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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,243 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.

2002 Ford F-150 engine problems

engine problem

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2002 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #63

Sep 072009

F-150

  • 140,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. The contact stated that he was alerted by the fire department that his vehicle was on fire. As a result the vehicle was completely destroyed. The vehicle has not been inspected by a technician. The current and failure mileages were 140000.

- Gasponia, NC, USA

problem #62

Aug 172009

F-150

  • 100,300 miles
There was no events leading up to our problem with our pick up truck. I started the truck and heard a loud bang and then the truck sounded like it was missing. We found out that the 3rd spark plug on the passenger side of the motor blew out. It hasn't been fixed yet it happened yesterday 8/17/09.

- Uniondale, NY, USA

problem #61

Jun 252009

F-150

  • 55,082 miles
My 2002 Ford F150 truck, with the 5.4 liter engine, has had 2 failures on 2 different occasions in the space of 8 months. Each time I was just driving down the highway and a spark plug was blown out of the head, along with the coil. (plug #3 the first time and #7 the last time.) this failure caused an immediate loss of power. Luckily the traffic was light each time, being late at night, so I was able to pull safely to the side of the road to determine the problem, whereas if the traffic had been heavy, it could have caused a major accident because of the immediate power loss to the engine, and/or a fire due to it proximity to the injectors. The defects were repaired at the local Ford dealership where the truck was purchased using a threaded insert into the old head and a new coil. Total cost for both repairs was approximately $600, at my expense. I have emailed Ford Motor Company and they responded saying that because the vehicle was out of warranty and there were no recalls or customer satisfaction programs it would not be fixed by Ford. I purchased this vehicle new and it has been meticulously maintained. I have searched the internet and have found that there are thousands of these engines with this problem. It is obvious Ford knows of this defect in the heads and refuses to deal with it. If not by recall, it is obviously a factory defect and should be dealt with by Ford as the incidents occur. This is a dangerous situation that should be looked into because of the immediate loss of engine power and possibility of fire.

- Sherman, TX, USA

problem #60

May 162009

F-150 8-cyl

  • 220,000 miles

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

Fordf150 2002 model was driving down hwy 11W approximately 45 mile an hour and heard loud bang the #5 spark plug had blown out of engine spitting fuel the engine is 5.4 trition V8 it broke the coil pack and busted the fuel rail on pick up truck is the a recall " or needs to be recalled any suggestions as to how to fix this issue"

- Bristol, TN, USA

problem #59

May 092009

F-150

  • 80,000 miles
I own A2002 Ford F150. It has about 80,000 miles and it blew a spark plug out of the engine.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #58

Feb 032009

F-150

  • 81,300 miles
While driving at 45 mph on level surface the #5 spark plug was ejected from it's hole damaging the coil over plug causing arcing from the coil to the engine. The vehicle immediately slowed dramatically and the smell of gasoline was apparent. Luckily there was very light traffic and I was able to pull to the side of the road and shutdown the engine. I identified the problem and having some mechanical training knew enough to disconnect the fuel injector wire for the #5 cylinder. This was the only way I could safely move the vehicle. Had I not known what to do, an engine compartment explosion would have easily resulted.

- Colfax, WI, USA

problem #57

Jan 272009

F-150

  • 120,000 miles

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

My 2002 F150 recently spit out a spark plug, stripping the threads of the aluminum cylinder head. The service shop where I took it told me that it's been a major problem with Ford trucks for some time, and refused to fix it.

- Edmonton, 00, USA

problem #56

Jan 092009

F-150

  • 43,332 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. While driving 35 mph, the spark plugs failed. The contact pulled the vehicle over and examined underneath the hood. A witness stated that there was a noise when this occurred. The vehicle was restarted and popping noises were heard. The vehicle was towed to a Ford dealer and they stated that nothing could be done and the contact would be responsible for the repairs. There were no complaints found for this vehicle. The vehicle has been repaired. The failure mileage was 43,332 and current mileage was 43,600.

- Oxnold, CA, USA

problem #55

Nov 112008

F-150

  • 79,000 miles
Driving to pick up my son at school for a trip. As I turned left across traffic I heard a loud pop in my 2002 Ford F150 and then a loud series of loud pops as my engine continued to run. I pulled to the side of the road and immediately noticed a strong smell of gasoline. I moved the vehicle to a parts store just up the street and was told that my Triton V-8 engine had just ejected a spark plug out of the head. I had the vehicle towed to a mechanic who then charged me a great deal to repair the head and replace the spark plug.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #54

May 202008

F-150

  • 91,250 miles
Normal driving conditions on the freeway - spark plug discharged out of the motor. Vehicle towed to nearest auto repair shop. To repair, the hole for the spark plug in the aluminum head was rethreaded using a standard helicoil kit. Two spark plug holes have been replaced at a cost of $1100 per hole for parts and labor.

