2002 ford f150 5.4 liter engine. Traveling at approx 25 MPH I heard a loud pop from the engine compartment and something hitting the hood. The car started to run rough and gasoline fumes started to fill the passenger compartment. I took the truck to a repair garage who indicated that a spark plug had blown from the head. I was told this is a common ford problem by the garage and subsequent research on the internet has verified this. The head was remilled and the plug and coil had to be replaced. Ford does acknowledge an issue and has issued a tsb however warranties do not cover repair. With the plug blown out of the head gas vapors were being injected into the engine compartment and the risk of fire is present.
2002 Ford F-150 engine complaints
Page 7 of 10: complaints 161 to 190 of 262, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I experienced a spark plug blow out on my way to work. I was stranded on a narrow road and had to call for help. My dad called a tow tru ck and we had it towed to the dealer in kailua kona, hawaii. We saw that a spark plug had blown out. The tow truck driver said his truck did the same thing. At the dealer they said they did not know why it did that. After getting it repaired for $600.00, my truck would not run. They said, you need a new engine at the tune of $5,000.00. It ran fine prior to that spark plug blow out. With further investigation, an expert mechanic suspects they mishandeled the installation. They want me to pay for their mistake. This started out a ford part defect, but is ending up a destroyed engine. I will demand they fix it, or we will sue. This is outrageous!!! Ford should not be bailed out. Why can't someone do something about this? Jail, perhaps? I am without a truck.
I was driving to pick up lunch one day from work and when I pulled out into traffic to head back I heard a loud pop followed by a loss of power and a sound that made me think the serpentine belt broke. The plug shot out of the head and broke a coil pack in half. I talked to the ford dealer that I get my parts at, and he told me it happens alot on 4.6 liters, 5.4 liters, and v-10 ford trucks so much that they stay well stocked on the parts that I needed to fix what ford doesn't consider to be a problem, the fix is a well greased, extra long 14 mm tap and helicoil, red locktite, spark plug, coil pack, and any other bits and pieces the plug destoys on its way out, from the reports I'm reading I got lucky thtat it was just my coil that took the brunt of it, I've talked to some people around the area and they see any where from 2 to 4 per week, and on top of that there was two people at my work that have had the same problem. We only have 18 employees. One was in a 5.4 and the other was a v10. The dealer told me there was no recall on the problem and that ford doesn't recognize it. The part will be repared and will not be avalible and just cost me more of my time and money doing stupid repares that are questionable at best.
While being 250 miles away from home, the spark plug blew out of the engine of my 2002 f-150 truck. I was able to buy tools and perform a temporary repair in order to get my truck home. I then hired a mechanic to repair the engine using a heli-coil. Unfortunately I don't trust the truck now as I bought it to pull my camper and am concerned over being stranded. I was told by my mechanic that it is a common problem with the 5.4 triton engine. I am not sure why ford has not performed a recall on it.
Truck maintained according to manufacturer specs. While driving daughter to school, heard loud pop. Was able to make it to local repair shop. Blown spark plug out of #2 cylinder. With the use of helicoil repairs came to approx. $700. Less than 6 weeks later #4 cylinder blew spark plug while driving 65 miles per hour on the freeway. This time (after much research of similar complaints) installed longer thread spark plugs suggested by ford parts department. This time repair costs were $800.00. If ford has made a special kit and new longer spark plugs for this "problem" isn't that a subtle admission or guilt/responsibility. What ever happened to doing the right thing...admit your mistakes and take care of these repairs. "built ford tough" my eye!! My next truck will be a toyota...
My 2002 ford f-150 with a 4.6 liter v8 blew out a spark plug while accelerating on a highway entrance ramp. The sparkplug that blew out was the 3rd from the front on the passenger side. The threads for the spark plug in that cylinder are now ruined as well as the coil for that plug. To repair this problem I will probably end up buying a $250 kit to re-tap the head.
