1996 Ford Explorer Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 120 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 1996 Ford Explorer, 8% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 138,579 miles. The words owners use most often: “transmission failed” (5% of reports).
- 120power train complaints
- 138,579median miles at failure
- 5mention a crash
- 2mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 40%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Transmission failed: mentioned in 6 of 120 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 13 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 120 complaints, 5 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 2 an injury.
Ford Explorer power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Explorer | 3 | 7% | — |
| 2025 Explorer | 15 | 15% | 8,967 |
| 2024 Explorer | 1 | 5% | — |
| 2023 Explorer | 12 | 11% | 10,600 |
| 2022 Explorer | 61 | 23% | 22,000 |
| 2021 Explorer | 126 | 29% | 46,000 |
| 2020 Explorer | 495 | 40% | 42,000 |
| 2019 Explorer | 35 | 12% | 82,500 |
| 2018 Explorer | 50 | 7% | 86,000 |
| 2017 Explorer | 123 | 7% | 55,425 |
| 2016 Explorer | 215 | 9% | 47,075 |
| 2015 Explorer | 86 | 5% | 50,000 |
| 2014 Explorer | 79 | 5% | 75,207 |
| 2013 Explorer | 119 | 5% | 60,000 |
| 2012 Explorer | 55 | 7% | 46,740 |
| 2011 Explorer | 64 | 5% | 50,500 |
| 2010 Explorer | 28 | 24% | 80,500 |
| 2009 Explorer | 3 | 9% | 78,000 |
| 2008 Explorer | 36 | 24% | 84,325 |
| 2007 Explorer | 57 | 27% | 69,000 |
| 2006 Explorer | 296 | 47% | 60,460 |
| 2005 Explorer | 99 | 20% | 75,000 |
| 2004 Explorer | 460 | 35% | 50,000 |
| 2003 Explorer | 335 | 30% | 77,000 |
| 2002 Explorer | 1,502 | 46% | 80,173 |
| 2001 Explorer | 42 | 11% | 108,700 |
| 2000 Explorer | 133 | 14% | 77,500 |
| 1999 Explorer | 115 | 9% | 91,000 |
| 1998 Explorer | 103 | 5% | 102,157 |
| 1997 Explorer | 104 | 6% | 95,594 |
| 1996 Explorer | 120 | 8% | 138,579 |
| 1995 Explorer | 119 | 14% | 103,310 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists power train for the 1996 Ford Explorer. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Driving truck down wisconsin avenue in appleton when truck refused to shift. Immediately brought truck into to wisconsin motors sales and service and was informed the transmission had failed in truck. Truck had just been purchased ten days earlier. *tr
The vehicle began hesitating during takeoff, allowing the engine to experience high rpm's but very little acceleration. The vehicle then began to not fall into 1st gear, when you shifted the car into drive from park the vehicle would hesitate for about 4 seconds then lurch heavily, the vehicle also…
I replaced the front hub assemblies in december 2011 with parts purchased from autopartsmidwest.com. On december 18, 2012, the left hub assembly failed and the wheel came off. The outer portion of the ball bearing race came off the splined hub. I was going very slowly at the time the failure…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1996 Ford Explorers have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 120 owner complaints about power train for the 1996 Ford Explorer (8% of the 1,450 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Ford Explorer power train?
No recall currently lists power train for this vehicle.
At what mileage do power train problems start?
The median reported mileage is 138,579 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 1996 Ford Explorer?
The most frequent phrase is “transmission failed”, in 6 of 120 complaints.
Other 1996 Ford Explorer problems
See all 1996 Ford Explorer problems or power train problems across all Explorer years.