Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 15040 | 01/01/2002 | 630022 | Some vehicles including 1997 through 1999 explorer sport trac equipped with a 4.0l sohc engine may exhibit a start-up noise from the left front of the engine. *tt | 04/11/2002 | |
| 01205 | 10/15/2001 | 627927 | Some vehicles may exhibit vacuum or air leaks in the intake manifold and / or engine system causing diagnostic trouble codes p0171 and or p0174. *tt | 02/26/2002 | |
| 15006 | 06/01/2001 | 622817 | Some vehicles with 4.0l sohc engines may make a start-up noise from the left front of the engine. *tt | 10/23/2001 | |
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 | |||
| 10/17/2007 | 1 | ||
| Driving along everything is fine, lose power pull off the side of the road and the vehicle i see black smoke and then flames, couldn't get out because of power windows and locks. went to the back of the vehicle and kicked my way out and the vehicle was engulfed in flames in minutes and burned to the ground. *tr | |||
| 04/11/2005 | 1 | 10/10/2003 | |
| The problem i'm having involves a 1997 ford explorer sport (4.0l-5spd-non-auto climate control)--the temp is not controllable and remains hot all the time except for max a/c--this problem seems to commonly involve but is not neccessarily limited to the blend door, blend door actuator and heater box--to my knowledge there have been no deather or injuries caused by this problem but it is significant non the less . *ak | |||
| 01/04/2004 | 13000 | 1 | 02/02/1997 |
| To best describe my problem is that the camshaft broke off right at timing pulley.this break cause the serpentine belt to wrap around all the other components. i was traveling along the express way at 65 mph, when i loss of power steering, and a loss control of the vehicle for a period of time until i regain control. *ak | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that there is a sensor that is causing vehicle to heat up, causing vehicle to not be able to restart. *slc the camshaft was replaced. the radio goes off at anytime, the consumer has difficulty shutting the radio off manually. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 04/05/1997 | 45000 | 1 | 02/09/1998 |
| I had taken my vehicle to the dealership on three separate occassions due to coolant loss and the temparature guage reading cool. on each occassion they replaced the thermostat. the last time was just prior to the expiration of the extended warranty. i specifically requested that it be tested and checked thouroughly becasue i did not want to replace an engine after the warranty expired. they replaced the thermostat. shortly after i experienced the same difficulty. i took the vehicle to a private garage and they reported that the head gaskets had failed and were leaking. i contacted the service manager at the dealership and he requested that i bring the vehicle to them for tests. several days later the service department called and informed me that the head gaskets had failed and that coolant was entering the cylinders. they offered to replace the engine for $4600.00. not going to happen.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 08/02/2006 | 1 | ||
| The engine on my 1997 ford explorer caught on fire and destroyed my vehicle. *nm | |||
| 1 | |||
| The camshaft chain was replaced. *jg | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 108000 | 1 | 06/15/2003 |
| The crankshaft broke off and went into the fan shield. the ford mechanic says he has not seen this before and it looks like a defect in the metal. it was good that i was going only 30mph at the time or it would have gone throught the fan its self. it could have had many consequences. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CRANKCASE (PCV) | |||
| 12/30/2002 | 08/26/2001 | ||
| I have a general recall, i have a 1997 ford explorer sport, my front camshaft chain guide needs replacing, i took it in at the dealership where i purchased, he told me my vechile is no longer under warranty(102000), i ned help with this matter. thanks | |||