Complain about a product or service

Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect

Eric of Menands NY (09/04/08)
I was stopped at a light and heard a pop and what sounded like a major exhaust leak. After turning out of the intersection I noticed the smell of gas and pulled over immediately. I had blown a spark plug out of my #3 cylinder in my 5.4L Triton V8 on my 1999 F250 (136,000 miles). The plug had broken off the coil-over and jammed it into the fuel rail - gas was leaking all over the engine, onto the exhaust (thankfully it didn't ignite), and all over the ground. These were a new set of plugs that were installed before I bought the truck (right around 100,000 miles). No telling when the next one will go. I now recommend checking spark plug torque every 3rd oil change to catch loose plugs.

Fortunately no fire, but it looks like $4,000 to replace the head or $800 to put an insert in just the one cylinder.

Mr of Killeen TX (09/04/08)
I've been experiencing problems with my 97 Ford Expedition for the past 5 years. It seems to be the same issue each time. One of my spark plugs is not firing properly. I have spent so much money on engine and spark plug repairs alone that I want to take this junk and toss it in a junk yard. With purchasing a new engine less than 3 yrs ago you would think that things would get better. No!!!! This vehicle has been nothing but a pain and I'm tired and frustrated. I've been dealing with this for over 5 years and I not forking out other dime on any Ford made product.

I'm currently deployed to Iraq, like I don't have enough stuff to be worried about and this p.o.s breaks down on my wife and kids and leaves them stranded for hours. Then my wife has it towed to Ford, they try to charge her 800.00 for a tune-up like she has dummy stamped on her forehead. I got 6 months remaining in Iraq. When I return, the first thing I'm going to do is pay Ford a visit.

Charles of Lansing NC (09/04/08)
1999 Ford F250 SD, V-10, blown spark plug at 95000 miles. This is after a transmission tail shaft housing breaking in two and the front bearings and ball joints going bad.

Tail shaft housing- $2100. No injury due to luck. It broke going 65mph on I40. Transfer case landed on skid plate, prevent a bad accident. Bearings and ball joints were over $1000 + labor. Blown spark plug, no estimate yet, but it will not be cheap

Chris of Medford NJ (08/30/08)
I have blown 2 spark plugs on my 2002 Ford pickup truck with a 5.4 liter engine. The fiorst one was 6 weeks ago, the second one happened today, 8-29-2008

truck is at dealers now. I amexpecting to have to pay 3-4 thousand dollars for repairs

Derek of Houston TX (08/29/08)
Have 2006 F 150 FX4 w/only 39K miles: Check engine light came on and took it in. Dealer said the 2 of the sparkplugs were cracke and misfireing (very premature) and needed to be replaced. Then he proceeded to tell me that due to carbon build up on the plug that they have a high tendency to break off during removal, it would be $850.00 to treat them and replace! Told the dealer that this was obviously a factory defective part as they've made spark plugs FOREVER w/out this problem.

He stood by the product trying to blaim it on new emmision standards and said it wasn't a defect. He's a liar, Ford is a liar and I will NEVER buy another one, NEVER. I saw one of the plugs that break off so easily. Stevie Wonder could see that it wasn't engineered properly! I hope they get sued and have to stand behind their product and do what is right. This is beyond ridiculous.

Willie of Baltimore MD (08/29/08)
My 2003 Expediton blew it's #3 sparkplug. Dealer wanted to replace the head at a cost of $4200 and said they would not guarantee that it won't happen again. This is clearly a defect in the engine as no one has ever serviced the plugs and they are coming out on their own. I have an extended waranty but it will not cover this repair.

William of Grants Pass OR (08/27/08)
I have a 2000, f150 pick-up with the 5.4L Triton V-8. With only 43,00 miles on the engine the #1 spark plug blew out. I was told by the Ford dealer service manager that I was lucky. The ceramic portion of the plug blew out and left the metal part still in the head. I was told that many of the plugs looked corroded and that all should be replaced. Over $500. later I have new plugs and a new coil with no guarantee that the one that blew out didn't do damage to the cylinder(Part of the ceramic material is missing). This could lead to future expensive repairs. From the amount of comments, this is obviously a factory defect and a recall should have been ordered long ago.

Ford of Middletown DE (08/27/08)
My Ford Fi50 engine light came on and i could not drive over 30mph. I took my truck in for service and they told me two spark plugs had failed and because of a repeated problem of removing and installing spark plugs it would cost me $800. They said that ford issued a warning about this problem but it would cost the company too much to take care of it as a recall. I called their customer service number and even though I had extended warranty and been a ford customer for 18 years they told me that spark plugs were not covered and I would have to pay the amount they had asked for $ 800. I checked the web and found this is a repeated design problem that has affected many F150 trucks in the past.

!

Ed of North Port FL (08/27/08)
1999 ford f-250 v10,#2 spark plug on passenger side loosened up and burned out the side of spark plug cylinder hole,burnt up coil and boot,it also burnt the connectors on the injector,i read that recall will not be isued because it doesnt create a safety concern.I had my wife and mother law in the truck on he interstate and evidently it was shooting enough flames from the plug hole that it burnt up wiring and coil and boot,i would say that would be grounds for a safety issue,but i guess not until someones vehicle catches fire and someone is killed.It is a true shame that things need to be worse before they can be made better and safer.

was driving mother to airport when this happened ,she missed her fl;ight,i had to have truck towed,the repair bill is going to be expensive,and from reading other testimonies this happens alot and ford will not offer any help to anyone with this problem,im sure there are many that didnt even make a complaint about it on here,as they may not have thought to look for inflormation on it,as a former auto tech for chrysler the first thing i did was look for recalls or tsb's on the vehicle.and i was astonished to find so many complaints and so little help from ford.

Robert of Alma AR (08/27/08)
About 4 months ago I blew out a spark plug from the right side of my 2001 Ford F150 engine. I contacted my Ford dealer where I bought the truck new in 2000 and was told it would be about $1500.00 to fix as they had to pull the heads. I have messed with cars most of my life and knew there was an easier way to do this. I have a friend that owns an automobile repair shop and he put a sleeve insert into the head and replaced the spark plug for $80.00 plus towing charge. He told me that Ford engines were very bad about blowing spark plugs. I bought my truck new and lke it very much and this is the only problem I have ever had with it and it has 155000 miles on it. Right now I'm just worried that another one will blow out and leave me stranded somewhere.

Don of Merrill IA (08/27/08)
i have a 2001 ford f150 with the 4.6 liter in it. we were driving to minneapolis for mysons doctors checkups and the number 2 cylender spark plug blew out. we were almost 300 miles from home, but the hotel found a ford dealership open till midnight. one of the mechanics was nice enough to repair it after work. 300 dollars later and 2 30 in the morning my truck was fixed and i was on my way.

had to put a swedge kit in head , replace spark plug and coil

Mr. of Nicholasville KY (08/27/08)
98 Ford Expedition 5.4 engine #3 spark plug blew out, and out, and out!!!! First time made it home, called mechanic replaced plug/coil, blew again....helle coiled

Why replace with a new head when this part is defective as well always needing gaskets? Why replace the engine when this apparently can happen at any mileage and any time? This is CLEARLY AN ENGINEERING DEFECT! Maybe Ford will get the point when the salvage yards are filled with them and americans stop buying their product. Consumers of Ford products have no choice but to eat the cost of defective manufactured parts.

Grant of Northfield IL (08/26/08)
Number three spark plug on right side of Triton 5.4L V8 engine in 1999 Eddie Bauer Expedition blew out. Vehicle has 140,000 miles and has never done this before. I have read numerous instances of the same thing happening to other Ford owners. Why hasn't Ford solved this problem, and why am I getting stuck with a $410.00 bill (Getting off easy compared to $3000+ to replace the engine.) to fix what is clearly a significant design defect?

It is costing me $410.00 to have a helicoil installed. That is the cheapest way to deal with it. I am 1000 miles from home and not at all confident about driving home at the risk of getting stranded when that one goes again, or another goes as well. It will add up quickly. I realize this would likely bankrupt Ford, but right is right.

Katrina of Hawthorne NV (08/26/08)
My 2000 Ford Expedition just blew out the #3 spark plug on the rear of the motor I am now looking spending 2700 for one head not including labor. Not having a warranty. This is a financed vehicle I am now without transportation and have to make a payment on a vehicle I can no longer drive until fixed.

Rick of Corpus Christi TX (08/25/08)
I had my #3 coil burst on me on 08-20-08 this has been my third time replacing the fuel coil and trust me it aint cheap. I have a 1999 ford f-150 5.4 liter 4x4 triton engine with 180,000 miles and this time i am going to have to replace the tread in the cylinder or replace the head, this really really really really really sux's FORD should do some kind of recall to help with the cost but i guess when u have alot of money and helping those who made you rich in the first place doesn't matter anymore. FORD needs to remove that huge stick out of there a**'s and step up to there responsibility to help the consumer. I will never get a FORD again until they do something about this issue with the spark plugs bursting, I hope it doesn't take someone dieing on the road because of this, to make them relies they REALLY NEED to do something. PLEASE E-mail me if anybody is taking legal action cause of these issues i really don't mind speaking out about this.

Eric of Cincinnati OH (08/25/08)
My 2003 Ford Expedition FX4 with the 5.4L engine blew a spark plug last month. There were only 55,000 miles on the odometer. I experienced the same circumstances others have reported: a loud crack followed by a sputtering engine and a sudden loss of power. The plug and coil required replacement, of course, but apparently I was a bit unlucky. During the explosion, A chunk of porcelain from the spark plug had fallen into the cylinder. This piece had scarred and gouged the piston and cylinder walls. (This was reported by a mechanic who examined the cylinder using a borescope.)

The solution was a remanufactured Jasper engine for $5,100. (Ford dealers wanted $5,400 to $6,000 to install a remanufactured Motorcraft engine but I declined.) Also paid $300 to the mechanics who diagnosed the problem and $165 in towing fees. Ouch!

Richard of Great Bend KS (08/23/08)
Another #3 spark plug blowing out.

Cost to me of $557 to repair something that is Ford's design flaw, and they will not stand behind the problem.

