1999 Ford F-150: sudden loss of power

Filed Nov 7, 2012 · Engine · 1,200 miles · CA

Spark plug blows out of engine without warning with an loss of power.

Filed Jul 25, 2009 · Engine · 120,000 miles · NJ

Accelerating on ramp to freeway heard a loud bang, vehicle lost power and engine ran rough while making loud unmuffled noise. Found that vehicle had blown out #6 spark plug. Ford f-150 with 5.4l engine, with 120,000, original owner. Found numerous internet postings on this problem. Contacted manufacturer, no recalls or assistance. Makers fix is to replace heads, at customer expense. Found shop offering in vehicle repair, and expect repairs to be done shortly.

Filed Apr 20, 2006 · Engine · 88,000 miles · IL

My ford f 150 blew the #3 spark plug out of the head on good friday. The truck lost power but was still drivable. The event occurred on I 39 north of madison wi. Had I not known what to do it may have resulted in an accident. Cost to fix this failure was 4200 dollars. Dealership replaced the entire cylinder head.

Filed Oct 17, 2005 · Engine · 117,400 miles · CA

I was driving my family down a winding major mountain highway in my 1999 ford f150 truck (5.4l v-8, 117400 mileage) when a loud bang came from the engine area and my truck lost power. This startled me and I lost momentary control of the truck. I regained control and pulled to the road side. The next day (10/3/05) I took the truck to fairway ford service department. They had replaced all the spark plugs about 10,000 miles previously. They determined the problem to be a "blown out spark plug". Both the service advisor and the service manager said the problem was caused by a bad design by ford (not enough threads to hold the plug) and the previous plug replacement had nothing to no with problem. They said neither they nor ford would take any responsibility for the problem they corrected the problem by installing a remanufactured left side cylinder head, all per a ford technical service bulletin. The cost was $2549.35. They kept the old parts.

Filed Sep 14, 2005 · Engine · 45,000 miles · AK

Manufacturing defect - plug thread failure vehicle is a 1999 ford f-150 4x with 5.4l triton and approx. 45,000 miles. While unaggressively accellerating at normal highway speeds the engine lost power and a loud popping sound could be heard. The vehicle was immediately pulled to the side of the highway, turned off, and towed to a repair facility. No injury or crash occurred. Investigation indicated a spark plug and coil had been ejected from the head. The plug was the 2nd from the front on passenger side. The threads in the head were stripped such that a new spark plug could not be seated. A helicoil was installed for approx. $300 and loss of vehicle for a week, but it failed after approximately 3 months. This failure was evidenced by engine misfire, power loss and sluggishness. Investigation revealed that same plug was not firing, and was not able to be removed because the helicoil threads were also stripped. The head was replaced at a cost of $3,626 with and additional 2 weeks lost vehicle use (2 comparable quotes from reputable auto repair providers were obtained). Repair time was longer than usual as the part had to be ordered from out-of-state and expedited shipping was deemed too expensive. At this time, however, the engine misfires continuously at idle and frequently at highway speeds. The vehicle is currently in the shop for a 3rd time to investigate this continuing condition.

Filed Mar 17, 2005 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · TX

While traveling 75 MPH on the interstate there was a loud noise, then the vehicle lost power. Consumer had to make it across several lanes trying to avoid a traffic accident. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealer, and it discovered that a spark plug blew out. Dealer repaired the spark plug sleeve as a temporary repair.*ak...

Filed Nov 29, 2004 · Electrical · 104,685 miles · AZ

While driving about 45 MPH consumer heard a loud clanking sound, only to discover that the spark plug blew out of its socket, causing the vehicle to lose power and eventually stall.

Filed Nov 3, 2004 · Engine · 53,000 miles · TN

I was merging onto a busy road safely, and a spark plug blew out of my engine head. It caused an immediate loss of power and almost caused an accident because the truck would not move in heavy traffic. It also posed a fire hazard as fuel continued to pour into a cylinder with no spark plug sealing the top of it.

Filed May 4, 2004 · Engine · 40,250 miles · CA

My 1999 f-150 5.4 ltr 4wd started making loud ticking noise @ 39,000 miles.took truck to burch ford from whom I purchased vehicle & they diagnosed ticking noise as a bad cat. Cvrtr!!! They also advised me of leaking head gasket from (r)rear head and a repair cost of $3,200 w/ (12 mo./12,ooo mi.warranty !!! )on repair.when I picked up vehicle & started engine,the same loud ticking noise (only worse) was still there!!! Burch ford & ford motor corp refused to even acknowledge problem or warranty their repair.while trying to get assistance, I drove vehicle bare min and aprox. 300 miles after the "repair",the engine blew # 3 spark plug out of (r) head like like a rocket & massive loss of power which nearly left me in direct path of a loaded semi truck !!!(thought I was going be crushed to death).I had truck towed back to burch ford & they faxed me a estimate of $3,200. More to replace head (now total is $ 6,400. From the two repairs!!!) and in bold print @ bottom of est. Say's ....no warranty!!! Vehicle needs new engine & neither the dealership or ford motor corp are willing to ohnor their original repair,or assist in this catastrophic problem that research shows has occuring by the hundreds on 4.6 ,5.4 & now many v-10 engines from 1996 to 2004........ (8 yrs.)!!! My truck is my pride & joy & with aprox. 39,000 miles on it,my $ 40,000.00 ride may be a total loss due to current book value & contraversial $$$$$cost of repair!!! This is my 6th ford vehicle(all of which were paid off in full 1-2yrs.early!!!)in the last 9 yrs.I've been a more than loyal ford customer,...but with blatent dissregard for their bread & butter,(loyal ford customers) ford seems to be for 8 yrs. Now; grossly and w/o any remorse, far less than a loyal automobile manufacturer !!!...respectfully,...j.l.

Filed Jan 13, 2004 · Engine · 85,000 miles · MA

While driving 60 MPH plug blew out of the cylinder, causing the vehicle to lose power.

Filed Dec 24, 2003 · Engine · 117,000 miles · FL

I own a 1999 f150 with a 5.4 liter motor that has a design flaw (also affects that ztec and 4.6l, 5.4l v8 and also their big v10 motors): this is the 2nd time my sparkplug has blown out the top of my engine and almost caused an accident. It happens unexpectedly under normal driving conditions. As I search google, yahoo and other web forms I see 1,000's of others have complained about the same issue and ford will not fess up. It's so bad that there is even a company that make s a kit to fix the hole where the sparg plug once was to save you from having to buy a new head. If you go to the dealer to fix this and it will cost you $2000-$3000. Ford need to recall this before some one gets hurt or killed due to the unexpected power loss.

Filed Aug 13, 2003 · Engine · 15,950 miles · NJ

I have a 1999 svt ford f150 lightning that recenlty developed the infamous leaky intercooler.there was a customer service/satisfaction campaign issued by ford that expired september of '02. This problem can cause engine failure.which can increase changes of an accident alot.especially losing power brakes.ford will not cover the cost of this problem that they know about and won't do anything til a real recall is issued not a half ass consumer satisification campigain for one year.