1996 Ford Explorer XLT from North America - Comments

O2 sensor has failed twice.

EGR sensor failed twice.

Power door lock switch failed on both doors.

Air vents do not hold their position - they always point down.

Check engine light would frequently light up. True story - dealer suggested "black tape" to fix the problem.

Transmission occasionally "slips" and moans - engine revs, but truck will not go.

Overall, we are generally happy with this vehicle. We have three children and it is tough to find another vehicle as versatile as the Explorer.

While the ride is rough, most of our trips are short and the seats are fairly comfortable.

The gas mileage is horrible. I can never get much better than 14mpg in the city, and usually it is 13mpg. On the road I can squeeze 19mpg.

I quit paying to have the "check engine" light diagnosed after about the fourth time. The dealer would put it on the scope, tell me nothing was wrong, and charge me $80.

My biggest complaint is the transmission - it really acts up. According the the dealer, when this happens I am supposed to switch in and out of 4wd, then drive in reverse for 100 yards. They originally diagnosed the problem as a "poorly tuned vehicle that was causing the sensor that controls shifting to act up". After a complete tune-up, it still acted up.

My overall dealer experience was terrible, and I quit visiting them. I felt like I was paying to train their technicians.

Overall, mechanically sound, but interior fit and finish could be better for the world's most popular family "wagon".

I have a 95 explorer. I had the chek engine light and took it in. The ford dealer told me to replace the dpfi air intake temp sensor and mass air flow so I did. A week later it came on so I took it back now they called me and said I hae to replace the upper intake manifold gasket, egr valve, and tube. I did not replace the tube because there was nothing wrong with it. The light came on again so I decided enough was enough and went to another ford dealer in newark delaware and the first time they said it was bringing up codes for everything I replaced, but he saw they were new so he cleared the codes and said if it comes on again bring it back. So it did and I came back well all it turned out to be was the evr valve and said I had replaced all of those things for no reason they were good. I have driven the truk over 30,000 and no light so far.