Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
We have a 1998 Ford Explorer. On January 25th, 2005 o Explorer was parked in the driveway & had been there approximately 2 hours. Consumer's wife had put chidren in the car & noticed smoke coming from the hood. When she opened the hood there was a fire near the brake fluid assembly. Fortunately she was able to get children out and put out the fire. Had the Explorer towed to the Ford dealership for repairs. When I asked the dealer what could have caused a fire in the vehicle when it was not running they seemed to have no idea & said they had never heard of this problem before. The next night while watching the news saw the recall Ford had for later model vehicles due to the engine catching on fire. …
Ford Explorer 1998 date 8-3-06 I've had this car for three years. I've never had any major or minor problems. I have regular required maintenance done (example) fluid changes and brakes. Early February. I noticed around November 2005, my cruise control stopped working. I didn't take it to be checked; I didn't think it was a big issue. I noticed when starting my car, the battery sounded weak. I took the car to ntb to have the battery checked. The battery was bad and was replaced with the exide 72 month battery. I had never the battery replaced. Ntb installed the new battery on February 5, 2006. I drive this car to and from work regularly, about 12 miles. On February 28, 2006, leaving work heading home, I stopped at the grocery store about 1 mile from my house. I left the store and went home. …
On April 4, 2006, my 1998 Ford Explorer caught fire and was totaled. I arrived at work at approximately 3:15 pm. I went in and went to work. At about 3:55, I was paged over the intercom to get to the north entrance immediately. When I got there the security guards told me that my truck was on fire. As I looked out the doors, the front of my truck was engulfed in flames. The fire department had got there and was in the process of putting the fire out. When the fire was put out, all that was left was a big mess. My truck was gone. The vehicle had been running fine. My cruise control had went out about 1 month prior to the fire. …
My wife's 1998 Ford Explorer xlt caught on fire while parked right in front of my kid's school, she drove for 1 mile from our house to the school to pick up my kid, luckily it didn't burn in the garage. The fire according to the fire department looks like it started around the brakes master cylinder under the hood directly in front of the driver and according to the burn marks on the hood looks like it was there where it burned the hottest, the whole engine compartment burned and luckily the fire dptm is real close so it didn't burn completely. Upon investigation on the internet I came to know about a safety recall for these vehicles involving the cruise control switch that is located by the brake master cylinder and that can result on fire, so I strongly believe that this incident is a consequence of this recall that I had no idea of. …
When I stepped on the gas pedal and started to proceed through an intersection, I lost all power and had to roll or coast very slowly through the intersection and stop on the other side in a dangerous position in traffic when I could coast no further. The gas pedal bracket had completely broken off the firewall and was laying on the floor. The bracket had been attached by three spot welds. Some other people stopped traffic and pushed me to a safe place to park. The Ford dealer parts' department has no parts to fix it and suggested we buy some bolts somewhere and reattach it ourselves somehow. To completely lose power without warning was extremely dangerous! Thank god I was in a controlled intersection and not turning left across oncoming traffic or it could have turned out much worse. …
Dt: the consumer stated that 1998 Ford Explorer caught on fire and burned. The consumer was driving when the fire started. The vehicle was parked overnight, and the consumer had only been in the vehicle for about five minutes. The cruise control was still working. All of the instruments on the dashboard were in working order. The consumer had the air conditioner (A/C) on and noticed that smoke was coming through the vents. The fire was coming out of the dashboard from underneath the hood. The fire department stated that it looked like an electrical fire. The consumer contacted Ford, and they asked what she wanted them to do about it. The consumer did have a fire report and pictures . The consumer only has liability insurance on the truck, which was a total loss. The fire was called in to the police, but the consumer was unsure if a police report was taken.
At about 6:00 pm on Saturday 13 aug 2005 I went into my garage to get something and noticed it was full of smoke. I saw smoke coming from under the hood of my 1998 Ford Explorer. When I raised the hood, flames rolled from beneath it. I immediately extinguished the fire and then disconnected the negative battery terminal. My wife had already called 911 by this time. The fire fighters determined the source of the electrical fire to be a connector on the brake master cylinder. I was very lucky to have caught the fire in time. If this had happened when we were sleeping we might not be alive now. I have not received a notice of recall for this. I am sending the vehicle to the dealership on Monday, if this is not a recall part I will have to pay for the repairs. I think that people should know about this problem and probably not park their Ford in the garage.