Raymond of Neptune NJ (08/22/08)
The Ford motor company says Ford tough but is everything but that. I bought my e 250 van in 2003 new and I have a 5.4 triton motor and just yesterday 08/20/08 a spark plug blew out of the head of my engine. I dont know what I am going to do about it yet but I am very dissapointed with Ford not fixing the problem. I did not know about this problem with the 5.4 triton engine and Ford has since 2000 or sooner. I have 81000 miles on the van and now if it is going to cost $6000 like what I have been reading about it will probably be a throw away car.

I am without a vehicle to get to work. I use my van to do construction and it is going to limit my ability to make money and pay my bills. It is going to effect my savings and my future savings if I have to get another vehicle.

Tom of Frankfort IL (08/21/08)
My 2000 Ford Expedition popped a sparkplug in December 2007 and popped another one 8-19-08. My fix: I inserted a new sparkplug and torqued it to 14 ft. lbs. I wanted to make sure there were some kind of threads. I then applied JB weld on the threads of the new sparkplug and torqued the sparkplug again and let the epoxy cure for 36 hours. It has gone 13,000 miles, with no problem yet. I think that is too early to tell.

Either way, the head needs an insert, whether now or later and I don't have the money now. The sparkplug these days go for 80,000 to 100,000 miles, so what did I have to lose. I doubt I would have this piece of junk in another 80,000 miles.

Ron of Geneva IL (08/21/08)
I was driving back home from Missouri and 50 miles from home I had a sparkplug blow outof the #3 cylinder on the pasenger side of my truck. I was in the middle of nowhere. I had never even heard of this ever happening before but when I called the closest auto repair shop and described the sound the truck made and the bang that happened the mechanic asked if it was a ford and I told him yes and he told me that I probably blew a spark plug and sure enough that was what it was. He even told me which plug it probably was and he was correct when we looked.

The mechanic I found was able to put in and insert with a special tool but it still cost me 650.00 and a rental car for the day because he had to get a new coil also since this broke when the plug blew out. Not to mention the 100 miles I had to drive to go back and pick up my truck. I will definately look at other brands of truck when I start looking to replace this one since I have found out that this is a common occurance with ford trucks and Ford refuses to recognize that there is a problem.

Roy of Abilene TX (08/21/08)
The Ford Triton engines are having SEVERE problems during hot summer months, in regard to blowing out the spark plug through the too-thin aluminum heads. Excessive heat is a problem and the failure rate is typically on plugs at the REAR of the engine, where less cool air is passing across the back of the heads. THE SPARKPLUG BOSS, having too little meat in the head, heats up and blows out.

PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THE INSERTS are NOT trouble free, and they too blow, as in the case of my Ford... (Yep, the INSERTS can and DO blow out of the head after one of these repair attempts.) One of my lousy inserts blew out of the head in May 2008 near Houston, on I-10. I simply drove it home another 350 miles sounding like Jed Clampett driving a jalopy in Beverly Hills. My Ford made a terrible noise the entire trip, ran lousy but I WASN'T GOING TO TOW IT 350 miles!

$8,000 to have a newly remanufactured Jasper engine installed in my 1998 Ford.

John of Mayerthorpe OTHER (08/19/08)
I was driving to work in my recently purchased 2000 F150 extended cab, 4.6L Triton V8, and i heard a sound like my exhaust had blown off. Pulled over and looked under the hood and there was my coil pack sitting there the spark plug in the hole bouncing around. Still haven't got it fixed yet, just can't afford the 1000 to 2000 its gonna cost. down to one vehicle again, seen so many other complaints about this its ridiculous how could it not be a defective problem in this many vehicles with these motors. I'm pissed, Ford won't even guarantee it once its fixed, so i won't even bother going there, get it fixed elsewhere cheaper. Never buying another Ford in my life, once this truck blows up i'll dump it in the landfill and get a chev. I'm just lucky it was close to home and my family wasn't with me, the damn thing could've caught fire, with all the raw fuel mixture coming through the hole and the spark plug firing away. surprised haven't heard of more vehicle fires caused by this problem.

Joe of St. Louis MO (08/18/08)
1999 Ford Expedition blew out spark plug in cylinder #4.

Paid to get vehicle towed. Paid $560 to have (1!!! SPARK PLUG) inserted with hele coil. Luckily only 1 blew and did not damage the cylinder, but whats to say the others aren't far behind?! I paid good money to buy an American made product, if they continue to do nothing while knowing there's a problem this will be the last Ford I purchase and I will definitely spread the word to all considering to buy a F@#$ing Ford!

Michael of Greenfield MN (08/18/08)
Ford has an ongoing issue with 5.4L Triton motor blowing spark plugs out of the cylinder heads. I spoke to Ford customer service today and they refuse to admit they have an issue and they also refuse to assist current owners with ANY repair costs. There is no recalls nor is there any service bulletins.

The dealer explained that Ford's recommendation is to replace the entire cylinder head at my cost. Total bill $3322.96.

Steve of Winchester CA (08/17/08)
I am responding to the issue with f150 trucks blowing spark plugs out. My truck started doing this at about 78,000 miles. I brought the truck to Pep Boys after the secound time and they sugested hele coils. This did not work, I am know paying about $2000 dollars to get the truck fixed with a new head.

Local ford said they have no recalls and Ford said they have no problem with spark plugs blowing out. Every time it does this it also damages the coil pack and it also has to be replaced.

Brian of San Diego CA (08/16/08)
My F150 was scheduled for its 90K mile service. I wanted to replace plugs at that point but FORD says to do it at 100K miles. Before I got it in for service, the #2 plug blew and stripped the threads in the head. The repair to put an insert in, replace the plug and coil pack was $800 alone. After servicing and repair I went on my merry way. Three weeks later, on a trip to the desert with my family, the engine started misfiring. I took it back to the mechanic and after they diagnosed it, it was determined that the plug in the #2 port was bad for some time (before the spit out) and caused problems in the cylinder with the valves. I'm now looking at a $4000 repair job to the heads initially caused by the plug poorly firing. When I ask why the plug fired poorly, my mechanic told me the plug was never well seated, given the fact that there were only two (2) threads cut into the head to hold the spark plugs in (in all 8 cylinders!). Ford either did a crappy job engineering the heads, plug seats, and coil system -- or they somehow determined that by tapping only two threads instead of the 7-8 needed, they could save money on the production of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, OR BOTH! If this had happened to me alone, or just a few people, I would think just our rotten luck. But apparently this is a large issues with thousands and thousands of vehicles. Ford should be held responsible for either a recall or compensation to those suffering loss.

Gary of Quincy MA (08/14/08)
2005 Ford F150 blew out spark plug on number 3 cylinder. Cylinder head threads stripped. Plug was original factory installation and had never been removed. Spark plug replacement not due until 100,000 miles according to Ford F150 official scheduled maintenance guide.

Charles of Hemet CA (08/14/08)
Driving home from work,2002 ford mustang GT #3 spark plug blew from cylinder head. thought the car had blown up with the noise it made. Dealer quoted $2600.00 for repairs. A google search shows that this is a HUGE problem and ford refuses to recall the vehicles, even after issuing a technical service bulletin and endorsing a very expensive aftermarket repair kit. Class action lawsuit should be filed!

Ted of Woodstock GA (08/12/08)
I was headed to a job when I thought the whole muffler blew off from a loud explosion. I found a spark plug dangling from it's wire. Spark Plug blow out from aluminum head. #4 cylinder. $1800 to repair. Stripped completely out. Had other 4 cylinders repaired with the steel coil fix since the head was off on that side anyway for another $250. Judging from complaints, #3 will go next. F250 Triton V10, 1999.

I own my own general contracting Home Improvement business and I had to call 2 customers and tell them their jobs were delayed for 2 days until I got my truck back. Bad for business. I don't get paid until the job is completed. I had to fork out over $2000 to get the truck fixed. I still have 5 more potential blow outs on the other cylinder head. I would like to join any class action suit that may come as a result of this apparently wide spread problem.

David of San Diego CA (08/12/08)
the spark plug in my 2004 Ford F-150 blew out and the warranty inspector says its becuase sommeoneone installed the spark plug wrong. That's the way I bought it I've never touched it. They don't want to own up to there mistakes now I have to pay.

William of Millstadt IL (08/11/08)
Just filled my gast tank 110.00 Pulled away and started on a camping trip, pow $2 spark plug blow out. I worked for Ford 28 years. 2003 F350 5.4.62000 mi. Very dissapointed about my truck. No idea there were so many problems with spark plugs blowing out.

Jarrod of Franklin CT (08/11/08)
2001 Ford Expedition 167,430 miles on truck Spark plugs fell out of three times, replaced with re thread kits. Had to tow the truck three times. Do not want to travel long distances any more. Happend once with my wife pregnent and the other time with our infant Baby in the truck. Now I have to look at replacing the heads so it would not happen anymore. The cost to replace is unreal. We are the first owner to this truck. Ford should of done a recall

Lost of Income/Towing Expense and can not afford a new car/truck. We were hopping to have this truck at least 300,000 miles

Sean of Yonkers NY (08/10/08)
stalled on highway because the #3 cylinder spit out its spark plug. engine is a 2002 ford 5.4L triton with 80,000 miles

ford, well aware of thousands of these defective cylider heads claims I'm on my own and have to pay the $3800.00 repair bill. my extended warranty company also won't pay. talk about getting screwed.

NHTSA is apparently just another useless and costly government agency, as I complained to them and after they reviewed ALL 462 complaints regarding such a defect has determined there will be NO recall. maybe just maybe NHTSA needs to take off their blinders and properly investigate this extremly expensive defect, as there are thousands of these defective heads that have already failed. If you have been a victim of Ford's obviously defective heads Please file a complaint with the head in the sand government agency known as NHTSA

Mike of Vermilion OH (08/09/08)
The known problem of blown spark plugs got me the other day. Wife and kids were in my truck going on a camping trip. 2nd plug on driver side blew. My truck is an 02 F250 with the 5.4L. 87k miles. I did a plug change about 20k ago. Ford needs to step up. This is going to cost me more money. I already fixed the other known problem last year, exhaust manifold bolts that snap and cause an exhaust leak. Both of these problems should be recalls.

