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.
TL. the contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 55 mph the contact heard a loud bang and then the sound of something dragging. The contact pulled over and notice the fuel tank feel off from the brackets and causing fuel to leak. This occurred due to rust accumulating on the brackets. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local mechanic. The mechanic replaced the brackets and the fuel tank. The contact called the manufacturer regarding the fuel tank and the manufacturer stated there are no reports of the fuel tank falling off the vehicle and since the vehicle has high mileage there is nothing they can do. The contact stated this is a serious safety issue that could have started a fire. The failure mileage was 166,000.
My mechanic told me that his father's 1999 or 2000 F-150 was rusting on the frame and was about to rust in two, a screwdriver could be stuck through the metal. This was discovered when the straps holding the gas tank rusted and the gas tank was almost touching the ground. So I asked him to look at the frame of my 1998 F-150, and he discovered the same problem. The main crossmember of the frame is almost rusted in two. The straps holding the gas tank are severely rusted. One of the bed crossmembers is already in two, and two others show severe rusting. My mechanic has told me that if the crossmember breaks, I could lose control of the vehicle. If I were driving in heavy traffic, this could pose a serious threat. The body of my truck is in good shape. If you did not know of the frame problems, you would not know to check these out. I feel that if nothing else, the public needs to be made aware so that they can have their vehicles checked out.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brooklyn, MI, USA