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.
Bought a used truck, and after the warranty expired had to replace the starter/the ball joints/he upper tie rods, and the control arm on both sides. Engine manifold split, and exhaust system rusted. Later, while driving tie rods came off. There was a slight drop at the entrance to the parking lot, and as vehicle went back up the drop, it slid and there was an impact. Got out of the car, and saw that the tie rod came off and gouged into the pavement. Spoke to the manager of country club Chevrolet, and he simply gave consumer a discount on parts and labor. Yesterday he went to a certified used vehicle dealer and asked for the 88-point inspection, , and they were unable to provide that information.
Right front wheel fell off vehicle while driving. Lower ball joint cracked and separated, causing vehicle frame and bumper to land on pavement. Dealer mechanic commented that he has never seen a ball joint shear off in such a manner in 23 years of experience.
While driving 20 mph right tie rod failed, causing the driver to drift to the side of the road. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership, and mechanic determined that right upper and lower ball joints had failed, and they will be replaced. Failure occured happened 2 more times.
On 12/17/03 while backing out of my driveway to go to work, the left front lower ball joint failed on my 1999 Ford F-150 4 wheel drive pickup. This caused the wheel to angle out at a 45 degree angle and lower "a" frame to come in contact with the road. This vehicle only has 69,100 miles on it, is only used for personal transportation (no snow plowing or business use) and has had all scheduled maintenance performed. Vehicle up to that point had displayed no driving erratics that might indicate a problem. Service manager indicated that this a normal problem that should have been caught during normal maintenance (my original dealer where I purchased the vehicle has sold the dealership) and not covered by any warrenty or recall. Ford consumer rep agreed. Not only is it going to cost me over $1,000 to have my vehicle repaired, I was informed by the service manager that although Ford is coming out with ball joints that will have a grease fittings, they will not be available until all inventory of non-grease fitting ball joints are used up. Above and beyond my dissapointment with Ford and Ford products is the constant thought of what would have happened if I was traveling down the highway at 65 miles an hour and this ball joint failed and how many other Ford F-150 owners are out there with this same problem waiting to happen!!!!
The lower control arm at left rear of a arm comes loose causing the lower portion of front tire/wheel to move out. This causes front end algi. Problems/tire wear and with the lower a arm moving may cause the bolt to shear off. Have taken truck to dealer and was told that Ford would have a fix in the year 2002. They also state that there not enought peolpe with the problem for them to issue a recall or even put out a memo to dealers.I have spoken with over 15 other owners with the same problem all over the U.S. on the web.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Otego, NY, USA