Stavros of Pittsburgh PA (08/08/08)
In September of 2007, I was driving home from work, in my 2001 Ford Expedtion Eddie Bauer Triton V8. As I'm driving on a busy highway, I press the gas an hear a snapping sound, then what sounded like clicks when I would press the gas. I pulled over into a gas station, opened the hood to examine what the problem was, and could figure out where it was coming from. Thankfully a friend of mine has a very good friend whom is a mechanic. I gingerly drove my SUV to his shop. After a few days he called me to explain to me that a spark plug had ejected itself. When asked how much the repairs were, he told me that he could fix the problem for 300 dollars. I picked up my vehicle, and paid the money. Fast forward to May of 2008. I was driving from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City. As I'm on I-70, in Maryland, I hear a loud popping sound, and then that familiar clicking that I heard back in 2007. Immediately I pull over in the next town that I could find. I popped open my hood, and looked in the general direction of the spark plugs. I saw the rubber hose that holds the spark plug, with a gapping hole in it. I knew that the same thing happened. I took it to an all-purpose Goodyear store, and explained my problem. The mechanic did the best he could to remedy the problem. He told me that I had to take it to another mechanics shop to fix it, since he didn't have the tools necessary, and the Goodyear dealership would not allow him to do that work. I took it to a mechanics shop that I saw across the street. He looked at the problem and told me he did not want any part of it, and to take it to the Ford Dealership up the street. I took it to Ford, and talked to the service station rep. Immediately he says to me, Let me take you upstairs to look or a new vehicle. That's a costly repair. It'll cost you over 3000 dollars to fix it. I went through the roof. I told him I wanted to speak to a manager. When the manager came out, I explained to him that another shop was able to fix it for 300 dollars. He said that they did have some kit that would alleviate the problem, but only temporarily. So I left my car with them, rented another vehicle, and drove to AC. That evening they called me and told me that it would cost over 900 dollars to fix it. I told them to go ahead with the fix. When I got back, I paid over 1200 dollars for the work. This problem should become a recall.

Daniel of Tabernacle NJ (08/07/08)
1999 Ford Expedition with the 5.4 litre engine just blew out the spark plug on cylinder #3. I have 176,000 miles on it and is the first time I had to get it towed. The fact that Ford is aware of this problem and has done absolutely NOTHING to rectify it for their loyal Ford owners makes me wonder how much they really value their customers and any potential repeat business at all? This should have never happened in the first place. I have maintained it perfectly since the day I drove it new off the lot. I was doing about 60 mph when it blew. Scared the crap out of me! Luckily my family wasn't in the truck with me. The inconvience of getting it towed, and is now in the shop with an estimate of close to $3000 to get repaired and will be there for over a week(so I am without a vehicle now also) really pisses me off!(pardon my language). Owning Ford cars, I swear I will never buy another, and now with the truck blowing the plug out of the head, knowing damn well Ford knows about it and apparently is screwing their loyal customer base to save a few bucks makes me start to think if I'd ever buy another Ford truck right now either.

To all of you Ford truck guys out there with the same problem and ended up eating the outrageous cost of repair, I think we need to hold Ford accountable for at least getting our money back for the repairs, time and towing expense as well asthe frustration when it broke down and any rental car fees while our trucks were in getting repaired. There has got to some kind of pusuit of Ford somewhere already out there for this issue. Sign me up also!

Eric of Cincinnati OH (08/07/08)
I was driving on the highspeed lane of the highway when i wen't to make a lane change it popped out and i manage to avoid an collison with the car i was passing in front of. had barley anypower to pull to the emergency lane so it was a close call. Number 2 spark plug blew out taking the treads with it. it's a 2002 ford f150 harley davidson with 80,000 miles as i read ford will not do anything about it. so im gonna have the head replaced my mechanic

Darrell of Tyler TX (08/05/08)
2000 Ford f150 blew a spark plug at 172,000 miles. Gonna be expensive to fix. Apparently this is a way too common problem.

loss of vehicle, expense of repair

Kevin of La Verne CA (08/04/08)
I'm evidentaly the latest to learn of the sparkplug problem w/Ford Expeditions. Mine popped in the Mojave Desert on the way to Las Vegas For business. The odd thing is the AAA tow truck driver knew right away what it was. Happened twice before to him. Ford dealer said Ford had a repair kit to fix without replacing heads. I said ok.

After repair I was told that Ford recalled their kit, to many problems, and that an after market Napa Auto kit and Heil Coil were used. Now I am questioning the reliability of this fix. Why hasn't Ford done something about this? Mine was a 2000 Eddie Bauer w/ 91000 miles.

Denny of Mahtomedi MN (08/04/08)
Last June of 08 a person named Michael posted spark plug problem on a 2005 Ford F150, he was from Palmer,AK. My question is, was this the new 3 valve 5.6 Ford that came out in 2005? That is what I have, I was told this motor doesn't spit plugs, any comments? Thanks

Robert of West Saint Paul MN (08/02/08)
I took my 2004 F-150 pick up truck in for a simple tune up but when they mechanic tried to take the spark plugs out they broke. He explained that it was due to a defect in the design of the spark plugs that should have been recalled. The plug seizes into the heads so when they try to remove them they break.

The tune up should have cost $350.00 but it ended up costing $836.00 because of the labor involved with removing the broken plugs.

Robert of West Saint Paul MN (08/02/08)
I took my 2004 F-150 pick up truck in for a simple tune up but when they mechanic tried to take the spark plugs out they broke. He explained that it was due to a defect in the design of the spark plugs that should have been recalled. The plug seizes into the heads so when they try to remove them they break.

Peter of Gig Harbor WA (08/01/08)
On May 21st I went to conduct routine maintenance on my 2004 Ford F150 5.4L V8. Approaching at 94,456 miles it was time to change the 100,000 mile spark plugs. After purchasing the plugs I attempted to remove the old plugs. The plug was difficult to remove and separated into two pieces leaving the bottom half still in the engine. Having Went to automotive school I figured a job this simple should not have had these sort of results. After looking into what needed to be done I discovered that this was not a new problem. I found numerous forums discussing this issue. After contacting my local ford dealer they referred me to a specialty tool that was over $300. After purchasing this I found that the same tool could be found on the open market for under $100 dollars but I was told that the only way to get the tool was through a ford dealer. After getting the tool I attempted to use it following the instructions in the Ford TSB. On doing so the tap that was provided with the kit broke leaving now half of a tap and the bottom part of the spark plug in the head of my vehicle. I continued to try and remove the tap with multiple tap extractors but nothing would work. After exhausting all of my options I was forced to take it to a dealership to have the heads removed. When this was done it was found that all the spark plugs were defective and all of them broke off. This left me no choice but to have both heads removed and have all the plugs pounded out from the back side. The total bill was $2894 all to do a standard maintenance at the standard time interval that it was supposed to be done. So what do Ford Owners do now? Each time you want to change your plugs so you spend $2900.00 to change the plugs? This is insane and needs some form of resolution to this problem to protect the consumer. Sincerely Danny Hoffman Note the truck is owned by Peter Hoffman father of Danny Hoffman

Tom of Horseshoe Bend ID (08/01/08)
I already wrote and you politily wished me luck when I told a story about the 2nd time a spark plug blew out of my 1999 Ford Expedition well that was 2 weeks ago and the cost was $1,500.00 for redrilling and repair. Guess what? Tonight ANOTHER one blew out pulling into my driveway again with all 3 kids in car! 3 Blown spark plugs in 8 weeks! Are you frigging joking. I am writing ford and If I don't get anywhere with you AGAIN. I am contacting my attorney to see if I have ANY recourse. This is insane! PLEASE HELP..How long can they ignire this design flaw??

Scott of Los Olivos CA (08/01/08)
Blown Spark Plug in 1998 Lincoln Town Car @160k miles. While cruising on highway 101 at posted limit of 65 MPH. Engine suddenly started making loud popping sounds.

$500+ estimate to install Time-Sert http://www.timesert.com/html/ford_sparkplug_faq.html To repair damaged threads. Car has been very reliable up to this point. Ford is highly implicated in thousands of similar failures.

Lance of Windsor ME (07/31/08)
2001 F-150 %.4 Liter Triton Engine blew the Number 7 plug

Shannon of Laporte TX (07/25/08)
My 2001 Ford F150 has blown out the spark plug twice and it appears to be a factory defect. I should be reimbursed for the $ spent to repair this.

Will of Covina CA (07/25/08)
lincoln mark8 blew out a spark plug..o=this was a creight motor and transmission with 50k miles on it ( what a waste of $8K. Ford sucks

Richard of Lawtey FL (07/24/08)
spark plug blow out of my 2003 Ford F250, 5.4 V8. Ford Motor Co. needs to stand by there truck and recalls and repair the heads, to prevent the spark plug from blowing out. As it is I can not relie on a Ford Truck to do my job.

Ryan of Sandiego CA (07/24/08)
my 2001 f150 supercrew has blown 2 spark plugs aleady and almost a 3rd. i live in california. if anybody in this state has filed a class action suit please let me know becuase i want to join it. contact me at rag5@pph.org. so much for ford tough. when i can afford to im getting a tundra next. ford can go to hell.

Charles of Wauseon OH (07/23/08)
I would like to add to the already growing list of a blown spark plug. I have a 2001 Ford F150 4x4 pickup. 3 days ago it blew the #3 plug and I was quoted $4,500 to fix it. I live in northern Ohio and currently I am attending the Air Force's Academy at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. I will have to have my truck shipped home and than get a rental for my self because it happened 2 days before graduation and I have plans in ohio shortly afterwards. When is Ford going to accept some responsibility?? i think, at least they should have notified customers with the suspect vehicles to have tham constantly check the tightness of the spark plugs to help alleviat the problem. When my plug blew, it was the first I had heard of this problem

Lauri of Lake Charles LA (07/23/08)
My 1999 Ford Expedition required over $3000 just to have spark plugs replaced because the spark plugs took the cylinders out with them. It was in the shop 3 times before we finally had to have ALL cylinders replaced. We were told this was common. Since when is it common to have to replace the cylinders when replacing spark plugs? This after MULTIPLE trips to the shop when vehicle was new for faulty wiring. We had safety issue that finally was fixed, but only after many trips to the dealership. The brake lights would go out; we were told it was connected to an air bag problem. Suddenly the $30,000 price tag we thought we were paying for safety and reliability became a joke. This is just the latest insult to a poor purchase on our part. Ford should do something about this latest problem with their spark plug / cylinder problem. Our vehicle now has 104,000 miles on it. It should last much longer than that - don't think it will hold out too much longer.

