1999 Chevrolet Explorer

Routine

Owners filed 5 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the exterior lighting › headlights. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Steering1
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › Caliper1
000
Exterior Lighting › Headlights1
000
Electrical System › Wiring › Fuses and Circuit Breakers1
000
Air Bags › On-off Switch Assembly1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Steering
Filed Aug 8, 2003NY

WHILE DRIVING, SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AREA. *JB

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › Caliper
Filed Apr 2, 2003CA

THE CALIPER BOLTS WERE MISSING, WHICH CAUSED A VIBRATION. *JB

Air Bags › On-off Switch Assembly
Filed Sep 24, 2002NY

CONSUMER STATES; WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, AIR BAG LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY FLASH ON AND OFF. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, AND FIXED COUPLE TIME AN THE PROBLEM STILL REOCCCURING. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.

Electrical System › Wiring › Fuses and Circuit Breakers
Filed Jul 11, 2002AK

AT 5MPH PUT ON TURN SIGNAL AND STEERING COLUMN STARTED SMOKING. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSE A FIRE. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

Exterior Lighting › Headlights
Filed Dec 27, 2000WI

IN GENERAL, HEADLIGHTS ARE AIMED TOO HIGH. I AIM MINE LOWER TO ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY BUT NOT THE TREES. THE STANDARD FOR HEADLIGHT AIM NEEDS TO BE REVISED TO LOWER SUBSTANTIALLY. IN ADDITION, THE ADVENT OF FOG LAMPS IS A DISSAPPOINTMENT. FIRST, THEY ARE NOT FUNCTIONAL. THEY BROADCAST LIGHT, RATHER THAN AIM IT IN A NARROW BEAM ALONG THE ROADWAY JUST OFF PAVEMENT HEIGHT. THEY DIRECT LIGHT UP INTO THE LINE OF SIGHT JUST IN FRONT OF THE GRILL, PLACING ADDITIONAL GLARE IN THE DRIVERS VIEW. SOME OF THESE "FOG LAMPS" ARE ALSO FAR TOO BRIGHT, PRODUCING MORE GLARE FOR ON-COMING DRIVERS THAN THE LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS. THE WORST OFFENDERS ARE DAIMLER-CHRYSLER MINIVANS AND MID-SIZED SEDANS, PLUS PONTIAC MINIVANS. THE AIM AND POWER OF THESE LAMPS-FOR-STYLE MUST BE CONTROLLED TO MINIMIZE THEIR EFFECT ON DRIVER VISION. SO, LOWER HEADLIGHT AIM, AND DIM THE GLARE FROM "FOG LIGHTS". THANK YOU.

5 of 5 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1997
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20027000Routine
20002000Routine
1999 — this page5000Routine
19985000Routine
19979000Routine
19967000Routine
19955010Routine

Compare every Explorer year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.