1997 Ford Explorer Sport: problems, recalls and reliability

“Ford explorer sport (1997, ~58700 mi) was driven at highway speed. A stop was made at a shopping center. Upon leaving the shopping center the brake pedal dropped to the floor as an attempt to stop at an intersection was made. Fortunately swerving avoided an accident. At this point the vehicle had no brakes (other than parking). Hydraulic fluid was dripping from an area above the rear axle, driver side. The abrupt loss of brakes with no warning could have lead to a very serious accident. We were just plain lucky. *jb”Owner report · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Feb 2007

“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport. While driving 30 mph he depressed the brake and the brake pedal went down to the floorboard. He noticed brake fluid leaking. The dealer stated that the brake line on the rear driver side rusted and caused the leak. The dealer replaced the rear brake line, and the rear brake hose. The dealer stated that the remaining brake lines on the vehicle were rusted, however they were not leaking. The failure mileage was 36,200 and the current mileage was 35,663.”Owner report · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Sep 2006

“Dt*: the contact stated the passenger side rear tire thread separated while driving 30 mph. The vehicle was taken to a tire dealer where the tire was replaced. A recall letter #[xxx] was received regarding the tires. The tire manufacturer was contacted for reimbursement and determined the tire was not eligible for reimbursement. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr”Owner report · Tires · Aug 2006

“Front drivers side seat tilt lever broke off, passenger side bent. There are other reports of the same thing happening to other owners.”Owner report · Seats · Aug 2006

“Safety problem with back seat belts. When on vacation we had a serious problem the back seat belts locking up several times each day. The seat belts on one or both sides would not release so they could be apply around 2 small children and we had to pull & yank the belts several times to get the belts to release. The suv was off and the brake was not apply at the time of the problems. This problem could discourage seat belt useage. *nm”Owner report · Seat Belts · Jul 2006

“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford explorer sport. The windshield wipers at any speed other than high didn't operate normally. When the rain was heavy or light the windshield wipers only operated on higher speeds. The failure mileage was 116000 ,and the current mileage was 126000. *ak”Owner report · Visibility · Apr 2006

“I have 2 complaints one of which while looking online see that many other ford owners also seem to have. This is a problem with the heater blend box door not working and blowing hot air when in the vent position. This seems to be a problem not only on explorer models but ranges, f150 and other ford vehicles. The repair as stated online by others as well as from the dealer is over $1000.00. It seems that there should have been a recall on this part with so many people having the same problem. Also the seat belts get stuck on our explorer it is the passenger side which sometimes takes 10 to 15 minutes before it will work. *jb”Owner report · Seat Belts · Jan 2006