Adia of Glen Burnie MD (07/22/08)
In June of 2007, I took my Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition for a 100,000 mile tune up. 3 weeks later I was riding down the road with my 3 children and heard a very loud pop and a clanking sound under the hood and had to pull over. I got the truck towed to the dealership and come to find out the engine threw a spark plug from cylinder #2 and shattered the coil pack, costing me a total of $858 with the warranty. A year later the same thing happened with my husband in the truck but this time it was cylinder #5. We purchased this vehichle with the intention of having something reliable and sturdy for our family. Had we known that the 5.4 liter V8 Triton engines that Ford uses in Expeditions and other Ford vehicles has this history of blowing spark plugs, we of course would never have purchased this vehicle. When we purchased it, the recall about the cruise control and ignition switch were honored, but no one informed us about this particular problem since it hasnt made the recall list. (such a shame). I am ready to spearhead a class action laswsuit against Ford! It is not fair that someone is sitting back getting rich off honest working class citizens by producing less then stellar vehicles with cheap parts (an aluminum engine head using metal spark plugs of course does not make sense!!)

Timothy of Folsom CA (07/21/08)
My 2002 Ford Expedition with th 5.4 engine spuit oput the number three spark plug.

Timothy of Folsom CA (07/21/08)
My 2002 Ford Expedition with th 5.4 engine spuit oput the number three spark plug.

$3500 to fix it and continue to get 12 MPG

Michael of Hanson MA (07/21/08)
Spark Blowout on my 2002 Ford F250 @ 74,000 miles. I had to tear the entire top half of the motor off to fix this problem. It destroyed a spark plug and COP (Coil On Plug). I bought a new coil pak and all 8 spark plugs (to make sure it did not happen again). I also had to pay $300 for the tool fix this issue as well. Ford has known about this problem for 10 years and has done nothing to fix this issue.

Denise of Jacksonville FL (07/20/08)
i was riding home from work and heard a pop under the hood.i thought my manifold pop off it was so loud.i drove home thank goodness that it was right down the street from my house.i looked under the hood to see the spark plug just sitting on the engine.i only had my navigator 8 months.i'm very disappointed.i thought that frod trucks were the best but i guess i was wrong.it'll cost me a couple of hundred dollars to fix which i don't have.i hope they do something about this.

Tom of Rockaway NJ (07/20/08)
My son's 1997 Ford Taurus, V6, blew the entire center of the spark plug out. The ceramic insulator was still attached to the spark plug wire; the lower plug housing that screws into the head was in tact with nothing but an open hole to the cycinder. It blew out on the interstate while my daughter was driving it. She described it as a loud pop followed by a continuous popping noise acconpanied by the smell of gas. When I got there almost 2 hours later I discovered the open cylibder. Never saw anything like it, but from reading other consumer complaints it appears that it is not at all uncommon.

Manuel of Bermuda Dunes CA (07/19/08)
July 11, 2008 while in Havasu, Az I started my 2000 Ford F250 Triton V10 in the morning so I could two my boat down to Lake Havasu when my truck engine started making this loud noise It sounded like the engine blew. My truck was always properly maintained and when this occurred I couldn't understand what had just happend. After lifting the hood I saw that the spark plug coil on the No.8 plug was broken. I removed the coil and the spark plug was just sitting there out side of of the plug hole. Well stress just sored about the expense I was about to incurr. I had to pay $400.00 to a tow company to have my Ford towed home on top of paying Ford $150.00 for a Healey coil that had to be used to repair the damaged head plug threads after drilling the plug hole and re-tapping it so a new plud could be replaced. In checking the rest of the plugs I found two more lose plugs ready to burst from the head. I later determined that this is so common with Ford engines that I checked with a Ford dealer for possible repair they wanted over $1,800.00 to fix just one plug. They didn't even want to discuss the inherent problem. Needless to say I won't be buying any more Ford Trucks or vehicles. I also work with a large organization with employee's who own large trucks they won't like what I have learned reading the consumer compalints about Fords ignorance in this matter.

A of Simi Valley CA (07/16/08)
1999 ford expedition just blew a spark plug out of the head and shattered the coil pack, ford says wow never heard of that happening before!!! google search says differently, this is a very common problem and ford does not stand by their product or warranty. This will be my last Ford product. 1999 Ford Expedition, eddie bauer edition, 103,000 miles = large doorstopper

Anthony of Camarillo CA (07/16/08)
I called Ford in Ventura,Ca to complain about a spark plug issue that keeps occuring on my 2002 F-350 Pick-up.I have had the spark plugs blow out of the cylinder head 3 TIMES!!Each time I had to replace the spark plug and the capacitor, which cost 70 dollars a piece. The last time this happened,the new spark plug would not go into the plug head because the treads were stripped out.I tried every possible solution I could find just to come up empty handed.I dont have $3000 to have the work done and I need my vehicle for work. I really think FORD should fix this problem for me.It is apparently a design flaw were they put an aluminum cylinder head to a steel treaded spark plug and the two metals are not compatible under heat and pressure,therefore causing the plug treads to pull out of the cylinder head.

John of Needham IN (07/15/08)
I own a Ford F-150 truck with a Triton V-8 engine. As I prepared to have the plugs changed, I consulted service bulletins only to find several issues presented regarding spark plugs in these engines as well as the V-10 models. I took my truck to a local reputable mechanic and ask if they had changed plugs in these vehicles previously and they indicated they had done so. I presented the information in the service bulletins and they appeared to be aware of the issues. Upon trying to remove the first plug it was twisted off inside the head. They needed a special tool to remove it. The mechanic indicated it seized inside the head due to carbon build up on the plug and poor plug design. Essentially, they believed this could be a problem, so they designed a two piece plug that would not harm the treads, but would twist out inside the head. Long story short, a 45 minute job has turned into a nightmare for the last two days and at least four more plugs have twisted off inside the head. A minor job has turned major due to major design flaws by Ford engineers. The web site is full of complaints and Ford appears not to care or willing to take responsibility.

Christopher of Lexington Park MD (07/15/08)
There is a TSB on 2004 and older Ford F-150 5.4L 3V trucks which states that spark plugs in these vehicles break when being removed, causing possible extensive damage to the vehicle's engine. Although the plugs are rated at 100,000 miles, the carbon which often builds up causes them to adhere to the head in the engine. When this happens, they break upon removal, leaving behind a portion of the plug. Special tools are needed to remove the remnants, and pieces of the plug are often lost in the cylinder area, causing engine damage. Ford dealerships/service centers are being directed to follow the TSB, as are customers. The plugs are not covered under warranty unless they fail. The option is to leave the suspect plugs in the vehicle and never replace them or to replace them at a high cost. Dealer reports that they have never successfully removed all plugs without breaking at least one. Ford refuses to comment. No recall has been issued to correct the design flaw. I feel duped that I paid over $30,000 for this truck. Although the plugs have not failed yet, I face the prospect of costly repairs if one does. Because a company that the public trusts failed to take measures to prevent this or to correct a known problem, the consumer, once again, pays dearly.

Kent of Fresno CA (07/15/08)
This is the Expedition Triton 5.4 engine sparkplug problem. Amazingly (at least to me) the truck blew the sparkplug six days after the extended warranty expired. So, no help from the warranty. I am a lawyer, and so I don't blame the werranty contract for not lasting longer, as I signed it. What does bother me is that the problem seems from this site to happen on a daily basis. My repair man said it is because the steel plug is screwed into an aluminum head. He says GM does not do this, and that common sense requires that metal be attached or screwed into the same type of metal (steel into steel) instead of steel into aluminum. This looks like a design defect.

Steve of Bainbridge GA (07/15/08)
I own a 1999 Ford F-250 Super-Duty truck that blew the #3 spark plug, taking all the threads in the cylinder head with it. I was on vacation in Florida, and spent several hundred dollars getting my truck and camper home, not to mention ruining my 4th of July weekend. I am facing a $3,500+ repair bill. The ignition coil was destroyed when it was repeatedly slammed into the fuel rail, actually denting the rail. This has happened to thousands of the Ford Triton engines.... when is Ford going to do something about this?

I

Don of Plant City FL (07/14/08)
I owen a Ford F150 2001 with a 5.4 and on my way home from work at 11:30pm I heard a noise like something struck the front of my truck and then I heard the popping sound coming out up under my hood, I found out that a spark plug had blown out, its going to cost me $550 plus to do the work myself, I have to replace the head. I see that there has been alot of trouble with this, if I would have known about this problem I would have not bought the truck, so what can be done about this, Ford needs to stand up for there products, they are misleading the public about being Ford tough

Terry of Flossmoor IL (07/13/08)
I have a 99 Ford Expedition with a 5.4 Triton and have had the same issue as everyone else here. I have had the same plug blow out of the head 4 times. The last time was when I took my family on vacation to WI. We were 500 or so miles from home when this happened. I'm not really happy with Ford Motor Co at this point! Not to mention 75 miles away from were we were staying. So..Luckily my parents had gone with us and drove their car that night too. So all seven of us pile into a Buick Rendezvous. As a result of this evening, we had to drive 40 miles south of where we were vacationing just to pick up a rental vehicle and head back and pack the rental car. My Truck had to stay up in Wisconsin for a week and then I had to drive another 500 miles that same week to pick up my ford from the local mechanic. And with gas at $4.00 a gallon, this just topped off my whole summer - Thank You Ford Motor Co! Admit to your screw ups give your consumers reimbursement and do the right thing. Send out a mass recall for this issue.

Shawn of California City CA (07/12/08)
Last year my Ford F-350 blew a spark plug. Due to the expiration of my warranty it cost over $700.00. On July 4th, 2008 while traveling out of town, My 2004 Lincoln Navigator started making noises, the same as my truck, and I knew it was a spark plug. We made it home after dealing with the loud noises and then only two miles from home, the smell of gas set in. We had bought the extended premiere warranty and knew we had nothing to worry about, however, we have been told that Ford would not cover this defect. After two days of dealing with Ford and our local dealership where we have purchased 13 ford vehicles from, and knowing that our extended warranty should cover it, our Navigator is now at the Ford shop. They will call us once a specialist looks at the motor, and they will let us know if it will be covered under warranty. It's a shame that ford has not ever contacted us reguarding this continued defect with their vehicles. We have since been told that a class action law suit is in the works reguarding this matter. Makes us think twice about buying a Ford again!

