Front Suspension Problems of Ford Explorer - part 2

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.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Explorer 🔎.

While driving about 55 mph could feel vehicle pulling to the right. Also tires were worn out on the outside.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Explorer 🔎.

When turning vehicle right or left there is a cracking noise, like something underneath is trying to come apart. Consumer has contacted dealership.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Explorer 🔎.

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.

Front tire wear and alignment.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I have a situation with my 1997 Ford Explorer 4x4. I recently took it in to have an alignment done. I have just purchased this vehicle from the dealer above. When I took it to get aligned the mechanic told me I needed to buy a caster adjuster kit. This amazes me that Ford wouldn't have good enough engineers to put the correct size caster adjusters on my vehicle. There has been no aftermarket work done to it . . It is all Ford factory suspension, so it is not my fault, it is theirs. This seems like an injustice that I have to buy a $100 kit because Ford didn't get it right the first time. I have talked to 3 other dealers, and they don't act surprised, actually I was told by 2 of the other dealer service departments that this is a common problem. I want my complaint on the books, in case ther eare more.

Front tires are experiencing excessive wear. Vehicle been in / out of dealer shop on four occasions, and problem is still occurring. Feel free to provide further details.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I was driving along and heard a big bang, like someone threw something and hit the side of the truck. I took it into Ford and they couldn't find anything wrong because the bolt broke holding the arm to control the front end. It was just hanging on by a thread waiting to pop out and me to lose control and be seriously injured or worse, killed. They found this out a week later when I returned to have the other work completed. My check engine light came on (the second time within 16,000 miles) and my window washer was broke. When they went to check the front end again they put it up on the rack and that is when the bolt fell out. I was told I was lucky to be there. If it went when I was driving I could have been killed. What really upsets me is, they told me the first time I took it in, that I would have to wait until it did it constantly. I am still counting my blessings to this day. No one could explain to me what caused this problem or why it happened. I was told by Ford motor CO. That this isn't a recall item and financially they couldn't help because it was out of warranty. Warranty or not, this should have never happened!! to me this is shoddy workmanship on Ford's part. The price you have to pay for these vehicles is outrageous and they shouldn't be death traps. I'm constantly putting money into it (besides my monthly car payments) to keep it on the road. I am very dissatisfied with this vehicle and will never buy a Ford product again! I just want buyers to beware!!.

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.

Severe vibration from front of vehicle when driving 65 mph or more. Vehicle been in dealer's shop on five occasions, and problem still reoccurring. The dealer and manufacturer stated the problem was the tires consumer then replaced the tires, but the problem still exists.

Vehicle pulled to right at any speed. Dealer notified, and was unable to find a solution.

While driving at any speed vehicle pulled to the left. Consumer stated this could cause an accident.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Explorer 🔎.

On going squealing noise coming from front wheels while driving, vehicle has been to dealer on two occasions, and the problem has reoccurred. Consumer was told that the new parts would eliminate the noise, but it has not.

Consumer was traveling about 45mph on the highway and steering wheel started vibrating. Also, they heard a popping noise coming from the back. Right rear tire was flat. Consumer pulled over to the shoulder to change the flat tire, and car went out control, and whipped into four lanes on the highway. Car was turned the opposite way of the traffic.

Vehicle experienced poor directional control after vehicle hit a bump or pothole in road while traveling at speeds in excess of 35 mph. Dealership informed consumer that there was nothing wrong with vehicle. Please provide any additional information/attachments.

The problem persist and DE dealers never fixes the problem in my vehicle what I've to do to resolve that delicate prblem. No safety defect listed.

Consumer stated that while driving vehicle about 40 mph the left front tire start vibrating also the left side mirror where the consumer can not see other vehicle.

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.

Excessive wear of michelin tires. Vehicle would make a loud of noise. Took to dealer & was informed the wheel, left front, was out of alignment real bad & needed replacing. The inside of tire was worn through to the steel belting, while the outside showed no wear. The front end was not aligned properly at the factory.

Also experiencing right flood light failure. This is the 3rd bulb replacement. I, the customer would like some resolution to these problems. The vehicle cost too much to experience these many problems. ( dot number: 274 tire size: p235/75r15 ).

Suspension problems began after a heavy load was in the vehicle. (400-500 lbs) the front end rode 1 foot above the rear end. Since then the car has handeled quite differently,and has constant loud squeaks and grinds. The bushings recently were removed and greased,under carriage arms in front had to be replaced. Problem appears to be ok,why did this start at 6000 miles? hesitation during hard acceleration,always from stop,crossing intersection. Extensive throttle body,housing repair work neccessary,recalls did not solve the problem. Two friends with 98 Explorers have had exact problems with load carrying and suspension problems. Hesitation problems as wellave had ecact problems not solve the problem er carriage.

