There are 79 stored owner reports matching the visibility & wipers leading-label group for the 1997 Ford Explorer in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 50 of 79 matching reports. This is a limited sample of up to 50 reports, ordered by incident date when available, not the complete group. The list controls page through the loaded reports only.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)WAITING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT THE SUNROOF SHATTERED NOTHING BUT RAIN HAD FALLEN ON THE VEHICLE. *TR
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
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.
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD, NO HEAT WAS PRODUCED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DETERMINED THE BLEND DOOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
BOUGHT EXPLORER IN THE SUMMER OF 2006, WENT TO TURN ON THE HEAT ONLY BLOWS COLD AIR UNABLE TO DEFROST WINDOWS. THIS IS A 1997 EXPLORER THAT AFTER TALKING TO THREE DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS TOLD ME THAT THEY ALL DO BREAK AND THAT FORD HAS MADE A STRONGER BLEND DOOR TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE ONE AND THEY WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE FOR A COST OF 1200.00. AFTER SPEAKING TO FIVE OR SIX DIFFERENT REPAIR SHOPS AND FINDING THE ARTICLE BY LARRY HAMMER OF MIGHTY AUTO PARTS I BELIEVE THAT FORD HAS A RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS ADMITTED FACTORY DESIGN FLAW. *NM
I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS 1997 FORD EXPLORER. AFTER A FEW YEARS, I STARTED TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE HEAT/DEFROST. I HAVE HAD THIS REPAIRED TWICE COSTING AROUND $2000 TOTAL. ONCE AGAIN, I NO LONGER HAVE HEAT/DEFROST AND AM SCHEDULED FOR AN EVALUATION NEXT MONDAY. DURING SNOW AND RAIN, NOT ONLY ARE YOU MISERABLE BECAUSE OF THE COLD BUT IT IS DANGEROUS WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO CLEAR THE CONDENSATION OFF THE WINDOW TO HAVE COMPLETE VISIBILITY. *JB
THE BLEND DOOR ON MY 1997 FORD EXPLORER FAILED. THIS FAILURE DID NOT ALLOW PROPER DE-FOGGING OF THE WINDSHIELD. *NM
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
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
THE HEATER BLEND DOOR FAILED ON MY 1997 FORD EXPLORER WHILE DRIVING IT IN SNOWY CONDITIONS. I ONLY HAD COLD AIR BLOWING ON MY WINDOWS. AFTER REVIEWING WEB SITES, I HAVE FOUND THAT THE TOP PIECE OF MY HEATERS HOT AND COLD BLEND DOOR IS BROKEN. THE COST OF REPLACING THIS ONE PIECE OF PLASTIC IS AROUND $1000. FORD HAS A REPLACEMENT PART THAT IS NOW STRONGER, BUT FAILS TO REALIZE THE DEFECT IN THE OLDER DOORS. *NM
TEMPERATURE OUT OF CONTROL, DEFOGGING/DEFROSTING CHALLENGED ON A 1997 FORD EXPLORER. WAS TOLD IT WILL IT IS DUE TO DEFECT IN THE AIR BLEND DOOR. I CAN'T DEFROST THE WINDOWS WHICH COULD BE AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. *NM
1997 FORD EXPLORER DEVELOPED A DEFECT IN THE DEFROSTER AND DEFOGGER SYSTEM. *MR THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO A BROKEN PLASTIC DOOR IN THE A/C/HEATER PLENUM. THIS CREATED A CONDITION OF FOGGING THE WINDSHIELD UNCONTROLLABLY AND IMPAIRING THE DRIVERS VISION. *SC
DT: CONTACT STATED WHILE USING THE DEFROSTER SYSTEM THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM THE OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE. VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN TO A SERVICE DEALER, BUT WAS SCHEDULED TO BE TAKEN IN THIS WEEK. *AK
BLEND DOOR CRACKED ON 1997 FORD EXPLORER, CAUSING LACK OF ABILITY TO DEFROST WINDOWS. I LIVE IN WISCONSIN AND THE WINDOWS FOGGED UP BADLY. VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE WHEN IT'S 20 BELOW OUT AND THE DEFROSTER DOESN'T WORK. COST TO REPLACE AIR PLENUM WITH REVISED, REDESIGNED ONE ABOUT $900. *AK
HEATER IN VEHICLE BECAME INOPERATIVE DURING A SLEET AND ICE STORM. HEATER BLEND DOOR FAILED CAUSING ONLY COLD AIR TO BLOW OUT OF HEATER AND DEFROSTER, WINDSHIELD AND WINDOWS FOGGED UP AND I COULD NOT SEE THE ROAD. HEATER BOX AND BLEND DOOR REPLACED THAT COST ME $700.00. 8NM
THE BLEND DOOR IS BROKEN ON MY HEATER...EVER TRY TO DEFROST A WINDOW WHEN IT IS MINUS 5 WITH THE AIR CONDITIONER ON..? THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN A RECALL CAMPAIGN IT IS POORLY DESIGNED AND DANGEROUS! *AK
THE HEAT ACTUATOR "BROKE" AND ELIMINATED ANY HEAT TO DEFROST MY WINDOWS. *AK
THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR HAS GONE BAD IN MY 97, 4WD, FORD EXPLORER FOR THE SECOND TIME. IT HAS 93,000 MILES, IT WAS REPLACED THE FIRST TIME AT 58,000 MILES. THIS IS DUE TO A MAUNFACTURERS DEFECT AND SHOULD BE REVIEWED FOR CONSIDERATION AS A NATIONAL RECALL OR COVERED BY FORD AS A OUT OF WARRANTY REPAIR. THIS IS A HAZARD TO ALLOW IT TO REMAIN UNREPAIRED THE COST SHOULD BE PAID BY FORD. *AK
HEATER/AC TEMPERATURE CONTROL. TEMPERATURE CONTROL DOOR IS STUCK IN THE POSITION FOR HEAT. HAVE TALKED TO DEALER THEY SAY INEXPENSIVE PART, LABOR FOR REPAIR IS ABOUT 7 HOURS TO BE CHARGED FOR. THIS DEALER HAS HAD OTHER COMPLAINTS AND FIXED SOME. CHECKED WITH OTHER DEALERS IN AREA, THEY GAVE SAME ANSWER AS TO COST AND COMPLAINTS. I AM TOLD THIS IS A PLASTIC BRACKET ON DOOR ASSEMBLY THAT BREAKS WHEN SERVO MOVES DOOR TO CONTROL HOT OR COOL AIR FLOW.*AK
Showing 1-20 of 50 loaded complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: May 4, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.