Tom of Horseshoe Bend ID (07/11/08)
My wife and our 3 children ages 5-3-1 just finished grocery shopping in Eagle Idaho when leaving the parking lot in our 99 Ford Expedition I heard that familar sound of ANOTHER blown spark plug. Our vehicle full of grocery's kids and late at night and BOOM. I just had another one blow on this piece of crap 6 weeks earlier! No cab service available, no way to get home 20 miles away and so I called 911 and a unbelievable cool police officer drove us all (5) home in his trooper. Now I get to spend $350-$2,000 to replace either the coil and tap or a new head. Oh by the way finding a mechanic doesn't try to squeeze you is the real magic. FORD shame on you for building crap. This was the last FORD I will ever purchase as you should Man Up and recall these FORDS and fix the damn flaw. I do not have the resources for these repairs. But hey who rally gives a crap about the consumers anyway they will buy another new one? Wrong NEVER!

 

Gordon of Idaho Falls ID (07/08/08)
I own a 1998 Ford F150 XLT. 2 of the 8 cylinders have ejected spark plugs.

Repairs have cost ~$500 per cylinder.

Jim of Summerville SC (07/08/08)
My Ford F150 with the 5.4 Triton engine blew out the rear passenger side spark plug.

It has cost me $2500.00 for repairs.

Andy of Murfreesboro TN (07/08/08)
My 1999 Ford Expedition blew a spark plug out at 62,000 miles. Ford paid nothing, I was 1,000 miles away from home, had to rent a vehicle due to weekend and Ford dealer in Macon Georgia did not have cylinder head. Then had to drive back from Ohio the following week later and $2,600 more broke. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH FORD. There should be a recall on the 5.4 litre. Also has anybody tried changing the front rotors, wow, what Engineer at Ford provided those tolerances? No wonder they are doing so poorly. They do not stand behind their problems and they are poorly designed. :( nuff said.

Cynthia of Batesville AR (07/07/08)
I own a 2000 Ford F150 with a Triton V-8 engine. In May the #7 spark plug blew out. Yesterday, July 5, the #3 spark plug blew out. Seems to be an ongoing problem with these engines.

Jeff of Guthrie OK (07/06/08)
Have an 01 Ford Expedition and after my wife started a couple of days ago she heard a pop and then a horrible noise. She said it sounded like a dirt bike exhaust in the engine. Come to find out it blew a spark plug out of one of the back passenger side cylinders. Unfortunately it's 4th of July weekend, we're broke and I guess our family of 6 will be without transportation for a while.

Tim of Griffin GA (07/05/08)
I have a 2000 F150 and it has been blowing spark plugs out of the block. I have never known a spark plug could blow out of the block like this. It has happened on several occasions.

I have had to buy and replace the coil packs and spark plugs every time it blows a spark plug out. It has happened about 7 or 8 times. I have had to put some hela coils in a couple of the holes. I am about to have to do another one. I have had a spark plug blow out of the same one 4 times now. I just bought a coil pack the day before and and it blew out again last night. I am getting tired of this. I feel like there should be a recall on this situation. I think it is happening enough that it should qualify a recall.

Bruce of Digby OTHER (07/02/08)
I am an owner of a Ford F150 2003 V8 Triton engine.I live in Nova Scotia Canada.I have been reading many of your complaints only to realize that I'm not the only one this has happened to.In November of 2007 I was leaving a friends house and when I went to start my truck heard a loud pop,I opened the hood of my truck to realize that one of my spark-plugs had been blown out.The cost to repair this was $1250 due to the tools needed to do it,the persons time and many other things.The second time took place 3 days before Christmas 2007 when I was pulling into the gas station and heard the same sound I opened the hood and realized another spark plug had blown out,another $1250 out of my pocket.I think it's time Ford took their fingers out of their butt and took respsonbility for what they have done. PS use long threaded spark plugs the short ones DO NOT work! A Screw up from the factory.

Chip of Salisbury MA (07/02/08)
I too own a Ford with the spitting plug problem. I have a 2001 F150 that has 150,000 miles on it. It is very well taken care of as far as maintenance goes but I am on my fourth spit plug! It`s too bad Ford will not admit they screwed up in there design of the Triton 5.4 cylinder heads! I know they don`t think it is their fault but some aftermarket people are selling a repair kit for this problem. I had been taking my truck to a local garage to have it fixed and they were charging me around three hundred dollars to fix it. I talked to a Ford service and parts man, who works for a Ford dealership and he told me Ford does not a repair kit for this problem but he showed me what they use to fix it I went to my local parts store and purchased this repair kit for forty five dollars and fixed the truck the fourth time in about 20 minutes with basic hand tools. How can Ford not admit they have a major defect if someone other than them is making a repair kit that Ford uses?????????? Also how many times have people paid the enormous fee to replace the head when in fact this repair kit used by Ford dealers can fix the problem at a far less cost? What happens when you have one cylinder that spits a plug,and Ford removes the head and repairs that one cylinder and then a while later another cylinder, on the same side spits a plug....are they, Ford going to pull the head for free....I think not...Ford should step up to the plate and admit they have a problem and FIX IT!!!!!

Tommy of Camden OH (07/02/08)
I have a 99 Crown Vic Interceptor 4.6 and on the way home with my three kids my spark plug blew out while i was on the highway. cost me 185.00 tow and another 800.00 to retap the head. Called Ford and guess what. They never heard of the problem. This is why I hate Ford amd I'll stick with my CHEVY. Afraid to drive the car now. the car only has 82000 miles on it.

Jim of Mojave CA (07/02/08)
2000 Ford Excursion V10 blew the #3 plug. Cost 1100.00 to repair at the local Ford dealer where I purchased the vehicle. They told me it was a very common problem with Ford trucks and that they would NOT GUARANTEE the repair and to save my reciept that there may be a class action lawsuit.

Patricia of Williston VT (07/01/08)
2002 F-250 V10 spark plug blew out, towed 43 mi. getting conflicting answers on how to fix it. Trying an insert, made by after market co., just for these engines. How can Ford not know? The clerk at the parts store said he sells a lot of them.

Kathleen of Baltimore MD (07/01/08)
I have an '01 Ford Expedition. 10-08 I took my truck to a local repair man for service who told me I needed new coils in 2 of my spark plugs. It bought me some time I guess, but I was not aware of the spark plug PROBLEM that Ford is having. On a weekend trip with my kids 4 hours from home I started up my truck to hear a loud pop and then a horrible noise. A gentleman who happened to be walking by told me to shut it off and immediately knew what happened, since he is a mechanic and also drives an Expedition. He told me I blew a spark plug and knew which one it was. The one all the way in the back by the fire wall. Since this happened on a Sunday and no one around there works on Sunday, I was stuck with no way home. I called the nearest Ford dealership (1/2 hour away) and had to have my vehicle towed there. They informed me of this problem and said I was the fourth one that week with the same problem. Ford knows of the problem but chooses to do nothing about it. The serviceman called me later that day with a quote. $3,200 to repair the head, with no guarantee another head won't blow or $5,000 to replace the whole engine. It didn't take me long to make the decision that if one blew, more than likely another will go. So now I am without my vehicle for 2 weeks while getting a new engine and out of a whole lot of money. I'm thankful for family who let me use their vehicle to get home. Ford needs to do something about this problem. 

Timothy of Simpsonville SC (06/30/08)
Have a 2000 Expedition 5.4, Eddie Bauer. The number 5 plug blew out last week. It is my wife's car and she is in real estate. She uses her car all day. I had just replaced all the coil packs due to the poor performance. the truck has 130K and I read that the coil packs are made for 100K. truck ran fine after I replaced for about 2 weeks. Luckly it blew out in my driveway. After reading the other entries, I'm lucky. It has caused major problems due to both of us being in sales and in the car a lot. After looking at the plug, it doesn't take an engineer to realize that the thread base is too fine. I have mostly european cars I drive and with aluminum heads they use a nice heavy thread for the plugs. Ford needs to step up and recogonize the issue and resolve the problem. Horrible engine design on plug placement..

Shane of Stony Plain OTHER (06/30/08)
The spark plug in my 2003 Ford Expedition blew out while I was driving. This vehicle had the original spark plugs in it. It is going to cost 3400.00 dollars to repair. Upon looking online I found that this is a known Ford defect and issue. THey should at least warn the consumer that something like this may happen.

Edwin of Kenai AK (06/29/08)
Our Ford Expedition with the 5.4 Triton engine blew out the rear passenger side spark plug.

It will cost $1,700 to pull the head and repair a known defect. Great Design!

Paul of Cobourg, Canada (06/29/08)
ford spark plug blow out caused a ticking in the engine that wont go away

Rodney of Barstow CA (06/27/08)
A spark plug blew out of our 2005 Ford Expedition yesterday when my wife tried to start it. It will cost us $3,000 to $4,000 to fix it. I've just read on-line that this is a common problem with Ford. Is there a class-action law suit already in place. Why hasn't there been more publicity.

Michael of Bushkill PA (06/26/08)
spark plug blow out. 2nd one in less then 6 months on the ford triton V10 engen

Jack of Alexander AR (06/25/08)
I have 38,000 miles on my Coachman motor home that uses a Ford V-10 engine. While on a trip recently- a spark blew out. Fortunately the Ford garage was closed (it was on a weekend. They probably would have changed the engine! I had a local mechanic repair the defect by putting in a helical. I am now not only worried about the helical coming loose- I am more worried about the other 9 plugs! I checked with the Ford service manager when I had my vehicle at the Ford dealership having the cruise control recall fixed. I told the service manager what had happened and asked if he ever heard of such a thing and he said, Oh ya --- those are aluminum heads and it happens quote often. Now that's a warm fuzzy feeling! I think Ford should have a recall and fix the problem.

Kim of Mount Airy MD (06/25/08)
While driving my 2002 Ford Expedition XLT with my two sons, the motor suddenly began making a loud popping sound, like mini explosions, that increased when accelerating. Fearing the engine would catch on fire, I drifted into a parking lot and turned the engine off. I arranged to have the vehicle towed to a local Ford dealership who seemed to know what the problem would be as I described the issue. It was determined that the spark plug blew out in the #7 cylinder head. The service technician commented that this was a common problem and directed us to the internet for information. He recommended replacing the cylinder head at a cost of $2500.00 or rethreading the cylinder at a cost of $495.00. He further advised that the rethreading would not be a guaranteed service but they have done this before with good results.

We were left stranded when this occurred and are now without transportation until the repair is completed. In addition to the cost of repair being either $495.00 or $2500.00, we have incurred a $200.00 cost of towing and likely a loss in value of the vehicle due to this known problem recurring.

