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 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that five spark plugs have blown out of the engine. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was the result of the aluminum tips from the spark plugs entering the cast iron heads of the engine. The dealer also stated that the failure was common and they were the only location with the tools to perform repairs. The failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 165,000. The VIN was unavailable.
A week ago I was driving my 2001 Ford Expedition to friends for a social visit. On the way, I drove as I normally do the speed limit as posted. At around 10:00 pm, in the middle of nowhere, I encountered the now well known and dreaded spark plug ejection. Thought I had been shot at there for a second, but soon realized what it was. It couldn't have happened at a worse time nor to a worse spark plug to reach, far left rear. I was only 75 miles from home stranded by my vehicle. I truly am a loyal Ford fan and owner of several, but this is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned! I am thoroughly disgusted with this piece of you know what! after getting it towed home, I attempted a replacement of the plug only to find the plug hole was screwed up and couldn't get it in there straight. So what the heck do I do now" Ford Motor Company, this is a crock and you know it! whatya gonna do now? blow it off and do nothing, as I expect. Or are you going to repair it as you well should. These vehicles aren't cheap, but I am beginning to think they area built that way intentionally. What are you going to do Ford"
The spark plug (passenger side, second back from front of engine) ejected from the engine head while parked. We had driven for 20 minutes, stopped at a restaurant, turned off the engine, but restarted it within about 60 seconds. The spark plug ejected immediately after the engine was restarted, within 1 second. There were no injuries, and the vehicle was not in motion at the time. My entire family was in the vehicle at the time. The sound of the ejection was sufficiently loud that it resembled a gunshot, to which an off-duty officer reacted. The coil pack was damaged beyond use, the spark plug insulator shattered. The plugs appeared to be original motorcraft plugs, although at 130K miles, they would be very old. They had sufficient carbon and wear that they could be original plugs or plugs from the first scheduled replacement (if it was done). Repairs have not yet been performed.
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. While driving 15 mph, there was a loud, unusual pop heard from the hood area. The contact moved off the roadway and discovered that the spark plugs had fractured from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's place of residence. The dealer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 114,000.
- Carson, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The vehicle was parked in front of the contact's home when it caught on fire. There were flames shooting from under the hood of the vehicle. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire. A fire report was available. There were no prior warnings indicating the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the cause of the failure. The current and failure mileage was 95,000.
I was driving my family home from yellowstone on I25, when our 2001 Ford Expedition blew a spark plug. We were miles from anywhere with a tow truck, and it took over 2 hours before a tow truck operator got us. At the same time, an escaped murderer was hitchhiking down a different route home. (what if we had chosen that route?) I rented a car to drive home, and it looks like we were way overcharged for the repair. ($3500).
Blown out spark plug from 2001 Ford Expedition Triton 4.6L engine during operation on a public road. The second spark plug on the passenger side blew out of the engine while it was being driven on the road. This made a loud "bang" sound as if a tire blew out. The loud sound continued like a loud exhaust leak and gasoline vapors were immediately present in the passenger compartment. The driver shut off the engine to prevent an engine fire after attempting to safely park on the side of the road while avoiding moving traffic. This required aggressive maneuvering to avoid moving traffic. The car is now awaiting repairs, which is est. At >$3,000. The mechanic reported that this is a very common problem on Ford vehicles with the Triton engine. I have never before seen a spark plug "blown" out of the socket like this. The plugs were replaced once at about 50K miles. The engine has about 110K miles today.
Ford Expedition eddie bauer 2001 the spark plug burst out of the engine head; causing sparks inside the front area causing difficult to drive the car on the highway. There was a slight fire - luckily no injury.
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. While parked he noticed flames came from the cowling ( where the windshield wiper arms are located) of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the flames. A report was available.. the vehicle was towed to a township center for repairs. The Ford the insurance company will contact the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 162,000.
I was driving down the road with my 4 children inside when we heard a loud explosion, my Ford Expedition engine sounded like there was something very wrong. We pulled into a gas station, lifted the hood and you could smell the gas and feel air blowing outside of wear the spark plug used to be. We towed it to a mechanic, we were told that our spark plug blew out taking the coil pack with it. This is the first time we have had a spark plug blow out but we have had to replace 4 other spark plugs and coil packs because they keep working their way out causing the engine to run rough and the check engine light to come on. We have three more plugs and coils that haven't been replaced. I am scared that at any time we could blow another spark plug and cause an accident. I have been told that there isn't any thing I can do to prevent this problem from happening again. The mechanic said it is very likely that the other plugs will have to be replaced in the future but currently the are working. The spark plug that blew out is along the road somewhere but I still have the spark plugs that haven't been replaced. The spark plugs are having to be replaced every month or so, one at a time. My engine still has three more spark plugs that could blow out. Luckily, when this happened there wasn't a fire. You can smell the gas fumes when this happens. We have always maintained our vehicle by a mechanic, this is the first time we have ever had a recurring problem. The mechanic stated this is not a common problem and it is a design flaw, and Ford is aware of this problem.
Ford Expedition 2001 Triton V8. Two blown spark plug engine failures within the last 6 weeks. First was original equipment failure, #7 was fixed, thorough and careful replacement of all spark plugs. Just experienced a second and violent blowout during labor day holiday traffic.
Spark plug was blown out of engine when vehicle was started, breaking the coil which sits on top of spark plug. Found info on internet that this is a common problem with Ford Triton engines due to failure of aluminum threads in engine intake; problem presents a fire hazard should fuel be injected into cylinder and ignited when spark plug is blown out.
I have a 2001 Ford Expedition that blew out the #3 spark plug six months ago. The repair cost at the Ford dealership cost $450 with no warranty. This morning I was driving to work and hears the loud pop and knew that a spark plug had again been ejected. I was seven miles from home so I thought I would drive it home. I drove about 20 mph on the side of the road and the gas fumes were so strong that I had to open my window. All it would have taken it a small spark in the engine compartment for my truck to have been on fire. Please investigate this before someone is seriously injured.
One of my spark plugs in my 2001 Ford Expedition suddenly shot out of the engine block while driving spraying fuel all over the engine compartment. The repairman at the dealer stated "this is just something that happen to aluminum block engines, and it could happen again to the one we repaired or any of the others we didn't repair."
A spark plug blew out of the passenger side head (position #3) on my SUV. The truck was traveling at about 45mph at the time under normal (light) driving conditions. My mechanic is working up an estimate, but believes it will cost several thousand dollars to repair. I followed up by researching this online, and was surprised to find many other similar complaints on comparable Ford vehicles. At what point is a recall triggered? I have a 2001 Ford Expedition with a 5.4L V8. The truck has about 80K miles on the odometer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Townsend, WI, USA