Vehicle Data Hub

1996 Ford E-350 problems

NHTSA has received 59 complaints about the 1996 Ford E-350, and 34% of them involve brakes. Next are tires (32%) and engine (7%).

At a glance

Complaints
59 filed with NHTSA
Most reported
Brakes 34% of complaints
Crashes and fires
0 and 1
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0
Typical mileage
39,000 miles 12 complaints with mileage

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

Where the complaints are

Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.

  • Brakes 34%
  • Tires 32%
  • Engine 7%
  • Fuel system 7%
  • Suspension 5%
  • Transmission 3%
  • Cruise control 2%
  • Electrical system 2%
  • Exhaust system 2%
  • Lighting 2%

When problems show up

Complaints by mileage, 1996 Ford E-350 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 39,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 2 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 4 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 2 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 1 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 0 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 2 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 1 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 39,000 miles
Based on 12 complaints that include mileage. 67% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles2
20k to 40k miles4
40k to 60k miles2
60k to 80k miles1
80k to 100k miles0
100k to 120k miles2
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles1

What the data shows

Of the 12 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 39,000 miles.

Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 87% of model years in our database.

Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Ford E-350 with enough data (34 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.

What owners wrote

A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.

Upon installing performance friction brake pads on vehicle, I felt they were wrong. I called auto zone from whom I purchased after measuring and finding they were 0.773 thick. They assured me they were the right pads. I installed and thought nothing more of it. Upon driving vehicle around a month later, I had not gotten 5 miles when the friction caused my caliper seals to catch fire. We contacted performance friction the same day and talked to mike cochrane, who assured he would investigate and get back to me.

October 2001 Fire

Antilock brakes are over boosted, allowing 60 to 70 percent of braking power not to be equally distributed , causing brake pedal to go to floor if brakes are applied/released and reapplied.(2nd vehicle on 508695)

February 1996

Owner states that ABS brakes are not operateing properly, he notes that the front brakes have more pressure than rear brakes, resulting in costly repairs and poor brake operation.

November 1996

This issue was on a 1996 ford f350 ambulance on route to emergency call when engine shut down and lost all power like it was out of fuel 7.3 liter diesel and tank was full. Had unit towed to cross wood ford in kernersville nc and $2700.00 later after new fuel tank fuel pump 6 injectors and turbo due to liner inside of tank came off and clogged the fuel system and engine ford motor company was no help and said since the vehicle was out of warranty they would not do anything to resolve the cost issues.

Reported at 109,000 miles, June 2007

Approximately 6 times on a 800 mile road trip when it was 90 degrees or hotter in the afternoon my 1996 e350 motorhome would stop running at highway speed stranding us in a dangerous situation on I40. After sitting idle for 30-60 minutes it would start and run maybe 30 miles and stop. In the cool of the evening or morning it would run as long as needed. The problem is an inadequate fuel pump which is well documented on many internet blogs.

Reported at 33,500 miles, July 2017

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