Glenn of Hayward CA (06/24/08)
The company that I work for has eight vehicles that I know of that are affected by Fords spark plug blow out. The spark plug blow out has happened to us 4 different times now on three vehicles, thus happening twice on one vehicle (different plugs). It has happened on (2) 2002 Ford E350's (V10) and on (1) 2002 Ford E250 (V8).

Each time this has happened it has cost us about $1,000 in parts and labor to replace the spark plug, insert and coil, not to mention the lost time from employees and income from customers. Based on the number of vehicles that we own that are affected by Fords spark plug blow out, it could become even worse for us financially in the near future.

Denise of Sunrise FL (06/24/08)
I have a 2005 Ford escape. The sparks blew and burnt the coils and computer board. Almost $2,000 to fix.

Amy of Wenonah NJ (06/24/08)
I wasn't sure if my 2003 F-150 HD was going to have the plug problem...so when I decided to pull the spark plugs (at 37,000 miles), I found that the spark plugs only had 4 threads. Luckily, weeks before I decided to order the Timesert tool and timeserts...and we repaired it ourselves. It took quite a few hours to repair and the tool with 16 extra timeserts (just in case anyone in the area needed to use it), cost me $200 - so I lucked out. It still is horrible that Ford doesn't see this as a problem. My friend has a 2002 Ford HD and he blew (2) spark plugs before timeserting all of them. Note to people here: When you get one fixed, you might as well get them all fixed at the same time - it will be cheaper (and less stressful) in the long run. If it pops one spark plug, it WILL do it again...

Michael of Palmer AK (06/20/08)
I was driving 55mph in my 2005 Ford F150 when I heard a loud pop followed by repeated pops. I then lifted my hood to find my #2 sparkplug laying on top of my engine still connected to the coil. When I did finally get it into the shop I was told by the mechanic that this is a common problem with triton engines.

William of Lake Elsinore CA (06/19/08)
spark plug blew out of my 2002 ford f-250

Jerry of Monroe WA (06/19/08)
I have a 1999 F-250 Super Duty, with the Triton V-10 motor. After driving appx. 10 miles from my home, and shutting off the vehicle. I soon returned to the parked vehicle, and began to start it. As it started up, I heard a large bang, followed by a Loud, rhythmic, compression releasing, type of noise. After a few minutes of diagnosis, I discovered that the motor had blown a spark plug out of its hole, and caused damage to other related parts. It just happened last night, so it's too early to evaluate the full scope of the damage yet. Being a person, who is very mechanically minded, I can't understand how this type of failure, and potential threat could be anything other than a design issue.

Karl of Everett WA (06/19/08)
We shut the truck off and less than one minute later we had to restart it to move it. Loud pop and smoke from under the hood. spark plug blew out and from the smell it almost cought on fire.

Don of Concord CA (06/18/08)
Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect I join the list of irate consumers with a blown spark plug. My 2001 Ford F-250 V10 Triton engine with 75,000 miles on it.

Ford dealership had no knowledge of this problem and said he would have to replace the head!

Doug of Yucca Valley CA (06/18/08)
Blown out sparkplug #3 ford 5.4 Liter

Ronald of Temecula CA (06/18/08)
Spark plug blew out of #6 cylinder. 2003 Ford Expedition. 73k miles

I have extended warranty and they would not cover 509.00 repair. Could have cost 3000 to replace cylinder head.

Jon of Derby KS (06/17/08)
Ford triton engines are blowing spark plugs out. This happened to my 2002 Expedition with 107,000 miles on it. This is not an isolated event as there are web sites set up just for comments on this product defect. Ford claims there is no priblem and has sent out no recalls for a fix to this problem.

John of Mt. Juliet TN (06/17/08)
This is my second Consumer Affairs Complaint. In November my 2000 Ford Excursion, Triton V-10 engine blew out a spark plug. Well guess what Ford, it has happened again. This time it is a different plug. Each time this happens it cost me $800 plus to have a helicoil put in. I also will have to wait 9 days before I can have it repaired. You see, the problem is so bad there is a gentleman here in the Nashville area that has started a business going around to Ford dealerships to repair them. Ford says this method is not approved. Hey Ford, guess what you jerks you have a problem! So who cares what you say! All you do is lie and refuse to accept responsibility! You wonder why foreign car manufacturers are taking your business. Perhaps it has something to do with quality and being held accountable for your lack of building an engine with only three threads holding the spark plugs in place. Enough is Enough. I hipe the attorneys nail your butts to the wall in a class action

Don of Janesville WI (06/16/08)
My 2002 Ford F150 truck with a 4.6 triton v8 in it. First number 3 spark plug shoots out, great. So thats repaired, then 20,000 miles later passenger side rear manifold bolt is rusted out, along with three others on the passenger side, and two on the drivers side. Of course the poorly designed EGR tubes are completey shot after a one time install, so those need replaced as well. What a complete joke - when I queried FOMOCO I was told that these were unusual problems. Never again, and I will continue to encourage everyone I meet to follow the same regime. There's a reason the American Automaker is dying - its called an inferior product.

Dennis of Beaver Falls NY (06/16/08)
I own a 1999 Ford F-350 SD V10. Over the past 4 months spark plugs have been blowing out of the heads (4) now there is no threads left in the cylinders. The dealership said there was no problems, and that it must be my fault for not following my maintenance schedule. FMC refused to acknowledge the issue, stating There is no manufacture flaw in the modular motor cylinder heads and that the consumer needs to correctly follow their maintenance schedule to prevent any such mishaps from occurring. I am not an idiot, I am a Ford certified technician, and a 24 year Military fighter technician. I know mechanics and I understand principles of operations and subsequent failure analysis. This is most definately a poor design flaw, and with all the fires and broken motors to date Ford must be held accountable, and if we all just stand here an write but not act we are just as at fault. Write the BBC, the Judge advocates, your congressperson, DOT, what ever it takes. I myself am taking up a class action Suit against ford, as many as we are, every state should have one started, 99% time it is free. MY E-MAIL IS wsshadowspeak@yahoo.com if you wish to be on the list.

John of Billings MT (06/15/08)
Own a 2004 F-150 5.4 Liter, 56,000 miles, went to change spark plugs today only to find out carbon build-up on metal sleeve prevents sleeve from coming out of head, while rest of plug comes out. Talked to dealer, may have to pull heads to replace plugs, states this is an ongoing problem that Ford needs to deal with and quit shirking responsibility for a faulty design. COME ON FORD, TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS. Hope to see a class action suit on this issue as I have to spend between $750.00 and $1000.00 to put a band aid on a serious wound that is not my issue. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT AND WILL SPREAD THE WORD TO ALL I COME IN CONTACT WITH!

Milton of Fresno CA (06/15/08)
As I drove at 30 mph, I heard a popping sound to find out that under the hood of my 2000 Ford 5.4L expedition the # 2 spark plug had blown out of it's socket, stripping the threads and causing damage to the coil pack. After reseaching the cause,I found its no secret to the Ford Mfg. Company. They just do want to pay for their incompedence.

Ken of Goffstown NH (06/13/08)
6/12/08 2004 4.6 litre triton v-8 51,350 miles Driving home from work tonight, I was sitting in traffic when I stepped on the gas to get going and all of a sudden I hear POP and my truck is running lousy. After having to walk home and have my truck towed to the ford dealership I find out a spark plug has blown out of the cylinder head. How does a spark plug all of a sudden blow out of a cylider head? Obviously a problem with the manufacturing. Sounds like a recall to me.

Todd of Phoenix AZ (06/13/08)
Add me to the list of blown spark plugs. #3 spark plug blew out of my 2003 Ford Expedition, 5.4L engine, at 75,600 miles while returning from a vacation trip. Repair costs by the Show Low, AZ dealer were $2,085 because they had to remove the engine to access the spark plug cylinder. Additionally, a rental car ran me $375 the 7 days it was in the shop. After only 100 miles since picking my truck up from the dealer, the Service Engine Soon light came on. I took my Expedition to a local Ford dealer and was told that the engine was not reassembled properly and an additional $432 was required to repair the damage caused by loose hose connections, improper sensor assembly, and improper belt alignment. Fortunately, Show Low owned up to the $432 bill, but I was again without my truck for an additional 4 days.

Trevor of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (06/11/08)
Bought a used 2000 Ford F250, CC, 4x4, V10 In June 8th 2008. Picked it up and drove 3Km from the dealership and blew a spark plug (Number 3 cylinder). Dealership had it repaired and it seems to be OK.

Sterling of Abilene TX (06/11/08)
My 1998 Ford E-350 van has blown two spark plugs out of the aluminum head. The second time it was a fix that doesn't really FIX the problem of the thin aluminum head. The fix is an insert... Rather than pay for a reman head at $3,000 , I elected to install a reman engine from Jasper. This way, I address the timing chain problem and I now have a 100,000 mile warranty on the engine, something that Ford never had the guts to do. I am posting a video soon on YouTube about this engine. Type in my YouTube moniker TUUTUUTANGO and look for my video about the faulty Ford Triton engine (probably in a couple of weeks.) The video will show the blown plug, the hole in the head and the previous repair method that is only a band-aid approach to fixing this problem. I spent 30 years in television, so my video is worth checking out.

Scott of Texarkana AR (06/10/08)
I have just had my 3rd blown spark plug on my 2000 Ford F-150 that I have owned for less than a year. Ford of course acts like they have never heard of such a thing. Every mechanic shop in town has repaired hundreds of these but Ford had no idea this was a problem with this engine. They can't look at the tens of thousands of complaint threads on the internet like I can.

Robert of Kosciusko MS (06/09/08)
1999 Ford Expedition blew a spark plug from the cylinder head.

The repairs are more than the vehicle is worth and everyone that i have talked to says that the problem could continue.

Morgan of Sumner WA (06/06/08)
I own a 1999 Ford F-150. And bought used in 2002. Almost a year ago it blew out a spark plug, #3. And today it just blew another! #4! I will NEVER own a Ford again!

Need to either have head fixed, or Replace with a new head. $500 - $3,000!!!!!!!

