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2002 Ford F-150 engine complaints

Page 6 of 10: complaints 131 to 160 of 262, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2002 Ford F-150 engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Nov 12, 2009 · Engine · 131,000 miles · 00

I got in the truck and started it, there was a funny noise and a loud bang. I shut off the truck and saw smoke coming from under the hood on the passenger side near the windshield. I looked under the hood and decided it needed to go into the shop. I took it to the dealership and was told the spark plug had blown out of the block of the truck, they tried to put it back in but the head had been stripped and the coil was cracked. We were then advised that the truck needed a new head.

Filed Nov 9, 2009 · Engine · FL

02' ford f150 triton v8 5.4 1. Loud tapping noise from motor. 2. & 3. Spark plug blown out of the head. So far this has happened twice. New spark plug, new coil pack, healy-coil pack, 4 hrs of my time working on this p.o.f.s... There should be a recall on this because it seems to be happening on all the ford trucks out there. Only ford.

Filed Nov 7, 2009 · Engine · 73,927 miles · AZ

I have a 2002 ford f150 supercrew harley davidson edition with a triton 5.4 l engine. I placed the truck in drive and heard a pop and then a continued rhythmic popping. I opened the hood and could tell air was coming from the #4 cylinder. I turned off the engine and investigated further. The spark plug had blown completely out of the head and broke the ignition coil attached to the spark plug wire. So far this is the only incident for me but after researching online, for possible repairs solutions, I found that this is way too common of a problem with these ford engines. I am only glad it happened while I was pulling out of my garage. If that had happened at speed on the highway with the engine temperature up there could have been a serious situation. After reading all the problems so many others have had, I am afraid of when this could happen again!

Filed Nov 5, 2009 · Engine · 82,578 miles · WI

2002 ford f150 5.4l,spark plug blew out of engine while driving, gas smell and sparks in engine compartment. This has happened twice to me, 11-25-08 at 70k mi with original factory plugs cly #3 passenger side and 11-03-09 at 82k mi with the replacement ngk plugs cly #4 drivers side. This should be a recall very high risk of under hood fire.

Filed Oct 14, 2009 · Engine · 100,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. While the contact was driving 75 MPH she suddenly heard a loud popping sound in the engine and immediately the vehicle shut off. A local mechanic stated that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. There were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 100000. Updated 11/13/09. *lj updated 11/16/09.

Filed Oct 12, 2009 · Engine · 99,824 miles · TX

I have a 2002 ford f-150 lightning, I was driving one day and the spark plug shot out of the engine due to lack of threads to hold the spark plug in. The vehicle was repaired using a time-sert kit.

Filed Sep 29, 2009 · Engine · 70,000 miles · CA

Apparently the federal safety agency must need more complaints or a death to investigate this issue. Second pending fix 9-23-2009 95,000. After having read all these complaints and reliving the same problems again through this website, and I'm sure many more undocumented complaints. I am now on my second fix. First time 3 spark plugs through the engine. Had extended warranty so ford did a band aid fix ( surprise ) now here we are a year later and we need surgery $4900 just to put a new head on one side. What is being done to hold ford accountable for a known defect. The opportunity for fire and/or death is very high and yet this problem is not important to anyone except for letting ford get rich on their known defect. Sad gov site this is just a vent page never to handled.

Filed Sep 12, 2009 · Engine · 126,000 miles · IN

The spark plugs are being blown out of cylinder heads on all size triton engines. This occurred on my 2002 ford f150, and on my father in-laws expedition. This was on a triton v-8 and v-10s. When I took it to the dealership in ft wayne indiana they informed me that this is common on these engines I also spoke with ford customer care and they claim that this is common. They wont recall it because they claim that this is not a safety issue. I feel that this is a safety issue because it does not shut off the fuel supply to that cylinder. Not to mention it just happens with out any sort of warning luckily I was able to limp my truck to the closest ford dealership in my area. With my father in -laws expedition he was just outside of town on his way to arkansas when his blew out. The only remedy is a healy coil or replace the head, thankfully the coil is reasonable in cost but wont last forever.

