Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1997 Ford Expedition owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Dt:consumer stated that since t she bought vehicle it had electrical problems. Dealer told consumer had consumer to take vehicle to a special shop, they would try to figure out the problem. Consumer said that within the first three months vehicle had two ignition switches installedt hat consumer did not have to pay for. Vehicle had several other electrical problems. Consumer said that without the key in ignition the windshield wipers /radio came on, and the air bag deployed. Sometimesm the windows would not role back up after being rolled down. Consumer arrived home after driving vehicle all day. Consumer parked and went inside the house. About five minutes later, found out that vehicle was on fire. Firemen stated they could not tell what caused the fire.
Cruse controll brake switch burned up while attempting to back car out of the garage. When this switch burned up it caused the stop light fuse to also burn out and and this causes the shift leaver to lock in the park position. Now we have an electrical fire and can't get the car out of the garage. A good friend of mine has his own shop and he used to a chief mechcanic for Ford so I called him and he corected the problem. He gave me the parts that burned up and told me to call Ford because they had a recall out for this problem on thier 2000 & 2001 modles. My car is a 1997 and they said they could not help me. Any suggestions. P.s. I still have the parts from the car.
Parked vehicle at 12 pm at around 5 pm the vehicle caught on fire. One day prior to the fire the low washer fluid level light came on. Then the light cluster for the 4 wheel drive flashed a few times. The day of fire, the vehicle was driven about 14 miles. The sames lights were flashing and then the odometer stopped working. Took it to local gas station and they said probably a loose wire. Car started it self and the starter motor kept trying to start the vehicle on its own. Popped hood and saw lots of sparking and popping. So video taped it as it happened. Fire seemed to come from the passenger side. Did not use cruise control and so do not know if worked.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 Ford Expedition. The contact was driving approximately 60 MPH with the windshield wipers activated and suddenly without warning the windshield wipers failed to function. In addition, the entire electrical system failed with a strong burning odor emitting inside of the vehicle. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated there was water leaking into the fuse box as a result it caused a shortage within the gem module. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.
I have a 1997 Ford Expedition which caught on fire on Saturday July 17, 2004. He car caught on fire when it was park in the parking lot in my office. I haven't start the car for a couple of days prior to the event. The fires happened when the car is not in use and the vehicle is turned off. I tried to do some online research and find nothing relate to the problem. I still have the car parking in the back parking lot, the whole car was total. Houston fire department came to the parking and stop the fire, the case number is 040865bv by r.l scott houston arson investigator and his number is [phone].
When examining my vehicle which supposedly had a recall on the cruise control sensor on brake master cylinder, found that Ford only added a fusable link to prevent fire as the sensor May not have been leaking at the time. It has since leaked and the added bit of wire with the blue tag has blown it's fuses but I believe the cruise control has now disabled my horn durring operation. I am requesting my vehicle be serviced properly as the recall was not done correctly to my understanding. I was looking online and just realized this so I looked at my vehicle and saw it is the old design.
Dt: Ford expidition caught fire this past Saturday on July 16, 2005. No keys were in igition, it had been sitting for about 5 minutes, got in and began to drive it, backed it up and smelled something funny, so left it there. The fire department had a hard time putting out the fire. They said fire was so bad they couldn't determine what started it or where it started from. Couldn't even tell there was an engine in the truck. It burnt the front of the vehicle. Contacted dealer, they said there was nothing they could do. . At this point have not contacted the manufacturer.
Dt: contact had a 1997, Ford, Expedition that burned on 4-23-2004. She called Ford, and they told her that there was nothing they could do because they had no proof of what caused the fire. The car was sitting in a grocery store parking lot ; she hadn't driven it for more that 15 minutes when it caught on fire while sitting there. The vehicle had been in the garage for 3 weeks prior to this. The fire came from under the hood. The inside of the car was not damaged.
June 7, 2005, I picked up my son at school; we drove home and got out of the truck. We were in the house 3-4 minutes when I heard a very loud noise and then started to smell smoke. I looked outside and my 1997 Ford Expedition was engulfed in flames. I immediately called the fire department who arrived with the police department. The fire department said it was a fire that started under the hood and burnt the entire truck up.
Tl contact owns a 1997 Ford Expedition. The contact noticed smoke coming from underneath the front driver seat. She removed her daughters from the rear seats and when she returned, the front of the vehicle was engulfed in smoke and the front seat was in flames. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The vehicle is currently at the same location. The current and failure mileages were 150,000.
NHTSA investigations
Engine compartment fires
Ea05-005 is closed with Ford?s actions in recalls 05v-017, 05v-388, and 06v-286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.Ford is also including the entire population of…
Electrical complaints in other Expedition years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1997 Ford Expedition?
NHTSA has 95 complaints about the electrical system of the 1997 Ford Expedition, 11% of the model year's 853 complaints. The component named most often is wiring › interior/under dash (12 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1997 Ford Expedition electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1997 Ford Expedition, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1997 Ford Expedition electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 105,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 33 fires and 1 injury and 7 deaths to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.