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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 16
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
102,887 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.

2001 Ford Expedition engine problems

engine problem

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2001 Ford Expedition Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #63

Jul 042013

Expedition

  • 127,510 miles

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

I was stopped at a red light, and all of a sudden I heard this loud crash and bang, and was jerked forward. Thought the pick up truck behind me rear-ended me. That driver pulled up aside of me and told me you just dropped your driveshaft. Since it was dark and my vehicle was in the middle of the road at an intersection I called the police. When they arrived they told me we can't wait for your tow truck driver to get here, it's to dangerous, so they called another towing company. Well after a long hassle and the 1st tow of $150, I got my vehicle towed to my house. After making several phone calls I finally got it towed to the repair shop on 7/8/13 and had to pay another tow of $75. Finally got the call on 7/10/13 what had happened to my rotted out Expedition, all 4 control arms where rusted out, 2 of them actually bent and broke, damaging my driveshaft. Costing me another $559.14 for the repair. That's only fixing the 2 lower control arms. They have to find the 2 upper and replace them. Which will be at least another $350 this isn't even mentioning the $1,000 I spent on the rusted out rotted radiator brackets not even a year ago. I was told and expect rust but this is very dangerous, and also told Ford could have coated this parts or made them stronger to avoid these serious rust problems. Luckily I only got muscle spasms in my back, shoulder, and lower neck from this. But I don"T feel safe driving this vehicle any more. This is my last Ford I will ever purchase again !!!!!!!!!! Ford = found on roadside dead !!! this story is also shortened but the truth of what happened, I didn't mention the heat, the asthma attack I had, and the hassle I went through while all this occurred.

- Lowell, MA, USA

problem #62

Mar 292012

Expedition

  • 179,000 miles
After dropping off my children at daycare I stopped at the store. When I got back into my car and started it, it made a loud pop like something had came off. So I proceeded to turn the ignition on and then smoke came out of the top vents and the truck began making a loud popping noise and the engine was shaking. I was scared as hell and I thought the truck was about to blow up from the sound of it. So I calmed down and drove to the auto shop thankfully down the street. Well my spark plug had blew out the head and that's where the smoke was coming from. I had just replaced the #5 coil and plug with Ford on February 23, 2012 and that was $340.61. I am barely making it financially and to read all of these problems with this truck and Ford not taking responsibility of the situation is disheartening. I am a single mother of three children and live in an area with no public transportation so I am now without a vehicle and no way to get to work and support my family, now what do I do? its amazing how this dealership can swoop you in and take your money and require you to make your payments on time but won't provide you with a safe vehicle. I now have to get a cab to pick my kids up from daycare because I can't drive my truck, not to mention when you get inside it smells like pure smoke which makes it scary to even wanna turn the thing on. Very frustrated and disappointed.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #61

Aug 012009

Expedition

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the engine exhibited a popping noise and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed and the failure was located at the number two spark plug. The number two spark plug blew out of the cylinder head holder. The failure was not corrected. A failure was recently experienced with the number seven spark plug, which also blew out of the cylinder head holder. The manufacturer was made of the failure and denied assistance with the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 79,000.

- Oxnard , CA, USA

problem #60

Feb 062012

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 146,350 miles

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

A sparkplug blew out of my engine and another was loose. The plug in question ruined the threads in the cylinder head, and will require $700-$1000 for the dealer to fix. A simple google search proves Ford had been having a major problem with this happening for several years, yet has did nothing about it !!

- Salisbury, NC, USA

problem #59

Feb 262011

Expedition 8-cyl

  • miles
My vehicle suffered spark plug ejection. Upon pulling away from a stop light, the vehicle made a loud pop or bang and began to lose power immediately. Upon inspection, the coil-over-plug on the number 3 cylinder was broken from the bracket and a loud clanking noise came from the engine in that spot. After unsuccessfully trying to replace the coil, the spark plug came out of the socket without and force or tools. The spark plug came out with the coil. The area had to be rethreaded and repaired but was out of service for close to three months.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #58

May 022011

Expedition

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph there was a loud clunking noise heard from the vehicle and the check engine warning lamp illuminated. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred twice before. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who diagnosed that there was a blown spark plug that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 125,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.

