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1998 Ford F-150 electrical complaints

Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 87, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 1998 Ford F-150 electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Nov 10, 2011 · Electrical, Fuel system · MI

1998 ford f-150. Consumer writes in regards to recall notice and problem with charging system *tgw the consumer stated after having the fuel straps replaced at the dealer under the recall, a few days later, he began to smell gas. When he looked under the vehicle, he discovered the fuel tank was leaking gas around the rear fuel tank strap, that was just replaced days before. The consumer returned to the dealer and explained to them, the fuel tank was not leaking when he first brought the truck to them. The dealer stated they were not responsible.

Filed Jul 22, 2011 · Electrical · 219,761 miles · GA · fire

Our truck, a 1998 ford f150, lost use of the cruise control back in april of 2011. We bought it used in 2008 and since we did not use it much anyway, we did not think much of it. Then in late june we started the truck and could not get the gear shifter to move. When trying to pull it into drive, reverse, or anything, it would not move. My husband came home from work the next morning and changed a fuse and it worked for weeks. Then I drove the vehicle for aprox. 45 minutes one afternoon, came home shut it off went inside my house, hear a loud pop, looked out the door and the truck was on fire.

Filed Oct 17, 2010 · Acceleration, Electrical · 155,000 miles · MO · fire · 1 injury

My 1998 ford f-150 started acting up when the cruise control buttons were set on. The car would hesitate and not want to pull. Once we got home we turned the vehicle off and did not think anything more about it. The following day we went for a drive and noticed what we thought was steam coming from underneath the hood. I pulled the vehicle over and lifted the hood to inspect it. When I lifted the hood I was engulfed in flash flames. I immediately dropped to the ground to put out the flames. When my friend helped me off the ground the truck was on fire under the hood. We immediately called for medical assistance and was transported to hospital via life star helicopter. I suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns on my face and forearms and hands. I suffered 3rd degree burns on my right arm and had to have surgery to remove the dead tissue and then had to have skin grafts to fix my arm. I was transported to university of tennessee hospital and the sent immediately to vanderbilt university hospital burn center. I was in vanderbilt university hospital burn center for 7 days.

Filed Aug 19, 2010 · Electrical · IL · fire

Woke up to someone beating on my house alerting me that my truck was on fire at about 7:30 am . I called 911 and the fire department came and put it out. No one was injured. Vehicle was parked in from off my home on the street.

Filed Jun 30, 2010 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · NJ · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford f150. The contact noticed smoke in the vehicle cab area and within seconds the fire spread through the entire vehicle. The insurance company was investigating the failure.the vehicle was destroyed. The toms river fire department investigative report number is 10-133 and the lakewood police department report number is 10-44389. The manufacturer will be contacted. The failure and the current mileage was 100,000.

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Electrical · 119,000 miles · PA · fire · 1 injury

Pulled my 1998 f150 4x4 xlt supercrew into my driveway, turned everything off and exited the vehicle and entered my house. Three hours later, I went to gain entry to my truck and when I opened the door, smoke billowed out. It melted my instrument panel from just above steering wheel to the drivers door. A wiring harness was on fire and burnt clear to driver side rug. All the coating was burnt off the harness and was in flames. I burnt my fingers trying to get it out. There were sparks coming from it. I then disconnected the battery terminals and got the fire under control.

Filed Jan 22, 2010 · Acceleration, Electrical · 70,000 miles · OR

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford f150. The contact stated that the windshield wipers, door locks, and the door chimes failed to operate which is related to the electrical system. The vehicle speed control also no longer functions. The front windshield is not sealed and whenever it rains water seeped into the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that his VIN was not included in the recall. There was no related warranty. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Jan 21, 2010 · Electrical · 00

My 1998 f150, for no apparent reason, the dome and box light would remain on after removing the ignition key. By researching on the net, I found the cure. Apparently the magnetic contacts in the door posts were dirty and would not function. Using windex which removed the wax and dirt, corrected the problem. Hope this helps others.