- Pleasant Hill, CA, USA

problem #53

Dec 302008

F-150

  • 58,000 miles

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

2002 Ford F150 5.4 liter engine. Traveling at approx 25 mph I heard a loud pop from the engine compartment and something hitting the hood. The car started to run rough and gasoline fumes started to fill the passenger compartment. I took the truck to a repair garage who indicated that a spark plug had blown from the head. I was told this is a common Ford problem by the garage and subsequent research on the internet has verified this. The head was remilled and the plug and coil had to be replaced. Ford does acknowledge an issue and has issued a tsb however warranties do not cover repair. With the plug blown out of the head gas vapors were being injected into the engine compartment and the risk of fire is present.

- Stamford, CT, USA

problem #52

Aug 112008

F-150

  • 85,000 miles
While being 250 miles away from home, the spark plug blew out of the engine of my 2002 F-150 truck. I was able to buy tools and perform a temporary repair in order to get my truck home. I then hired a mechanic to repair the engine using a heli-coil. Unfortunately I don't trust the truck now as I bought it to pull my camper and am concerned over being stranded. I was told by my mechanic that it is a common problem with the 5.4 Triton engine. I am not sure why Ford has not performed a recall on it.

- Frankfort, NY, USA

problem #51

Sep 172008

F-150

  • 62,000 miles
Truck maintained according to manufacturer specs. While driving daughter to school, heard loud pop. Was able to make it to local repair shop. Blown spark plug out of #2 cylinder. With the use of helicoil repairs came to approx. $700. Less than 6 weeks later #4 cylinder blew spark plug while driving 65 miles per hour on the freeway. This time (after much research of similar complaints) installed longer thread spark plugs suggested by Ford parts department. This time repair costs were $800. If Ford has made a special kit and new longer spark plugs for this "problem" isn't that a subtle admission or guilt/responsibility. What ever happened to doing the right thing...admit your mistakes and take care of these repairs. "built Ford tough" my eye!! my next truck will be a Toyota...

- Highland, CA, USA

problem #50

Oct 152008

F-150 8-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
My 2002 Ford F-150 with a 4.6 liter V8 blew out a spark plug while accelerating on a highway entrance ramp. The sparkplug that blew out was the 3rd from the front on the passenger side. The threads for the spark plug in that cylinder are now ruined as well as the coil for that plug. To repair this problem I will probably end up buying a $250 kit to re-tap the head.

- Aurora, OH, USA

problem #49

Sep 042008

F-150

  • 130,489 miles
I have a 5.4L engine in my Ford truck and it keeps stripping out spark plugs. I am not the only one with this problem. There are hundreds if not thousands of people that have posted the same problem on Consumer Affairs report.com. One guys truck burnt to the ground in 12 minutes and couldn't even get his navigation system out of his vehicle. Flames were shooting out of the dash towards him. I have contacted Ford with the matter and they state that it is not a safety issue and you are the ones that have to recall it. I would say that if your vehicle can burn to the ground in a matter of minutes, it is a safety problem. They know about this problem and it keeps happening to people all over and they are not doing anything about it. A recall needs to be called on these engines before someone gets killed or hurt in an accident due to the vehicle breaking down in the middle of a highway. It needs to be taken care of before someone gets killed, not after.

- East Carondelet, IL, USA

problem #48

Aug 032008

F-150

  • 148,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. While driving 65 mph on the highway, the spark plugs stripped out of the engine block. There were no prior warnings. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. Instead, he simply noticed the spark plug sticking out from the top of the hood. The vehicle is able to be driven, but it rides very roughly. The failure mileage was 148,000.

- Woodriver Junction, RI, USA

problem #47

Jul 192008

F-150

  • 110,900 miles
I was driving along MN7 on my way home. I stopped at a 4 way stop. When it was my turn to go, I started to accelerate and then my #5 spark plug blew out of the cylinder head. This has happened before. One May 4th 2008, #3 and #4 blew out and it cost me $2,000 to fix this. After doing some searching on the internet, it appears that a lots of Ford F150 owners are having this problem and Ford will do nothing to fix it.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

problem #46

May 012008

F-150

  • 106,001 miles
The # 3 spark plug shot out of the my Ford F150 5.4 V8 Triton engine. There are not enough threads to hold this in correctly. This needs to be recalled by Ford.

- Lake Elsinore, CA, USA

problem #45

Mar 192008

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles
Driving 2002 Ford F-150 and suddenly engine lost power and made popping sounds. This happened on very busy street nearly got rear-ended as power dramatically fell off. Checked engine and spark plug was blown out and coil was destroyed above the spark plug right underneath fuel rail. Stranded on side of busy road for 2 hours until vehicle was towed to dealer. Dealer had to use heliocoil and replaced coil costing approximately $600.

- Rexford, NY, USA

problem #44

Aug 072005

F-150 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 65,000 miles
I bought my truck under the assumption that I wouldn't need to do a major tuneup until 100,000 miles. Prior to that, I had to get one at 60,000 miles, 3-5 months after that one of my spark plugs shot out of the motor, leading to having to have the head replace. I received no reasonable explanation on what would have caused that or why would it happened. The dealership and Ford wanted to charge me 3,600 dollars to fix it. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem with a Ford F150 or had there been some kind of recall? if so, is there some kind of legal action I can take against Ford for this.

- Lewisville, TX, USA

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