16 problems related to front suspension have been reported for the 1999 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The firestone tires on the vehicle were replaced due to recall, prior to recall replacement the vehicle experienced problems with road handling and front end alignment,after tire replacement the vehicle still had trouble with the front end alignments, consumer is concerned that the problems are not just related to the tires but the front end suspension as well.
I saw the recall on earlier vehicles, but the Ford dlr on this request replaced the front end suspension on my truck after claiming they had seen a lot of problems like this and Ford called it an "engineering flaw". I am hoping the NHTSA will review this problem and expand it's recall.
The front end just stops moving forward when it wants to. It has so far only happened while turning at slow speeds. When this occurs we have no control over where the vehicle is going. Has been into the dealership (not the one we purchased it from) 3 times for this problem. They cannot determine the cause of the problem so nothing has been repaired at this time. I am currently waiting on the dealership to see if they can finally determine the cause of the malfunction.
When accelerating a rubbing noise was heard on accelera as the car lifted on take off. Dealer replaced a lower bushing, but noise is back again.
Vehicle started pulling right after dealer rotated tires. Dealer aligned, rotated tires back and installed cams. No change. Horn does not honk on demand without excessive pushing.
Intermittently while driving vehicle will pull to the right. Vehicle was taken to the dealership. Problem was unable to be corrected, later resulted in an accident.
Vehicle pulled to right at any speed. Dealer notified, and was unable to find a solution.
Car pulled left and right on highway. ( dot number: tire size: p235/70r15 ).
From new we have complained about the car wandering at freeway speeds, it feels like you have limited control of the car. Also there is a vibration on the steering as if the wheels are unbalanced. The problem actually got worse after the tires where replaced as my car was one of the cars which had the recalled firestone tires on it. Its been to the dealer on 4 occasions and they cannot solve the problem, they are now calling in the Ford engineers to try and solve the problem. We have also had a suspension squeek which occurs when you are driving normally and also on bumpy roads. The car has been in 4 times as well and the dealers have just lubed the suspension, the squeek is back after a day or so, the dealers also cannot solve the problem, and find some lovely excuses as to why there is a squeek ie after market running boards. The front brakes had a vibration and the dealer found the rotors out of round and skimmed them. When I queried why they did not replace the rotors, I was informed it was normal for rotors to go out of round,this has never happened on any of my other cars so I find this a poor excuse. There have been other problems as well with this car and I feel the dealers have had enough attempts to repair the car,and its time for Ford to take this car back and give me a new one,or refund me my money so that I can go and purchase something else. I bought a new car so that I would not have to worry about brake downs ect and because new cars are supposed to be safer. This is not the case with this Ford Explorer.
While driving about 60 to 70mph front wheels shake and vibrate. Also the steering wheel jerks out of the driver's hands. Dlr has seen vehicle 4 times, and cant duplicate the problem.
Although this is not a faliure of a part, at least not yet, there is an intermittant rubbing sound coming from the front of the vehicle when slowly excelerating. My vehicle makes this noise and my friend's makes the same noise. We purchased both these vehicles at the same time. The vehicle has been in for service three times and the problem has yet to be corrected and Ford does not have a service bulliten for this problem.
On July 26, 2000 I took my Explorer to sheehy Ford springfield in reference to a vibrating/humming noise coming from my left front tire. They checked and stated that everything appeared normal. However, the vibrating/humming noise still exists. ( dot number: ).
When we took delivery of the 2000 Explorer, the firestone tires were inflated to 20psi. We discovered this after an 800 mile trip. When inflated to 30 psi, the ride is terrble! when we complained to the dealer about the ride on the next service trip, they gave us paper work stating the tire pressure had been adjusted to 30 psi. The ride was bettter on the 10 mile trip home. Checking the tire pressure when we arived home showed them to be inflated to 20 psi. Reinflating to 30 psi caused the bone jarring ride to reoccur. Bottom line: Ford has a suspension problem that their dealers are fixing by lowering tire pressure to 20 psi. How much of the firestone tire problem have the dealers created trying to sove custome ride complaints?.
While traveling noticed that front wheel made loud noise. Dealer has been contaced. Please provide further information.
When driving vehicle at 70 mph it began to shake vigorously, it shook so badly that when trying to look out the rear view mirrior, driver could not see. Dealer has been contacted.
The left side front tire have been replaced 3 times due to excessive wear, the right side front tire has been replaced once due to excessive wear, the vehicle has been aligned many times to correct the problem, however the tires still continue the wear pattern, no name or size of tire was given, the problem could be the tires or the suspension.