"How reliable is the 1997 Ford Explorer?"

"Based on 2149 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Ford Explorer has a median complaint mileage of 100000 miles. The most common issue is TIRES:TREAD/BELT."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Ford Explorer?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Ford Explorer is TIRES:TREAD/BELT, accounting for a significant portion of the 2149 total complaints filed."

1997 Ford Explorer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 2149 complaints

2149

Total Complaints

100,000mi

Median Mileage

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

Top Issue

180

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

69,800 25th Percentile

100,000 Median Mileage

139,280 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

396

TIRES

332

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

121

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SUSPENSION

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

180

Crashes

Fires

250

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN THE APPLYING THE ABS BRAKES THE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND SOMETIMES FOOT WILL CATCH THE GAS PEDAL. THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED AT (150) MILES OR LESS. *AK"

"WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH THE STEERING VIBRATES, CAUSING THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE STEERING WHEEL. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT 396 complaints

Median: 67,500 mi

TIRES 332 complaints

25th: 39,247 mi Median: 115,871 mi 75th: 150,000 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 121 complaints

25th: 92,000 mi Median: 101,500 mi 75th: 161,750 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 77 complaints

25th: 56,777 mi Median: 120,000 mi 75th: 130,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 209 CA: 184 TX: 136 NY: 128 NJ: 101 MI: 97 PA: 93 VA: 90 IL: 89 OH: 79

Who Files Complaints?

38.9%

Original Owners

61.1%

Second+ Owners

Ford Explorer — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1991	764	113,804	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	70
1992	848	125,000	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	54
1993	1151	107,248	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	98
1994	1531	97,541	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	124
1995	1048	125,000	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	107
1996	1818	127,000	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	248
1998	2374	100,000	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	219
1999	1737	80,000	TIRES	143
2000	1203	77,938	TIRES	115
2001	500	90,500	TIRES	82
2002	4095	79,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	178
2003	1368	74,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	70
2004	1647	65,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	69
2005	604	70,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	30
2006	788	60,000	POWER TRAIN	18
2007	271	69,000	POWER TRAIN	14
2008	215	78,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	8
2009	49	67,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	8
2010	155	48,000	POWER TRAIN	13
2011	1481	65,000	STEERING	48
2012	1013	62,000	STEERING	14
2013	2757	74,000	STEERING	61
2014	2011	64,000	STEERING	48
2015	2138	54,600	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	52
2016	2940	45,647	STEERING	56
2017	1927	45,000	STRUCTURE	53
2018	819	42,000	STRUCTURE	23
2019	306	50,000	STRUCTURE	2
2020	1544	12,600	POWER TRAIN	50
2021	492	38,400	POWER TRAIN	21
2022	308	28,000	POWER TRAIN	25
2023	126	8,500	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	11
2024	21	5,080	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	0
2025	111	2,289	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	11

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28