Had the same problem as mentioned multiple times in this list. Accelerating past 40 MPH, the truck slipped out of gear and rev'd up to about 4000rpm. Did the same thing repeatedly after the first incident. Apparently a broken snap ring. Hard to believe this is not considered a safety hazard, and something that should be fixed via recall??
2004 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 3 of 9: complaints 41 to 70 of 232, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started to shake violently as the transmission fault warning lamp illuminated. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 120,000.
Developed differential chatter relatively soon after purchase. Carried back to dealer and complained. They replaced the drive shaft and universals, said problem was corrected. This did not last no more than 6-8 months before chatter came back, think they also replaced differential oil also. Carried back to dealer for repair, they claimed nothing was wrong. Disgruntled with dealer, stated I would never purchase another ford truck again. Ten years have passed, to the day almost, chatter just as bad if not worse. Changed differential oil 2 times since, seems to help for a while. Do not pull a boat, pull a tractor, travel trailer or do any type of construction work with this truck. It is driven to work and back and occasionally taken on highway trips to beach and back, 500 mile round trip. Truck is pampered so that it will last, not driven hard well maintained, driven by adult male, basically in perfect shape other than differential. Do not understand why there has not been a recall with this problem. Have read about many others with the same issue. These are good trucks with one problem, the differential, that seems to me to be a factory issue. You would think ford would step-up to the plate to fix this problem. Have been a ford fan for many years,own a 2013 fusion now also. Would like to see action taken to remedy this problem. Dates and mileage approximate.
Bought 2004 f150 brand new, never off road, all scheduled maintenance completed: son driving on interstate at 65mph, heard loud breaking noise, severe rattling, shaking, no power, coasted down ramp and to side road. Towed to mechanic--rod through the oil pan. Mechanic verified that oil was pumped properly through motor.. Same mechanic has worked on this car since we have had it. We have had to have all 4 door window motors replaced (twice-second time, we fixed front door windows and had back door windows wired up) , the back glass replaced for leaking, the 4 wheel drive sensors replaced, the transmission rebuilt, the overhead cam system replaced and now this.
The engine blew a spark plug out my grandfather bought this truck new it never had them removed before it did not come lose it blew threads and all out do your god dam job make ford fix this before someone gets killed from a fire over this when the plug pops out it blows fuel out on the coil pack with it with it shooting lighting bolts if I had been a person with no mechanical knowledge it would have got bad I popped the hood and flames were popping out around the coil pack that is beating the crap out of the fuel rail if I had drove the truck or had been on the freeway that fuel rail would have been busted then a fire ball I can send u picks or make a video of the coil pack smacking the fuel rail.
Vibration at highway speeds.
As I was backing upward into my garage, I slowed down and the truck rolled forward and I quickly pressed the gas to resume backwards. This caused the check engine warning light to come on along with my od/off indicators on the dashboard. My reverse gear stopped pulling. I'm afraid had this been in route it might have been more serious of an issue.
Truck vibrated horribly on a straightaway starting at 40 MPH causing me to slow down quickly. Happens irregularly. Transmission shop can't find anything wrong. Previously had ongoing problems with shuddering when turning around corners. Just waiting for something bad to happen when I am on the interstate.
Driving up a hill at about 35mph , and noticed the transmission slipping . It keep going in and out of gear . Finally the od shut off and was able to get it back to my house . Luckily I was only 4 blocks away .after diagnosis from the dealership , it turns out that the od retainer clip went out ,took out my 2nd gear and cracked the housing . From looking online this appears to be a common problem that ford is not aknowledging .
I was driving down the highway doing 65 when my truck lost power... I barley coasted our of traffic and pulled over. I could not figure out what was wrong, oil was not low and electrical system seemed fine. Had to tow it to a mechanic to find out the engine is locked up. Apparently the cam phasers in this engine are junk and go out very frequently causing major engine problems. This needs to be fixed! These engine are very expensive to rebuild or replace.
Transmission failed. One owner vehicle. Ford will not accept any responsibility even though it appears that this is definitely a problem for this year truck.
Turning out of a parking lot during acceleration the truck began to "jump" and ride rough like driving over a "washboard". After stopping and checking it out nothing was seen. Happened again on the way home. I took it to the dealership in town and they said the rear diff needed to be replaced.
Transmission will not go into reverse.
