Ford Aerostar Wagon 1996–1997

Summary

2 model years in 1 generation, 167 owner complaints in total.
No model year holds enough complaints in its first three years to be compared with the others.
These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
Half of the complaints that give a mileage were filed by 107,000 miles (25 of them give one).
Owners reported 14 crashes, 6 fires, 15 injuries and 0 deaths across these model years.
7 recalls and 2 federal investigations cover these model years.

Why there is no page per model year

A model year earns its own page when four sources cover it, it holds at least 50 complaints, and it can either be compared with the other years of its generation or shows one system in 40% or more of the complaints that name a component. No Aerostar Wagon year clears that bar: the highest count is 104 complaints, in 1996. Rather than publish a thin page for each year, everything known about this model is on this page.

1996–1997

Each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints. Fewer than three years of this generation are comparable, so no year is named.

Model year	All complaints	First three years	Most reported system	Note
1996	104	37	Wheels & Tires	not compared
1997	63	28	Electrical System	not compared

Every model year

A model year gets its own page when four sources cover it, it holds at least 50 complaints, and it either compares with the other years of its generation or shows one system in 40% or more of the complaints that name a component. The rest are listed here with their figures.

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Investigations	Bulletins	Combined MPG	Page
1996	104	6	2	104	15–17	listed here
1997	63	5	2	107	15–17	listed here

What owners report across all years

System	Complaints	Share	Median mileage
Wheels & Tires	38	23%	100,000 mi
Electrical System	25	15%	115,000 mi
Brakes	25	15%	—
Powertrain	21	13%	132,000 mi
Accelerator & Cruise Control	13	8%	65,000 mi

Shares are over complaints that name a component; a complaint naming several systems is counted under each.

Wheels & Tires

Owner report CONDENSED VERSION: @ 70MPH POSTED SPEED LIMIT GOODYEAR ALLEGRA TOURING TIRE EXPLODED LIKE A 1/4 STICK OF DYNAMITE AND ALMOST COST ME MY LIFE IF MY REACTIONARY TIME HAD BEEN ANY SLOWER. 3 OTHER TIRES SAME LEAKING THROUGH SIDEWALL GOODYEAR DECORATIVE GILLS ON SAME THIS HAS NOT RESOLVED. SELLER HAS NOT RESOLVED AND REFUS…

Owner report I WAS GIVEN THIS VAN WITH A HANDICAPPED LIFT AS A PRESENT FROM SOME PEOPLE AT OUR CHURCH. EVER SINCE I GOT IT THE ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON. I'VE HAD IT CHECKED SEVERAL TIMES BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. ANOTHER PROBLEM I'VE BEEN HAVING IS THAT THE LEFT FRONT TIRE WEARS OUT MORE QUICKLY THAN THE OTHER THRE…

Electrical System

Owner report I FOUND TWO INCOMPLETE RECALLS. I CALLED THE DEALER 9/28/2020 AT [XXX] AND SPOKE TO [XXX]. SHE PUT THE VIN IN HER SYSTEM, SAW THE TWO RECALLS AND SAID THE PARTS WOULD BE ORDERED. NO RESPONSE. I CALL [XXX] 10/5/2020 AT THE SAME NUMBER AND SHE SAID ABOUT THE SAME THING. THEN I CALLED 10/8/2020 AND ANOTHER SERVICE ADVISOR…

Owner report I HAD SMOKE AND ACRID SMELL COMING FROM UNDER MY DASH (WHILE DRIVING), WHERE THE STEERING COLUMN FITS TO IT. I HAVE CONTACTED A MAJOR FORD DEALER (BRANDON FORD), AND THEY ARE REFUSING TO HELP ME. I CALLED FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HE SAID MY VIN IS NOT LISTED FOR A RECALL, BUT YET HAD NO ANSWER FOR ME WHEN I ASKED WHY …

Brakes

Owner report BRAKE ROTORS ARE WEARING, AND WHEN THE CONSUMER APPLIES THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE WILL JERK AND BECOME HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *AK THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THIS IS A RESULT OF WARPED FRONT BRAKE DISC. (FORD WON'T PAY) *SCC

Owner report WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE WILL JERK FORWARD. THIS IS CAUSED BY FRONT ROTORS WARPING EXTREMELY. DEALER CONTACTED.*AK THE BRAKE PADS ARE BARELY WORN. CONSUMER WAS ADVISED BY FORD THAT THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. CONSUMER FEELS THE ROTORS WARPED PREMATURELY. *JG

Largest recalls

Campaign	Component	Filed	Vehicles
99V029000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH	1999-02-09	762,201
96V161000	EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS	1996-08-29	134,770
97V204000	POWER TRAIN:TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)	1997-11-13	75,000
96V070000	LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH	1996-04-22	73,500
00V425000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CABLES	2000-12-26	36,500

Whether a recall has been done on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Open investigations

None open.

Service bulletins

Ford issued 211 service bulletins covering these model years, most often about engine and engine cooling.

A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so a bulletin listed here may not be specific to one year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.

Date	Component	Summary
2004-12-13	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)	GENERAL (PCM) POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES. *TT
2003-11-10	POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION	LOW LINE PRESSURE READING AT WIDE OPEN THROTTLE (WOT), SLIPPING SHIFTS AND / OR DELAYED ENGAGEMENTS WITH POSSIBLE DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0732, P0733, P1762 SET ON VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 12/1/2001. *TT
2003-07-21	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES	NEW TRANSMISSION COOLER FLUSHER - SERVICE TIPS. 2003 ESCORT AND SUPER DUTY F SERIES INCLUDED. *TT
2002-11-11	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	ENGINE-GEAR DRIVEN SYNCHRONIZERS-INCORRECT INSTALLATION-CAMSHAFT POSITION SYNCHRONIZER (CMP) INSTALLATION TOOL CORRECT APPLICATION. *MJ
2002-10-22	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	INCORRECTLY INSTALLED GEAR DRIVEN CAMSHAFT POSITION (CMP) SENSOR SYNCHRONIZER ASSEMBLIES CAUSING SURGE, LOST OF POWER, MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P1336, P1309 AND P0340. *TT
2002-09-02	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH	LAMP-BRAKE-INVADVERTENT DISABLING OF BRAKE SHIFT INTERLOCK. *MJ
2002-07-22	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	SOME VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND A 4.0L OHV ENGINE MAY EXHIBIT A NOISE / VIBRATION, NO DRIVE, UNUSUAL NOISE DURING CRANKING OR A NO CRANK CONDITION. *TT
2002-05-01	POWER TRAIN	SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A NO 1-2 UPSHIFT, NO 2-3 UPSHIFT, A NO ENGINE BRAKING CONDITION IN MANUAL 1 OR DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0732 (GEAR 2 INCORRECT RATIO) OR P0733 (GEAR 3 INCORRECT RATIO). *TT
2002-04-29	POWER TRAIN	SOME VEHICLES BUILT PRIOR TO 9/15/2001 MAY EXHIBIT LOW LINE PRESSURE READINGS WHILE IN DRIVE, NO 2ND GEAR, NO 3RD GEAR, NO ENGINE BRAKING IN MANUAL 1ST AND SLIPPING SHIFTS AND / OR DELAYED ENGAGEMENTS. *TT
2001-12-10	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	ENGINE OIL SYSTEM PRIMING PROCEDURES, SERVICE TIPS FOR REPORTS OF PREMATURE ENGINE FAILURE. *TT

How to read this page

Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more after news coverage or a recall. That is why years are compared only with other years of the same generation, over the same span, and never with other models.

Sources

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications (data as of 2026-10-28).
U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines and fuel economy.

This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection.