1997 Ford E-350: common problems

Owners of the 1997 Ford E-350 filed 79 complaints with NHTSA, most often about tires and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.

Key figures

Owner complaints: 79
involving a crash: 5

What fails most often

1 Tires 30% of all complaints
2 Service brakes 20% of all complaints
3 Engine and cooling 19% of all complaints
4 Suspension 8% of all complaints
5 Fuel system 6% of all complaints
6 Electrical system 5% of all complaints
7 Powertrain 5% of all complaints
8 Vehicle speed control 5% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Tires: 24 complaints (30% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Service brakes: 16 complaints (20% of all).
Engine and cooling: 15 complaints (19% of all).
Suspension: 6 complaints (8% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Fuel system: 5 complaints (6% of all).

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 79 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

smoke, burning smell, fire15 · 19%
tires: bulges, blowouts13 · 16%
vibration10 · 13%
rust, corrosion3 · 4%
fuel system, fuel smell2 · 3%
knocking, grinding or other noise2 · 3%
overheating, coolant loss2 · 3%
loss of power / limp mode2 · 3%
seat belts2 · 3%
warning lights, check engine2 · 3%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash
Tires	24	3
Service brakes	16	0
Engine and cooling	15	0
Suspension	6	1
Fuel system	5	0
Electrical system	4	0
Powertrain	4	0
Vehicle speed control	4	1
Air bags	3	0
Structure	3	0
Parking brake	2	0
Seat belts	2	0
Visibility	2	0
Equipment	1	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

1997 econoline left rear tire blew out causing vehicle to rollover on its side.
Tires · crash · 2006-12-08 · NHTSA complaint #10176435
Crash right front,wheel bearing nut sheered off, rotor broke, wheel, tire ,and hub assembly came off vehicle. Wheel and tire undamaged. . Updated 06/22/06
Suspension · crash · 2006-06-15 · NHTSA complaint #10159918
I've had 3 blowouts on separate occasions. Tires had 15,000 miles on them. First blowout occurred on highway at 65mph on front passenger side, tire had multiple belt seperations. Put on spare tire of same brand and size and barely got home before the belt started coming apart.
Tires · crash · 2002-08-23 · NHTSA complaint #765969
Rear passenger firestone steeltex tire tread separated going 65mph. Vehicle turned 180 degrees & hit the guardrail front & rear, and was totalled. Firestone will be contacted.
Tires · crash · 2000-10-02 · NHTSA complaint #872052
Cruise control possibly stuck causing driver to loose control of the vehicle, run off the road,hit a guardrail, return to the road when the vehicle overturned and slid down the road. One passenger was ejected form the vehicle and died all other passenger had no evident injuries.
Vehicle speed control · crash · 2000-01-14 · NHTSA complaint #549921
The rear passenger compartment outside and inside door handles broke such that rear seating passengers cannot exit the vehicle and are trapped inside. In case of an accident, the emergency responders will have to resort to drastic time consuming measures such as ripping the doors off to save the trapped passengers.
Structure · 2023-12-01 · NHTSA complaint #11557917
My adult daughter started the van, plugged her phone into the top car adapter, and about a minute later (the van was still parked) there was a big 'boom' from under her seat and her seatbelt tightened.
Electrical system · 2018-05-24 · NHTSA complaint #11097778
Also the passenger side seat belt buckle pretensioner fired off breaking the housing. The vehicle was stationary before, during, and after the incident. There has never been an accident and I can see no damage to the outside at all.
Air bags · 2017-10-09 · NHTSA complaint #11032600

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

19975
19988
19998
200015
200110
20025
20033
20044
20063
20083
20094
20102
20111
20121
20132
20171
20181
20202
20231

Comparison

By complaint count this model year ranks 4,120 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 11% most complained about).

On average one model year of the E-350 has 27 complaints (44 years in the data). This year has 79, above average.

What to check before buying

Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.

Other years of this model

Questions and answers

What are the most common problems with the 1997 Ford E-350?

Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: tires, service brakes, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 79. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: smoke, burning smell, fire (19%), tires: bulges, blowouts (16%), vibration (13%).

How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1997 Ford E-350?

NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.

Should I buy a 1997 Ford E-350 from a US auction?

Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.

Other 1997 models

Read also

Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.