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1.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
118,003 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

1998 Ford F-150 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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1998 Ford F-150 Owner Comments

problem #13

Apr 112015

F-150 8-cyl

  • 270,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. After parking the vehicle in the driveway, the vehicle rolled backwards out the driveway and into the street. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the shift cable assembly was faulty and the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 97V171000 (power train). The failure mileage was 270,000. Updated 5/18/15 the dealer installed a new shifter cable. Updated 05/29/15

- Frankton, IN, USA

problem #12

Oct 012014

F-150

  • 230,000 miles
Gear selector lever became "sloppy" and I couldn't depend on the selector for park, or drive gears.

- Warrenville, SC, USA

problem #11

Aug 072013

F-150

  • 250,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the transmission shift lever failed to engage into park. The contact mentioned that the vehicle would not turn on unless the shift lever was in neutral. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 97V171000 (power train). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 250,000 and the current mileage was 255,000.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #10

Feb 152012

F-150 8-cyl

  • 123,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the indicator on the instrument panel displayed reverse. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign number: 97V171000 (power train) that could have been related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.

- Bridgeton, NJ, USA

problem #9

May 062013

F-150 6-cyl

  • 44 miles
Transmission slips in between gears 2 and 3rd and 4th gear on automatic.

- Kingwood, TX, USA

problem #8

Apr 042013

F-150 8-cyl

  • 177,000 miles
The prn12 shift lever has been slowly loosening over a period of 6 months, and has resulted in not being able to start the vehicle in park. Also, when shifting into park, the shifter will not engage, and will allow the vehicle to roll forward or backward. No accidents have been caused as a result of the excess play in the shifter. I checked the internet for possible causes and found many threads explaining the cause as two star bolts that have either loosened, or completely fallen out in some cases. I have tightened the bolts myself, but I believe this is a situation that the dealers should address.

- Bettendorf, IA, USA

problem #7

Oct 102011

F-150

  • 250,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the shift cable assembly would not allow the vehicle to shift into park and would not trigger the neutral safety switch. The contact stated that the vehicle could be moved without being shut off. The contact called a local dealer regarding NHTSA campaign I.D. number: 97V171000 (power train:automatic transmission:gear position indication (prndl) but the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall based on the VIN. The failure mileage was 250,000.

- Mountain City, TN, USA

problem #6

Jul 272011

F-150

  • 116,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F150. The contact stated that the gear shift pin was broken and would not shift into park. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 116,000 and the current mileage was 118,000.

- Riverside, RI, USA

problem #5

Sep 102007

F-150

  • 118,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F150. The vehicle would not start and the contact had to manually place it into neutral, and then into park. The independent mechanic stated that the parking linkage and the automatic transmission shift cable failed. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 97V171000 (power train:automatic transmission:gear position indication (prndl)), although the failures were identical. The failure mileage was 118,000 and current mileages was 130,000.

- Havertown, PA, USA

problem #4

Jun 242008

(reported on)

F-150 8-cyl

  • miles
1998 Ford F-150 muffler bolts sheared off on both sides. Consumer states that the muffler bolts came off of the engine sides. The consumer stated the transmission was replaced at 90,866 miles, and the rear wheel bearing was replaced.

- Chester, NJ, USA

problem #3

Mar 122003

F-150

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving, the vehicle failed to change gears.

- Wayland, MI, USA

problem #2

Oct 041998

F-150 4WD

  • miles
Driver parked vehicle and turned vehicle off; the next morning the fan was running and the airbag light would not go out; when driver started up the engine, the engine check light came on and the speedometer had stopped working.

- Carlisle B, PA, USA

problem #1

Jan 261998

F-150

  • miles
Air bag impact sensor light is always illuminating. Also, speedometer failed.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

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