Ford / Expedition / 1997
1997 Ford Expedition problems
Owners have filed 1,065 complaints about the 1997 Ford Expedition with NHTSA. Suspension accounts for 13.7% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of steering at 10%.
Complaints1,065
Crashes73
Fires83
Injuries64
Deaths19
What owners report breaking
Suspension 13.7% · 146
Steering 10.0% · 106
Service brakes, hydraulic 9.7% · 103
Electrical system 9.6% · 102
Engine and engine cooling 8.5% · 90
Vehicle speed control 7.6% · 81
Power train 7.4% · 79
Visibility 4.5% · 48
Severity
Of those complaints, 73 describe a crash, 83 describe a fire, 64 report an injury and 19 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 23 model years of the Ford Expedition in this data, 1997 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1999 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 10 in the last three years against 13 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 119,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Vehicle was taken to dealer for a routine check. While up on lift, consumer noticed that one of the links on left side was broken, and other side was just hanging down. When putting on brakes front of vehicle would go down. There was an open investigation by nhtsa on this problem. *Ak the front stablizer bar was repaired by the dealer, but the consumer was seeking refund because the part was defective. Suspension
When making a right turn, vehicle started pulling to the left. Driver had no control of truck. It swiped a telephone pole, which took off the side mirror and jammed the driver's side door. Aftering exiting truck on the passenger's side, driver saw that the entire left wheel was off. Truck was towed to dealership. Problem has not been corrected. Please provide any further information. Suspension
The contact owns a 1997 Ford Expedition. While driving at 10 mph, an abnormal sound was heard from the rear driver side tire. The failure recurred constantly. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 96v252000 (suspension). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vin was unknown. The failure mileage was 220,000. Suspension · reported at 220,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Ford Expedition years
1998 1,022 complaints · 14.5% suspension 1999 1,137 complaints · 22.3% engine and engine cooling 2000 1,136 complaints · 19.3% electrical system 2001 739 complaints · 16.9% engine and engine cooling 2002 415 complaints · 22.9% engine and engine cooling 2003 800 complaints · 16.1% engine and engine cooling