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8.7

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,047 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.

2004 Ford F-150 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2004 Ford F-150 Owner Comments

problem #12

Jul 062004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,700 miles

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

The brakes began to shimmy and shutter and there was vibration from the rear when driving.

- Woodsboro, MD, USA

problem #11

Aug 132005

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 11,000 miles
Drive train vibration thought the cab floor and steering wheel of vehicle. After numerous attempts to repair and 6 new tires, driveshaft and new clutch locking plates. New ring and pinion gear the problem still is there. The vibration progressively gets worse after long trips. Also there is a clunk in the drive line on acceleration and a severe to moderate shudder. Ford says that this is normal for the new body style trucks which is totally false. Ford seems to set their standard and customer satisfaction is set aside. The live with it attitude will not be tolerated. I am going through the BBB arbritration process and hopefully the arbritrator will see the history of this problem. Anyone with similar problems should E-mail me at glennlinokc@yahoo.com

- Oklahoma City , OK, USA

problem #10

Mar 062005

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 11,000 miles
3.37 rear axle issues. Shudder at low speed turns / binding of lmtd slp disks. Order and inst spacer. "corrected" barely noticeable shudder but at about 800 miles, "whine" reappeared. Whine became louder over time. Dealer inspected the inside gear and pinion needed to be replace. Manufacturer out of stock. 1 month on order, new gear and pinion arrived. Dealer inst. At 800 to 1000 miles "whine" reappears. Dealer again inspects and orders 2nd gear and pinion. Rep made within a week of diag immediately noticed a low speed "rumming" noise. Returned to dealer. Ford field service tech relented to replacing the entire rear axle which is now on order. This diagnostic was the 7th in shop visit for the same problem.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #9

Jun 282005

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles

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

Rear axle whine at highway speed when accelerator is applied. Unrepaired two times by dealership. Third repair refused by me because dealership and Ford refused to replace the rear axle and wanted to keep my truck for an indefinate period of time to discover what the problem was without providing me a loaner/rental. A manditory recall should be required for all vehicles with this problem where the rear axle assembly is replaced, not just the ring and pinion. Under the current tsb's for this problem their is too much room for error! vehicle only has 5000 miles.

- Johnson City, TN, USA

problem #8

Feb 072005

F-150 4WD

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
15 days after purchase of vehicle, it was in to have the rear axle assembly replaced. One year later, it had the rear diff friction plates were replaced. 2 months later (right now) the rear end seals are leaking.

- Cambridge, MN, USA

problem #7

Nov 012004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1 miles
2004 screw lariat - vibration throughout whole vehicle at speeds between 45-60mph, only in O/D. I believe this is related to the contents of tsb 04-25-07 and tsb 04-25-08.

- Myerstown, PA, USA

problem #6

Aug 052004

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45 miles

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

I purchased a Ford F150, thier was a vibriation in steering, called sale's man and informed him of problem.we set up a service to balance tire's, this solved steering vibration, but caused vibration in rearend.called service to have my truck inspected, upon inspection and tsb a vibration dampner was installed along with rebuilding rearend.after receiving my truck back, still had vibration between 40 and 50 mph took back to servjce they replaced rearend, driveshaft, carrierbarring, drove fine for two day's then vibration was back. Upon visiually inspecting the work, I noticed rearend was sitting about 1 inch farther to the right, I now am getting ready to take back to service to have work performed again.I have 5,161 mile's on my truck, rearend was first worked on before 3000 mile's and first oil change.vibration persists.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

problem #5

Oct 182004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,500 miles
Reported to dealer service dept. That my new 2004 Ford F150 FX4 truck had whine and clunking noise coming from rear axel/differential assembly at take off from stop and speeds between 45 and 55 mph. Dealer was instructed by Ford Motor Company engineering dept. Not to attempt repair. 1000 miles later the problem has got worse.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

problem #4

Nov 012004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 0 miles
I purchased new Ford F150, the first time up to highway speeds the vehicle had a vibration between the speed of 55 and 65 mph.

- Winchester, MA, USA

problem #3

Apr 272004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 300 miles
I have an 2004 Ford F-150 supercab 4X4. A few days after I bought it, it developed a slipping / shuddering problem in the rear end when you started from a stop and while turning. Sunstate Ford said that the slip yoke had no lubrication. So they lubed it. Within 2 days the problem re-occurred. The shuddering happens hot or cold but becomes worse the more the truck is driven. When I brought it back to sunstate Ford to let them try to fix it again, they say the problem is normal. I owned alot of trucks in my life and not 1 of them did this. From talking to one of the service employees I learned that there have been many complaints about this problem. Additional info: Truck has 4.6L engine, automatic transmission, and a 3.73 limited slip rear axle.

- Ocoee, FL, USA

problem #2

May 112004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15 miles
Test drove new F-150 super-crew-cab 4X2, at 60 mph experienced a terrilbe shimmy in steering wheel and bad vibration from left rear of truck. Returned truck to lot and test drove new F-150 super-crew-cab 4X4, experienced the same problem at 30 mph and 60 mph. Bought 4X4, salesman said the truck most likely needed wheel ballancing, or it was out of round. We made an appointment for two days later to address the shimmy/vibration problem.the mechanic had the truck on lift for twenty minutes. Result, dealer has to order a part for a service bulletin that requires a vibration dampening device to be installed. This is interesting, ther is a whole lot of new F-150 trucks at this dealership. I drove two and both had same problem. They (Ford), have a known service bulletin for this problem and yet as plentiful as this problem is on the lot they have to order the part, again for a know problem documentd by their bulletin that this part is required and they don't have it in stock to fix my truck or the other one I test drove on their lot or the next one and so-on and so-on.....after reading all of these complaints there had better be a fix for this or I will surely deliver my $40,000 worth of inquiries and advertisements. Motor trend truck of the year...or not!!!

- Silverdale, WA, USA

problem #1

Mar 092004

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 4,000 miles
I have a 2004 F-150 (extended cab). While taking off, turning left or right- you will feel a vibration in the rear. This developed approx. 1 month after receiving the new truck. I have returned the vehicle to my service department, and the service manager felt the vibration as well. He ordered a whole new rear axle assembly, and this was replaced. He explained this problem was due to when turning- one wheel is moving faster than the other, which sometimes causes this vibration if it was not properly lubricated. I felt the vibration more when the vehicle was cold, and the axle was not warm. After the first repair, the new axle worked fine- but the problem has returned- approx. 1 month later. I only have 6500 miles on the truck, and this will be it's 3rd rear axle. If any one else is experiencing this, my vehicle's rear end was replaced, and will need to be repaired again.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

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