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.
I have had six occurrences of a spark plug blowing out of the cylinder head. Each time, it blew the coil off also. The dangerous popping and vapors that blow from the now open head are a serious ignition hazard in the engine bay. It is not always the same plug that has blown out. Three times this has happened, the threads that the plug goes into are stripped. Through research, it appears this is a common problem and although I did not encounter a fire due to the vapors under the hood, it has happened to others before. This is a problem that the manufacturer knows about and is unwilling to do anything about. Each time the repair is expensive and the uncertainty of if/when it will happen again is unacceptable.
I'm not sure this is going to do any good, because I am not the first to lodge this complaint. Nothing has been done so far. This is the 5th time that this particular incident has happened to me. The most recent was yesterday 2/29/2012. I am very grateful that I was driving each time and not my wife or kids. I have a 2002 Ford Expedition and on 5 different occasions over a two year period, while driving on the highway and around the neighborhood, the spark plugs have blown out of the cylinder heads. It has not always been the same plug. On 3 of the occasions the coils broke off. I don't understand why me or anyone else as consumers has to pay for the mistakes of Ford's poor design flaws. There is no reason why this has not been a recall item. It is clearly a safety issue. If they can recall a running board light, then why have they not been forced to recall this item? I hope that it doesn't come down to someone losing their lives, before something is done.
While entering a highway (I-75) heard a loud noise from the engine. After having the vehicle towed to a shop, it was determined that one of the spark plugs had blown out of the engine. In January 2012 the same thing happened at start up again it was determined that a spark plug had blown out of the engine. February 2012 (today) apparently the same has occurred while entering a highway (I-75), I have not had a shop look at it yet. I believe this is very dangerous because fuel vapors could leak out of the spark plug hole and cause a fire or explosion.
# 3 spark plug blew out of head. I was told my Ford dealer its common and Ford will not issue a recall. Triton engines are faulty and Ford knew they sold a bad engine for years, the government must step in. I need a refund.
- Oceanside, CA, USA
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Started vehicle and began to drive when spark plug flew out of engine again. This is the third time this has happened and Ford won't do anything about it. They claim that there is no problem when hundreds of people have had this happened. Very costly, time consuming, and stressful. This should never happen and Ford should take responsibility.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. The contact was accelerating from a stop when the vehicle exhibited an abnormal noise and smoke was seen coming from under the hood. The contact stopped the vehicle and found that a fire had started in the engine. The contact was able to extinguish the fire and drive the vehicle home. The contact found that a spark plug had blown and caused the engine fire. The spark plug was replaced but the failure recurred four times and each time, the spark plug was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who advised the contact that there were no recalls for the vehicle. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 145,000 and the current mileage was 149,000.
Ford Triton 4.6L engine spark plug blow-out occurred turning a corner at 30. The vehicle immediately started sputtering and lost power. I had to immediately pull over and get the vehicle off the road. The spark plug had been completely blown out of the engine block and taken some additional head with it.
While driving I heard a pop and learned that the #3 spark plug popped out of the engine at 174K miles. This was the 2nd time it has happened on my 02 Expedition as it also happened at 158K miles.
While driving my 2002 Ford Expedition (5.4L) on the interstate, I heard a loud pop and the vehicle immediately lost power and decelerated in heavy traffic. The nearby Ford dealer determined that the no.7 spark plug had "blown out". the dealer indicated that they "see this all the time" with this engine. The vehicle was at the same dealer a few weeks prior, and had the no.8 spark plug replaced (while addressing an ignition coil problem).
I own a 2002 Ford Expedition with a Triton 5.4L V* engine. While driving I heard a loud ticking type noise from the engine. I immediately pulled the vehicle over. My mechanic stated that a spark plug had been ejected from the block. He stated that this is a common problem with the Ford Triton engines. I feel that Ford should make this right with the consumers that have had trouble with this. I have yet to find a mechanic that will do the repairs for a reasonable amount. The truck has been sitting in the driveway for 3 months, un-driveable. I have not been able to get the repairs done and fear driving it due to the risk of fire and engine failure.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph when the vehicle exhibited an extremely loud explosion from under the hood. The vehicle was towed to the contacts place or residence. The contact stated that he further inspected the vehicle and discovered that the spark plug had blown out from the cylinder head. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 104,000.
While driving my youngest daughter to school there was a loud bang from under the hood and a noticeable loss of power. It sounded like the car had a severe exhaust leak. When taken to my local dealer I was informed that a spark plug had blown out of the engine and that this was a very common occurrence with the 2002 5.4 liter engine. I was told that repairs would run anywhere from $700 to $3500.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. After parking the vehicle, the contact came outside to see the vehicle engulfed in flames which were coming from under the hood. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 200,010.
The # 5 spark plug ejected from the head of a 2002 Ford Expedition 4.6 litre while exiting the freeway. The repair involved tear down of the top of the motor to properly fix at a cost of about $600 in parts and a weekend of my time. Repairs included repairing the plug hole by removing the head. This means that the radiator, fan, throttle body, intake, valve covers, exhaust manifold and head all be removed, resulting in gasket replacement as well.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. The contact observed while the vehicle was parked in the driveway flames and smoke expelled from the vehicle. Immediately, the fire was extinguished with the fire extinguisher, and the fire department was not called to the scene. The manufacturer was notified and stated there would be forms mailed concerning the failure which had not been received at the time of the complaint. The vehicle was in the process of being investigated by the insurance company. The failure mileage was 148,592. The current mileage was 148,592.
Spark plug explode, when driving at 45mph, car warranty insurance deny claim due that they said is for a bad torque, however those were installed at factory.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Las Vegas, NV, USA