Twice within one year, on two different occasion, my 2002 f150 ford truck has ejected a spark plug. There was no indication that there was an issue leading up to the event occurring. Both times I had my truck towed to my local ford dealership and repaired. The repair both times consisted of the instillation of a heli coil and the bill was around $700.00.
Purchased used 2002 f-150 lariat with 80k miles in 4/08. Sept 9th the spark plug #6 blew out of engine. Not covered under warranty. Had to tap and placed helicoil to fix. Oct 10th the spark plug #8 blew out of engine. Current mileage is 90k.
Spark plug blow out in 2002 ford f150. Spark plugs blow out and fuel vapor seeps out. No fire on my car, but very well could be. Known problem ford refuses to recall. Jack
I have a 5.4l engine in my ford truck and it keeps stripping out spark plugs. I am not the only one with this problem. There are hundreds if not thousands of people that have posted the same problem on consumer affairs report .com. One guys truck burnt to the ground in 12 minutes and couldn't even get his navigation system out of his vehicle. Flames were shooting out of the dash towards him. I have contacted ford with the matter and they state that it is not a safety issue and you are the ones that have to recall it. I would say that if your vehicle can burn to the ground in a matter of minutes, it is a safety problem. They know about this problem and it keeps happening to people all over and they are not doing anything about it. A recall needs to be called on these engines before someone gets killed or hurt in an accident due to the vehicle breaking down in the middle of a highway. It needs to be taken care of before someone gets killed, not after.
Started off from stop sign and around 30-35 MPH, heard a loud popping sound and pulled over to find #3 cylinder had blown spark plug out. Coil was damaged also. Had truck towed to nearest shop 40 miles away.
While driving down the road, I heard a loud explosion and the engine began running rough. I pulled over and opened the hood. The explosion had dented the inside of the hood. I found a broken coil laying on top of the engine, and the corresponding spark plug laying beneath the engine. I took the vehicle to a mechanic, who re-threaded the spark plug hole and installed a new spark plug. The vehicle performed as usual for about six months, and then the same exact situation occurred, involving the same exact spark plug. The second occurrence, the plug and coil were so damaged that the head could not be re-threaded and repaired. After researching this issue, I found that dozens of other owners have experienced the same problem, which is due to an engine and/or piston defect. The second occurrence required drilling out the affected head, tapping it, and installing a helicoil before the spark plug could be replaced. I am very concerned about this issue, since in addition to the expense and inconvenience this manufacturing defect has caused me, it is extremely dangerous as well. While I have not had an engine fire, other owners of this make and model have reported engine fires.
I have a '02 ford f150 with 51,581 miles on it. Yesterday, cylinder #3 decided to blow the spark plug right out of the cylinder head. Fortunately, I was able to stop the vehicle immediately. After reading many other frustrated customers with the same issue, I found out that I was quite lucky that the engine didn't immediately erupt in flames. Ford refuses to acknowledge there is any issue with this design even though it's well documented. Ford expects it's customer to replace the head to resolve the problem at the customer's expense. Mine $3,322.96. Now the better part. Because it appears the design has not changed, even by replacing the head there is no guarantee that this will not happen again.
My 2002 ford f150 5.4 spark plug blow out of the motor with only 42000. Miles on it. $ 890.00 to repair.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. While driving 65 MPH on the highway, the spark plugs stripped out of the engine block. There were no prior warnings. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. Instead, he simply noticed the spark plug sticking out from the top of the hood. The vehicle is able to be driven, but it rides very roughly. The failure mileage was 148,000.
I was driving along mn7 on my way home. I stopped at a 4 way stop. When it was my turn to go, I started to accelerate and then my #5 spark plug blew out of the cylinder head. This has happened before. One may 4th 2008, #3 and #4 blew out and it cost me $2,000 to fix this. After doing some searching on the internet, it appears that a lots of ford f150 owners are having this problem and ford will do nothing to fix it.
