out there is a popping noise coming from front tire.
When making a left turn or accelerating to left vehicle completely shuts down, cause unkown. Also, consumer has concerns about wheels being out of around. Please give any further details.
The truck's ball joint and suspension was lose starting at 30,000 miles. Replaced 10 months later by dealer. Truck difficult to control during this time, but we thought it was the recalled tires.
Vehicle suddenly went out of control and almost rolled over. While changing lanes between uneven pavement, three of the tires were on newly paved lane, the other on old pavement. The vehicle suddenly without any warning began to rock uncontrollable from side to side.
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