Ford Explorer investigated for possible suspension problems

[Rick]

Reuters
Sept. 21, 2000 13:48

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s (F.N) popular Explorer sport utility vehicle,
already under a cloud of scrutiny for its role in the Firestone tire recall, is now
being investigated by federal regulators for a potential problem with part of its
front suspension.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it
has opened a preliminary evaluation of the 1995-96 model year Explorers as a
result of 13 complaints of failure on one or both of the front stabilizer bar links.

''In all cases, complainants report that vehicle stability is reduced -- especially at
speeds above 40 mph (miles per hour), and in turns and lane changes,'' the
NHTSA said.

Unlike the recalled Firestone (5018.T) tires, which federal investigators have
linked to as many as 101 deaths, the NHTSA reported no accidents, injuries or
fatalities as a result of problems with the stabilizer bar part, which keeps the
vehicle from swaying excessively in turns.

Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said Ford will cooperate fully in the preliminary
investigation.

Vaughn said Ford owner record reports indicate most of the complaints occurred
in cold weather states and Canada, where salt is used on the roads to melt ice, as
well as areas of rapid climate change. Most owners reported excessive noise or
sometimes vague handling of their Explorer with the problem.

The NHTSA said that a Ford service department has indicated that Ford
increased the diameter of the stabilizer bar link in model year 1997.

Sales of the Explorer slipped only slightly last month, despite being linked to
Firestone's massive recall of 6.5 million tires in the United States.

The Explorer, fitted with the recalled Firestone tires as standard equipment, was
involved in most of the accidents and fatalities the NHTSA is investigating in
connection to the recall

 

[Trckmagik]

Goodness. how much more will come up from all of this? I still say that I will never have another vehicle that I love as much as my explorers, no matter what they find next. They need to be directed here to see how many of us dont have problems. Have a good one.

 

[roadkill]

bad from the beginning?

Not to scare anyone by now, but I remember reading (don't quote me exactly, but I think the numbers are close):

Ford tested the 'new' explorer about a year before hitting the market, to check stability. Against the already topsy-turvy bronco II, and the s-10 blazer.

Preliminary results: the explorer was more unstable than the Bronco II !!! Hence the reduced height, AND the reduced air pressure of the Firestones...

I believe (and I'll try to find the article) there have been 16,000 rollovers and 800 deaths with explorers since their debut.

We are just hearing about the Firestone related deaths riight now.

Blew me away when I saw those numbers!

Drive safe!

 

[Paul Gagnon]

Originally posted by Rick
as a
result of 13 complaints of failure on one or both of the front stabilizer bar links.

I had my right front sway bar link fail on my '98 after less than 15,000km. I am not sure if the link actually broke or if it just lost the bushing. I figured it was a freak accident. Maybe there was more to it than I originally thought. Also had the driver's side torsion bar come loose on the same truck but after 40,000km.

 

[Stephen]

I had my sway bar link fail at about 40K. Scary as hell, very tipsy.

 

[NoBoundaries]

Son of a......

You just can't win. If it's too cold, you start swerving all over the road. If it's too hot, your damn tires start falling apart. Can't we reach some sort of middle ground with these Explorers?!?! Sheesh! ;-)

 

[NoBoundaries]

I also forgot to mention the Notorious Wiper Problem, so if it's raining out, you're screwed then!

 

[Stephen]

I got a letter from Bridgestone/Firestone stating the following:

"Tire tread belt seperation can lead to a loss of control and a vehicle crash can occur, particularly if the driver engages in significant steering or braking"

As long as I dont steer or brake I'm a-ok

 

[roadkill]

link to design problems from the start

Still looking for a total of explorer rollovers, but here's a good link to internal Ford doc. info:

*********************link*************************
Dead Link Removed
*********************link*************************

The Explorer used a twin I-beam suspension, a pair of steel cross beams that pivot on opposite sides of the vehicle, when it was unveiled in 1990. That required the engine to sit several inches higher and raised the vehicle's center of gravity. All sport-utility vehicles have a higher center of gravity than cars, increasing the rollover risk, and the Explorer is among the heaviest SUVs in its class -- by as little as 33 pounds compared with the Mitsubishi Montero to as much as 490 pounds when the 1996 model is compared with the current Toyota 4-Runner. The twin I-beam suspension design, used by Ford on the 1966 Broncos, was considered outdated by some engineers by the time the automaker switched to a short-and long-arm suspension in its 1995 Explorers.