No summary listed for this vehicle.

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.

A squeeling type grind in left front end occurs daily when vehicle driven, independant of speed variation, sound can be heard through closed windows; dealership will not perform repair after two attempts, engineering at Ford unable to determine cause so far,noise is piercing to driver and surrounding area driven.

I purchased my 96 Ford Explorer in Nov. 95 and have had a vehicle shudder problem that becomes a safety problem when tires are inflated beyond the recommended tire pressure of 26psi. Ford have now recommended tire pressures of 30psi, which I cannot do without risking a vehicle loss of control situation. The first time this happened, it absolutely scared the living daylights out of me, to put it politely! I had just picked up the truck from the mission valley Ford after some brake work. I took the truck up to freeway speed and while traveling over some rough freeway surface the truck almost went out of control. I returned to the dealer where failure analysis was performed. The only issue the service engineer identified as abnormal was they had set the tire pressure to 30psi(all tires). Resetting the tires back to 26psi eliminated the problem. This problem resurfaced twice more since and resetting the tires to 26psi corrected the lack of control problem. The shudder I normally feel appeared to extend into the steering wheel and it became very difficult for me to control the truck when I traveled over a rough patch in the surface of a freeway. Emergency braking brought the truck back under control. I no longer allow my wife to drive the Explorer. Im familiar with steering wheel shudder as a result of poor wheeling balancing, but this is different. The whole vehicle shudders, not the steering wheel, at cruising speeds of 60 mph and above, and is particularly obvious on long journeys. This was identified to the Ford service dept. , who suggested that the tracking and/or the tires may be at fault. Tracking has been checked and new tires purchased, but neither corrected the problem. The shudder problem has been verified by the service dept of the dealer where I purchased my Explorer. See attached service records dated 6/12/97 and 12/1/98 for this problem.

Heard a bang & wheel was on its side. Left front suspension caused wheel to tilt while driving about 5mph. Vehicle towed to dealer. Mechanic said bolt was left off or was missing from the suspension.

I brought this vehicle to the dealer four separate times because I thought the front end was out of alignment. They charged me all four times and it turns out the tires were defective. They are not the recall tires but I have since replaced them (at my own cost) and the vehicle seems to be running fine now (last two weeks). I would like to know why all the wilderness brand tires were not recalled? they clearly are defective! if it was a design problem then would'nt every plant have the same design problem? if it is a quality control issue than would'nt that also be the same problem at other plants, companies like firestone write one set of procedures for safety and inspections of tires. They don't have different inspection procedures for each plant! they certainly don't have separate procedures for the same brand of tires. You guys drop the ball, and now we are paying for it!!!!( dot number: w2hlipy426 tire size: p235/75r15 ).

The front end makes noise & vibrations continuously. The wheels & steering wheel also shake. Vehicle was aligned. Had springs changed. The problem still has not been corrected.

When traveling and upon idling, consumer noticed a high pitch sound coming from the front end of vehicle. Consumer has contacted dealer, dealer unable to determine the cause, but has noticed a similar problem on several other Explorers.

While driving 50 mph wide left curve and right side tire went on the shoulder of the road and right rear tire skidded out, tried to straighten out the vehicle, the vehicle fishtailed and tried t correct the fishtail, had a rollover. Started at the driver's side.

Front end misalignment, causing vehicle vibration and premature wear of the tires.

Excessive tire wear due to inability to align front and rear ends of vehicle to toe, cantor, and curb. Ford says its a design flaw and all future models, including the year 2000 model of the Explorer and expedition are using the same design. Our vehicle leaped off of the highway, nearly causing us to go airborn and leave the interstate. This would have most definitely caused serious injury if not multiple fatalities. Ford is not concerned with this defect, yet, millions of folks buy these SUV's each year. Please help affect the change. Thank you. ( dot number: tire size: p255/70r15 ).

The consumer began to hear noise in the front end if the vehicle at 9k miles, the consumer had the front end checked and the tires rotated, at 22k miles the noise developed again and one tire blewout while driving, the vehicle was driven for another 10k miles when the noise started again and upon inspected it was noted that the tread was separating, the consumer is requesting reimbursement for the tires (firestone p 235 at). Nlm.

When vehicle is idling or at a stop light it vibrates.