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.
While backing up the four wheel drive went out, and would only operate in two wheel drive. This happened when it was very snowy and icy road conditions. Cause was from electric actuator that engages 4X4 system. Vehicle had less than 19,000 miles on it. Ford would not repair under power train warranty.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle would smoke when the ignition was started. The dealer diagnosed that there was a computer defect, which caused the vehicle to blow black smoke out of the exhaust pipe. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 26,000 and the current mileage was 28,000.
2008 F-150 radio and interior lights randomly come on while the key is off, out of the ignition, parked in the garage, with the doors closed, the windows can be open or closed. Began randomly about 2 months ago (12-1-2010 @ 60K miles). No re-occurring pattern to the incidences. If the radio on/off switch is off the radio does not come on, but the interior light will come on. Local dealer replaced some sort of "radio module-$600" but did not resolve the issue. Help; concerned about battery life and other potential electronic failures.
- Dover, DE, USA
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The contact owned a 2008 Ford F150. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph when sparks began shooting form the auxiliary cigarette lighter. The contact stated that his cellular phone was plugged into the lighter at the time of the failure and the sparks were falling into a trash bag inside the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and contacted the fire department. The fire department arrived forty-five minutes later and was able to extinguish the fire within one and a half hours. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 43,000.
The ignition system on the Ford 2008 P/U continues to crank once the key is turned until the engine starts. This could cause a fire by the starter overheating while trying to start the engine. It needs to be recalled and replaced or repaired as necessary. There has been no incident reported, but this is a safety hazard.
2008 Ford F150 consumer stated that vehicle self-accelerated at full throttle. The consumer stated he had his foot lightly on the brake pedal; when he shifted from park to reverse, the vehicle accelerated at full throttle and thrust backwards at an unsafe rate of speed. The consumer applied the brake immediately and shifted to park; the engine was still racing at full throttle. He shut off the engine, waited a few minutes and then restarted the vehicle again and drove home. On January 13, 2010, the same thing happened again. It happened for a third time while stopped at an intersection attempting to make a right turn, with his foot on the brake and the vehicle spontaneously accelerated. The dealer had the vehicle for 2 1/2 days, but they were unable to duplicate the problem.
2008 F150 supercrew lariat 4X4 bought brand new on July 18 with 426 miles on it. I have made no modifications to the truck except put a flat bed cap on the bed that attaches with clamps under the bed rail and has no electrical components. I have driven the truck less than 2500 miles. On the morning of the incident I drove to work just minutes away from home. Parked truck and locked vehicle and went into factory to my office. 35-40 minutes later I received a call on my phone from the guard building saying my truck was on fire. I walked back out to the parking lot and the truck was filled with smoke. Bystanders said truck had flames inside going up windshield but had died down. They had a fire extinguisher but the truck was locked and they didn't want to open the truck since the flames were dying down until the fire department arrived. Fire department arrived and I unlocked truck door and opened up truck to let smoke out. Small fire rekindled under dash on passenger side, put out immediately with dry chemical fire extinguisher. Opened hood to disconnect battery cables for fire department and did not notice any damage in engine compartment. Interior dash was completed burned away in a 4-5" wide area between radio/HVAC control console and glove compartment door. Area that includes the auxiliary power plug and a dash vent. I made no changes/modifications or add ons to the truck after purchasing the vehicle, and had nothing plugged into the auxiliary power plug at any time. Dash is completely gone in this area plus a small portion above the passenger airbag area of dash. Vent is completely gone, auxiliary power plug is completely burned away with just a metal frame of the plug remaining laying on the floor of the truck on top of some melted, piled-up plastic from dash. No wiring was attached to the metal frame anymore. Fire department made a report, so police were not called to the scene. Ford consumer department was notified but declines liability.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA