1998 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer from North America - Comments

Parking brake cables failed at 40,000.

Power antenna would not extend all of the way at 40,000..

The air intake control motor caused poor cold idle speed at 50,000.

A drive train seal needed to be replaced at 50,000.

All of the bearings in the rear end needed to be replaced at 57,000.

The vehicle s very comfortable and has excellent space, however the reliability is poor, at best.

I also have a 1998 Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer. It has 85K miles on it and I've had it for 16 months and have already had numerous problems with it. I got it because I love the look of it and I really needed something 4-wheel drive. Plus I thought I was getting a great deal on an "Eddie Bauer". Well, big mistake!

-The first month I had it I had to replace the spark plugs and spark plug wires. This ended up costing me over $300 (and that was just for the parts, since my husband is a mechanic).

-The back wiper doesn't work half the time and when it does it only works on 1/3 of the window. We've replaced the wiper blade and that didn't help the problem.

-Last month I replaced the Oxygen sensor.

-It's in the shop at this moment because it needs a new fuel pump.

-I have to have the back brake light bulb replaced every month or so because water leaks in the cover and shorts it out.

-And it rattles unbelievably loud at highway speeds. Road noise is also terrible.

The pros:

-Very comfortable and handles well. I love the fact that it's All-Wheel drive so you don't have to worry about locking it into 4-wheel drive. It also has good power and acceleration.