- Vehicles
- 220,000
- Built between
- May 1996 – Oct 1998
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 5 March 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between May 1996 and October 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1997-1998 Ford ExplorerBuilt May 1996 to October 1998
- 1997-1998 Mercury MountaineerBuilt May 1996 to October 1998
What the defect is
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. This reduced clearance allowed the engine deposits normally present in the throttle body to contact or bridge the gap. If the engine deposits bridged the gap between the throttle plate and bore and then hardened, on the initial application of the accelerator pedal after the engine has cooled, the operator would need to apply additional force to the accelerator pedal to break the bridge.
What could happen
This could result in engine surge when the accelerator pedal breaks free.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ORIGINAL THROTTLE BODIES.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtMay 1996 to October 1998
- Recall reported to NHTSA27 December 2000
- Owners notified5 March 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 27 December 2000.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 00S58
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owner notification began march 5, 2001.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.