Filed Dec 17, 2009 · Body, Electrical · 174,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford f150. The starter would engage and seem to restart itself as if she were turning the ignition. She stated that there was a loud noise when the failure occurred. The dome lights inside would turn on and off without warning. The four wheel drive warning light would illuminate on the instrument control panel. The radio compartment also made a loud clicking sound. When she turned the vehicle off, the heater would still run without the key in the ignition. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility, but the mechanic could not determine the cause of the failures. A service representative at the dealership stated that water entered through the firewall. He speculated that this could be the cause for the failure (according to similar vehicles he repaired). She replaced the windshield at a glass company but realized that the windshield was not the cause for the problem. The mechanic who installed the windshield told her that he could see daylight where the emergency brake was located and he believed that was the location where the water was coming in. The contact called the manufacturer and was referred to the federal safety agency. No repairs were made. The current and failure mileages were approximately 174,000. Updated 02/1710 *bf updated 02/19/10

Filed May 22, 2009 · Electrical · 151,571 miles · CA

Overhead interior lights wont shut off and also back bed light, have to slam door several times before light will go out.

Filed Feb 21, 2008 · Electrical, Visibility · 33,000 miles · ID

The windshield on my 1998 f150 ford pickup has leaked for years and now the water has corroded the gem module to the point where I am experiencing unwanted electrical activity when the car is unattended and worried that it could possibly cause a fire or cause a dangerous life threatening situation while I am driving the truck. I have contacted the local ford dealer and they at first wouldn't even acknowledge the problem until I mentioned the ford bulletin ##15773. Then they said that the only thing they would do is repair the problem for $1,300 dollars. I researched the issue and it is clear that ford manufactured a faulty windshield and that it is the root cause of this dangerous situation.

Filed Feb 11, 2008 · Electrical · 153,523 miles · TX · fire

1998 ford f150 caught on fire under hood near brake fluid reservoir, burning wires, plastic components, hood and fender beyond repair. Vehicle had been in driveway for over 20 minutes unattended, turned off, keys out of ignition. Flames were 2 feet high at time of notice; neighbor saved further damage to truck and home.

Filed Sep 13, 2007 · Electrical · 180,000 miles · WI

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford f-150. The contact attempted to start the vehicle, but it would not start. The vehicle was then towed to a ford dealer and they stated that a wire in the ignition switch failed. The dealer repaired the switch, but the contact still had to make several attempts before the vehicle would start. The dealer finally disconnected the switch, but it continues to take four or more attempts to start the vehicle. The contact has paid $200 in repairs. The failure occurs in both cold and hot weather and the contact believes that the disconnected wire was the cause of failure. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 229,000 and failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Nov 21, 2006 · Electrical · TX · fire

As I slept this past saturday morning (11/18/2006), my 1998 f-150 pick-up burned to the ground about 4:00am. This was my second ford pick-up owned, and I was very pleased with ford until this happened. My truck was paid for and I was completely happy with it. I am now without a vehicle until I hear from my insurance company, whom says I didn't have any rental car coverage on my policy. I have had to miss this week in work wages due to no way to get to my job 30 minutes away, and will be forced to miss thanksgiving holiday with my family in arkansas. Can ford reimburse me for any of my lost work wages or a rebate off a new purchase? I really feel that due to a major fault by ford, that they should reimburse me with a vehicle to drive so that I can get to work. I am currently stuck and miserable, and do not feel that this is fair for me to have to suffer one more day because I put my trust in ford motor co. I strongly feel that ford should at least do something on their part, to make this right! Regards, scott howard.

Filed Sep 19, 2006 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · AR · fire

Fire, total loss to ford f150 pickup. Pickup sat in driveway for 4 hours since driven and caught fire. Fire department came and said it was either electrical or engine related.

Filed Jun 16, 2006 · Acceleration, Electrical · 116,900 miles · OH · fire

I owned and operated a 1998 ford f150. There was a recall of the cruise control switch in september, 2005 as the faulty switch has been linked to fires in f150 trucks. In october of last year, I took my truck to a dealer so they could perform the modification to fix the problem, which they did complete. It appears ford's fix is not working. My vehicle caught on fire 6/15/06 after I had driven it to work. It appears as though the fire has destroyed the vehicle. I request that one of your experts come out and inspect my truck. It is clear from the information I have gathered that it was an electrical fire. I think it is important for you to know if the ford's recall and solution to this problem is actually working or not.

