1998 Ford Explorer Tires Problems
Owners have filed 696 complaints with NHTSA about tires problems on the 1998 Ford Explorer, 36% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 86,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “tire size” (32% of reports).
- 696tires complaints
- 86,000median miles at failure
- 77mention a crash
- 72mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $970typical repair cost reported by owners
- 71%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.
- Tire size: mentioned in 220 of 696 complaints (32%)
- Firestone wilderness: mentioned in 215 of 696 complaints (31%)
- P235 75R15: mentioned in 163 of 696 complaints (23%)
- Tread separation: mentioned in 95 of 696 complaints (14%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical tires repair on the 1998 Ford Explorer at $970, and half of them between $560 and $1,050.
Based on 5 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2000–2001), 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 tires problems happen?
Based on 14 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 696 complaints, 77 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 72 an injury.
Ford Explorer tires complaints by model year
| Model year | Tires complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Explorer | 2 | 1% | — |
| 2021 Explorer | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2020 Explorer | 2 | 0% | 267 |
| 2019 Explorer | 2 | 1% | 10,850 |
| 2018 Explorer | 10 | 1% | 24,000 |
| 2017 Explorer | 22 | 1% | 20,000 |
| 2016 Explorer | 15 | 1% | 16,132 |
| 2015 Explorer | 3 | 0% | 500 |
| 2014 Explorer | 4 | 0% | 102,500 |
| 2013 Explorer | 2 | 0% | 30,000 |
| 2011 Explorer | 2 | 0% | 26,000 |
| 2009 Explorer | 2 | 6% | 105,508 |
| 2008 Explorer | 1 | 1% | 11,300 |
| 2007 Explorer | 21 | 10% | 28,500 |
| 2006 Explorer | 4 | 1% | 58,043 |
| 2005 Explorer | 10 | 2% | 68,874 |
| 2004 Explorer | 19 | 1% | 31,104 |
| 2003 Explorer | 15 | 1% | 74,000 |
| 2002 Explorer | 38 | 1% | 58,600 |
| 2001 Explorer | 62 | 17% | 90,000 |
| 2000 Explorer | 217 | 23% | 62,500 |
| 1999 Explorer | 370 | 27% | 84,000 |
| 1998 Explorer | 696 | 36% | 86,000 |
| 1997 Explorer | 669 | 39% | 78,000 |
| 1996 Explorer | 570 | 39% | 139,500 |
| 1995 Explorer | 205 | 24% | 102,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists tires for the 1998 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.
1998 ford explorer vin#[xxx] registered to the state of nevada; original owner: [xxx]...registered because of disability reasons to wife [xxx]...we were involved in a car crash accident...resulting to a total loss at baker, california because of the vehicle cruise control recall which could cause…
Tire - tread separation vehicle - ford explorer (1998) tires - firestone (purchased somewhere in the 2003-2005 timeframe). These tires were snow tires and are used only a few months out of each year, so there is low mileage on them. At approximately 1 pm, my daughter left a school function in…
Spare tire that is secured to underside of vehicle separated from vehicle while driving on the road due to snapped cable. *tr
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1998 Ford Explorers have tires problems?
No. NHTSA has 696 owner complaints about tires for the 1998 Ford Explorer (36% of the 1,959 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 1998 Ford Explorer tires?
No recall currently lists tires for this vehicle.
At what mileage do tires problems start?
The median reported mileage is 86,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix tires problems on the 1998 Ford Explorer?
Owners report a typical cost of $970 (half paid between $560 and $1,050), from 5 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about tires problems on the 1998 Ford Explorer?
The most frequent phrase is “tire size”, in 220 of 696 complaints, followed by “firestone wilderness” (215).
Other 1998 Ford Explorer problems
See all 1998 Ford Explorer problems or tires problems across all Explorer years.