1997 Ford Explorer Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 104 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 1997 Ford Explorer, 6% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 95,594 miles. The words owners use most often: “transfer case” (16% of reports).
- 104power train complaints
- 95,594median miles at failure
- 11mention a crash
- 3mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $5,000typical repair cost reported by owners
- 46%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.
- Transfer case: mentioned in 17 of 104 complaints (16%)
- Please provide: mentioned in 7 of 104 complaints (7%)
- Consumer states: mentioned in 6 of 104 complaints (6%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical power train repair on the 1997 Ford Explorer at $5,000, and half of them between $3,550 and $5,300.
Based on 7 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2001–2013), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 22 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 104 complaints, 11 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 3 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 | 14% | 8,967 |
| 2024 Explorer | 1 | 5% | — |
| 2023 Explorer | 12 | 11% | 10,600 |
| 2022 Explorer | 61 | 23% | 22,000 |
| 2021 Explorer | 126 | 28% | 46,000 |
| 2020 Explorer | 497 | 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 1997 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.
This letter is intended to address ineffective service by aamco that led to failure of a transmission in my vehicle. As you see by the attached letter, i voiced concern about this last year and all aamco suggested was to take it back to the dealer that performed the ineffective service. I requested…
The engine slowed down and just quit. Would not restart. Had it towed to a repair facility *again* and found out that *2 (two)* timing chains went out. The drivers side snapped in two and the passenger side (rear) had over 1 1/2 inches of play in it and obvious stretching of the timing chain. The…
We maintained our vehicles regularly, after replacing the transfer case not 8 months ago now the transmission went out. Spent $2400 for a rebuild. Shop states this model is a piece of [xxx], and the have made a lot of money from fords poor engineering on this model. Information redacted pursuant to…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1997 Ford Explorers have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 104 owner complaints about power train for the 1997 Ford Explorer (6% of the 1,731 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 1997 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 95,594 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix power train problems on the 1997 Ford Explorer?
Owners report a typical cost of $5,000 (half paid between $3,550 and $5,300), from 7 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 1997 Ford Explorer?
The most frequent phrase is “transfer case”, in 17 of 104 complaints, followed by “please provide” (7).
Other 1997 Ford Explorer problems
See all 1997 Ford Explorer problems or power train problems across all Explorer years.