2001 Ford Expedition: won't start

Filed Oct 16, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · TX · crash

Vehicle was havin jerkin issues and check engine light was on, took to shop and it was about to blow out the spark plug, I was lucky and caught it and got it replaced but I have done research and seen that many others haven't been and that this is an ongoing issue. My next problem was acceleration, the gas pedal accelerated and cause me to crash into another vehicle and the vehicle fled the scene, there was no major injuries but 4 kids were in the vehicle and are now scared to even ride with me. Mental stress is a major injury in my concern cause it hurts my heart to know my own children are scared that I wont protect them. My third problem is that just yesterday we parked on the side of the side of the road and the vehicle died and wont start, talked to mechanics and they say 01 fords have this problem, we now have a broke down vehicle and not too sure what the defect has caused more problems to be worse. Due to the defect now the starter solenoid is out and we are unsure if possibly even the fuel pump. Ford knows of all these complaints from other owners and has done nothing. Just in my family I have 2 others that have the same vehicle and have had the same problems, why is it that ford is not doing anything about these defects that can cause major accidents and injuries???

Filed Jan 22, 2010 · Body, Electrical · 102,000 miles · CA

Was driving down the road in heavy rain when windshield wipers stopped working. Could not see 2 feet infront of me, so I was forced to pull over on a busy road. Put the truck in park, and wipers started working. Put back in drive and they stopped. Finally the rain slowed enough for me to drive with out the wipers, very unsafe! When I got home, I turned the key off, pulled them out of the ignition and the heater kept running. I had to turn it to off position. Lights on gauge cluster were flickering too. Opened driver side door and radio stayed on. Had to manually turn that off as well. Smelled something burning, so I quickly unhooked the battery. Came back a couple hours later, connected battery, now vehicle wont start! Will turn over, but wont crank. Did some research and found that this is a very common problem with many different ford vehicles! Problem is caused by a faulty windshield, allowing water to leak into the cab, behind the dash, and get water on the gem and fusebox, creating corrosion. These problems could be very unsafe! Possible fire from electric short, possible injury/death from wipers quitting while driving. Ford should take responsibility for their faulty design!

Filed Jan 21, 2010 · Electrical · 99,000 miles · MN

Car would not start on lot when I went to look at it to purchase. Dealer replaced battery. Afew months later after car sat for a period of time(1-2 weeks) vehicle would not start. Dealer replaced battery safer relay. Few weeks after that same thing again. Dealer says battery may be bad. Replaced!! My latest event vehicle sat for about 2 days. Temp went down to -29 I waited until temp went up to about -5 and went to start and battery was completely dead. Took vehicle to an auto electric shop where draw test showed an 80 milliamp drain where normal should be about (ford says) 50 milliamps. A wire was cut to the subwoofer and drain went down to 17 milliamps. This is a factory installed item. I have read hundreds of complaints on the particular vehicle(2001 ford expedition) mine happens to be an eddie bauer model. A lot of the problems seem to be leaking windshields ruining the gem modules and fuse blocks. I don't know yet if my problem is solved or not only time will tell. I'm sure a lot of this type of thing has come across your desk. Ford should take some of this burden off it customers. They know this problem widely exist and they do nothing. Future gm customer.

Filed Dec 2, 2008 · Electrical · 91,000 miles · SC

On the morning of 12/1/08 my 2001 ford expedition would not start, battery was dead. I jumped it off and drove it to the dealer. The AC fan and radio remained on even with the key out of the ignition. I have also learned the ABS system could be affected. Also; due to the electrical system shorting out there is the potential for fire. It has been determined that the windshield leaked water onto the fuse box/gem. Ford issues a special service message #15773, in april of 2002. I bought this expedition from b&b ford at barnwell, sc 29812, 803‑259‑5524 on 2/21/2004. No one mentioned the ssm to me. Now my vehicle is sitting in the middle of the dealership with the under wheel dash removed. They are telling me the it will be over $600.00 for the repair. This includes resealing the windshield, replacing the fuse box and gem. I feel that I have been driving in a vehicle that is poised to cause my family harm or death. Purchasing from a dealer one would have to agree that these issues should be resolved before the vehicle was sold to me. Once again, I was never made aware of any issues now a possible $600.00 plus bill. They ordered the parts today. This is definitely a ford problem not an ed problem. How many others are riding around in these time bombs? Thanks for your time. Ed corley

Filed Nov 30, 2008 · Electrical, Locks · 140,000 miles · VA

During wet weather my 2001 ford expedition will have various electrical problems including windshield wipers not working, radio turning on/off, door locks not working and windows not working. Sometimes car will not start at all.

