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Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect

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• Spit Spark Plugs Still Hobble Ford Trucks • Buy American? Not Again • Ford's Spit-Out Spark Plugs Hit Mechanics in their Wallets • Spit Spark Plug Ignites Ford Truck • Ford Mechanic: Engines "Dropping Like Flies" • 2003 Ford Trucks Now Spitting Spark Plugs • Ford Trucks Spit Spark Plugs • Petition Asks Feds to Order Ford Recall • Consumers Complain of Spark Plug Blow-Out --- • More about Ford ...

Phil of Essex, MA February 9, 2010

I took my F 150 Ford truck to a garage to have the sparkplugs changed and two broke off because of poor design and it took the mechanic eight hours to get the broken plugs out.

Timothy of Henderson, NV February 9, 2010

I bought a used 2004 E250 Van and two months afterward, I was on the freeway and heard this loud pop! My van slowed and lost compression. I took it to ford and they told me a spark plug blew out and that they would need to put in a heli coil. They did the job and we paid them 1100. Now, less than one month later, the van still has compression problems and I took it back to Ford Country and they said that when the plug blew out it created a leak in the Intake Manifold and now I needed a new one, they would charge 1600 more to replace it.

I have found another mechanic who I trust more than the price gouging Ford Country and he is going to do it for almost half. The problem is both my mechanic and I have called Ford to order the Intake Manifold and have been told they are back ordered and that the next shipment due in is meant for 17 people in the area who have been waiting for MONTHS!

And that there is so many people with these vehicles that have this problem they can't keep up with the part orders. Now, I come to Consumer Affairs and see hundreds and hundreds of the same complaints. This is ridiculous!! Why is Ford not taking any responsibility for this problem?

Chou of Brooklyn Center, MN February 8, 2010

I was driving my 2001 Ford Expedition to pick up my child from Girl Scouts when I heard a loud pop followed by a strong smell of gasoline. I was only 2 blocks from home and turned around. The spark plug on #6 was ejected and the coild pack was destroyed. Now the thread is stripped, I have never heard of the thread being stripped or this happening before. I looked online and there are hundreds of people that have encountered this issue. This is ridiculous, and dangerous. If ford knows about this, they need to fix it. There is a gas line that runs along the coil packs right above them, this could have ignited the whole engine compartment and the vehicle. I have two kids and now I don't know where to fix this. I don't have 1000's of dollars to fix this issue. I don't see why this isn't recalled.

Debra of Blairstown, NJ February 8, 2010

As I was driving my Ford Escape along all of a sudden I heard this loud pop and flapping sound as well as feeling it in my gas pedal. I immediately slowed down and got over to the side of the road in order to stay safe while waiting for AAA. They arrived and towed me to my mechanic. Upon my mechanic examining the problem he informed us of a spark plug blowout. I was in shock! A what?

I went online that evening and found this website with many, many listings for this same problem! I couldn't believe it. I contacted Ford and they told me that there was nothing they could do about it. I still have not had the chance to call them again but I, like the others this has happened to, believe that Ford needs to be responsible for this problem, especially since it has been going on for years and years and they ARE aware of it. It is also a safety issue. I was lucky enough to have been traveling on a small back road in my area. If I had been on Route 80 going 65mph I do believe things would have been very different for me.

We incurred 850 worth of damages that could have been avoided if Ford took responsibility and had some sort of recall on this years ago. I wanted to file this with consumer affairs in case there was any type of action that you could take and that I would be included in this. Thank you for taking the time to gather this information and I do hope we are all successful in reaching a conclusion to this horrible problem.

I was without a car for many days while the mechanic used a "kit" to fix some of the other plugs. OUr cost was around 850. I was starting a new job after being unemployed for awhile and was very concerned about being able to get back and forth to work safely. The mechanic was able to get our car back to us and so far, so good. Thank God for a good mechanic!

Francisco of MIami, FL February 8, 2010

Ford really needs to step up and take ownership of this problem with the spark plugs being blown out of the head. I thought I was alone with this problem but keep reading more and more complaints. Ford stand behind your product! I have a 2003 Expedition, and got stranded on my way home from work. few hundred dollars later, I hope i'm good now.

Robert of Carroll, OH February 7, 2010

I own (2) Expeditions, a 1999, and 2000. Both have blown #3 spark plug out and twice in the 2000. This is absolutely reidiculous to have the smae occurrence twice in one and once in the other. Complaints are all over the internet, but they arent't willing to help. Why buy Ford junk ever again?

David of Houston, TX February 6, 2010

My wife called stranded after hearing a loud noise under the hood. I saw that it had spit out a spark plug and thought that it came loose. Now I learn that it stripped the threads and that many other people have been having this problem. Theres even several companies that produce a repair kit for this particular problem since it happens so often.

Mark of Wabasha, MN February 6, 2010

Same thing as alot of other people had happen to them,.. My 2001 Ford F-150 with a 5.4 Triton spit a spark plug,.. I am not very happy about it since I had my daughter with me ( she is 3 yrs old) and it wasnt a very warm day out,.. we had to wait 2 hrs in the cold for a tow

Diane of Brightwaters, NY February 5, 2010

The Spark Plug blew out of my 2002 Expedition, I lost power and the smell of gasoline was real strong, so I shut the engine down rather chance an explosion. I was left in the cold for hours until the tow truck came. My mechanic is well aware of this FORD defect. He said he did not want to put new heads on the engine becausr FORD will ship out new heads with the same defect. So we agrred to put in helo coils for now. 700 later, I do not trust this truck. I used a complaint to FORD and to the NHTSA website. I am going to get rid of this Truck and go back to Chevy. FORD - Fix Or Repair Daily - Found On Road Dead. Some things never change....to bad we bailed them out.

Michael of Winnemucca, NV February 5, 2010

I bought a used 2003 f-150 supercrew Fx4 I was hesitant to buy it because it had 114,000 miles but bought it anyway because I am a Ford man through and through. My kids and I got it for my wife for mothers day because she has always wanted a 4 door ford truck. She was thrilled with the truck until 2-20-10 when the Triton 5.4 Liter blew the #4 spark plug out of the cylinder. I had never even heard of such a thing until I called the warranty place and they said " oh yeah! on a Ford, happens all the time " ARE YOU KIDDING ME. They agreed to pay for the repair, thank god, then the guy at the local Ford dealership said he has done 3 in the last year! We love our truck but this is bullspit! Ford needs to step up and admit there is a problem here. If not for buying an "aftermarket" warranty we would be screwed and who's to say it wont happen again on our truck. I dont want a new truck I just want mine fixed!! There are currently 314 pages of complaints here on consumer affairs about this problem. We need some help here.

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