This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start-up. The contact attempted to jump start the vehicle with assistance, but he was not successful. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 300,000.
My 2000 Ford Expedition was parked at my job parking lot for 3hrs, when it caught fire underneath the hood near the master cylinder, drivers side, near the firewall. I contacted Ford Motor Company, BBB, and Consumer Affairs, which all attempts were ignored.
Odometer blanks out no digital read out for mileage, seats are torn badly don't use or drive that often 1 or twice a week it has only 145K miles. Now, the air line has been replaced and it low in rear with compressor can't find leak and believe the air bags will need replaced trying to find out where issue is and no warning light this time on dash like usual.
My Expedition caught on fire parked in my driveway at least 30 minutes after driving it. I was able to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher and a water hose, but the plastic parts were were melted on the driver side. The battery was disconnected and I was told by a mechanic that it was the cruise control relay.
I was driving the down the street going to wal-mart on pendleton pike in indianapolis Indiana the car shifted from drive to neutral on its own. I shifted it back in gear drove on to wal-mart then to went to aldis. When I came out of aldis also on pendleton pike the car wouldn't come out of park without key being in acc position foot on brake and playing with gearshit for approx 15 mins it was locked. Then the power windows also went out in the same time that this all happened. Now my car will not go into gear without messing with gearshift for several minutes and messing with ignition switch mutiple times before I can get car into motion.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
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Tried to start with key out of the ignition. Lights would not turn of. Had to disconnect the battery. This would be life threatening if happened in a closed garage
My vehicle was parked in the driveway and I was alerted by my dogs barking. I opened my garage door to see the entire engine compartment on fire. The fire was so intense that everything under the hood had melted.the fire marshals said the alternator cause
The vehicle was parked in a store parking lot, not running/ignition off, and it caught fire under the hood near the brake master cylinder. The fire damaged everything in the upper portion of the engine compartment, the hood, the cowling and the grill. Probably not repairable.
#7 spark plug blew out destroying the coil on plug with it. All the threads are stripped out and theres no way to put a new plug in it. Was lucky I didn't have an engine fire from fuel venting out of spark plug hole. This is a Triton 5.4L
Vehicle caught fire around 10:25 pm. Vehicle was park and cold since the last time it was used was around 1:00 pm the same day. My wife got home and was parking her car a sudenly saw the Ford Expedition caching fire and flames coming out of the enginge compartment. Vehicle is total there are no possibility of repair.
While driving this Expedition I began noticing strange intermittant electrical behavior like the windshield wipers not working, radio turning off, windshield wash light blinking, and 4X4 light blinking. Several times in the middle of the night I'd notice that the headlights would come on on their own. Also the air ride would turn on and off while the car was off, and the heater fan would also come on. This would kill the battery. Several times while driving the 4X4 would turn on in the low gear making it difficult to maneuver. On several occasions the starter would turn on while the car was already running. I replaced the GEM module and had the windshield resealed several times, but after just a few months the problems would recur. The final nail in the coffin was when the starter kicked on while running and it took a minute to get the car safely stopped. I could smell smoke from the burned up starter motor. The Expedition has sat for 1.5 years as I am unable to sell it and am unwilling to put any additional money to fix this lemon.
I began noticing electrical problems with the lights going on and off, dash gauges going on and off, radio going on and off, heater going on and off, door alarm staying on when driver's door is open, but no key in ignition or lights on, door locks not working properly, 4WD engaging automatically, cd player going off and on, windshield wipers going on and off, and water on driver's side floor after rains. It has become more of a problem. I did not know what was causing the problems until I began replacing parts and found on the internet that this has been a known problem with the Expedition and Ford being aware of the problem for many years. I just wrote the Ford company and they told me they knew nothing about such problems!!! reference number is [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Summary: Water leaked around the left side of windshield causing electrical failures, including but not limited to the starter, radio, windshield wipers, headlamps, etc. The water entering the vehicle wet the power distribution box (pdb) and the generic electronic module (GEM). These components control various electrical systems in the vehicle. The vehicle continued to attempt to start itself without any key in ignition until it resulted in the starter burning up as well as damaging associated wiring and battery. Vehicle's windshield had to be replaced as was the starter, associated wiring and battery after vehicle was towed to repair facility.
