Ford Explorer / 1998
1998 Ford Explorer problems
Owners have filed 2,374 complaints about the 1998 Ford Explorer with NHTSA. Tires account for 31.6% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of vehicle speed control at 12.1%.
Complaints2,374
Crashes219
Fires124
Injuries261
Deaths20
What owners report breaking
Tires 31.6% · 750
Vehicle speed control 12.1% · 287
Engine and engine cooling 8.7% · 206
Electrical system 5.1% · 120
Visibility 4.9% · 117
Suspension 4.9% · 116
Power train 4.5% · 108
Service brakes, hydraulic 4.0% · 94
Severity
Of those complaints, 219 describe a crash, 124 describe a fire, 261 report an injury and 20 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 33 model years of the Ford Explorer in this data, 1998 sits 4th by complaint volume. 2002 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 19 in the last three years against 18 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 100,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Pe-00-039 or pe-00-020; firestone wilderness at, original equipment on vehicle, tire size p23575r15, tires had 36 thousand miles on them, dot number not available. When driving at 50-55 mph and attemtping to change lanes to pass another vehicle ,consumer suddenly lost control, vehicle flipped,and rolled three times, causing injuries to driver occupant. Vehicle was totaled. Please provide any further details. Tires
My Explorer has been taken to both town fair tire & Ford dealer and told the wilderness at p255/r7016 show tire splitting and cracking, Ford has stated this on a service bill, they rotated the tires and put my spare on the front...But neither Ford or town fair tire will change them, even though they are defected, because they are not on the recall list???? Even though defected!( Dot number: tire size: p25570r16 ) Tires
Two of these tires show seperation at the point where the tread attaches to the body. Firestone says they are not part of the recall as they were not made in decatur. Have replaced them with michelins at our expense. We feel these tires should be part of the recall as they are evidence the problem is not limited to one plant.Old tires are available for inspection.( Dot number: w2hl1py308 tire size: p235/75r15 ) Tires
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…