Three problems related to battery have been reported for the 1997 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Several problems with this auto, it seems to be falling apart. The driver side seat belt no longer latches. We have to loop the driver side through the passenger side. It appears this is an issue with several of these models. This is a serious safety hazard and seat belts are mandatory by law. Is there anything being done? the left turn indicator has had electrical issues for years. It makes a zzzz sound and no longer works. I am also down to only one door that the key works on. That is the back lift. The door key had not worked on the driver side for years, then the passenger side went. I have the same heat problem the others are having. You either get full on heat and have to turn it on and off when it gets too hot or you get partial ac, always a little warm. Both the ac and heat has been serviced, the problem is in the switch somewhere. And now the reason I'm writing is I have major electrical problems. Fuses and solinoids have been looked at, there are no longer lights in the dash area. The lights on alarm (ding ding ding ding) remains on when the car is off, the keys out and the door shut which has drained my battery completly. I have jumped started it twice and now it sits in my driveway because it will cost a fortune to have the electrical looked at. If this is an issue with anyone else it should be reported to Ford. Not only can I no longer drive this car, it would be totally unsafe to use it. I need 4wheel drive just to get out of my driveway in winter and have no idea how I'm going to come up with the money for all these repairs. Please advise if there are any recalls that address these issues. The incident date I listed below is for the time the seatbelt started to fail completly. We were on a vacation trip!.
Battery exploded while vehicle was idling. No fire or injuries.
I was just wondering why dreager Ford did not tell me of the recalls (I saw from your website) when I took my vehicle in to be worked on three deferent times for a charging problem. Also is there a way to trace this vehicle history using the VIN number? no summary listed for above vehicle.