I was driving and felt and heard a pop in the engine compartment. I pulled off the road thinking it was a tire blow out. Once I got out and checked the tires I started the engine again. It sounded like there was no exhaust manifold. I had to get it towed to a service station. I later found out that it blew out a spark plug out of the head and split the coil and possibly damaged another coil. It has not been repaired yet. I am very dissatisfied with the situation. I have done research and found thousands and thousands of other people having the same problem. Owners of these vehicles should not have to pay out thousands of dollars for a ford design error.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f150. The contact stated that the sparks plugs were loosening and stripping off the treads. The spark plugs were also detaching from the vehicle. He notified the ford dealer and they stated that there was nothing wrong with the spark plugs flying off the vehicle. When the spark plugs detach, sparks fly. The failure occurs whenever the vehicle is started and before moving. The failure always occurs with the number three cylinder. The failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 07/29/08. *lj updated 08/05/08.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f150 harley davidson. On january 3, 2008, a spark plug blew out. On may 31, 2008, while at a car wash, the contact heard a loud noise. The vehicle was turned off and towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the same spark plug from the solenoid had blown again, which also blew the engine head. The repair is expected to cost between $2,200, and $5,000. Also, in december of 2007, the sunroof motor shorted and no longer works. She was informed that the repair would cost $1,000, and has not used the sunroof since. The current and failure mileages were 143,000.
My 2002 ford f-150 extended cab 5.4litre pickup blew a spark plug out of the number 3 cylinder. I called the local dealer to inquire as to the price of replacing an exhaust gasket as this is what the noise sounded like. The service adviser after hearing the make model and size engine and year of the truck said, "no you did not blow the exhaust gasket, you blew a spark plug out of the head". I was astounded as to how he could make a diagnosis of this type as I had never even heard of such an occurrence. The cost would be a minimum of $850.00. After going on the internet this seems to be a prevalent problem.
Plug blown out of head!!!!!!! Cost 250 dollars to fix..........
The # 3 spark plug shot out of the my ford f150 5.4 v8 triton engine. There are not enough threads to hold this in correctly. This needs to be recalled by ford.
Blew out two spark plugs and almost got rearended on the highway by a tractor trailer.
The #4 spark plug blew out of my 2002 ford f150. It happened twice within 2 weeks of each other.
Driving 2002 ford f-150 and suddenly engine lost power and made popping sounds. This happened on very busy street nearly got rear-ended as power dramatically fell off. Checked engine and spark plug was blown out and coil was destroyed above the spark plug right underneath fuel rail. Stranded on side of busy road for 2 hours until vehicle was towed to dealer. Dealer had to use heliocoil and replaced coil costing approximately $600.
Spark plug ejection on 2002 ford f150 5.4l v-8 engine.
I was returning from work on 1/2/08 when my 2002 ford f-150 (triton 5.4l) began to pop and run rough, I smelled gasoline in the cab of the truck and pulled right over, upon looking at the engine I noticed the #3 plug lying on top of the engine, it had blown out. This plug was factory installed and had never been removed from the engine.
I currently own a 2002 ford f-150. At about 70,000 miles a spark blew out on the drivers side. This was the original plug. Had to have helicoil installed. Prior to this incident, my 2001 expedition had the same problem. This was also the original plugs, but this motor only had 60,000 miles. Unfortunately, the ford dealer I had it towed to would not perform helicoil, so I had to replace the head. They said ford did not recommend helicoil. So I have owned 2 fords within 1 year of each other and both have had the exact same problem with plugs. It's apparent that ford has a design flaw. I heard from a ford dealer that the newer body style of f-150 has had a correction in the thread design in the heads.
Vehicle popped out a spark plug from the #7 cylinder upon starting vehicle. Spark plug was found on the intake manifold, coil still providing spark. Unbrunt fuel mixture was being vented from the cylinder into the engine compartment. I am concerned about fire hazard.
Vehicle started making loud noise under the hood, turned out to be a stripped spark plug hole in the cylinder head that LED to complete replacement of head. Dealership stated this was the 4th one this year, always 2002 model, 5.4 liter engine, always right side cylinder head. If a dealership in a town of less than 600 people has a failure rate this high, how big is this problem nation wide?
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