I started to get a vibration in the rear of the truck at 45 MPH. I had just replaced the tires not long before and thought they might be out of balance. They are not. They have been checked many multiple times and rotated. The problem still exist. The dealer doesn't know what the problem is and claims it's not the differential or rear axle. I have replaced the bearings, seals, gear lube and rear shocks. Now there is a knocking sound coming from the rear end. It is a 4x2 and has not been driven hard. The vibration, which was annoying at first, has progressively gotten worse. The whole bed of the truck shakes when I hit 45 till about 55.
Waiting at stop light proceeded on green all of a sudden big banging noise underside of truck stopped in traffic by traffic light looked under truck to see drive shaft broke in half call 911 to help direct traffic called tow co. To tow vehicle to repair shop head mechanic confirmed drive shaft broke in half due to rust. Drive shaft cracked in half at the middle and not at the u joints head mechanic confirmed to me and also the dealership where I bought the truck said its the first for them of the rust and breakage.my issue is that I had a hard time finding a drive shaft and was told nothing in stock they had to make one special. I had to pay the price also was glad I was not driving on the hwy with my grand kids. My issue is that I believe the drive shaft was faulty not a wear and tear issue like ford customer service said. Further more they said they cannot do anything because my truck warranty expired.
I started my truck one day and received a "trans fault no o/d" dash code. The vehicle has driven fine and shifted fine, but I wanted to take it to the dealer to have it looked at. They pulled a code for the transmission temperature sensor but said they noticed metal in the transmission pan. The recommendation was a new transmission ($3000) or a rebuilt torque converter. I was suspicious that it could be so serious and called a family member that worked with a mechanic at another ford dealer. He mentioned replacing a transmission in a 2005 f-150 in the past six months for the same situation. I noticed several related transmission issue reports at carcomplaints.com as well as several ford forums. For a truck with low miles, transmission fluid that isn't burnt, and 66% highway miles with no towing, this is unbelievable and a huge financial burden.
Waiting at a stop light than proceeded to go when light turned green all of a sudden big banging and grinding noise coming from under truck looked under and sees drive shaft broke in half police were called to help direct traffic and called tow truck! Mechanic of the repair shop told me why in his report that the drive shaft broke he said the drive shaft had rusted in the middle to cause it to break in half!! My safety issue is I bought the truck because its big I drive my grand kids in it now can you imagine what would happen on a highway at 55 MPH!!! Everyone I spoke told me they never heard of a drive shaft break and rust like that especially its only a 2004 model!! Can you help me on this issue I have with ford! Thank you.......
Transmission failed and was replaced. Rear differential needs to be replaced.
At 50,000 miles , and earlier, the engine warning light came on, the truck lost all power, and the power steering failed. Upon taking the truck to the dealer, it was determined that the throttle body was defective, and needed replacing. Needless to say, I think that this should not have happened at such a low mileage and should be covered under a recall. Thanks for allowing me to vent. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic where the mechanic stated to the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000. Updated 03/23/12
The clutch pack in the driven train rear differentials lock up when turning corners and howls when going down the road. These failures are so common on ford truck that ford is now adding friction modifiers to the rear differentials to rear the problem and aftermarket suppliers are making replacements for the clutch pack like detroit locker to eliminate the problem. This lock up on winter surfaces cause the wheels to loose traction increasing the potential for accidents. The howling sound is also a drag on the drive train components, reducing mpg and capability of the vehicle to handle adverse conditions. Ford has known about this problem for several years and has done nothing to fix the problem or reimburse owners for the cost of repair. On my truck, total rear end repair costs have exceeded $3700.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle began to violently shake while driving 35 MPH. The vehicle was maneuvered to the shoulder and the contact noticed that the rear differential failed. The dealer made three attempts to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. No repairs were performed. The failure mileage was 4,000 and the current mileage was 62,000.
I'm driving my truck when all of a sudden it will start vibrating horribly, like driving over a washboard type of road. The only way to get it to stop is to pull over to the side of the highway, put it in park, wait, and then try to resume driving. But this does not always work. You sometimes have to stop and change to park, or reverse, a couple of times, before driving again so that the vibration goes away. I have complained about this before, and I see hundreds of complaints for the same issue on "ford owner websites", and everybody is pissed. Nobody can get an answer from ford service as to what is wrong. Many people have replaced many different things (I.e. Transmission, clutch pads, bearings, u-joints, emergency brake cable or pads), all to no avail. They have wasted their time and money, and ford refuses to live up to this awful and very dangerous problem. Apparently, ford knows this is a big problem with 2004 f-150 trucks, especially, but will not acknowledge it. Someone wrote on the web that ford knows they had a retooling problem with these trucks, and let the trucks go out for sale anyway. I am now having this problem more often, and I am afraid to drive it. I do not have any money to fix my truck, since our economy is so bad and have been unemployed for years. Make ford take ownership of this recall problem!
