Four problems related to gasoline fuel system have been reported for the 1997 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Stuck accelerator on 1997 Ford Explorer with 58,000 miles. While driving on interstate 287/78 in NJ I tried to turn off the cruise control but instead the car accelerated uncontrollably to over 85 mph. I gained control by turning the engine on and off until reaching a safe place to stop. An njdot truck helped me and later that day I emailed what happened to Ford's customer assistance. I wanted them to have a dealer examine my Explorer to see if this was caused by a material defect of normal wear and tear, in which case I would repair it. They refused to help so I wrote a letter to dearborn and received a response saying the matter was closed (case # 1510510480). My wife said (and I believe her) that if she were driving it would have resulted in a crash. I noted that there was a recall on the 2002 escape that sounds like the same problem. I just want to prevent potential loss of life due to this, in my opinion, faulty design or manufacturer glitch. Njdot documented the case since I sent them a "thank you" and they responded. The vehicle put me and others on the highway in a life-threatening situation (viz a viz Toyota) but Ford is unwilling to consider the case. They want to treat this as an "out of warranty" condition but I believe it is potentially a product liability that if not corrected will cost lives and damage.
Ongoning problem with fuel system vapor leakage. Vehicle been in/out dealer shop on four occasions. Vehicle have been inspected / repaired, but vapor leakeges still exist. Needs help in this matter.
The front suspension bar links are broken, the fog lights of the exterior does not work.
While parked the vehicle caught on fire under the hood, cause unknown. Fire report indicates fuel related.