1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Baur from North America - Comments

The engine control unit (ECU) had to be replaced at 60,000 miles. The seats have started to wear badly and the interior panels are beginning to rattle and fall off. The outside driver's side door handle broke. Also, the lumbar adjustment on the drivers side seat broke so now it is frozen in one position. Heating Ventilation and Air Condition (HVAC) controller broke causing the heat to be turned on intermittently when the a/c was on, very expensive to repair because the entire dash had to be removed. Finally, the entire engine had to be replaced at 125,000 miles. The timing chain in the engine slipped and the teeth on the cam gears were chewed up and spit into the engine oil and that was the end of that.

The 4.0 liter engine is quick, however, the mere fact that the entire engine died at 125,000 miles is in my opinion unacceptable. I have not been impressed by the build quality either. There are numerous squeaks and rattles coming from the interior and the air suspension does not damp the ride well at all. Also some of the bulbs that illuminate the dash have burnt out. These too are expensive to replace because the entire dash must be removed. The Explorer is unreliable at best and not wise decision for anyone looking for a new car. I only have two compliments after owning this car. The 5 speed automatic transmission is brilliant and the JBL audio system sounds great. I would advise anyone looking for a nice used SUV to avoid this particular model like the plague.

I agree, terrible choice if you want a SUV. My Eddie Bauer has cost me an average of $2,000.00 a year, every year since I've owned it. 5 years now. It only has 101,000mi.

Unfortunately, I cannot agree completely with the previous comments. I own a 1997 Ford Explorer (not even an Eddie Baure edition) and it has 116,000 miles and it has performed absolutely fantastic. We've just now (12/13/06) had to bring the car in for servicing. I too have had to repair the blend door in the A/C unit because it has the same symptom of giving off heat instead of A/C. Yes, the entire dash must be removed to correct this very minor problem! Be careful of misleading repair men, because we were told by a Ford dealership, the entire A/C system needed replacement (very expensive). We went to another repair shop because that seemed ridiculous, especially since we could get both cold A/C and heat from the unit, just not on the appropriate settings on the dial. Anyway, as far as performance and reliability, the Explorer is a very respectable vehicle. Problems that are encountered down the line are usually attributed to poor maintenance and hard driving, which may very well possibly be the reasons for the poor reviews! If the opportunity is there once again, I would purchase another Explorer in a flash!

Yeah, I have to agree with the above comment. I also own a 1997 Ford Explorer (Eddie Edition) and love it. I bought it for a really good price and the guy took care of it like a loving dad... This SUV is built with a few quirks and stuff (the AC/Heat unit on mine is fantastic, but the blower only blows on high and not on low..) and the minor faults are not anything that bothers me to a large extent. This thing has plenty of power and speed with large comfy seats that blows away a Jeep Cherokee in a heartbeat. Also, the 4x4 High setting can pretty much take any weather like it was a cakewalk. Some of the things that do go bad are: the door trim seems to collect water and there is some rust (bad design from ford; they should have sloped the lower door jam slightly to allow for water runoff) ; the other is the brakes going out so quickly: the brakes need to be changed quicker than expected; and finally, the shocks and rough riding of this vehicle is slightly pronounced. I, too, feel every little bump in the road to a large extent, but I feel that is something that you can get used to in time. I might look into a really good pair of shocks that stiffen the ride, so I don't bounce all over the place (although, it will make every pothole that much more apparent).

So, I really can't complain too much.. I have fallen in love with this vehicle from the very moment I drove it off the driveway. It is comfy, roomy, and quite capable of maintaining the road in all sorts of conditions. Furthermore, it handles almost like a car in that it turns on a dime and has incredible punch off the starting line.