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 stated the right front steering linkage and tie rod broke, resulting in total loss of steering. The dealer provided a solution at the contact's expense. Updated 01/25/06.
1997 Ford F150 tie rods are extremely loose.** answer required***. it was demonstrated to the consumer that the ball end could be pulled out of the socket with bare hands. The socket was made of rubber.
1997 Ford F-150 truck possible defect of "tie rod ends". the consumer received a notice from the manufacturer, however the consumer believes they should pay for all repairs.
The consumer made a left turn at 10 mph and tie rod came out of the socket. Consumer pulled over, and had the vehicle towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
I am sending in a full letter to explain the "failures". it centers around tsb 99B29 and lack of owner notification of a bad front cover design that can lead to engine failure, which occurred in this case. Additionally, I had a tie rod failure that was not addressed under warranty, but later broke while driving. Also, my crank shaft pulley / dampener assembly fell off while highway driving (70 mph). There are other issues including door lock / key sticking. Campaign id number : 03V196000 component: Steering:gear box:shaft sector. The engine cover gasket failed. The serpentine failed, the transmission had an akward shift, the wipers operated periodically by themselves on high speed, there was little heat coming from the vents through the floor.
While shifting into reverse vehicle failed to move. Consumer got out of the vehicle to inspect it, and noticed that both front driver side and passenger side tires were turn inward. Consumer had the vehicle towed to a repair shop for inspection and the mechanic determined that both inner tire rods had popped and needed to be replaced.
While backing out of the drive way the driver lost control of the front wheels. The driver feels lucky he wasn't driving in traffic or on highway. The driver says, "tie rod ends are failing."
While leaving a gas station the passenger side tie rod came out of it's socket. The consumer lost control of the vehicle for a short time but was able to stop safely. The consumer repaired the tie rod. The ball joint was dry and rusted. The ball joint was worn due to no grease. There is no way to grease it or to check to see if it needs to be lubricated.
While driving on a normal paved road at 25 mph front end suddenly started shaking. This was caused by tie rod end falling apart and separating, not due to normal wear and tear.
A tie rod fell off while driving. The front engine seal and intake manifold gasket failed resulting in and antifreeze leak. Some of the vehicles lights (dome light and dash light) stayed on although the vehicle was turned off.
I lost all steering control on my 1997 Ford F-150 extended cab pick up truck. The steering rod had come loose from the steering gear. I questioned the Ford dealer who made the repairs as to how this could happen. They stated that they had never seen this type of problem before. Since then I witnessed another Ford vehicle encounter the exact same problem. Due to large amount of Explorer, Expedition and F150's on the road today, this was very concerning to me. Fortunately in both cases we were traveling at a very low rate of speed and was able to come to a stop without incident. I purchased this vehicle new and never had work done on the steering previous to this problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Anchorage, AK, USA