Ford Expedition · model year

1996 Ford Expedition

3 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

Complaints
3
Recalls
0

The verdict

The 1996 Ford Expedition posts top-10% complaint standing among its own model-year siblings.

Top 9%
fewest complaints, own model years
0
recall campaigns

The 1996FordExpedition carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1996 Expedition is tires:tread/belt with 1 filings, followed by vehicle speed control:cruise control (1) and electrical system:ignition:anti-theft:control module (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.

NHTSA currently has 4 investigation files overlapping the 1996 Expedition. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.

3
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
F
PlainCars Safety Score
0/100
1996 Ford Expedition

PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.

NHTSA Overall Rating N/A
Not rated
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program overall crash-test rating.
Front Crash N/A
Not rated
Frontal barrier crash-test rating.
Side Crash N/A
Not rated
Side barrier and pole crash-test rating.
Rollover Resistance N/A
Not rated
Static stability factor + dynamic rollover test rating.
Rollover Risk N/A
Not reported
NHTSA single-vehicle rollover probability, dynamic test.

Total Complaints

3 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
TIRES:TREAD/BELT1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE1

Recent Complaints

20160516ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD EXPEDITION. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE ANTI-THEFT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER THE ANTI-THEFT LIGHT REMAINED BLINKING. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

Mileage: 100,000

20071022FireVEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD EXPEDITION. LAST YEAR, THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE VEHICLE SPEED CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH. SHE HAD THE RECALL REPAIR PERFORMED. ONE YEAR LATER, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE WHILE IDLING. AN INSPECTOR FROM FORD STATED THAT THE FIRE ORIGINATED FROM THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH; HOWEVER,THEY WOULD NOT ASSUME LIABILITY BECAUSE THEY REPAIRED THE VEHICLE ONCE ACCORDING TO THE RECALL. THE POWERTRAIN AND RECALL NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000.

Mileage: 50,000

20021211TIRES:TREAD/BELT

THE CONSUMER'S COMPLETED STREET ADDRESS IS: 8535 RED HILL COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT SHE AND HER SISTER WERE IN THE VEHICLE TALKING, WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, WHEN THE CONSUMER ACCELERATED TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO VIBRATE INTENSELY. THE CONSUMER STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL AND PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE SISTER VISUALLY INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND SAW THAT THE TIRE SEEMED TO BE INFLATED. SO THEY PROCEEDED WITH THE STEERING WHEEL STILL VIBRATING, TRAVELING AT ABOUT 10-15 MPH TO A GAS STATION. (A SHORT DRIVING TEST WAS PERFORMED, AND THE CONSUMER WAS SHOWN THE INSIDE OF THE LEFT TIRE, THERE WAS BULDGING FROM THE SPLINTERED TREAD AND A HUGE BUBBLE)-THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS EVIDENCE OF A DEFCTIVE TIRE. THE SECOND INCIDENT HAPPENED ON THE FOLLOWING DAY OF THE REPAIRS. SEVERAL HOURS INTO THE TRIP, DRIVING AT A HIGH SPEED OF TRAFFIC, THE VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED AGAIN. WHEN THE CONSUMER AND SISTER IN

Compare 1996FordExpedition to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Vehicle Safety Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1996 Ford Expedition have?
The 1996 Ford Expedition has 3 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1996 Ford Expedition?
The most-complained component for the 1996 Ford Expedition is TIRES:TREAD/BELT with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE.
Is the 1996 Ford Expedition safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.

Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1996 Ford Expedition; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.