Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. While placing fuel in the vehicle, the contact noticed smoke underneath the hood. He opened the hood and noticed that the vehicle was on fire. The fire was doused with a fire extinguisher. The contact examined the damage and noticed that the wiring harness for the cruise control had melted, as well as the master cylinder. There were no warning signs prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 127,000.
On October 21, 1998 I was involved in an automoble accident. A Ford taurus pulled out of a parking lot (from a complete stop) directly into my path. I was traveling at 30 MPH and when I applied the brakes I slid directly into the drivers door. Rain had been falling all day(the first rain of the year). Therefore, I do not feel that my Explorer slowed at all, my total skid was between five and ten feet in length. My question/complaint is why did my air bags not deploy? I was wearing my seatbelt, but I still hit the steering wheel. I have been looking on the internet for information on the speed a vehicle has to be traveling in order for the airbag to activate. The national insurance institute web page said the average speed should be between 12-16 MPH. My Explorer has many problems (it's a lemon). This, however, worries me. Would my airbag activate at a higher speed? …
Travelling at 45mph in center lane of 6 lane highway with little traffic in a moderate rain storm. Road was straight. Did not turn steering wheel. Did not apply brakes. Vehicle started for no apparent reason to spin by itself to the right. At this moment, brakes were applied hard and steady. Vehicle did not respond and continued to spin turning backwards regardless of frantic turning of steering wheel into turn into the skid. Vehicle continued to travel backwards and slightly towards the right side of the highway. Vehicle slowed somewhat, but continued to travel across the remaining lanes of the highway and shoulder hitting the guardrail with the left rear corner first, then bouncing until the right front hit the guardrail and finally stopped. Vehicle was now facing in the opposite direction of traffic. ABS dash light was burning indicating a failure. …
This vehicle experienced uncontrolled (runaway) acceleration after driving approximately 40 miles at highway speeds in 20 degree f temperature. Upon exiting the interstate highway, I proceeded through the first light (green) with out needing to brake or stop. The second (immediate) light was also green and I proceeded through it with slight acceleration (no braking). The next light was red with a line of cars waiting to proceed and I applied the brakes. At that point, the car started to slow and then began to accelerate and was at wide open throttle within a second or so. I braked as hard as I could and moved the shift lever to neutral as fast as possible, but the vehicle had enough momentum to crash into the rear car in line, which, in turn crashed into the vehicle ahead of it. Both other drivers were injured and taken to the hospital by ambulance. …
My 1996 Explorer is a 5.0 litre AWD eddie baur purchsed used. After driving using the cruise control without incident, I pulled into a parking lot. Coasting slowly into a parking slot applying the brakes, the engine appeared to increase power making it difficult to stop. The more I pressed the brake pedal the more the engine power increased preventing the vehicle from stopping until colliding with a vehicle in front. With the brake still applied, the engine raced when put in nuetral until switching the ignition off. The brake and accelerator operated normally after restarting. Damage resulted to the Explorer bumper. I did not observe the gas pedal position during the incident but assumed it could have been driven by the cruise control cable under uncommanded operation and severed the cruise cable before proceding. …
Searching by VIN: [redacted] number of open recalls: 0 but searching by make, model, and model year I found this recall: http://www-odi.NHTSA.dot.gov/owners/searchresults;jsessionid=sj1qww1gvddycs6xggchztlty2tn4kjkbpxv1gcs9vg9xl8b1zt5!857755995?prodtype=v&searchtype=prod&targetcategory=a&searchcriteria.model=Explorer&stats=215181%2c11%2c3%2c1611%2c236%2cexplorer&makestats=&jsonbaseurl=%2fdownloads%2ffolders%2f&searchcriteria.model_yr=1996&searchcriteria.make=Ford&searchcriteria.prod_ids=215181 report receipt date: oct 13, 2009 NHTSA campaign number: 09V399000 component(s): vehicle speed control the dealership shop and with your chat representative tried to convince me that the recalls are only by VIN even tough in your web-site it says: "besides the VIN search tool you just used, NHTSA offers additional safety information based on a vehicle's make, model, and model year and not tied to …
While driving at ga400, noticed that vehicle can not be slowed down after applying brake pedals several times. Notice that the RPM is increasing. Fearing that since there is not way to slowing down the car,I shifted to the gear to neutral and exit at holcomb bridge exit. Since the speed is still at 70mph, the car hit the enbankment, went down the grassy area and (ffg is what I can remember happened)and hit a water run-off/ditch, did a spin and came up and stop at the grassy area. I was able to turn off of the engine when I came back to senses and ran to the closest gas station (chevron) to call aaa. The tow truck operator noticed that when he restarted the engine, it was roaring at 5000rpm. …
Brake and accelerator pedal too close together. During an emergency stop, brake pedal was depressed to its limit. Due to the spacing between the brake and accelerator along with the height of accelerator pedal, both were depressed at once causing a substantial increase in the stopping distance. This in turn was the main reason for a recent collision and several past near missed accidents during emergency braking. Wiper control arm and fluid dispenser does not work on occasion. This part has been replaced once in the past under warrantee. Second part is acting the same as the first.
Accelerator pedal is too close to brake pedal one inch away. The master cylinder developed a leak allowing the brake peddle to travel past the accelerator pedal, because the accelerator pedal is so close the incidence of hitting both pedals becomes greater as it was with my vehicle. We had come to an almost complete stop then the 1996 Explorer accelerated into the vehicle in front of us. Simple fix bend the accelerator arm away from the brake peddle. On 98 Explorer's the accelerator pedal is three inches away indicating Ford discovered the problem, fixed in later models, but failed to notify 96 Explorer owners or their dealers.
I was pulling out of a post office parking lot with my 1996 Ford Explorer and my brake pedal went all the way to the floor as I was driving home I tested my brakes and they still felt spongy. Just as I pulled into my driveway my brake light went on and I lost all my brake fluid on closer inspection it was determined that my rear brake line rusted through. I made a appointment to have it fixed and it cost me 368.69. I have had other vehicles and I never had to replace brake lines. This truck is only 8years old and I do not believe a brake line is part of normal maintenance.
Brake complaints in other Explorer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 1996 Ford Explorer?
NHTSA has 132 complaints about the brakes of the 1996 Ford Explorer, 9% of the model year's 1,450 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (76 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Ford Explorer brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 1996 Ford Explorer, though it has 6 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 1996 Ford Explorer brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 97,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 28 crashes, 2 fires and 36 injuries and 2 deaths to brakes 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.