Editing Ford Explorer (section)

===Rollover and Firestone Tire controversy===
{{Main|Firestone vs Ford Motor Company controversy}}
240 deaths and 3,000 catastrophic injuries resulted from the combination of early-generation Explorers and [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone]] tires.<ref name="autosafety.org">{{cite web|url= http://www.autosafety.org/ford-explorer-firestone-tire |title=Ford Explorer-Firestone Tire |website=autosafety.org |date=August 27, 2012 }}</ref> The tire tread separated and the vehicle had an unusually high rate of [[Vehicle rollover|rollover]] crash as a result. Both companies' reputations were tarnished.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citizen.org/autosafety/article_redirect.cfm?ID=5413|title=Public Citizen Auto Safety|work=citizen.org}}</ref> This event led to a disruption in the 90-year-old Ford/Firestone partnership.

Rollover risk is inherently higher in truck-based vehicles, like the Explorer, than in ordinary passenger cars, as a modification for bulky 4-wheel-drive hardware requires increases in height to avoid compromising ground clearance (raising the center of gravity), while a short wheelbase further reduces stability.<ref name="autosafety.org"/> The previous Bronco II had already been cited by ''[[Consumer Reports]]'' for rollover tendencies in turns.<ref name="autosafety.org"/>

The Explorer was cleared by the [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration|NHTSA]] as no more dangerous than any other truck when driven unsafely. It used the same tires as the Ford Ranger with a relatively low rating for high temperatures. Lowering tire pressure recommendations softened the ride further and improved emergency stability through increased traction, but increased the chances of overheating tires.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a9399/why-blowouts-happen-and-how-to-avoid-them-15832078/ |title=Why Blowouts Happen—and How to Avoid Them |first=Mac |last=Demere |work=Popular Mechanics|date=August 21, 2013 }}</ref> A 1995 redesign with a new suspension slightly raised the Explorer's center of gravity, but it was called inconsequential by a Ford spokesman. Memos by Ford engineers suggested lowering the engine height, but it would have increased the cost of the new design.

Explorer rollover rates, at the time of the controversy, were higher than any of its competitors. While Firestone turned out millions of sub-standard and potentially defective tires and was the initial cause of loss of control on many Ford Explorer Firestone tire tread separation rollovers, the blame shifted towards Ford for a defectively designed and unstable vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|first=Pat |last=McCarty |url= http://www.fordexplorerrollover.com |title=Ford Explorer Rollover |publisher=Ford Explorer Rollover |date=July 17, 2001 |access-date=March 27, 2017}}</ref>

In May 2000, the US [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] (NHTSA) contacted Ford and [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone]] about a higher-than-normal incidence of tire failures on Ford Explorers, [[Mercury Mountaineer]]s, and [[#Mazda Navajo (1991-1994)|Mazda Navajo]]s fitted with Firestone tires (later including Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series pickup trucks). The failures all involved ''tread separation'', in which the outer tread carcass would [[delamination|delaminate]] and cause a rapid loss of tire pressure. Ford investigated and found that several models of {{cvt|15|in|mm|0}} Firestone tires (''ATX'', ''ATX II'', and ''Wilderness AT'') had higher failure rates, especially those made at Firestone's [[Decatur, Illinois]] plant.

Ford recommended tire inflation of only {{convert|26|psi|0}} likely contributing to the tread separation problem by causing the tires to operate at higher than normal temperatures.<ref name="autosafety.org"/>

Ford argued that Firestone was at fault, noting that the tires made by Firestone were very defective. Nevertheless, Ford subsequently recommended that front and rear tires should be inflated to {{convert|30|psi|0}} on all Explorer models and mailed a replacement tire pressure door sticker indicating the same to all registered owners.

Some have argued that poor driver reaction to tire blowouts was a contributing factor.<ref name="Wards">"Bad Drivers, Good Credibility – car makers face uphill struggle against public perception", ''Ward's Auto World'', April 2001</ref> When a tire blew, the vehicle would experience a sudden sharp jerk, and many drivers reacted by counter-steering in an attempt to regain control. This action would cause a shift of the vehicle's weight, resulting in a rollover especially at higher speeds (many reports of rollovers were of vehicles being driven at speeds of {{cvt|70|mi/h|km/h|0}} and above). In a test simulating dozens of tire blowouts, Larry Webster, a test-driver for ''[[Car and Driver]]'' magazine, was repeatedly able to bring a 1994 Explorer to a stop without incident from speeds of {{cvt|70|mi/h|km/h|0}}.<ref name="Wards"/><ref>Doron Levin, ''Detroit Free Press'', October 27, 2000</ref> According to ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine, car experts and NHTSA claim that the vast majority of crash accidents and deaths were caused not by the vehicle, but by the driver, by road conditions or some combination of the two.<ref>Dan Ackman, "Ford, Firestone Face Off", ''Forbes'', June 19, 2001</ref>

In response to Firestone's allegations of the Explorer's design defects, NHTSA undertook a preliminary investigation and reported that further action was not required. Its conclusion was that the Explorer was no more prone to rollover than other SUVs given their high [[center of gravity]].<ref>{{cite web |work=U.S. Department of Transportation News |url= http://www.dot.gov/affairs/nhtsa01102.htm |title=NHTSA Denies Firestone Request For Ford Explorer Investigation |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020613053037/http://www.dot.gov/affairs/nhtsa01102.htm |archive-date=June 13, 2002}}</ref> Congress would pass the [[Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act|TREAD Act]] and the NHTSA would subsequently implement [[FMVSS 138]]. The subsequent introduction and proliferation of [[Electronic stability control#Effectiveness|electronic stability control]] systems, along with lowering the vehicle, widening the track, and introducing independent rear suspension, have essentially addressed and mitigated this shortcoming.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kiley|first=David|url= http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/07/ford-explorer-rollover-settlement/|title=Behind Ford's Recent $131 Million Rollover Judgment|date=September 7, 2010|website=Autoblog|access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>

In May 2001, Ford announced it would replace 13 million Firestone tires fitted to Explorer vehicles.<ref name="autosafety.org"/>