Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 03911 | 05/12/2003 | 10002783 | Rough idle and/or hesitation when acclerating on certain super duty vehicles equipped with a 5.4l or 6.8l engine. *tt | 09/17/2003 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 16055 | 07/01/2002 | 636252 | Some vehicles equipped with a 5.4l engine / 4r100 transmission federal emissions powertrain may exhibit a rough idle and / or hesitation when accelerating. *tt | 11/07/2002 | |
| 15626 | 02/01/2002 | 630674 | Concerns with intermittent rough idle on initial start up. *tt | 04/19/2002 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| DP05005 | ACCUBUILT, INC. | 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 | ||||||
| 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 | ACCUBUILT, INC. | 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 | ||||||
| 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 | ACCUBUILT, INC. | 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 | ||||||
| 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 | |||
| 07/06/2009 | 106114 | 1 | |
| Driving down a street at approx. 40mph i heard a bang and then a bunch of air escaping. sounded like an exhaust leak. spark plug was blown out of number 2 cylinder. had repaired at local repair shop, put in a new heli coil. since 7-6-09 has happened again. this time number 8 cylinder. these ford engines don't have enough thread on the engine heads to hold the spark plugs in. it's probably going to keep happening until all of the threads are replaced. *tr | |||
| 07/21/2009 | 151000 | 1 | |
| My 2002 ford e-350 has been found to have a spark plug blow out. this hapened without notice. i have been told that i need a tune-up. i have researched online and found many complaints about ford truck engines ejecting spark plugs. i'm concerned that if all the plugs are replaced, that the problem may not fuller be solved without some very expensive work. *tr | |||
| 03/08/2008 | 60000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford e350. while driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions, the contact heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. the vehicle proceeded to a stop sign and resumed normal operation. the failure occurred without warning. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection and they stated that the spark plug blew out in the engine. the vehicle was repaired. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on a separate occasion for an identical failure. the dealer replaced the spark plugs. the failure mileage was 60,000 and current mileage was 72,000. | |||
| 05/02/2008 | 118000 | 1 | |
| 2002 ford e350 5.4l spark plug #7 blow out. the average consumer would think that something was wrong with the exhaust system before ever knowing or expecting that compressed fuel was being pumped into the engine compartment from the exposed spark plug orifice. at the same time, the sparked plug coil wire is still active, combining a non-contained fuel / spark condition, possibly resulting in fire or explosion. *tr | |||
| 12/20/2006 | 85545 | 1 | 09/24/2006 |
| The vehicle in question was purchased used with 82,000 showing on the odometer. i owned the vehicle for 2 1/2 months prior to this engine issue. left for work on the morning of dec. 20 2006. i am an in home service plumber. approach. 1:30 pm on the aforementioned day, i started my vehicle to leave one job and proceed to another, and upon starting the vehicle, heard a very loud pop, followed by a continuous exhaust leak type sound. upon further visual investigation, i discovered that a spark plug was laying on top of the manifold and the number 2 cylinder coil pak was distorted and pulled away from it's attached position over that cylinder. the failure was the plug ejecting out of the cylinder head ( per dealer ) and the consequences are missed days of employment until the vehicle is repaired. the repair will cost me around 4800,00, new cylinder head plus labor to install. vehicle is an e- 350 cargo 2002. 5.4 triton. i was unemployed 7 months prior to this vehicle purchase. the new job i have requires me to purchase a service vehicle. *nm | |||
| 03/03/2006 | 50600 | 1 | 08/02/2003 |
| Ford e350 5.4l trinton engine blew out spark plug. it happened when i resumed driving after stopping at a red light. researched this out and found hundreds and hundreds of complaints on the internet. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/20/2010 | 102000 | ||
| 2002 ford econoline 350 equipped with v8 tritan engine. spark plug blew out. have tapped with heli-coil repair kit, but his repair has failed. now faced with cylinder haed removal and replacement | |||
| 01/28/2009 | 23500 | 1 | |
| After traveling 10 miles during my morning commute, while at 40 mph, a spark plug ejected from my ford triton v8 engine causing raw fuel fumes to enter the engine compartment and passenger cabin. this has resulted in an estimated $1900 repair bill from my local ford dealer to remove and repair the plug threads for the ejected plug. *tr | |||
| 02/15/2003 | 12400 | 1 | 09/03/2003 |
| Engine failure on 2002 e350 ford van. van was being operated normally on a rainy day in california. van stopped running. driver restarted van and returned to yard. van engine was making knocking noise. van was sent to dealer. dealer determined that vehicle had large volume of water in intake system and said it would not be covered under warranty. consumer appealed to ford motor co. ford sent field engineer who agreed with findings; adding that the vehicle is designed to ingest a small amount of water, but not that volume of water, therefore it was consumers fault. consumer says that if that volume of water can enter the vehicles intake system under normal operating conditions then there must be a design flaw or defective part. nowhere in owners manual does it say not to operate vehicle on rainy days, and the dealer says there is no sign that the vehicle was submerged or driven through deep water. consumer checked other e350's (earlier model years) in fleet and found evidence of small amounts of water in the intake system leading the consumer to believe that the problem may be a defect with the 2002 model year or a design flaw. *nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - DIESEL | |||
| 03/01/2007 | 96446 | 25 | 02/01/2002 |
| The truck shuts off. it sometimes is intermittent (runs fine at cruise, but wont idle) or it could be absolute. (truck just up and died! no reason!) there is no timeline, no precursor, no warning. i can drive for 200 miles, then it happens, or 1 to 7 miles. the failure is a stall. engine light comes on, if a stall comes and doesn't shut down the truck, (usually because the rpm's are being revved up.) and is restarted, the engine light will no longer be on. the engine will restart, or not restart, but eventually it will restart. then failure again. it started march 1 and continues. all else appears to be functioning fine. i believe it is the camshaft position sensor. i have not yet verified this with a mechanic, but if this is the problem a ford part will be bought and it will be replaced. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 04/08/2008 | 79510 | 2 | 11/21/2002 |
| 2002 ford e350 at 39,000 miles one spark plug blew.. out of head. ford dealership said they would only replace the entire head at a cost over $5,000.00 dollars. had repaired with helcoil at local repair shop. again at 79,000 miles two spark plugs blew out of head. not yet repaired. *tr | |||
| 05/15/2006 | 91000 | 2 | |
| Ford e-350 with 5.4 triton v-8 in hvac service truck. blew spark plug out of # 7 cylinder @ 92,000 miles on 5/15/06. lost day of work to make repairs on truck , repair parts $130.00 on 6/22/06 blew spark plug out of #2 cylinder. put truck down for 2 days while repairs were made. i had all plugs removed 4 of the remaining including #2 were bad. that's 5 of 8 that the threads were compromised . all of these were factory installed original plugs. i had the repair shop install repair sleeves in all the plug holes. the terrible part of all of this is that i may have been lucky. i didn't have to remove the heads , if the head is damaged beyond repair the only recourse is to replace it,not usually a real major job. but thanks to fords engineers the only way to replace the heads is to remove the complete cab. in a pickup it's tough in a van who are they kidding. *jb | |||