Filed Sep 9, 2009 · Engine · 140,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. The contact stated that he was alerted by the fire department that his vehicle was on fire. As a result the vehicle was completely destroyed. The vehicle has not been inspected by a technician. The current and failure mileages were 140000.

Filed Aug 31, 2009 · Engine · 82,000 miles · CA

My 2002 ford f-150 has in the past two months experienced three blown/ejected spark plugs causing the damage and necessary replacement of "coils". This posed a possible safety hazard, and I am very unhappy at the time and cost I have incurred since the initial onset of this problem, that apparently ford has been aware of all of this time.

Filed Aug 31, 2009 · Engine · 52,154 miles · NV

Event.. I was driving west bound on the 215 freeway in las vegas, nv. Exiting durango road. I sat at the intersection waiting for the signal light to turn green. When the light turned green, moving forward, I was making a left hand turn going (10mph) south bound on durango road, just at that time I herd a loud pop noise. As I was pulling over, my truck (f150) was running rough, I stopped, put it in park , shut the engine off, opened the hood and there sat a coil pack including the spark plug on top of the motor. After evaluating the incident more, I notice that the coil pack and spark plug came from the passenger side engine head #three (3) cylinder. My truck has the original motorcraft spark plugs in it since 2002. Not sure why the spark plug would just pop-out. Nice job ford!! Ford manufactures the motor (triton 5.4l) and the motorcraft spark plugs? Seems very simple whose responsibility this is. Repair cost''the repair shop is estimating $2,500.00 head repair or new engine at approximately $6,500.00 inc. Labor. Questiions.. How is the consumer going to know prior to the spark plug popping out, to secure it? Why are the spark plugs popping out? Not enough threads? How do the executives at ford sleep at night knowing that this problem could take someone's life at any time? Personal comment.. When the spark plug or the coil pack was ejected from the engine head, this could have hit the fuel rail and started a tremendous fire, like a lot of people in the us we don't always carry a fire extinguisher because an '!@#$% spark plug is going to pop out of the engine head and start the truck on fire. This is ridiculous!!!! Ford motor company needs to own up to there mistakes before somebody looses there life. I am not the suing type of person, but if one of my kids looses there life driving my truck because of a spark plug problem and ford motor company did not tell me about it, I am afraid to tell you what I would do. This is not a threat just reality.

Filed Aug 18, 2009 · Engine · 100,300 miles · NY

There was no events leading up to our problem with our pick up truck. I started the truck and heard a loud bang and then the truck sounded like it was missing. We found out that the 3rd spark plug on the passenger side of the motor blew out. It hasn't been fixed yet it happened yesterday 8/17/09.

Filed Jul 22, 2009 · Engine · 100,200 miles · WV

Blew two spark plugs out of the head on two separate incidents about 3 months apart. Had plug hole rethreaded and it blew out again about three months later. Had sleeve put into the head today. Hope that holds it but doubtful.

Filed Jul 15, 2009 · Engine, Fuel system · 130,000 miles · MN

I own a 2002 ford f150 with the triton 5.4l v-8. I have had spark plugs eject from 3 different cylinders now and ford claims it is not a recall issue. This problem has been noted on many of the ford vehicles with the triton 5.4 v-8. When the spark plug is ejected fuel vapor can leak into the engine compartment and possibly cause a fire. I have not had that problem but I am frustrated with ford's unwillingness to cover a known problem with their design.

