Problems with 1999 Ford Explorer ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

My vehicle was parked in the parking lot at 8:30 a.m. on february 7, 2012. approximately 2:30 p.m., the entire front end of the vehicle was totally engulfed in flames the parking lot, just sitting there burning, without any prior warning. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford explorer. the contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire while in the contact's driveway with the engine turned off. the fire department was called and advised that the fire originated from the battery compartment. a fire report was filed. the vehicle was destroyed. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure and the current mileage was 212,000.

I want to file a complaint with ford because i have 1 1999 ford explorer xlt and the timing guide is going out again for the third time. i think that ford should do something about this...i know people that never have to replace their timing chain guides and im replacing mine for the third time... *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford explorer. while driving approximately 20 mph, a fire ignited under the hood. the contact moved the vehicle off the roadway and shut off the engine. the contact was able to exit the vehicle before it exploded. the fire department was called to assist. the vehicle was destroyed and towed to a junk lot. the vehicle was never examined for the cause of failure. the manufacturer advised that they would not assist unless the contact was able to provide proof that the fire was caused by a manufacturer's defect. the failure and current mileage was unknown.

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford explorer. while driving 45 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the rpm's increased to over 3,000 rpm's. the rpm's would not decrease until he arrived at the dealer. while driving and attempting to control the vehicle, he depressed the brake pedal to reduce the speed of the vehicle. the dealer stated that he needed to replace the iac valve, throttle body assembly, housing, and throttle plate. they also replaced the check engine warning indicator and reset the computer. the failure mileage was 124,554.

1999 ford explorer caught fire. consumer states that his vehicle was in the shop for about 5 to 6 weeks getting a new engine transmission and radiator, and recall repair done. the vehicle caught fire a month after the repairs were made. *kb

I have 1999 ford explorer-i love my car but-last year i replaced the timing chain and timing chain cover. due to the fact that teflon cover somehow broke and we being eaten by the actual timing chain..my warranty expied in august of 07. well around the 10th of september, my car is doing the same thing! why do they get broken so fast and easily? and why is there only a 1 year warranty..are there any recalls or notices to the public, should this happen to them? also are there any ways to get help fixing this? it cost me over $2000.00 last time and i don't have that kind of money to spend like that every year!!!please help. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the engine stalled immediately. this was followed by the check engine light illuminating constantly. this was the fifth occurrence of this problem. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer on four other occasions, where the dealer determined that the idle bypass valve was sticking. the valve was replaced each time, but the problems persisted. the manufacturer was also notified.

I was at my office working when my 5 year old daughter came to me saying "mommy it's an emergency, your truck is smoking!" (i had been at the office working for an hour and a half after picking my children up from school.) i opened the back door to see what she was talking about and saw my truck engulfed in flames. i ran back inside the to call 911. a man had come inside the office to tell us a truck was on fire, he was already on the phone with 911. i moved my children to the front of the office, yelled for everyone parked by my truck to move their vehicles, and went outside in a panic. by the time the fire department, police department and amr arrived, the fire had spread to the driver's side of the interior, the grill (front of the truck) was melted, the entire hood and front left side of the truck were burned, the engine was melted, and the front left tire had exploded and partially melted. *jb

Noise coming from under the hood. repairman said it is a tensioner in rear of engine and is common problem in the explorer. he thought it was under recall. this requires engine to be pulled to fix with only 85000 mile on engine. *jb

Dt: the contact stated vehicle stalled. although the engine died it easily restarted. he took the vehicle to a dealer. the dealer discovered the problem was the intake manifold gasket. there was a special service campaign # 01m112 that concerned the intake manifold gasket and the timing chain. however, due to the vehicle's mileage it was not included in the campaign. no repairs have been made. *ak

Dt: the contact owns a 1999 ford explorer. the contact called about the current nhtsa investigation dp05005 concerning the engine and engine cooling/the spark plug. a spark plug wire burned and it messed up the egr sensor. this occurred on september 16, 2005 while going out of town ,and they noticed the spark plug wire burned out and burned a hose to the vacuum hose as well as other wires. the vacuum hose and the spark plug were replaced . this still did not solve the problem. the contact took the vehicle to a repair shop and mechanic determined that the egr sensor was bad according to the diagnostic test, and that it had to be replaced . also, it showed a vacuum leak and on the upper intake platinum. they found a bunch of cracks in it. the upper intake platinum had to be replaced. *ak

