Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 0182 | 04/30/2001 | 619273 | Some bi-fuel vehicles may exhibit a no start condition. *tt | 05/22/2001 | |
| 980312 | 04/01/1998 | 603506 | Excessive white smoke. verify glow plug operation by performing glow plug system operation check on the hard start/no start diagnostic sheet. *tt | 07/14/2000 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 01/24/2010 | 100000 | 1 | |
| I have a 1999 chinook class c with a ford e-350 chassis powered by a triton v-10. shortly after buying it used we had a spark plug pop out. it was an original plug. we had them changed and took a cross country trip. as we were coming up on memphis tn. another plug blew out. we were on an interchange in a very dangerous place. we could not get out as there was a freeway on both sides. it took 3 1/2 hours to get us out of harms way. just last weekend it happened again though i drove off the freeway. i have since read that this could cause a fire as the gas is getting pushed out the plug hole and the plug is out and firing. i have done some research and ford says the plugs were not torqued to spec which caused it to happen. we had our original plugs when it 1st happened. i also read online where a dealer had a very low mileage v-10 with original plugs and it happened to him. i think these heads are defective and should be replaced. i cannot find aftermarket heads so i would feel safer. it has always happened going down the freeway. the mechanic at the shop where it is says he has a ford kit to repair the heads. he says it is the only kit for this he has ever seen yet ford denies there is a real problem. i just feel lucky i have been able to get off the road each time. these engines are in many rv's and larger trucks which are harder to maneuver i.e. more dangerous. *tr | |||
| 02/24/2007 | 140000 | 1 | 01/15/2000 |
| During normal town driving, a spark plug was blown from passenger-side engine head, second from closest to passenger compartment. no prior issues with engine. plugs not recently replaced. no obvious tell-tale signs that failure was immanent. vast majority of vehicle's 140k mileage was long run on interstate. threads were stripped, ignition coil was destroyed. no information from ford regarding how to fix, other than a dealers suggestions to replace head or replace engine. no information on fords web site. *jb | |||
| 07/30/2005 | 1 | 01/01/2000 | |
| Dt: had an engine failure while towing a boat. had brakes but no power brakes. this happened on july 30, 2005. the service engine light came on and a few second later the engine failed. the module that controlled the fuel injection failed. there was a hole coin the back of it, and it affected the whole engine. water dripped out of the part when the mechanic took it off. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | |||
| 03/16/2005 | 94600 | 2 | 07/11/1999 |
| Discca owns eight e-250 & e-350 ford vans. two have had fan selector switches overheat and fill the cab with smoke. one is a 1999 e-350 and the other is a 2001 e-250. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 12/12/2010 | 59500 | ||
| 1999 ford e350 caught fire and burned to a total loss while sitting cold in my driveway. i bought the vehicle used on nov 8, 2010. dec 12, 2010 i drove about 3 miles to the grocery around 20:30; i returned home and parked the vehicle in my driveway about 20:45. about 22:15 a passing car observed flames coming from the front of the vehicle and flaring to contact my house. the witness alerted me at my door. i immediately grabbed the garden hose and attempted to spray water into the front grill, left side to put out the fire. i couls not see where the actual fire was as the hood was closed, i sprayed where the flames exited the grill. the wind was blowing about 20 mph and i could not extinguish the flames. the vehicle was facing north, the wind blowing from west to east. the flames began to shoot out from the passenger wheel well in a horizontal streak as the wind stoked the fire. neighbors called 911 while i diverted the water spray from the vehicle to the house and garage since the van was parked within 2 feet of the garage door and the wind now had flames shooting 8-12' high and brushing the wood garage door. the firemen arrived, knocked the vehicle hood off with a tool and sprayed the engine compartment to extinguish the fire. due to the wind, the van was completely fire gutted and a total loss. the fire inspector advised me of the ford cruise control recall and said he could find no other possible cause for the fire in the engine compartment as there were no leaks of any kind and no recent repairs in the engine compartment. local ford dealers have declined to tell me if my vin had warranty work to repair the switch. | |||
| 05/30/2010 | 141000 | ||
| I was doing some city driving in my ford van and all of a sudden it started to sound rough and like my muffler fell off. i stopped had it towed and they told me the spark plug had blown out of the engine. when looking into it it seems that it is a fairly common problem. my understanding is that if i had not turned the engine off quickly i could have had a fire in there as there still is gas and combustion going on(the other 9 plugs) now i don't know if or when the other plugs will go on me ands am afraid to drive the car more than a taxi cab ride home. | |||
| 01/24/2010 | 100000 | 1 | |
| I have a 1999 chinook class c with a ford e-350 chassis powered by a triton v-10. shortly after buying it used we had a spark plug pop out. it was an original plug. we had them changed and took a cross country trip. as we were coming up on memphis tn. another plug blew out. we were on an interchange in a very dangerous place. we could not get out as there was a freeway on both sides. it took 3 1/2 hours to get us out of harms way. just last weekend it happened again though i drove off the freeway. i have since read that this could cause a fire as the gas is getting pushed out the plug hole and the plug is out and firing. i have done some research and ford says the plugs were not torqued to spec which caused it to happen. we had our original plugs when it 1st happened. i also read online where a dealer had a very low mileage v-10 with original plugs and it happened to him. i think these heads are defective and should be replaced. i cannot find aftermarket heads so i would feel safer. it has always happened going down the freeway. the mechanic at the shop where it is says he has a ford kit to repair the heads. he says it is the only kit for this he has ever seen yet ford denies there is a real problem. i just feel lucky i have been able to get off the road each time. these engines are in many rv's and larger trucks which are harder to maneuver i.e. more dangerous. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2001 | 2 | 03/01/1999 | |
| Oil leaking from head gasket. after two failures of this possible factory defect, dealer is replacing my engine with a rebuilt engine. they initially told me it would be a brand new factory engine. this is totally unacceptable. i want a brand new factory engine. ford is not taking care of this problem in a manner consistent with its serious nature. to say it's fixed by putting in a rebuilt engine is ridiculous. word at ford enthusiasts message boards is that 1999 5.4 liter engines have casting defects. please help.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 01/04/2007 | 32069 | 1 | 05/05/2006 |
| Spark plug popped out of engine. *nm | |||
| 04/01/2001 | 1 | 04/01/2000 | |
| Engine oil leaking into engine cooling system. *ak | |||
| 05/23/1999 | |||
| While driving vehicle lost compression . the vehicle would not exceed speeds of 20 mph. the dealer and manufacturer have been notified. *ak | |||