Filed Jul 4, 2009 · Engine · 55,082 miles · TX

My 2002 ford f150 truck, with the 5.4 liter engine, has had 2 failures on 2 different occasions in the space of 8 months. Each time I was just driving down the highway and a spark plug was blown out of the head, along with the coil. (plug #3 the first time and #7 the last time.) this failure caused an immediate loss of power. Luckily the traffic was light each time, being late at night, so I was able to pull safely to the side of the road to determine the problem, whereas if the traffic had been heavy, it could have caused a major accident because of the immediate power loss to the engine, and/or a fire due to it proximity to the injectors. The defects were repaired at the local ford dealership where the truck was purchased using a threaded insert into the old head and a new coil. Total cost for both repairs was approximately $600, at my expense. I have emailed ford motor company and they responded saying that because the vehicle was out of warranty and there were no recalls or customer satisfaction programs it would not be fixed by ford. I purchased this vehicle new and it has been meticulously maintained. I have searched the internet and have found that there are thousands of these engines with this problem. It is obvious ford knows of this defect in the heads and refuses to deal with it. If not by recall, it is obviously a factory defect and should be dealt with by ford as the incidents occur. This is a dangerous situation that should be looked into because of the immediate loss of engine power and possibility of fire.

Filed May 25, 2009 · Engine · 69,756 miles · ID

Driving along a river road at 35 miles per hour, after a short highway drive of about 70mph, a spark plug blew out of the #3 cylinder. We were going camping with our 2 young boys, so decided to drive the truck home. During the drive the smell of gasoline vapor was overpowering. We had only a 45 mile drive to home. On getting the truck home I popped the hood and to my horror the ejected plug was still firing on top of the valve cover. This is an extreme fire hazard!

Filed May 20, 2009 · Engine · 220,000 miles · TN

Fordf150 2002 model was driving down hwy 11w approximately 45 mile an hour and heard loud bang the #5 spark plug had blown out of engine spitting fuel the engine is 5.4 trition v8 it broke the coil pack and busted the fuel rail on pick up truck is the a recall ? Or needs to be recalled any suggestions as to how to fix this issue?

Filed May 15, 2009 · Engine · 138,000 miles · GA · fire

Vehicle was in the drive way and caught on fire burned completely up and blew out tires. There is a report with the fire department.

Filed May 10, 2009 · Engine · 80,000 miles · KS

I own a2002 ford f150. It has about 80,000 miles and it blew a spark plug out of the engine.

Filed May 6, 2009 · Engine · 70,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f150. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the driver suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the engine compartment. She initially thought that the muffler failed. The vehicle did not stall or overheat. She drove the vehicle to a mechanic, who stated that a spark plug blew out due to the aluminum head on the engine. The mechanic performed a healie core and replaced the plug. The vehicle drove normally for over a year before the failure recurred. While driving 65 MPH, the contact heard a popping noise coming from the engine. She drove approximately one mile and then had the vehicle towed to the ford dealer. The mechanic stated that the vehicle had a defective cylinder, which caused it to blow out the spark plugs. The mechanic further stated that it was a very common issue and no recall was available. The contact is waiting for a call back from a ford supervisor. She believes that ford should be responsible for the repair. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 98,000.

Filed Apr 13, 2009 · Engine · 117,000 miles · MI

Leading up to the spark plug being blown out of my ford f-150 with a 5.4 l motor, I heard a distinct ticking sound that resembled an exhaust manifold leak. Driving on the highway around 75 miles per hour, two hours into my drive the tick became louder and finally a pop came from under the hood. I then pulled over and left the truck idling. Looking under the hood I see the coil over pack vibrating a lot and then I shut the truck off and unplugged the coil over pack and out came the coil over pack and attached a spark plug. The coil over pack was broken due to the force of the plug being blown out. I am now in the process of towing my truck home which is 3 hours to do the repair necessary to fix the problem. To fix the problem I am looking to install a thread insert in hopes of saving a lot of money. This is the cheaper easier way to fix it for I do not want to replace the head myself nor do I want ford's investing thousands to replace it.

Filed Mar 12, 2009 · Engine · 55,000 miles · MD

2002 ford f-150 w/ 5.4 l v-8 engine----spark plugs keep blowing out of engine.

