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 2002 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph he heard a loud banging noise before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle coasted to a stop and the contact noticed the spark plugs had fractured from the engine. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that this was a known failure. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified and also acknowledged this was a known failure; however, the manufacturer offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 65,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I am one of the people who have had the original factory spark plug eject from the engine, which indicates there is a defect with the engine & cylinder head design. Where I work, four of us have the same year truck, three of us had the same spark plug eject problem! the fourth guy only has 40,000 miles on his truck, so were all waiting for it to happen to him! just another of Ford better ideas-I don't think
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. The contact started the vehicle and there was an abnormal explosion from under the front hood. The vehicle was shut off and towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that one of the spark plugs had blew out and detached from the engine. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 78,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Ford F150 2002 was having what we thought was a wheel balance issue. Day before sounded like lifters we needing adjustment (tapping) that seemed to get better as it drove. Was turning onto a highway type road, engine made a bang that sounded like it threw a rod, followed by loud pops. There was no smoke or oil. Immediately pulled over and cut the engine. Had to tow truck to dealer ($90). Ford dealer identified blown spark plug #3, and used a kit to install helicoil to allow replacement spark plug. They said induction cleaning was also necessary due to the non-firing cyl, plus all new plugs. Repair cost $950. Lost use of truck for two days, and then found out this is a known issue without a recall; and it could happen at any time on other spark plugs. Spark plugs original to vehicle and normal maintenance was conducted on the truck. Was advised I could have done nothing different to prevent this from happening.. shocked and appalled to read of thousands of similar occurrence, and Ford even has a kit to repair their manufacturing defect.
- Wildwood, MO, USA
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I own a 2002 Ford F150 with a 5.4 Triton engine. I just had an issue with a spark plug coming out of the head. I have read many reports of people having this same issue with new factory plugs and replacement plugs. This seems to be a design flaw that Ford has yet to admit is a design flaw. This issues can result in a fire luckily it did not happen with mine. I work at a salvage yard and this is one of the common things we see happen to these motors. I thought I had one that was not part of the issue but I guess not. Now I will have the cost of a tow call and what ever it will cost to fix it and from what I have seen so far around $500-1500 if heads are not changed. If heads are changed then it could be alot more.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 60 mph, the contact heard a loud rattling noise from the engine area. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that one of the spark plugs had blown out. The vehicle was being repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 110,000.
I was driving in the urban street and I suddenly hear a noise coming from the engine compartment, like something is leaking from the engine. So I had it towed to my house which is around 2 kms away. We discovered that one of the spark plug just pull out of the engine and it was the one that was making the noice and no power. I brought it to my friend whjo is a mechanic and he discovered that the tread is damaged and he cannot insert the plug anymore. I bought it used on March 2008.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 3 mph, the vehicle exhibited a loud pop from the engine as the vehicle began to lose power. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where he was informed that a spark plug fractured from the engine and tore an engine coil. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 95,800.
I have a 2002 F-150 harley-davidson edition supercrew pick up truck and just had my number 3 spark plug blown out it destroyed the coil pack the plug and boot the vehicle has 121,556 miles.
I was following the Ford rules for when to replace spark plugs at 100,000 miles. I have 99,860 miles on my 2002 Ford F150 XLT 4.6L Triton V8 motor. I was driving home from getting the new plugs from the auto store to replace when I heard what sounded like a gun going off. One of the spark plugs fired out of its location ripping off the coil pack hitting my fan blade on the truck. This is very dangerous because as I have been reading. The fuel could have been ignited by the coil pack causing a fire or worse. What is being done about this defect and why has their not been a recall on the Ford motors?
I have had two sparkplugs ejected from my truck motor. I have a Ford truck. It has happened twice in two years with plugs that were in it when I bought it new from a Ford dealer, with Ford certified mechanics. 2 out of 8 is a 25 % failure rate.
Spark plug blowout of the cylinder head on a Ford 5.4 Triton motor. Many have had this problem and have to deal with a bad design by Ford. It makes these Ford vehicles non reliable because it could leave you stranded away from home with no one to fix the problem like what happened to me.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. While driving at 55 mph, the spark plug failed. The contact called an authorized dealership and the dealer stated that the spark plug did not call for repair until 100,000 miles. The dealer also stated that there are different metals interacting with each other which would cause the spark plugs to fail and stated that the contact would have to pay out of pocket for repair. The vehicle was repaired. The current mileage was 89,533. The failure mileage was 89,520.
On a 2002 Ford F-150 harley davidson edition truck, the # 2 spark plug was ejected from the engine while driving 65 mph, causing my vehicle to slow down, and the gasoline and exhaust fumes were filing the drivers compartment. This is the second truck I have owned previous a (2003 same vehicle model) where the sparkplug has been ejected from the engine while driving. Why is there no recall or study on this problem from Ford?? engine still had original plugs from factory!! their torque specs!!
Auto fire: Resident heard car horn sounding, came out and saw 2002 Ford F-150 smoking. Opened door and air entering vehicle started flames to grow. Neighbor extinguished with dry chemical. Appears to have been smoldering for sometime, due to heavy smoked glass in cab interior and melted dash compartment. Resident had last driven vehicle at 7pm, Monday night. Truck dash is extensively damaged. Fire originated in the middle of the dashboard. VIN # has no recalls. Reported to fire department.
On April 17, I noticed a whistling sound coming from the engine, but could not find the source of the sound, and thought it was a vacuum line leak. I started the truck on the morning of April 14 and I heard a loud popping sound followed by a small black cloud, upon examining under the hood, I found the #3 spark plug on the passenger side had blown out of the hole and the coil had been blown off with it, breaking the plastic that had a steel insert that was screwed down to the block. I tried to replace the spark plug, but could not get it started in to the threads on the head. I found out that O'reily's sells a cylinder head repair kit # 42025 specifically for this problem, it had a insert that you screwed into the head and it was threaded on the inside to accept a extended length spark plug that was included in the kit, I tried this kit @ $64 dollars plus the new coil @ $43, upon completing the work with the kit and the new coil installed, I started the truck and still had the same whistling problem and was losing compression, I contacted a local mechanic, and found out from him that this is a very common problem and he see this same problem once every two weeks or so, I took the truck to him and he worked on it for approx. 6 hours and has the problem fixed, however, he said he couldn't promise that this is not going to happen again, to the same plug or others. If Ford knows there is a problem why won't anybody make them fix it and make it right for the little guy (consumers?)
My 2002 Ford F-150 with Triton 4.6 liter engine blew the #4 plug on Sunday morning. After it spent 3 days in the dealership to repair the problem, it then blew the #2 plug the very same night I picked it up on 4/7. now I have found that this is a very common and well known problem in the 1997 to 2008 for engines with aluminum head threads. Ford is not taking responsibility for this design flaw. It is a hug problem that needs to be acknowledged.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- El Sobrante, CA, USA