Two problems related to visibility have been reported for the 1997 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Waiting at a traffic light the sunroof shattered nothing but rain had fallen on the vehicle.
My heater temperature control became inoperative. The blend door inside the plenum chamber is broken and no longer moves (on full heat). The new plenum chamber now contains a nylon door in stead of plastic. This looks like Ford knows there is a problem with the old style doors but will not give any assistance on repairs. The cost of repair is steep! I was quoted $108. 00 for the plenum chamber and $598. 00 to install it. From what I have learned the problem is not isolated to me, in fact the dealer I phoned had just sold a replacement plenum the previous day and was waiting for one to arrive to fill there stock. When a dealer stocks a part there usually is a large demand for it!.