- Olympia , WA, USA

problem #57

Dec 122011

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 289,997 miles

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

My husband was on his way home from work. He was going at about 70-75 mph when the #3 spark plug blew out. It left him stranded in the middle of nowhere. It has been brought to my attention that spark plug blowouts are a common defect on my vehicle yet Ford takes no responsibility for it, costing the vehicle owners a large amount of money and could cause serious accidents.

- Holden, LA, USA

problem #56

Nov 232011

Expedition

  • 215,000 miles
While two hours from home bringing my son home from surgery, while getting off the freeway may vehicle made a horrible sound like a chopper motorcycle and when I spent over a $1,000 to tow my car home to find out the spark plug #3 blew out and stripped out so now I have no vehicle and told by Ford dealership repair that it was a design flaw on the aluminum block and not under warranty and would require a helicoil but could happen to the other plugs. Plus it would cost me over $2000 to repair. I have seen lots of other people who have the same problem I have a 5.4 L engine and my vehicle runs strong I would of hoped Ford would of stood behind this but I was wrong I will definitely consider buying a different brand like a Mazda or Toyota.

- Vista, CA, USA

problem #55

Sep 222011

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 118,471 miles
#3 spark plug ejected from cylinder hole at freeway speed. Original plugs, never changed, never removed or checked from dealer delivery at new car in 2001.

- Fernley, NV, USA

problem #54

Feb 252011

Expedition

  • 200,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that her vehicle was parked in a parking lot when the engine suddenly caught fire. The police were notified and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised her that they would investigate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

- Gainseville, FL, USA

problem #53

Aug 242011

Expedition

  • 120,000 miles

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

The contact owned a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that flames were coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. A police report was also available. The dealer did not offer any assistance. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileages were 120,000. Updated 10/18/11 updated 3/29/12

- Pinellas Park, FL, USA

problem #52

Apr 202011

Expedition

  • 143,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed the failure at the spark plug thread. The local mechanic reinforced the thread at location number eight but the failure continuously recurred in other locations. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 143,000 and the current mileage was 150,000.

- Wellford , SC, USA

problem #51

Apr 092011

Expedition

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire while sitting idle in the residential driveway with the engine off. The fire department arrived and advised her that the fire could have originated from the engine. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted in regards to the failure. A fire report was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

- Santan Valley, AZ, USA

problem #50

Feb 152011

Expedition

  • 168,137 miles
I was driving when I heard a loud pop sound. My vehicle started making this loud sucking sound and noise similar to the sound of a tractor.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #49

Jan 252011

Expedition 4WD 8-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
2001 Ford Expedition 5.4L engine with 75,000 miles. There was a slight ticking in engine on drivers side, had mechanic check, no obvious problem. While driving, loud popping noise, engine became very loud (tractor like sound) and engine failure. Had vehicle towed to mechanic. Spark plug was blown out causing damage to ignition coil. Had 3 cylinders (1,3, & 5) rethreaded, ignition coils replaced and all spark plugs replaced.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #48

Dec 272010

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 129,570 miles
I have a 2001 Ford Expedition with approximately 130K miles. The spark plug in cylinder 4 blew out yesterday while my wife was driving down the highway. We discovered the cylinder head threads have been blown out also. I am unable to replace the spark plug without repair to the head.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

problem #47

Nov 242010

Expedition

  • 141,100 miles
The # 3 spark plug blew out the head while driving.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #46

Nov 082010

Expedition

  • 166,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that she was informed that the vehicle had suddenly caught fire. The contact was able to extinguish the fire; the hood was burned and the windshield blew out as a result of the failure. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #45

Oct 222010

Expedition 4WD 8-cyl

  • 134,000 miles
Ford 2001 Expedition has a blown spark plug. The engine could have caught on fire while I drove the truck with the vapors pouring out of the plug spot (which flew out of the engine on to the road some where behind me). Ford knows this is an engine defect. Why are we not having a recall for this problem.

- Somonauk, IL, USA

problem #44

Sep 102010

Expedition

  • 92,521 miles
While starting the vehicle I heard a loud pop from the engine... when I took the vehicle to the mechanic #8 sparkplug blew out, damaged the head and piston....looking around $1200 in repairs plus car rental. Sparkplugs got water in them 3 different times before they need to investigate this problem.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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