2001 Ford F-150: engine failure

Filed May 16, 2016 · Engine · 196,000 miles · AZ

Engine blew the spark plug out while idling. Could cause an engine fire.

Filed Oct 13, 2011 · Engine · 143,000 miles · NJ

I was driving to work and heard a loud pop and stopped the truck and called the tow truck. The mechanic informed me that a spark plug blew out of the head of the engine and it was going to cost $550.00 to fix, he also said that it would be a temporary fix and that I would need a new engine because of the damage. I did some research and found that this has been a problem for some time with these engines because of the aluminum heads and there were only 3-4 threads actually holding the spark plug. A ford motor co. Warranty inspector says the ford triton v-8 engines are "dropping like flies" because of blown spark plugs. I would like to address the ford spark plug blowout issue. Ford triton engines from 1997 to 2003 had a problem where spark plugs would randomly fly out the cylinder head. This appears to be due to a few issues (engineering design flaw), first there are insufficient threads (3-4) in the head to properly hold the spark plug. Second the threads in the head are not inserted, in other words the threads are in the aluminum and are not very strong. Spark plug ejection is dangerous because fuel vapor starts coming out the spark plug hole, which is clearly a serious safety issue. The fuel vapor can be ignited by the loose spark plug - and in fact there have been a small number of cases reported of engine fires due to spark plug ejection/blowout. Ford needs to be held responsible for the repairs of spark plug blow out and should extend the warranty regardless of age on the spark plug blow out issue, they also should be forced to pay a fair amount of labor time, because most of the repairs cost thousands of dollars. Ford has been aware of this serious issue of an engineering-design flaw and needs to recall 17 million vehicles from 1997-2003.

Filed Sep 23, 2011 · Engine · 98,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns 2001 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited an abnormally loud knocking noise from the front end of the vehicle. The contact inspected under the hood and noticed that the spark plug located nearest to the driver side had disengaged from the coil head without warning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where a coil kit was installed. A few months later, the same failure recurred and the engine was replaced by the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000. Consumer is still having problems with the aluminum head. Updated 11/10/2011 *ln

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Engine · 59,100 miles · NY · fire

2001 ford f-150 lariat..5.4 cu .im engine. Multiple spark plugs self extract ..after 50,000 miles, creating possible fire hazard. No warning when it will occur. This happens in spite of routine normal maintenance being performed. When the plug pops out it also breaks the ignition coil tab for this cylinder thus making the cylinder inoperative with the possibility of raw gasoline/ethanol being ejected next to a uncontrolled spark from the loose coil. Very dangerous,especially with my wife and kids in the vehicle. There has been no notification from ford of this possibility. This has happened to at least a few dozen times to vehicles in my local area. In fact, it must be a frequent situation because there are after market repair kits.. Heli-coil installation (not a permanent repair). The repair from ford is to replace the engine heads...a $5,000.00 plus repair cost if past the warranty period. Ford will not provide any satisfaction.

Filed Feb 11, 2009 · Transmission · 85,437 miles · FL

Driving my ford 2001 f150 in heavy traffic when a loud bang under from my hood and rendered my vehicle useless and a major traffic hazard as I was in the middle lane with cars and dump trucks swerving around me to pass by me .this is a very serious and common problem that is happening to many ford owners that have the triton engines. Spark plug ejection ford must be held accountable only a matter of time before a death occurs..ford dealer tells me I might as well get a new engine at a value of $ 8000.00.

Filed Jan 11, 2009 · Engine · 144,560 miles · AL

I own a 2001 ford f 150 w/ the 5.4 triton engine, while I was backing the truck out of a restaurant, the engine made a loud pop. I took the truck to a ford dealership...they told me that the engine blew the # 3 spark plug out. The service department told me that this is a common problem with the motor because of bad designed heads. They advised me that I would be better off with a new engine at the cost of $4800.00. I pulled up a site on the internet that states that there have been thousands of complaints with the same problems. I feel like ford should have a recall on this engine.

Filed Jul 28, 2008 · Engine · 190,590 miles · GA

Spark plug blow out on 2001 ford f150 4.2 v6. Purchased the truck new in 2001 and recently replaced the engine because of the plug blow out. Now the replacement engine is running bad and I think it is getting ready to happen again.

Filed Jul 1, 2008 · Electrical · 98,000 miles · OH

In march 08, my f150 4.6l engine blew a spark plug...fuel was close to the exhaust manifold. I was very concerned that it would ignite, so I remained clear of the vehicle for quite some time, giving the fuel time to evaporate. This is a big problem, please step up and do what is right. Ford should recall these vehicles.

Filed Dec 16, 2007 · Engine · 137,368 miles · LA

Total engine failure. Must be replaced after 137,000 miles and has never been run low on oil nor failed to change at appropriate intervals. Never been overheated. Well maintained and no good reason for this. Ford f150xlt 2001 4.2l engine. Several mechanics have now told me this is common for this engine.

Filed May 25, 2006 · Engine · 87,777 miles · MD

My f-150 ford pickup truck engine made a loud pop and a series of pop noises after that in taneytown, md on 4/28/06. Pulled over to side of road and shut engine off. Opened hood and did not see anything, but smelled gas. Started engine and saw a coil and wire flapping up and down. Purchased new coil on 4/29, and attempted to replace. Found spark plug from cylinder on the laying on the top of engine block. I attempted to drive home, but 3 miles down the road, experienced same condition. Brought vehicle to crouse ford in taneytown, md. Internet searches show that there are a lot of vehicles with the same problem. I contacted private auto repair center to correct. This has cost me over $6,900 thus far. I honestly believe that there is a design defect and a safety issue that ford motor company should be responsible for. There are countless cases of this condition in the triton engines (from my research) from 1999-2002. I believe ford motor company should be responsible to me, its customers, and the other potential failures from their poor engine design. The head is manufactured from aluminum, and the spark plugs only have 4 threads which is not enough to hold under combustion pressure. Denial of this condition, in my option is consumer fraud. I am seeking reimbursement of total cost of engine replacement and all associated repair costs encountered from this negligence. I thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Filed Feb 3, 2006 · Engine · 93,000 miles · NC

My 2001 ford f150 recently ejected a spark plug. I have had an ongoing problem with this truck, having it in the repair shop numerous times. Approx. 2 weeks ago during normal driving, the engine blew a spark plug completely out. I received an estimate from a ford tech. Of approx. $2000. I have purchased a kit to repair this myself. The company made the kit specifically for ford triton engine repairs, which shows this is a major problem. I estimate the total cost of my repair will be over $1000.

Filed Oct 24, 2005 · Engine · 45,968 miles · CA

Our ford f150 has 46,000 miles on it. On friday the 14th my husband was driving down a residential street when he heard a loud banging under the hood. He pulled over right away and the engine died. He looked under the hood and could see that the distributor cap was broken and flopping around. He had a friend tow the truck to the friends residence so that the truck wouldn't be left on the side of the road. My husband then called a tow company to tow the truck 18 miles to a nearby dealership to examine the truck. We were told that the spark plug threads were stripped and that new heads would be required to repair our truck. We were also informed that our extended warranty did not cover this repair and that our bill would be approx $3,200.00. After the tow bill, parts, labor and rental car we are now up to $3,500.00 in expenses.