Filed Oct 14, 2005 · Electrical · 135,000 miles · VA · fire

Dt: the caller's vehicle caught on fire while sitting still for about 3 hours. The fire department came and a report was taken'. The fire started on the drivers side, and burned through the dashboard. No other property was damaged. Dealer and manufacturer have not been contacted yet. *ak

Filed Oct 4, 2005 · Electrical, Engine · 140,000 miles · NY

I changed my spark plugs at the recommended mileage and since that time they do not stay tight in the cylinders. They loosen up and I have to re-tighten them everyday so that they do not blow out of my cylinder head.

Filed Sep 30, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · 168,000 miles · VA · fire

1998 ford f-150 VIN # [xxx], parked at 9:00 pm on september 27, 2005. At 4:30 am on september 28 neighbor noticed vehicle fully engulfed in flames. Fire dept unable to save the vehicle, it completely burned up. Also damage to the garage in front of where the vehicle was parked and to a 1990 ford taurus parked beside of the vehicle.*jb updated 07/18/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Filed Sep 26, 2005 · Electrical · 173,000 miles · AR

1) starter went out, truck was surging while driving, gasoline was running out of tailpipe. 2) wiring harness was rubbing the AC dryer which caused the fuel injectors to stay open, which filled the cylinders up with gas and locked the motor up, bending the rods. 3) motor and starter were replaced by smith ford in conway, arkansas. This cost us $5,500.00. Originally, truck was sent in for starter replacement only. The next day the motor went out.

Filed Sep 19, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · IL · fire

Dt: caller said that on july 11, 2005 after 8 hours of sitting still in the driveway the truck caught on fire. Dealer said there was no recall on the truck. Manufacturer has not been contacted yet. There was damage to the house and another car. A report was filed with the fire deptartment. *ak

Filed Sep 8, 2005 · Electrical · 25,000 miles · AR

Turn signal worked as expected when vehicle was new,then soon the right turn signal became sporadic as to when it would work. Local dealership said there was nothing wrong that they could discover. However,now the right signal doesn't work at all. I don't mean the bulb-- I mean the switch on the steering column. Left works fine;right doesn't work at all. Makes it difficult to let other drivers know where I'm going,could cause an accident.

Filed Jul 19, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · 85,000 miles · TX · fire

Ford f-150 1998. The vehicle was parked and without warning it caught on fire. The driver called the fire department to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed and totaled by the insurance company. *ak the majority of the fire was on the drivers side of the vehicle under the hood. This incident also damaged a neighboring vehicle due to the fire. *sc

Filed Jun 23, 2005 · Electrical · 127,400 miles · GA · fire

Referral from ins co.

Filed Jun 6, 2005 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · GA · fire

My 1998 ford 150 caught fire at the speed control sensor. The truck was parked with the motor off. Smoke started to come from under the hood. When the hood was opened a fire was seen and put out. The unit was melted and had to be replaced.

Filed May 31, 2005 · Electrical · LA · fire

Dt: on 5-16-2005 vehicle caught on fire. The dashboard area was consumed. No warning prior to fire. Had brake serviced shortly before fire. No indication whether it was an electric or fuel fire. Contact stated ford inspected the vehicle. It was not known at this time what component caused the fire. There was a fire report, and police were present at the scene.

Filed May 31, 2005 · Electrical · 130,590 miles · IN · fire

The vehicle was parked in the driveway for approximately 15 hours before it caught on fire under the hood. The local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. The fire marshall and the insurance investigator could not determine the cause of the fire. *ak *sc

Filed May 23, 2005 · Electrical · 116,282 miles · GA · fire

1998 ford f-150 caught fire in the engine compartment area and burnt the front end of truck from the cab area forward.

Filed May 19, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · 100,000 miles · RI · fire

The truck was parked for about one hour when a neighbor alerted the consumer that his truck was on fire. The fire department was called to the scene to extinguish the fire. Vehicle was totaled by the fire. The fire department stated that the cause of the fire was not known, but started at the computer box. Cruise control had stopped working 9 months prior to the fire. *ak *bf

Filed May 13, 2005 · Electrical · 103,000 miles · GA · fire

While parked for seventy two hours vehicle caught on fire. The fire department stated the cause was undetermined. As a result, the vehicle was considered a total loss. *ak *bf

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