2001 Ford Expedition: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed Nov 9, 2015 · Engine · 240,000 miles · GA

I have owned this vehicle since 2012. I have had three plug to pop/ blow out, since I've owned. 1st time- was 9/2012. Was driving and heard a pop, was in motion,engine light flashed and had to be towed. 2nd time-was 6/2014 was on a mountain road, in motion and light came on heard a pop , vehicle lost power , was scary though I was going to wreck , due to lost of power . 3rd time-05/2015 , was in town, coming back from the store in traffic, was in motion , it popped then died , ( light didn't come on this time)almost got hit in the rear end ,due to lost of power. I cranked the vehicle and it sounded horrible. When I cranked it again I let it roll on it's own to down the hill to gas station to get it off the road, got it towed home. This is an issue ford knows of,please get them to address and fixed. It soon. This is sold as a family vehicle and we shouldn't have to loose any family to get this addressed and fixed.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Engine · OR

This has become a serious issue. Granted we bought the expedition used 3 years ago, but having the plugs blow out 4 times (4 different plugs) and now having to get into the head to fix the first one that the shop replaced with a helix-coil....the helix-coil actually shattered! Sending bits of it into our engine. The shop wanted 2300.00 to fix it this time. Seriously? With all of the miles on it now it is just barely the appraisal value of the truck's worth. We have seen many reports of this happening to our type of engine. When you have an aluminum head and only 3 threads per spark plug...it just doesn't work. Thankfully we have never caught fire due to the issue and have been lucky enough to get it to a shop. But at the same time we have had to borrow money or use money that needed to go to other bills to pay for it. Ford needs to fix this! When you pay more for repairs then the actual value of the vehicle....there is something seriously wrong!

Filed Jul 18, 2013 · Body, Engine · 134,000 miles · FL · fire

Approximately 15-20 minutes after I got home from work my 2001 ford expeditions catches on fire. We, my wife and 3 kids here a loud pressure sound go off outside. Not sure what was going on, we run to the front door and as my wife opens the doors she screams that the house is on fire. We run back inside, she calls 911 and I take kids safely through the back yard. I got back inside the house and open the garage door and find the entire one car garage filled with smoke. Luckily, neighbors grab the hose and one a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The flame reached the garage door and frame including gutters and roof tiles. Thankfully to the neighbors the entire house did not catch on firm said, the local fire department when they arrive at the scene. The loud pressure sound we heard was the driver side tire blow out. Apparently, the fire had started several minutes prior to us heading the sound. Considering the garage was filled with thick dark smoke, it may have been approximately 5-10 minutes since the fire started. It was the scariest moment our lives. Ever since our family has never been the same, any little sound we hear outside we're alerted.

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 Dec 13, 2011 · Engine · 289,997 miles · LA

My husband was on his way home from work. He was going at about 70-75 MPH when the #3 spark plug blew out. It left him stranded in the middle of nowhere. It has been brought to my attention that spark plug blowouts are a common defect on my vehicle yet ford takes no responsibility for it, costing the vehicle owners a large amount of money and could cause serious accidents.

Filed Sep 27, 2010 · Tires · 85,239 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition equipped with continental contri trac aw tires, line size p275/60/r17. The contact was driving 60 MPH when the tread of the rear passenger tire separated. The contact installed the spare tire. He stated that he had not noticed any prior issues with the tire. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The dot number was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 85,230 and the current mileage was 85,239.

Filed Feb 26, 2010 · Engine · 90,000 miles · OH

Number 3 spark plug blow out. Stripped threads on head.

Filed Feb 17, 2010 · Engine, Fuel system · 110,000 miles · CA

Blown out spark plug from 2001 ford expedition triton 4.6l engine during operation on a public road. The second spark plug on the passenger side blew out of the engine while it was being driven on the road. This made a loud "bang" sound as if a tire blew out. The loud sound continued like a loud exhaust leak and gasoline vapors were immediately present in the passenger compartment. The driver shut off the engine to prevent an engine fire after attempting to safely park on the side of the road while avoiding moving traffic. This required aggressive maneuvering to avoid moving traffic. The car is now awaiting repairs, which is est. At >$3,000. The mechanic reported that this is a very common problem on ford vehicles with the triton engine. I have never before seen a spark plug "blown" out of the socket like this. The plugs were replaced once at about 50k miles. The engine has about 110k miles today.

Filed Oct 26, 2009 · Engine · 110,000 miles · OH

I was driving down the road with my 4 children inside when we heard a loud explosion, my ford expedition engine sounded like there was something very wrong. We pulled into a gas station, lifted the hood and you could smell the gas and feel air blowing outside of wear the spark plug used to be. We towed it to a mechanic, we were told that our spark plug blew out taking the coil pack with it. This is the first time we have had a spark plug blow out but we have had to replace 4 other spark plugs and coil packs because they keep working their way out causing the engine to run rough and the check engine light to come on. We have three more plugs and coils that haven't been replaced. I am scared that at any time we could blow another spark plug and cause an accident. I have been told that there isn't any thing I can do to prevent this problem from happening again. The mechanic said it is very likely that the other plugs will have to be replaced in the future but currently the are working. The spark plug that blew out is along the road somewhere but I still have the spark plugs that haven't been replaced. The spark plugs are having to be replaced every month or so, one at a time. My engine still has three more spark plugs that could blow out. Luckily,when this happened there wasn't a fire. You can smell the gas fumes when this happens. We have always maintained our vehicle by a mechanic, this is the first time we have ever had a recurring problem. The mechanic stated this is not a common problem and it is a design flaw, and ford is aware of this problem.

Filed Sep 8, 2009 · Engine · 110,000 miles · CO

Ford expedition 2001 triton v8. Two blown spark plug engine failures within the last 6 weeks. First was original equipment failure, #7 was fixed, thorough and careful replacement of all spark plugs. Just experienced a second and violent blowout during labor day holiday traffic.

Filed Jul 13, 2009 · Engine · CA

Sparkplug blowout #3 cylinder.

Filed Sep 2, 2008 · Tires · 30,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. The vehicle had continental grabber aw tires, size p275/60r17 (na) three years ago. At that time, all four tires had to be replaced because the vehicle drove roughly and the tires began to form bubbles. The tires were replaced at 30,000 miles at the contact's expense, even though there was a safety recall. The vehicle currently has general continental contitrac SUV tires, size 275/60r17 (na) and they are experiencing the same failure. The contact would like to be reimbursed for the first set of tires that he replaced and to have the current tires replaced. He referenced the federal safety agency campaign id number 02t012000 (tires:tread/belt). The dot number was unknown. The vehicle current mileage was 68,000 and failure mileage was 30,000. The tire failure mileage was 5,000.