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.
On December 22, 2007 while traveling we heard a 'pop' in the engine compartment and then the sound an smell of exhaust escaping the engine. When taken to bob tomas Ford in mckinney Texas I was told the the #3 sparl plug had been ejected from the engine head which had stripped the threads. I was then told that this has been an ongoing problem but that Ford has not issued a recall and was not providing any financial assistance for those customers who were no longer covered by a warranty. My vehicle had 97,433 miles when this problem occurred. The total repair bill was $3375.20 to replace the right head. I requested assistance from Ford after pointing out that the maintance schedule that came with the vehicle did not require a check of the spark plugs until the vehicle had reached 100,000 miles. Ford stated they would not assist in any way.
My 2002 Ford Expedition 4X4, 5.3L engine with 71K miles had the #3 spark plug became dislodged as I was driving on the highway at ~65 mph. Turns out the threads on the cylinder head are stripped. My car had to be towed to the dealer and is awaiting being fixed. If I choose to have the cylinder head replaced, it will cost ~$3000. I've read other articles and complaints on the internet that lead me to believe there are thousands of people who've experienced the same thing with their Ford trucks. I believe there is sufficient data to suggest Ford should do a recall on these trucks for this problem.
My 2002 Ford Expedition (83,000 miles) on the way home from lake powell blew a spark plug out of the cylinder head. We were 350 miles from home on vacation and had to obtain assistance and added expense to return home in time for our jobs. The vehicle is still in St george, Utah at a Ford dealership being repaired. It was explained that the spark plug issue is well known. There is no assistance from Ford for repairing the well known design flaw.
Vehicle threw a spark plug without warning while at highway speeds. This stripped out the plug socket requiring rebuilding of the engine heads to really fix it correctly to be sure it wouldn't happen again. Mechanic expressed that this was common on these vehicles. Destroyed the spark coil and wiring as it blew out. Could easily have caused a severe accident at highway speeds, towing a trailer. We were lucky it was late and traffic was light.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. When the contact started the vehicle, he noticed smoke coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the cause of failure was due to a blown spark plug cylinder. The dealer replaced the spark plug cylinder. Approximately two weeks later, while driving 65 mph uphill, the vehicle lost power. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs and performed a tune up. The following day, while driving 65 mph uphill, the vehicle lost power again. The dealer stated that the engine was blown and needed to be replaced. As of July 11, 2007, the engine has not been replaced. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage is 106,710 and failure mileage was 106,000.
- Corona, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. While driving 30 mph, the spark plugs blew out from the side of the engine. The contact pulled over and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle is currently waiting to be repaired. The current and failure mileages were 68,000.
Started with pinging noise from engine 1 day before spark plug on #3 cylinder blew out. Broke coil-over-plug module & required repair to head. Another failure recently occured on #8 cylinder involving head replacement.
Today I had the spark plug blow out of my Ford Expedition when I was on the freeway with my 3 kids. Come to find out this is a common problem and Ford won't do anything to fix this problem.
On Sept. 16th, 2005, as I was driving in my Ford 2002 Expedition, my engine blew a spark-plug out of the engine which caused me to swerve out of my lane and loose all power on the highway. It was a very dangerous experience for me and my family and other drivers around me. I have since learned that Ford is aware of this obvious manufacturing defect and has done nothing to prevent this from happening and does not stand behind its product. The attached letter was sent to Ford Motor Company. I purchased a 2002 Ford Expedition brand new from syosset Ford on long island. After four years and 62 thousand miles, I was told by tower Ford of great neck that I blew a spark-plug out of the engine head. They requested that I change the entire engine since there maybe cylinder damage, and also I would now have a new warranty for my engine. Before spending $5,253.34, I looked into the problem with other customers on the national highway traffic and safety administration and found out that other purchasers of this engine have had the same problem and Ford has done nothing to compensate them or fixed the engines problems. They know this is a problem in this particular engine and continue to use it, even though, Ford states that no tune-up is need on this engine for 100,000 miles. It is obvious that this is a manufacturer"?S defect in the engine and nothing is being done about it. At this point, I had no choice but to have a new engine installed or junk a $39,000 SUV. Tower Ford replaced the engine in September. Now here I am again, three months and 4,900 miles later I had to change the front blower motor for $335.09. In March two months and 2,100 miles later, tower Ford tells me that spark-plugs one and two, and coils one and two, need to be replaced and this is not under warranty for my new engine and it will cost me $488 plus tax. What??S next"
Started as small oil leak. After placing dye in crankcase found drivers side head gasket leaking. I am having both head gaskets replaced for 17K. There is only 49K on this truck with all normal driving. From other complaints that have been posted I do not understand why Ford has not been made to respond to the problems with their product line. This problem has been in complaints since '98. Isn't time that some accountability be taken by the manufacturer?
The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 mph heard a loud boom. The vehicle sputtered and jerked. He pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a dealership, where they found the problem to be a blown out spark plug. No repairs were made.
2002 Ford Expedition (eddie bauer) with 63000 miles on 12/24/05, at approximately 1530 hours, we loaded up our infant and toddler into their car seats. I started the engine and immediately heard a loud thumping noise from under the hood and could smell gasoline. I immediately shut off the engine and looked under the hood and noticed that a spark plug coil pack was moved out of place and the retaining screw bracket was broken off the coil pack on the passenger side of the engine. I pulled the coil pack out and realized that the spark plug was no longer screwed into the head. There was no damage to the threads on the spark plug. It was obvious that the spark plug had blown-out of the head. I did a google search and found that there are numerous complaints of the same problem for the Triton engine for 1998-2002 model years. I also found that Ford is not paying for any repairs. To repair the problem, the head and head gasket will need to be replaced. I got a price quote of $2954.10 (including tax, parts, and labor). Had I left the engine run longer, the spark plug will still be firing with gasoline being discharged into the engine compartment, a severe fire hazard.
The contact owned a 2002 Ford Expedition and on Friday a spark plug blew out the side of the engine through the right cylinder head and caused the vehicle to lose power.
The vehicles engine missed, lost power and made a banging noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the entire engine was replaced. About 100 miles later the banging returned.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Princeton, TX, USA