Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
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).
1996 Ford Explorer. Vehicle keys only work infrequently. New keys from Ford dealer continue to have the same problem. For safety, any individual needs to know that their vehicle key will operate reliably. If you feel threatened or are being followed and needed the security of entering and locking your vehicle but were unable this could result in a personal safety risk including death. I have found that the issue as described above is a common complaint from other owners and Ford has refused to acknowledge the issue or correct it. Having to leave a vehicle unlocked simply to allow entry is unacceptable. I might as well place a sign on my vehicle saying steal me. This problem has been ongoing for 3 years without a solution. New keys May work for a period of time and then simply stop working. They May even work later, it is not a key problem but a vehicle design issue. …
1996 Ford Explorer ,opened liftgate and support shock popped off of bracket the ball on bracket broke off,now talked to local dealer service manger to see if there was a recall,but he said there wasnt,but he seen other explorers do the same thing,now luckily this happened when I was opening the gate,not when I was under the gate,which made me think that this could a very potental injurie,or even a life threating hazzard if it was a small person like a child,if this gate lets loose when someone is under it.this gate is very heavy and slams very hard without the support of both shocks.
Tl contact owns a 1996 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the hatchback support gate would not properly support the glass. Also, the child safety locks do not work properly. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer for inspection. She notified the manufacturer and they stated that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 97V137000 (structure:body:hatchback/lift gate:support device) or NHTSA campaign id number 96V070000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch). The failure mileage was 120,000 and current mileage was 129,000.
While driving on interstate highway and attempting to correct direction of vehicle. It rotated conter-clockwise and went into a slide. Vehicle rolled over 4 timess. In addition, during its first rotation, door latch failed, door opened and driver partially ejected. Driver died from fatal injuries and passsenger wa s injured. Driver was not informed by Ford of recall regarding door latches and locks (96v-070).
The driver side door will not unlock properly, trapping the driver and child in the vehicle. Pressing the 'unlock' button does nothing. So far, the Ford dealer wants around $400 to fix this problem and says it is not a recall item.
The device caused my 2 year old daughter to lose a portion of her right pointer finger and we feel this could be prevented if that part was covered up (at the very least) in the models it exists in. It can happen when the rear door is being opened and the front door is already open. My daughter was standing in the doorway of the front door and apparently touched this roller mechinism as my husband was opening the rear door, it bascially sucked her finger in and cut it off (due to the pressure - the roller uses the car body to hold the door open). We have checked and some vehicles have this and other do not and some have it covered up! It would only be applicable in 4 door vehicles. Please contact me for further information, as I know it is somewhat confusing. …
The broken interior door handle May have been broken for a long time but, because of the child safety lock feature being activated it wasn't noticed until the child safety lock was deactiveted only to find that the door handle would not open the door. Upon disassembly, I found the plastic cam that unlocks the latch of the door to be cracked off rendering the handle useless. As for the transmission, the premature and expensive failure should become a recall item for Ford as I have found that many owners of this type vehicle are experiencing problems of great financial consequence and possible tragic health consequence.. I'd say a disporportionate number of Explorer owners are encountering similar transmission failures. The life threatening condition of a bad transimission could have LED to a lock-up or unexpected rapid deceleration at highway speeds which could have rolled the truck. …
10/2000 - the left rear door latch from the inside would not work. Anyone who attempted to open the door from the inside of the vehicle would be unable to open the door. I brought the vehicle in for repairs. The dealer replaced the door latch assembly. The repair cost me approx. $175.00. March, 2001 - the right rear door latch has now broken. Again, anyone trying to open the door from the inside will be unsuccessful. This is a big concern since I have children who sit in the back and if there was an emergency they would be unable to exit the vehicle from the right rear door. I will be getting this door fixed next week by the same dealership. I feel that these safety defects put any person sitting in the back in grave danger if there is an emergency. These failures should not happen. Please advise how I can be reimbursed for these repairs. Thank you.
Both rear interior door latches fail to open the door from the inside. First the right rear door failed to open from the inside, then the left rear also failed. This is very dangerous as it "traps" the rear passengers in the vehicle. The only way to open the rear doors is from the outside. I called a local Ford dealer and the service department indicated they would not cover the cost of repair.
The two doors in rear will not open from inside. Seems the child locks are on, when the child locks are in the correct position, the vehicle will still not open. Dealer contacted, and is not aware of the problem. Consumer states the problem still exists.
Related recalls
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
When in the secondary latched position, the driver door latches May open when subjected to transverse loads less than that specified in FMVSS no. 206, "door locks and door retention components."
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the driver door latch.
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Explorer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 1996 Ford Explorer?
NHTSA has 34 complaints about the locks & latches of the 1996 Ford Explorer, 2% of the model year's 1,450 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (27 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Ford Explorer door lock & latch problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 96V-070 (latch, Apr 22, 1996). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1996 Ford Explorer door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 120,000 miles, and 17% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 5 injuries and 1 death to locks & latches 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.