Six problems related to steering have been reported for the 1996 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Was driving a 1996 Ford Explorer on dry concrete on a 2 year old (I. E. , in great condition) interstate highway at 75 mph. Was driving perfectly straight, not changing lanes, nothing. Suddenly and violently, the vehicle swerved first to the left, then to the right. The vehicle went over an ice hump on the side of the right shoulder, went airborne, and slid to a stop in the ditch. No airbags deployed, no seat belt bruises, so very fortunate that the runout was clear and smooth. The 2 driver-side tires were flat and no longer mounted on the rims. Both driver-side rims were bent, both driver side hubs were bent, rear axle was bent. Item of note -- the tires were fine, and are still in-use on the vehicle after repairs were made. No patches were necessary. Driver and passenger are absolutely positive that this was a vehicle malfunction, not caused by driver error or road conditions. 2 repair shops (Ford dealership and independent shop) could find no cause for the swerving.
Sudden tread separation on left rear tire of Ford Explorer caused loss of control and on-road rollover. Tire was a cooper eldorado radial zr1, size p23575r15, dot# 3dhlekn2900.
1996 Explorer front end began shaking violently. Vehicle then pulled to the right and consumer lost control striking a guard rail. The steering arm broke on the right wheel resulting in an accident.
On three occasions vehicle experienced loss of control while driving in bad weather conditions, on one incident vehicle spun out of control, hitting a guardrail which resulted in property damage.
Steering went out while driving under normal conditions.
While driving vehicle starts shaking, and it is impossible to steer. Dealer can't find the problem.