Filed Feb 17, 2009 · Engine · 100,000 miles · CT

My 2002 ford f-150 blew a spark plug right out of the cylinder while driving on rt 85 in connecticut. The danger from this was great as there was gas splashed throughout the engine compartment. Went t the ford dealer and they played down the situation and said it would cost $600.00 to fix. I also incurred a $200.00 towing bill, and had to replaced a spark plug coil which was damaged by the spark plug to the tune of $100.00. The internet has provided information that this is a significant problem with ford v-8 engines, and I'm wondering why the federal safety agency lets this continue...many people are suffering financial loss, and safety issues with fires that result from this situation.

Filed Feb 10, 2009 · Engine · 86,462 miles · CA

I own a 2002 ford f-150 xlt 4x4 with a trition 5.4l v-8. I went out to start it this morning and I heard a loud noise that sounded like a shot went off. Then my truck started shaking and making a chugging noise. I shut it off and opened the hood and found that one of my spark plugs just blew out of the engine. It broke the coil and stripped out the threads where the spark plug goes. I had to have it towed to a mechanic and it cost $503.83 for the repair. The mechanic told me this was a common problem with the trition engines. I went online and did some research and found many complaints of the same subject. I think ford needs to issue a recall to fix this problem.

Filed Feb 3, 2009 · Engine, Fuel system · 81,300 miles · WI

While driving at 45 MPH on level surface the #5 spark plug was ejected from it's hole damaging the coil over plug causing arcing from the coil to the engine. The vehicle immediately slowed dramatically and the smell of gasoline was apparent. Luckily there was very light traffic and I was able to pull to the side of the road and shutdown the engine. I identified the problem and having some mechanical training knew enough to disconnect the fuel injector wire for the #5 cylinder. This was the only way I could safely move the vehicle. Had I not known what to do, an engine compartment explosion would have easily resulted.

Filed Jan 28, 2009 · Engine · 120,000 miles · 00

My 2002 f150 recently spit out a spark plug, stripping the threads of the aluminum cylinder head. The service shop where I took it told me that it's been a major problem with ford trucks for some time, and refused to fix it.

Filed Jan 25, 2009 · Engine · 119,000 miles · 00

On my birth day I experienced something like never before I blew the #4 spark plug on the passenger side brought it back to work what a rough ride. Then started to look in the hole with a bore scope to find out the treads were gone yeah. Called around to find out how much it would cost me and the cheapest was a machine shop called lentech automotive at a price of 300.00 not bad but I made some more calls and found a kit to do it at bensons autoparts 65.00 hope this will fix it.

Filed Jan 15, 2009 · Engine · 43,332 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. While driving 35 MPH, the spark plugs failed. The contact pulled the vehicle over and examined underneath the hood. A witness stated that there was a noise when this occurred. The vehicle was restarted and popping noises were heard. The vehicle was towed to a ford dealer and they stated that nothing could be done and the contact would be responsible for the repairs. There were no complaints found for this vehicle. The vehicle has been repaired. The failure mileage was 43,332 and current mileage was 43,600.

Filed Jan 13, 2009 · Engine · 79,000 miles · CO

Driving to pick up my son at school for a trip. As I turned left across traffic I heard a loud pop in my 2002 ford f150 and then a loud series of loud pops as my engine continued to run. I pulled to the side of the road and immediately noticed a strong smell of gasoline. I moved the vehicle to a parts store just up the street and was told that my triton v-8 engine had just ejected a spark plug out of the head. I had the vehicle towed to a mechanic who then charged me a great deal to repair the head and replace the spark plug.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Engine · 91,250 miles · CA

Normal driving conditions on the freeway - spark plug discharged out of the motor. Vehicle towed to nearest auto repair shop. To repair, the hole for the spark plug in the aluminum head was rethreaded using a standard helicoil kit. Two spark plug holes have been replaced at a cost of $1100 per hole for parts and labor.

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