Truck would not start even though lights, dash indicators, & radio came on. Checked under hood & then placed in neutral to try & start. Vehicle started in neutral. Placed vehicle in park and upon taking foot off brake, vehicle lurched backward (in reverse) almost going over an embankment when I slammed brakes. Vehicle shift indicator showed it in park but, transmission was actually still in reverse. Could not get shift to engage into park. Placed vehicle into garage with emergency brake secured until could determine problem. Research indicated ford had a recall (recall - #97v171000) for this exact issue on 1997-1998 models only. But, apparently it is still a problem on later models. Could not find a recall on 2004 model. Note that this condition almost caused a serious accident.
Started my truck as usual to go to work, put it in reverse and it was like I put it in neutral, no engagement at all. Glad I wasn't in a situation when this happened that could have put myself or someone else in danger. Ford knows they have a problem, it is wide spread. Sure my truck has 124000 miles on it but the transmission malfunction light has been going on and off for the last 70000 miles and the dealer said they could not find any trouble codes or malfunctions during this period. I can rev my motor to about 2000 RPM and it will finally gently start to roll into reverse but my failsafe mode engages, check engine light comes on and the motor stumbles badly until I put the vehicle in drive gear and go about 2 miles at which time the failsafe mode goes off and it smoothes out. For the most part my vehicle has been dealer maintained.
When I turn left or right I can feel a shake or vibration coming from the rearend.
The rear differential is making a chattering noise at low speeds. It has a posi-trac rear differential, and I can feel a 'stop and go' type action as I am driving in a straight line at low speeds. Even after I added a limited slip additive, the problem is still there. It tends to be worse after a cold start, and when I am going up hills of after I go over a speed bump.
(summer, 2007, 28k) at highway speed (60 MPH) huge grinding noise and vibration, light in dash came on by itself showing, "4x4" turned on, slowed to 20 MPH, huge clunk as 4 wheel drive system engaged without drivers requesting it to engage. Ford roadside assistance was contacted and ford towed vehicle to ford dealer, ford dealer "reprogrammed" something, said it had moisture in a sensor, causing the 4x4 to try to engage. (september 12, 2011, 69,980 miles) at highway speed, (58 MPH) during mild acceleration, 1500 - 1800 RPM, a mild grinding sound from under front end, by taking foot off gas peddle then reapplying gas the grinding sound stops. Contacted ford dealer, they said drive it in, contacted ford customer satisfaction department, they said to have dealer check it out, ford dealer investigated and said there is a problem with volume of vacuum that is necessary to prevent the 4x4 system from engaging while driving on the highway at highway speeds. Ford dealer indicated that it maybe unsafe to drive like this and that this is normal for the vacuum system to fail like this, representative at ford customer satisfaction department said that their dealer knows how to diagnose and cure problems best, and since the vehicle has more than 36k it is not a concern to ford. My concern is that steel gears that are suggested to be engaged at a walking pace on soft pavement are automatically forcing themselves to lock together on dry pavement at 60 MPH, and ford and the ford dealer show little concern for this condition since the vehicle has more than 36k and since no extended warranty purchased from the dealership.
The 2004 f150 and I assume expeditions had undersized front brake rotors and calipers and were outlined in a service tech bulletin for the purpose of diagnosing the front end shaking/shimming during braking. *tr this is my opinion should have fallen under a mandatory recall due to the serious nature of poor engineering. No recall and out of pocket $$$. The same holds true for the rear differential which in my case has been replaced (3) times and again ford published a tech bulletin outlining the fact that the '04 rear differential housing was subject to faulty machining causing rapid wear on ring/pinion and bearings. I believe these two defects should have been addressed due to the fact that failure of either component could result in a serious accidents. I truly believe ford tried to cover up/white wash these defects. I still have this '04 and still have issues with the brakes and rear differential not to mention a host of other issues that have plagued this particular year model. I look forward to hearing from someone and would like to know the extent of fords involvement and any accidents involving '04f150's. Best regadrs
Started to notice shaking when turning to right, then left and as soon as I started to move forward. This is the third time I have had this failure and each time the dealer has replaced the rear end cutches and all bearings in the rear end housing. The last time it totaled over $900.00 and 17,000 miles after it is happening again. This is apparanty a common problem since the dealers stock al required parts and are not unaware of this faiure. I have had this same faiure happen 3 times in 70,000 miles and the more people I talk to the more I find that most have had at least 1 faiure. Ford needs to step up and correct a problem that exists yet today in 2011 models.
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