Filed Jan 22, 2008 · Brakes, Electrical · 80,000 miles · LA

After rain or heavy fog we experienced many electrical issues on our 01 expedition incl. Horn not working normal,front & rear wipers not working or coming on by themselves,door locks locking/unlocking while driving, interior & exterior lights not working,alarm system going off while SUV was being driven,fan blower on after SUV was turned off, radio working intermittently, etc. The latest occurred 1/16/08 after heavy rains the prior night. Suv wouldn't start in the morning and had to be jumped. It was driven that day with only issue being interior lights coming on themselves. On 1/17/08 SUV wouldn't turn over and again was jumped. There was clicking noise from engine compartment that seemed to be coming from kelsey hayes black box. We immediately took SUV to dealership and asked for tech to witness issue. Tech confirmed noise coming from the k-h ABS module, said problem was probably due to windshield leak into fuse box & gem module which was sending current to ABS module and also causing interior lights to turn on/off by themselves. On 1/18/08 dealership said tech did pressure test on windshield and it leaked and needed to be resealed. Fuse box and gem module would also need replaced. Since problems were caused by water leak ford ext.warranty won't cover repairs. I spoke to srv mgr,who said he would call zone mgr.and get back to me. I called ford customer relations (crc) to document issues. Called dealership on 1/21/08 and srv. Mgr. Said zone mgr. Said nothing could be done to resolve situation and we were responsible for repairs. Due to ongoing electric issues with SUV we fear other safety features may malfunction compromising our safety. Ford issued ssm 15773 on 4/05/02 to dealerships addressing unusual electrical issues after rain or snow resulting from a windshield water leak. The ssm included actions to be taken in that situation. Our vehicle was back to dealership many times after release of ssm for electrical issues and ssm work was never done.

Filed Nov 26, 2007 · Electrical · PA

Unwanted electrical activity. The blower motor comes on (sometimes) when the ignition is turned off. Also heard a clicking sound under the hood, may be the ABS. Will not start as battery is low.

Filed Nov 3, 2007 · Electrical · NC

Every time it rains, my car won't start, front dash lights will turn on automatically, wipers won't work, radio won't work, ABS and theft light comes on, it has smoked and sometimes smells like an electrical fire. Water pools in the front left of my dash, it is completely rusted underneath my dash on the left side.

Filed Mar 21, 2007 · Electrical · 100,010 miles · VA

Tl*- the contact has a 2001 ford expedition with an odometer reading of 100,010 miles. The contact stated that under wet or snowing conditions the vehicle would not start. When the contact took the vehicle to the dealer they told him that the vehicle had a battery problem. The contact had changed the battery several times, but the vehicle continued to have the problem. The contact later found that his windshield was leaking water to the fuse box under wet conditions which was the caused the rear windshield wiper to stop working. The dealer repaired the failure.

Filed Nov 17, 2005 · Body, Electrical · 41,733 miles · OH

Incident: 2001 ford expedition 1. Windshield wipers would not work, radio would go off when vehicle was put in gear, blower, compass, thermometer lets & bells would not work, vehicle would not start, battery eventually went dead, etc 2. Had to service the vehicle for safety and performance reasons 3. Expedition was serviced at a local ford dealership. Service department advised us that there was a water leak around the windshield. Water was leaking into an electrical box - had to replace fuse panel and reseal glass at a cost of $456.96.

Filed Oct 18, 2005 · Body · MI

2001 ford expedition leaking front windshield caused electrical damage to fuse block and assembly. Vehicle became a no start resulting in out of pocket repairs by ford dealer in stockbridge, mi. Mechanic commented at time of repair he had already fixed several vehicles previously to my repair for water damage under dash due to leaking windshield.

Filed Mar 17, 2005 · Electrical · 53,000 miles · NC

Electronic shortages is causing malfunctions in the ignition switch, wipers, running lights and radio. These malfunctions seem to worsen when it rains. The vehicle starts by its self while unattended. When driving if the wipers dont work, I have to shift the transmission to neutrl for them to operate and the same for the radio. I have spent several hundred dollars to have this problem looked at and the ford dealership stated that they have had several vehicles come in with the same problem, but I would have to pay around $1000.00 more dollars to change out the fuse box and still this may not the cure the problem. The technition stated that water was getting in behind the fuse box some how. He told me to silicone the cow down to the windsheild to reflect the water, so I did and it did not work. Every morning my preganent wife as to use a battery jumper box to just start the vehicle because the electronics on the vehicle stays on all the time as if the key was insertered and turned to auxillary. The vehicle attempts to start during the night by its self. It does not start, the starter just turns over as if it is trying to start until the battery goes dead. I am scared that the vehicle is going to catch fire or even blow up in front of my residence. Dealership said that they could not fix the problem until enough people came in asking for the same help. I hope there is something that can be done about this 36,000.00 vehicle. I have carried the vehicle to several other mechanics and they cannot figure out the problem but they still charge me for looking.