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 owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact attempted to start the vehicle, but it would not start. The vehicle was then towed to a Ford dealer and they stated that a wire in the ignition switch failed. The dealer repaired the switch, but the contact still had to make several attempts before the vehicle would start. The dealer finally disconnected the switch, but it continues to take four or more attempts to start the vehicle. The contact has paid $200 in repairs. The failure occurs in both cold and hot weather and the contact believes that the disconnected wire was the cause of failure. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 229,000 and failure mileage was 180,000.
I changed my spark plugs at the recommended mileage and since that time they do not stay tight in the cylinders. They loosen up and I have to re-tighten them everyday so that they do not blow out of my cylinder head.
My 1998 Ford F150 4X4 blew 3 coils within 3 months of each other, culminating with the ignition coil in August 2004. I contacted Ford and was told I was being put on a "recall list" in case others had complaints. When the coils blow, there is a horrible noise from the engine and an immediate loss of power due to the spark plug no longer igniting that cylinder for the engine to run off of. Luckily, I was able to pull over to the side of the road and call a wrecker without incident. All three coils were replaced and I still have receipts. I traded the vehicle in due to the numerous problems it began having.
I was driving down the road when I heard a big explosion from under my hood. I poped the hood and found that my #2 coil was blown out of the cylinder. After getting my 98 F150 home I found that the plug was blown out of the cylinder. I have not gotten the problem fixed as of yet but Ford says the only way to fix is a new head.
- Winter Springs, FL, USA
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I have had numerous problems with the starter and/or ignition in my 1998 F-150 Ford truck. Beach Ford in myrtle beach, SC has replaced the starter about 7 times and today the truck left me stranded.
For the second time in 2 years the power control module has failed. The first time was just after I purchased the truck in April 1998. The engine will suddenly just die. This happened regardless of speed. The engine would, most times, require several minutes of turning the ignition on and off and cranking of the engine before it would restart. I returned the truck to the dealer I purchaed it from 3 seperate times. Twice I was able to drive it in and the last time required a tow. On all three occasions there were no error codes in the computer to indicate that anything had happened. The dealer replaced both the PCM and the ECM at the time of the third failure and that solved the problem at that time. On October 1 of 2000 my wife and I went to run a few errands. We had only traveled 1/4 mile when the engine shut down while traveling 25 mph. It took 6 attempts to retart the engine. We then drove another 1/2 mile only to have the engine once again shut down while traveling up a hill at 35 mph. The engine kicked back in before we were able to pull to the side of the road, so we continued on our way. On Oct 2 drove the truck to a different dealer. Showed them the paperwork from 1998. Again when checked, no error codes. They had truck for 3 days but no failure. Agreed to replace PCM at no charge. As of 10/28 no further problem noted.
Twice in the past 6 months, I or my wife had the vehicle just turn off. When it shut off for my wife, it happened at 45mph. She lost pwr steering but was lucky in getting off to the side of the road. After 5 mins of trying to start the truck, it started and didn't happen again till August. It happened while I was driving.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Casco, WI, USA