When Ford tested the Explorer prototype in 1989 for rollover risk, it failed in five of 12 steering maneuvers, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The report, based on internal Ford documents, said that in the same tests by Ford, the rival Chevy Blazer passed, and even the much maligned Bronco II outperformed the Explorer.

The Bronco II, which shared its suspension design with the pre-1995 Explorer, was judged such a rollover risk that GEICO stopped insuring it. Ford does not disclose the amount it pays out in accident claims, but Automotive News reported that by 1995, Ford had paid more that $113 million in 334 Bronco II lawsuits.

Other documents discussed research suggesting that Ford's twin I-beam suspension - used in the Bronco II and destined for use in the Explorer - posed a stability constraint. A 1989 memo discussing the research described the phenomena of "jacking" and "track narrowing" in tight steering maneuvers - with suspension components squeezing together for a split second and causing the vehicle width to narrow slightly and the center of gravity to rise as the engine lifted upward.

The change with the biggest stability payoff - widening the track width - was among those that would have taken the longest and was rejected. But company executives did approve two smaller changes to enhance stability: lowering the vehicle by half an inch and stiffening the front springs, according to a July 1989 memo.



[Edited by roadkill on 09-25-2000 at 12:04 PM]

 

[GJarrett]

I've had the notorious intermittent wiper problem, I've lifted my vehicle even higher, I've installed very tall oversize tires with way too much traction, and I REMOVED my swaybars with those pesky links.

I don't brake or steer either. Who wants to ride with me?

 

[Stephen]

Gerald, Well according to Firestone if you dont brake or steer you're safe, I'LL GO!

 

[flyguy]

hopefully you have cruise controll... then you can just take a nap in the back!

nick

 

[kubben]

You know how fighter jets have those auto eject seats with parachutes?
Explorers might as well come with those.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

brake or steer hhhmmm

Ok you guys are too much..I've been laughing for about 10 minutes now.. from now on I will have to remember to never brake or steer.. for that matter I now believe that I actually don't even have to be in the truck...it will just have to drive itself. Anyway I agree... it is pretty simple physics that a wider base of support is the least likely to tip over.. remember this saying? "weebles wobble but they don't fall down"

thanks guys you made my day hehe

Karol
explorereb96@ford-trucks.net

 

[NoBoundaries]

Now that I recall, there was a problem with the cruise control as well. I know my father had his fixed under warranty after he bought his EB. I remember hearing one story of a woman who took her new Explorer in to get the cruise control fixed. She got her truck back and drove off. While she was on the highway she decided to test it out. She set the cruise control and the engine RPM's immediately shot up. Her truck took off! She hit the brakes but she couldn't slow the truck down (Her rotors and brakes must have been melting!) or turn the cruise control off. She tried to turn the truck off, but she was in drive so she couldn't do that. Not knowing any better she threw it into park!! From what I understand she was going rather fast and she ended up ruining the vehicle, not to mention the driver's seat.

Note to self: Next time vehicle takes off at a raging speed, put it in nuetral and try turning it off before you throw it directly into park.

 

[roadkill]

in the movies...

when the car/truck runs out of control, they never think of turning off the engine. Unless it's a specially keyed explorer, ALL cars will turn off the ignition in any gear, and only start in park or neutral for automatics.

 

[NoBoundaries]

Fom my understanding she tried to turn the truck off and it didn't work. Figuring if she put it in neutral it should have definately turned off, but I don't believe she explorered that option.