One problem related to back up lights has been reported for the 1997 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The failure of the third brake light which is an led (light emitting diode) assembly is a major safety concern. When the brake light failure was discovered I went to the manufacturer's dealership to have it repaired. First I was quoted a repair price 35 times higher then the average brake light replacement or $350. 00. Ultimately, I had the repair done for $265. 00 after some serious dialogue about the cost of this part versus normal brake light replacements. I emphasied a part costing $35 times the normal brake light bulb repair should be engineered to last the life of the vehicle. If it did not then it must be an engineering or manufactureing defect. The dealership said Ford would not respond positively to my arguements and the best they could do was $265. 00. I beleive the safety issue is driven by the cost of this assembly. There maybe many Ford Explorers on the road with this defective part, simply because the cost to repair is prohibitive. In some states vehicle inspections are not required until the vechicle is resold and therefore the problem could go undected creating a serious risk for the driver of the failing vehicle and anyone following behind. I suggest a safety alert be issued if it has not already been done giving consideration to the number of led assemblies, brake light failures and the cost of the repair that a recall also be considered.