Adriano of Clearwater FL (06/05/08)
I wnet in for a tune-up on my 2004 F-150 that was to cost about $300. As the service technician started to remove the sparkplugs they broke off and the bottom portion of the plug was left in the cylinder heads. The only way to remove the plugs at that time was to completely remove the heads and remove them from the underside of the heads. The technician stated this has been happening quite often and this is a design issue. Addtionally, he claimed that there was extensive carbon build up in the combustion chamber and that Ford recommends a carbon induction cleaning every 30K miles. Funny how this cleaning is not in the scheduled maintenance manual. Well to make a long story short, I got my truck back afterspending $1500 on a tune-up. And the best part is that Ford doesn't have a fix for the problem so when its time for another tune-up I get to spend a whole butt load of money to fix their issue. I think its ridiculous that Ford won't own up to a design flaw and not have their customers pay for their problem. Ford says Quality is job one but apparently the only quality they are interested in is the limit on our credit cards to pay for their mistake. I can tell you that I will never but another Ford product again and will do evrything I can to ensure that nobody I know buys Ford.

Chip of Louisville TN (06/04/08)
I have a 98 Ford suv 5.4 that blowed the spark pulg out. the dealer ship to me it would cost $4,000 to replace the head and take a week and a half or a new motor was $3,700 ,but said they had never heared of plug just blowing out like that and i must stripped the factory plug out when i put it in . i just don't remember going to the factory and put the plugs in myself.

Chip of Louisville TN (06/04/08)
I have a 98 Ford suv 5.4 that blowed the spark pulg out. the dealer ship to me it would cost $4,000 to replace the head and take a week and a half or a new motor was $3,700 ,but said they had never heared of plug just blowing out like that and i must stripped the factory plug out when i put it in . i just don't remember going to the factory and put the plugs in myself.

Cade of Cherokee CA (06/03/08)
My wife was driving our 1999 Ford F-350 with our 6 month old daughter when she heard and loud noise followed by a huge racket from the engine compartment. She managed to maintain control and get stopped safely. She smelled gasoline and removed our daughter and herself from the truck. A later examination determined that the aft left spark plug had blown completely free from the cylinder head, stripping the threads and making the vehicle unusable.

Cheryl of Iron River MI (05/29/08)
1998 Ford Expedition spark plug blow out at 86,000 I am on my third spark plug to blow out Ford won't do anything NOT BUYING FORD AGAIN

Mark of Aurora CO (05/28/08)
Spark Plug Blowout #3.

Michael of Ridge NY (05/27/08)
i have had 3 spark plugs spit out of my 99 ford expidition and i had steel coils put in but it doesnt mean it wont happen agian.

William of Perry Hall MD (05/26/08)
My truck blew the No. 8 spark plug shortly after the dealer replaced my plugs (around 115,000 miles.) Ford accepted NO responsibility for this defect even though NOBODY had ever touched the plugs in this engine until my dealer replaced them. Even a $200.00 lawn mower purchased from Walmart does not have problems keeping a time tested device like a spark plug screwed into the engine block.

Dealer wanted $4200.00 to repair the defect.

Jerry of Mitchell NE (05/25/08)
Our son owns a 2001 F150 that spit out a spark plug a few weeks ago. After getting a #3,000 estimate for a non-guaranteed repair from the local Ford store, he opted to make his own repair, which he did. His expense was around $400. While waiting for these parts to arrive he changed the other spark plugs. Two of the other plugs were able to be removed with just fingers, they were about ready to blow out. I own a 99 E450 RV with the Triton 6.8. Now I am afraid to drive the piece of junk for fear of being away from home and blowing one out and being stuck with a $10,000 repair. Hellow Ford!! Where are you?? This is caused by your design, step up to the plate and provide the relief you are obligated to provide. I think that our wonderful NHTSA functions just like FDA in that they are protecting the entities they are supposed to be policing. What ever happed to reasonable expectation of product reliability in America!!!!!

Geri of Paradise CA (05/24/08)
I bought a used 2003 Lincoln Navigator with a big 5.4-liter V-8 engine from Wittmeier Ford in Chico, CA. in 2004. The Navigator looked like a great deal. The price was $43,000. The Navigator had only 23,000 miles on the odometer. But the great deal blew up in my face when the used Lincoln Navigator spit a spark plug at 81,000 miles. The check engine light came on as the truck began to lose power. As we drove the car it continued to back fire. The ignition pack for that plug was shredded. I called Wittmeier service and they said they knew nothing of the problem. The threads in the number 3 spark plug hole in the Navigator were stripped. I believe Wittmeier should have offered to fix this re-occurring problem in many trucks.

Jaime of Burlington NJ (05/24/08)
I've owned this Ford Expedition for six years. Just finished paying for it last year. Wife calls me frantically today saying she was on her way home from shopping when she heard a loud pop and then the engine started making a chugging sound. It was a mile from my house I drove up and sure enough it was loud! It sounded like a hole in the header or God forbid a cracked block. I managed to get it out of a very busy highway and limp home. After unloading the groceries I limped down another mile to a Ford Dealer before they closed. Fella said he heard me drive up, I told him I needed it looked at after Memorial Day and that it could be a faulty header or cracked block. Another fella there said, nah probably blew a spark plug. Well they are going to charge me $150 just to look at it. But it sounds from this long list of complaints that Ford has created a cash cow for their dealers. Now according to this site attorneys might be involved. Someone posted asking what they could do about it. Sounds like classic class action lawsuit material to me. Let's do it. THis is dangerous stuff and they won't own up to it. It took a class action lawsuit and many years to get them to own up to their cars bursting into spontaneous fire. Maybe it's time to look elsewhere, like Toyota or a Chevy Tahoe.

Don of Dublin CA (05/23/08)
#3 spark plug blew out. This is something that I have read that is happen to a lot of the Ford engines. I have a 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer with the 5.4L Triton V8. This needs to be a recall because what about the other 7 plugs in my truck. This is a $500 dollar repair for each plug that blows.

Michael of Pueblo CO (05/22/08)
My spark plug blew out over this past weekend. I have an 01 F150 with 107,000 miles on it. Have no money to fix it, trying to do it myself. FOund this to be a major problem with Ford. How can I help petition for this to be recalled?

Michael of Killeen TX (05/21/08)
i was on military leave going back from nc to tx because i am abou to deploy to iraq for the second time and my number 7 cylinder on my 2001 mustang gt blew out half way home breaking the plug and striping the threads in the block then when i needed help no one had any my fiance and her daughter payed 150$ to get it towed to the nearest city which was a hour away then we slept in the car all night in wal-mart parking lot, nothing was open when this accured so then in the morning i called everyone i could no help so i had to rent a huge uhaul truck and tow dolly and tow my car from alabama to ft.hood tx that cost me my house payment 700$ and i also went in walmart that night and bought all the things i could to repair it but the threads were gone so this i blame them i will be trading my car in for a import this time lol

Matt of Cedar Rapids IA (05/19/08)
I too have just experienced the same thing as what I found in your Ford Engines Spark Plug Defect. I have a 2002 Ford F150, 4.6L, 140,000 miles and last week it blew out a spark plug straight out of the block. Threads are stripped on the block and mechanic's repair estimate $400.00

Michael of Helendale CA (05/16/08)
2000 Ford Taurus SES 3.8l DOHC spit out 2 spark within 6 months of each other.

Walt of Norfolk VA (05/15/08)
5-15-2005: 2002 Ford F150 4.6L 105,000 miles blew spark plug and coil. After reading this forum, I am amazed by how many Ford owners have had this problem. and by the looks of things the old cliche of Fix Or Repair Daily is true. Also my daughter was driving and did not have a clue what was happening or what could have happended.

Chance of El Dorado KS (05/15/08)
I had a spark plug blow out on the passenger side of the vehicle. I own a 2000 Ford Expedition XLT with a 5.4 L Triton engine.

Corrin of Hopatcong NJ (05/13/08)
My 2000 Ford Expidition blew the #3 Spark Plug from the header. I have done a search for this problem and have found tons of complaints about this same problem. What can we do to get Ford to make it a recall. I called Ford today and the girl basically told me to deal with it and that there was nothing they could do for me since there wasn't a recall on it. The new spark plug will not go in so we are pretty sure that when the old one blew out it spripped the inside of the header. I would love for someone to help me make Ford step up and fix the problem.

Robert of Monaca PA (05/13/08)
Spark Plug blow out of my Ford F 150 Truck. I had to pay $255.00 to get it repaired and from what I read Ford is not going to do anything about this and it is happening all the time. I was away from home at the time and had a hard time getting someone to repair it.

Marc of Garson NE (05/11/08)
I have a 2003 f 150 with a 4.6 triton engine and just had Cylinder #3 blowout a spark plug. Been hearing a ticking noise for about 2 weekd prior to the blowout. Ford must admitt their design flaw with those heads and come good. Built Ford tough???

Berlyn of Ault CO (05/10/08)
My # 6 plug blew out on my 2001 ford F150 with the 5.4 Triton V-8.

I will be taking the truck in for repairs next week. If they are able to tap the head and install an insert I will be looking at a minimum of $300 labor + the cost of parts. If the insert is not an option The cost will be much higher $1500 to $2000. This appears to be a very common problem on this particular motor. I feel that Ford should step up and do a recall to address this issue.

Woody of Smithsburg MD (05/10/08)
# 5 spark plug blew out, 2 months later same issue this time # 6 plug. Had 2001 F150 towed to Ford for repair, $500 each time. Mechanics commented they had seen this before but no recall has been issued. Ford knows there an issue just won't own up to it. Ford needs to step up and do something before it's to late.

Michael of Atlanta GA (05/09/08)
Spark plug blow out in Atlanta. The V10 F350 was bought in California. It cost $1000.00 to fix and change other spark plugs. The blow out almost caused an accident since the truck died in a busy intersection. Ford needs to pay for this design flaw.

Brian of Leawood KS (05/07/08)
Ford 5.4L engine blew out spark plug. This is from a 2001 E-150 with 113k miles.

Kristin of Morongo Valley CA (05/06/08)
my spark plug blew from the engine for the second time. It is in the shop now could cost me 3,500 Then I got online and saw hundreds of other complaints from ford owners about the same problem (ford 450 2002 model)

Edgar of Hesperia CA (05/06/08)
There was a slight ticking noise like an exhaust leak, then a loud explosion sound as the spark plug blew out of the cylinder head causing extensive thread damage, and also breaking the ignition coil for that cylinder.

