Eight problems related to ignition have been reported for the 1999 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Steering wheel kept locking up. Ignition cylinder needed to be replaced.
My 1999 Ford Explorer was parked, locked, with no key in the ignition. In my garage on January 30, 2005. When we smelled smoke, looked in the garage, and found extreme smoke coming from under the hood of the car. . . I phoned 911, and the operator advised us to get out of the house and do not attempt to get the car out of the garage. We went outside and waited for the fire dept. 5 fire trucks came and put out the fire. . . . . But the car was burned completely, and also the garage and all of it's contents are a total loss. . . . My house is also damaged, due to soot, and smoke. . . . I am 65 years old, living on social security, I am a 44 year type 1 diabetic. . . This has caused me immense problems. . . . I would appreciate any help you may afford me. .
Spark plug wires failing. Vehicle has only 35000 miles. Resulted in severe vehicle bucking, misfiring, stalling, loss of acceleration, and unpredictable engine performance. 3 occurrences to three different plug wires within 300 miles.
Spark plug wires failing. Vehicle has only 20500 miles. Resulted in severe vehicle bucking, misfiring, loss of acceleration, and unpredictable engine performance. Two occurrences to tw0 different plug wires within 20 miles. Number 3 and 7 aluminum heat shielded wires.
No throttle response and nearly stalling on occasion, due to a bad ignitions coil pack for the fourth cylinder. The bad coil was caused by anti-freeze leaking from the radiator. This caused cylinder 4 to die.
The Explorer would go dead unless I kept my foot on the gas pedal when starting up. The only way that I could get it to go was to floor the gas pedal in park. Every time.
3 times(once in Dec, Jan, Jul) vehicle stalled out, and would not restart. Vehicle was towed to dealer. On all 3 incidents, dealer claimed defect was caused by parts relating to ignition. The vehicle had stalled two more time and was towed to the dealership. The consumer states that the vehicle is no longer reliable and the problem is beyond repair.
Vehicle fails to start on occasion; runs rough on occasion. .