Tl contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be repaired according to NHTSA campaign id number 06V286000 (vehicle speed control). After the repair, the speed control no longer worked. A private mechanic also stated that the wiring inside the column, which connected to the air bag, was melted and caused the air bags to malfunction. The contact returned to the dealer with the report from the mechanic. The dealer denied the free repair request and stated that the repair would not be covered under the recall. The dealer also stated that to remedy the issue, the contact would have to pay $2,500 to replace the wiring, air bags, and the part used for the speed control repair. The manufacturer has not yet been notified. The current mileage was approximately 158,000 and failure mileage was approximately 157,000.
1998 Ford Explorer. Parked at restaurant, shut off vehicle, went inside. Approximately 10 minutes later someone yelled fire. Went outside to discover smoke and flames coming from the engine compartment. Fire department called and responded quickly. Fire extinguished, but vehicle totaled. No injuries, no other property damage except burned hedges that were in front of the vehicle where it was parked. Tow truck driver remarked that it appeared possible that it was one of those cruise control caused fires as it is evident that the fire originated on or near the brake master cylinder. I am the original owner, my son was using the truck when the fire occurred and I am relating his recollection of the events. Vehicle was towed immediately afterwards to a holding yard and subsequently to my home where it is presently.
My 1998 Ford Explorer was parked in our attached garage. My wife used the vehicle earlier in the day and parked it in the garage at about 2:30 pm. At about 8:15 pm a smoke detector in the garage alerted us there was smoke in the garage. I opened the door between the laundry room and garage to see the left front tire of the Explorer in flames. I immediately had my wife call 911 and I tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose. This did not stop the fire. I then had to remove another vehicle parked in the driveway. We both safely escaped the fire. In the time between the call to 911 and when the corpus christi fire department arrived and extinguished the fire, two vehicles were destroyed, extensive damage was caused to the house and much personal property was lost.
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control
Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 Mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair…
Vehicle speed control
On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch May overheat.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. The recall began on August 7, 2006. Owners May contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. (note: also see recalls 05V017 and 05V388)
Vehicle speed control
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles equipped with 4.0l sohc engines and still retain the original throttle body (part numbers 97jf-9e926ab or 97jf-9e926-ac). Some of the original throttle bodies installed allowed a gap between the plate and bore to be built too narrow.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the original throttle bodies.
Vehicle speed control
Vehicle description: certain 1997-1999 rhd explorer equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc engines and cruise control built from May 29, 1996 through March 4, 1999; 1998-1999 explorer/mountaineers equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc or 5.0l engines or 1998-1999 rangers equipped with 2.5l, 3.0l ffv/efi or 4.0l engines and cruise control built from…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the cruise control cables. At the present time, the replacement cables are not available. Customers are being advised not to use the cruise control system until a replacement can be made.
NHTSA investigations
Throttle sticking
On January 23, 1997, Ford motor company issued special service message (ssm) 10240, announcing that a revised throttle body would be available during the first quarter of 1997 for 1997 model year Ford explorers equipped with the 4.0l single overhead cam (sohc) engine.the ssm stated the revised throttle body would address increased throttle efforts that had been experienced on these vehicles.on July 31, 1998, the…
Acceleration complaints in other Explorer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 1998 Ford Explorer?
NHTSA has 281 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 1998 Ford Explorer, 14% of the model year's 1,959 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (87 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Ford Explorer acceleration problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 09V-399 (vehicle speed control, Oct 13, 2009); NHTSA recall 06V-286 (vehicle speed control, Aug 1, 2006); NHTSA recall 00V-422 (vehicle speed control, Dec 27, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Explorer acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 113,000 miles, and 1% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 31 crashes, 49 fires and 7 injuries and 1 death to speed control & acceleration 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.