5 people in my vehicle driving 55mph on I40 around midnight when air suspension went out and everything in the dash went crazy. Things cutting off and on moving backwards and forwards, when I cut it off so to not drive with air suspension down it would not restart unless you started it in neutral but the battery kept dying and exploded driving to shop, .got another battery, it exploded to. Nothing electrical worked. Door locks, windows, speedometer, stereo wouldn't come on then would come on by itself, lights to. Air suspension would not work, been in the shop twice. First time they didn't know what was wrong. This time they know but I can afford to fix it. The GEM module and fuse box is over $600 plus labor! im disabled with a fixed income and I haven't driven anywhere since Feb I cant get to my doctor, grocery store, to get medicine for heart attack and other disabling illnesses. I cant afford another car or to fix my expo. This could have been dangerous I sure need some help with this.electrical system failure NHTSA preliminary evaluation #PE05033 status:closed date opened:June 15, 2005 date closed: October 13, 2005 recall: No recall issued component(s): Electrical system equipment:electrical visibility:windshield summary: ODI has received 39 reports alleging that water leaks around the windshield causing electrical failures, including but not limited to the windshield wipers and the headlamps.Ford reports that water entering the vehicle can wet the power distribution box (pdb) and the generic electronic module (GEM).these components control various electrical systems in the vehicle.this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis, EA05015, to allow further investigation of the issue and to assess the nature of the potential safety consequence.NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA investigation#PE05033.
Driving normally during heavy rain wipers and radio went dead at highway speed and worked intermittently after that. After the rain stopped and car dried out wipers and radio worked normally again. Carpet on left side under fuse panel and GEM module, both of which have already been replaced was wet. This is a safety concern as it is extremely difficult to see when the wipers stop working unexpectedly. The cause seems to be the windshield wasn't sealed properly at the factory, as my father bought the vehicle new and said the windshield has always leaked. I purchased the vehicle from him.
There is a defect with the installation of the windshield that causes water in enter the cab. Upon entry, the water goes into the GEM mod and fuse panel of the SUV. This shorts the system - at one point you may encounter the heater turning on without the key in the ignition. Here is a special notice sent by Ford in 2002 regarding this problem: *Ford special message #15773 variouselectricalconditions resulting from water intrusion into the GEM/cjb some 1997-2002 Expedition and 1998-2002 Navigator vehicles may exhibit various unusual electrical conditions, including but not limited to: Xxxxx xxxxx rear blower or eatc staying on with key out of the ignition, radio staying on after doors opened and key out of ignition, wiper circuit failure codes, and multiple system warning lights with 'short to power' or 'low battery voltage' dtcs. These symptoms most often occur after a rain or snow. This may be due to GEM/cjb water intrusion resulting from a windshield water leak. To service, remove the GEM and cjb from thevehicle, separate them and inspect for water contamination or corrosion. If found in either component, replace both components and completely reseal the windshield. Effective date: 04/05/2002 Ford Motor Company
It started with the radio and windshield wipers not working periodically this went on for several weeks and then on Saturday night 5/31/14 at approx. 11:30 am "[xxx]" showed up and my car was trying to start its self. It made a clicking sound for about 30 mins with the lights going off and on. The sound was like a dead battery sound. Then it would try to start itself. This went on for about and hour and then it finally stopped. I assumed that the next morning my battery would be dead but when I went out Sunday morning it started right up and I was able to run my errands. This morning Monday 6/2 I went out to go to work and it would not start but the lights came on and it continued to make a clicking sound even though I assumed the battery was dead. I am scared to do anything, like jump the battery, for fear it will explode or catch fire. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
After an approximate 30 minute drive, vehicle was parked with the ignition off and key removed from vehicle. While unattended, the vehicle caught fire and burned completely to the ground. The vehicle was completely destroyed and is a total loss. Witnesses reported smelling a strong electrical smell before fire was observed, and stated that flames and smoke were first observed coming from under the hood in the engine compartment. The vehicle was not parked near combustible materials such as dry grass, etc. The outside temperature was approximately 70 degrees.
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- Perry, FL, USA