Vehicle will not start when on an uphill incline

Dt: contact states while driving vehicle locked up on the highway. the service dealer stated the cam shaft locked up because oil was not circulating throughout the motor. there were no warning lights illuminated on the dash.*ak

I have a 1999 ford explorer xlt with a v-6 sohc 4 liter engine. the car has not properly accelerated since purchase in 2000, it has constantly stalled while driving and the dealer could not determine the problem because the check engine light was not on. i found out february 16, 2005 that i have a broken intake manifold gasket and it cost over $1,000 to fix. i have searched the internet related to this problem and found there are eight ford models manufactured from 1996 through 2001 with this problem. ford refuses to acknowledge this defect to consumers but according to the article inthe attached link, they have extended their warranty on this part to the police department and taxi companies that have purchased the affected cars. please visit the website for more info.http://www.gm-v6lemons.com/mediaattn.htm thank you for any help you can provide peter delvecchia. *jb

When the automobile(ford explorer 1999 sohc v6) is in cold weather and you start it it seems to misfire or act like there is an air leak. i have read several post on the internet and people seem to see this problem alot on certain year ford explorers. the have said that it is caused by an air leak around the exhaust manafold that only shows up when the engine is cold because the part is shrunk and does not fit but once the car warms up the part expands and acts as if there is no problems. when starting the car in warm weather you never see this problem. i have not had this fixed on my car since i park in a garage i rarely see this.

While at a stop smoke started to appear inside the vehicle. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

When driving on the freeway, the vehicle accelerated, causing the consumer to pull out of traffic. the consumer put the vehicle in neutral before putting the vehicle in park. the consumer shut the vehicle off before restarting the vehicle. the consumer made contact with the dealership. *ak the vehicle accelerated up to 85 mph and did not respond to the consumers attempt to slow down. the vehicle had taken 1/4 miles to stop even when the vehicle was placed in neutral. the vehicle made a bad acceleration noise then shut off. the throttle was replaced. the temperature gauge fluctuated. the dealer replaced the thermostat. *sc *jb

While driving 55 mph vehicle stalled. consumer managed to restart the vehicle on two occasions, but had the vehicle towed the third time. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

While driving vehicle stalled until it warmed up. dealerships mechanic was notified. but the problem was not resolved. *ak

Ford explorer 1999 with 70,000 miles has burning of anti-freeze. when brought to dealer need new long engine block and radiator. this car has had all routine maintenance and had complete tune up, hoses and belts and fluids changed at recommended intervals including 60,000 miles. has never overheated nor broken down prior to this leak. when originally brought to dealer, was told problem were new hoses were leaking. this "problem" was adjusted by my mechanic and it still continued to leak antifreeze. in addition, car was fine until brought to dealer for recall work on on 10/1/03. once taken out of service, that's when i noticed the smell of antifreeze. *la

Consistent problems with engine check light. dealers notified. *ak

While driving engine reached high temperatures due to intake manifold failure. coolant went inside the engine.*ak

Application of the accelerator pedal after the engine has cooled, would need to apply additional force to the accelerator pedal to break the bridge. *la

1999 ford explorer involved in an accident.*mr the consumer stated he/she heard a noise from the engine prior to the accident and also the air bags failed to deploy. *jb *nm

While driving at 65 mph a spark blew out of the cylinder head. there was a loud popping sound from within the engine compartment, and the vehicle lost considerable power at that time. the windows had to be opened due to the gas fumes.*ak

1--bad roaring noise in left front wheel area 2--rattling noise in exhaust (muffler) our vehicle was in the shop over 21/2 weeks my wife picked up the vehicle thursday8-28-03 same noise in the front also new rattling noise ledft front end. noise in bad at 55mph lots of promises made by maloy ford all talk also they will not return my call salesperson thru owner

