Problems · by component
1997 Ford Explorer visibility problems
89 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1997 Ford Explorer cite visibility, 5% of all 1,789 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
89
5% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the visibility
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE DEFROSTER WAS NOT FUNCTIONING AND THE WINDSHIELD WOULD NOT CLEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THAT THE DASHBOARD WOULD HAVE TO BE REMOVED AND THE BLENDING CHAMBER WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 126,000. UPDATED 07/10/13*LJ UPDATED 07/12/13 *JS”
“HAVE EXPERIENCED PERIODS WHEN THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS DO NOT OPERATE WHEN THE CONTROL IS ON. HAS OCCURRED WHEN FIRST TURNING ON THE CONTROL AS WELL AS WHEN CHANGING FROM A DIFFERENT SPEED SETTING ON THE CONTROL. NO REGULARITY IN THE OCCURRENCE, SEEMS TO BE RANDOM. THIS HAS OCCURRED MANY TIMES DURING MY OWNERSHIP SINCE 2000. I WAS CHECKING THE DATABASE AND FOUND AN ENTRY ON THIS PROBLEM UNDER "DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS" SO I AM ADDING MY EXPERIENCE TO YOUR RECORDS. *TR”
“BLEND DOOR ON MY 1997 FORD EXPLORER IS NOT WORKING. ITS A PROBLEM WHEN DEFROSTING, AND DRIVING IN BAD WEATHER DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE WINDSHIELD IS NOT DEFROSTING. *TR”
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO OPEN THE WINDOWS, BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS, INTERIOR LIGHTS, AND THE 4X4 ALSO FAILED TO OPERATE. THE DEALER HAS NOT DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS PRIOR TO THE FAILURES. THE CONTACT IS UNABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 50,000. UPDATED 03-04-08 *BF”
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 FORD EXPLORER SPORT. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS AT ANY SPEED OTHER THAN HIGH DIDN'T OPERATE NORMALLY. WHEN THE RAIN WAS HEAVY OR LIGHT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ONLY OPERATED ON HIGHER SPEEDS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 116000 ,AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 126000. *AK”
“DT*: THE CONTACT STATED DUE TO THE HEATER BEING INOPERABLE, THE DEFROSTER DID NOT OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DETERMINED THE BLEND DOOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.”
Showing 6 of 89 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 7, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.