Service bulletin 00m12 from ford called for replacement of timing chain tensioner. tensioner was replaced but did not solve problem. returned to ford and was confirmed to be coming from tensioner. was directed by dealer that ther was no other fix for problem but would not cause damage. was told that if part failed ford would warranty for 5 yrs or 75,000 miles. part failed causing timing chain to slip and break, causing #6 cylinder piston to strike valve and put hole in piston. ford now states that they are not responsable and will provide no relief for repair. ford dealer advises that should have been covered but ford makes final decision. ford's final position is that age/mileage of vehicle problem is now my problem. vehicle is 1999 explorer with 60,000 miles which meets both of their cryteria in their service bulletin. now ford wants me to pay $4500 for new motor.*ak

Rear windshield wiper motor failed. caused loss of visibility through back window. rear power window motor failed. accelerator pedal vibrates on acceleration. (usually while merging on to highways) parking brake indicator light does not always light when parking brake is active. rattle and vibration from catalytic converter cover. *jb

Check engine light stays on. dealer states vehicle needs new engine. please provide additional information.*ak

While driving, the vehicle stalled. *jb

Service bulletin oom 12 from ford was for the replacement of the camshaft tensioner in my 1999 explorer. it was replaced on 11/27/01 and now needs to be replaced again. the ford service center refuses to see the same componet continues to fail again and again as their problem. *jb

Consumer stated while driving at any speed and with no warning the vehicle would stall.*jb

The engine revved and the engine surged foward.*dt *jb

Consumer was making a 3pt turn. when truck was placed in drive gear then engine suddenly accelerated causing vehicle to crash into house. ph

While trying to accelerate doors automatically locked, and then vehicle shut off. it was hard to get vehicle back started. dealer notified.*ak

The biggest problem i have now is my transmission, on august 1st, my explorer lost its reverse, it is now august 25, and i still do not have my car, they fixed it on aug 20, it broke that night, took it back aug 22, broke again and then took it back that night and now they still have it and dont know what is wrong with it. i told them all i want is a car, but they say they cannot give me one. why? i dont have a car, i lease the one i have, cant drive it, still have to pay for it, and they wont give me a loaner.

Ongoing engine stalling problem while driving/ slowing down, and accelerating from a stop position. dealer contacted. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

While driving, throttle/ air bypass valve malfunctions which causes accelerator pedal to stick, and pedal goes nearly to the floor. also pedal has to be pumped before it releases. *ak the dealer said they can fix the problem, but the vehicle still hesitates and there is rough idle, the lower ball joints failed, and were replaced.*yh

Check engine light came, but car appeared to run/perform normally. when the light came on, i was low on fuel. had dealer check, reported taht i needed new fuel pump, there were leaks at intake gaskets & cost to repair would be about $1,200. second scan by another auto shop could not get the same computer "codes" as dealer. "check engine" light was reset. on 1/24/2002, when fuel tank was very low, "check engine" came on again. not convinced what the problem is! i am certain that water in the fuel is part of the problem. i am not convinced that a new fuel pump is needed.*ak

Whle driving at any speed vehicle completely shutsdown without warning, cause unknown. please provide more information.*ak

Consumer state s that vehicle will rattle causing cam chain to snap. nlm

Knock in engine had to dealer 3 times last time they decarboned engine still knocking worse than before now they say its a normal sound doesn,t sound normal to me any recources i have would be greatly appreciated. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

The plastic trim around the head liner was loose.*jb

Engine heads cracked on both sides. the hood latch assembly rusted and cannot be opened, also the horn filled up with water and would not work as a result.

Vehicle has a knocking noise coming from underneath the hood area. dealership is aware of problem. *ak

Engine makes a rattling noise, consumer constantly went to dealer to diagnose the problem. after doing 2-3 diagnostic tests, no problem was found, consumer went to another dealer for a second opinion and a rebuild engine was put in. bolt to engine cylinder broke off and a new head was ordered. *ak consumer is still not satisfied that engine is not running smoothly and still hear irregular noises, dealer identified the noise and informed consumet that is was normal, consumer also blames dealer for selling her the vehicle with defective firestone tires, consumer had to purchase 5 new tires. *slc

While driving in overdrive at 50 mph and going up an incline, vehicle vibrates erratically. problem has not been remedied. *ak o2 sensor failed and was replaced. fuel pressure regulator failed and was replaced. consumer stated that the dealer can not do anything to fix the problem, which seems to be a manufacturer defect.*yh *slc

When traveling or turning there is a hesitation in same direction. *ak