Donald of Millstone Twp. NJ (05/05/08)
Spark plug blew out of the engine. A mechanic tried to put it back in but he said the plug blew out of the engine....and couldnt install another. This is not an old truck, and I wanted to buy American LOL

Dean of Schaumburg IL (05/03/08)
Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect 2002 E350 118k miles 5.4L Spark Plug #7 blew while my 79 year old father was driving. I have had E350's for @ 30yrs, 300k + miles on them, and NEVER heard of them blowing spark plugs??, until today. The Danger...FORD...is that the cylinder without a spark plug is expending gas into the engine compartment. That missing spark plug had a live electrical coil attached to it prior to it blowing. Gas + Spark = FIRE. Thank Henry F that didn't happen this time, but if it does...I hope I'll be there to testify. RECALL.

Paul of Redwood City CA (05/02/08)
I own a 1997 Expedition that had the #3 cylinder blowout. Ford has an unadmitted problem with the 4.6 and 5.4 liter Triton V8s. 1997 to 2000 are the early model heads that tend to show the problem at higher mileage. The 2001 to 2003 models are the romeo heads and have the problem over a wide range of mileage (as early as 40K miles). After 2003 I believe Ford used heads with regular length threads on the spark plugs but you should check with a Ford dealer to make sure that the Triton engine in the model you're considering has long thread plugs and not short thread plugs. For those who have this problem, Ford dealers charge a wide range of prices to fix it. I've called half a dozen Ford dealers in my area and no two were the same. Prices ranged from $800 to $2000. On the lower end, most of the dealers are using a threaded insert repair. There are many kits on the market specifically designed for Ford Triton V8 spark plug thread repairs. (Just goes to show how common the problem is) Helicoil, KD, Lisle and Timesert all make kits.

Ford dealers tend to use the Timesert threaded inserts because of two unique features http://www.timesert.com/html/triton_repair2.html . First, Timeserts have a positive locking shoulder. The bottom threads on the insert also lock in place once the drive tool is used to locate it. Other inserts suffer from backing out or in and blowing out again. Of course, there's no guarantee with the Timesert either and the dealer won't warrant the work. I've heard that one Timesert fix has more than 90K miles on it and its still holding. I'm an accomplished mechanic so I ordered my own Timesert kit from an Ebay supplier (about $400). If your head is repairable the dealer will typically install the Timesert without removing the heads. If it's not repairable then the dealer will typically recommend a new head (lots of $$). The non-romeo heads generally are repairable.

The romeo heads have an additional shoulder that requires a bigger reamer and a shoulder cut. The service tech told me these heads tend to be the ones replaced more often. I'll be tackling the installation on my 97 Expedition this weekend so I'll post a report after I'm done. But, if you're comfortable around and engine bay (and have a step ladder to work on an Expedition) you can probably fix this problem yourself. One other thing to note is that the coil pack gets damaged when the plug blows outs. Typically, the tap that hold the coil in place breaks off. Since the coil itself still worked fine I epoxied the tab back on the first time this happened and its held just fine. If you're not into this kind of fix you'll have to buy a new coil pack (also expensive from the dealer - near $200) If you have a mechanic repair your blow out then make sure they use the Timesert inserts for the repair. This will give you the greatest chance at longevity afterwards.

Jose of Camarillo CA (05/01/08)
I am the owner of a 2002 ford mustang gt. I purchased the car back in 2002 and just a week ago i had one of the spark plugs blow out and damaged all the thread.after having this happen to me i did some reaserch and found out that this is somethign normal for fords. is there anything that can be done?

Tony of Boise ID (04/30/08)
i just had the second spark plug blow out in under a year. i think i put about 15,000 miles on it before this one went out. it was the same spark plug that went out, i think ford should be responsible for this, not me. is there anything i can do to have ford take care of this, this is a problem with millions of ford pickups.

David of Leominster MA (04/30/08)
Had #3 spark plug blow out of the engine @ 106,000 miles.....now 4 mos later and 6,000 miles more # 6 blows out.......WHY WONT FORD DO ANYTHING

Andrew of Oconomowoc WI (04/29/08)
My 2003 f-150 blew plug number 4.. I started hearing a slight ticking and one week later 200 miles the plug blew taking out the coil and threads.. 450$ fix plus 250 for all new plugs. I replaiced all plugs for a sceond time (first plug change at 60K)truck now has 96000 miles new plugs and a steel insert.

Matt of Oklahoma City OK (04/29/08)
In my 2002 F150 4.6L, the spark plug from cylinder 3 blew out. Several days before I heard a ticking noise (if you've ever had a loose spark plug wire, the sound it makes as it is arcing across the block). I tried to investigate this, but every time I opened the hood, the noise seemed to disappear. (I also have a Flowmaster exhaust and couldn't hear it outside the cab.) So I thought nothing of it, as I had been under a little bit of stress and thought my ears were playing tricks on me. What I think caused this was the coil broke, specifically the piece that the small bolt goes through to hold it to the valve cover. This piece breaking caused the coil pack to come loose from the spark plug. The washboard highway that I drive on, I-40 just east of Oklahoma City, and the arcing of the coil inside the spark plug chamber, caused the spark plug to start to back itself out, and when holding on by the last few threads and the pressure from the motor caused the plug to shoot out and strip the threading on the head. I had aftermarket plugs in the truck and Ford swears this could be caused by improperly installing the plugs. To a point they are correct, if the installer overtightened the coil pack it could have caused to to break. I took my truck to a machine shop that my Ford service center recommended. They gave me an estimate of $500 and sounded confident that they could get to it without having to remove the head from the block, which would cost much more in labor and a little more for parts.

Rob of Colorado Springs CO (04/26/08)
My 2000 Ford Excursion apparently blew out a plug 350 miles from home. Limped back, but after reading all these identical incidents I'm wondering exactly 2 things: how much will this repair cost, and how soon will it happen again? I'm afraid that the answers will exceed my worst fears. Goodbye forever, Ford.

Justin of Running Springs CA (04/23/08)
I have a 2002 Ford Expedition 5.4 V8 Eddie Bauer edition. In 2006 the spark plug flew out for the first time towed it to a repair shop cost of repair 250.00. In 2008 same spark plug flew out again on my fiancee and four kids. Garage charged me 300.00 ran for two months same spark plug blew again. In both incidents the person that did the repairs would grant me any warranty, and stated this is very common. On April 16th the same spark plug blew again once again with my fiancee and four kids in the truck. Was towed to ford informed me it was going to be 466.00 to repair which I did once again no warranty or guarantee. Redlands Ford service dept. called me the next day saying the problem was fixed but while they were checking to see if the truck was running right, another spark plug blew out from the bottom they now want 1500.00 to fix that one. Once again no gaurantee it will resolve the problem.

Samantha of Kingston TN (04/22/08)
I was driving my 2000 Tritan V8 Ford Expidetion home from class and it spit the 3rd cylinder spark plug out and stripped the hole. After researching I found out Ford has this problem with a lot of these vehicles. lthough they deny it's a problem.

Randall of Hilliard OH (04/22/08)
1999 F150, 108,000 miles, bought it 6 months ago and today a sparkplug blew out and ruined numerous other items. Plus it happen ed on the freeway. It is at the dealer and I am being told $4000.00.... I only paid 9000.00 for the truck now I hear and read that Ford knows it is an issue. just stinks

Wesley of Pasadena TX (04/22/08)
I was driving on hwy 59 south to home when a spark plug blew out of my 2003 f-250 with 5.4 motor. Number 3 passenger spark plug blew out, Truck only has 53000 miles on it. Truck was towed to dealership and they acted like they never heard of such but that they had a kit to fix it. Cost to fix was 454.36, then the told me no warranty on the fix. Plus tow bill of 149.00

Sean of Anchorage AK (04/21/08)
Another for engine that spits out spark plugs

James of Elgin IL (04/21/08)
My 1999 Ford Expedition with a Titan 5.4L engine experienced Spark Plug Blow Out. Cost me $530.00 to repair the threads and ignition coil...Ford refused to discuss restitution...Engine has 105k miles on it as it was replaced at 46K.

Jim of Newark OH (04/21/08)
Well guess what, after 2 months later that number 7 spark plug blew out now number 6 has done the same thing. Cant be that I didnt install the plugs correctly the Ford dealer did it. They just said sometimes they do that and smiled and took another $600.00 to fix it. What a rip. Im shopping for a Tundra today.

Kaz of Placentia CA (04/16/08)
While driving my 1997 Ford Expedition (with 5.4Liter Triton engine) from work to McDonals to buy lunch, I heard a loud popping sound from my engine. After pulling over and starting the car and listening for the source, I noticed the #1 spark plug had blown out of the engine. Also the coil pack was missing. I had my SUV towed home and have not driven it since due to the cost to repair. This incident occured on November 2007.

Donald of `leesburg VA (04/14/08)
I have just found out that ford had this issue with blowing spark plugs out of an engine. This is a major design defect in the ford head. I am still waiting to see if Ford is going to cover this repair.

David of Morgan City LA (04/12/08)
i have a 2004 f-150 lariat super cab. the truck was missfiring on one cilynder at 51,000 miles and at 59,000, three cylinders where missfiring and i was told by the ford dealership that i needed new plugs.. so i put it in the shop to get thim changed. well it took 19 days before i got my truck back. the dealerships machanic broke the plugs in the head and they told me that i would have to pay for the extra parts. gakets for the heads glue ext. and for the extra man hours.. well that was $2775.00. i allmost passed out. well the day i got to pick up my truck it fibrates and i get on the hyway and make it across town and the water pump shaft breaks and the clutch on the cooling fan broke.. they never got the timing right because the truck vibrats when it idles now.. but they changed the water pumd and clutch.. wich they payed for and i had to go back again because the header hose came off and leaked all the atifreeze out again.. well this all hapen in a 23 day period.. that was outrages price and i felt ripped off. just to change spark plugs .. no way will i buy a ford again unless that it changed..

Peter of Marina Del Rey CA (04/12/08)
My 2003 Ford F-150 had the #3 sparkplug blow out this week. Uopn doing some research online, I figure out that it's a very widespread problem, and Ford isn't willing to do anything about it.

Richard of Freeland MD (04/12/08)
2002 Ford Expedition Engine - A factory installed spark plug blew out of my engine resulting in a $900 repair charge. Repair man says he sees several per week - yet no recall has been issued by Ford.

Joann of Cheshire CT (04/09/08)
I have been the proud owner of a 1999 F-150 for several years. I am the support vehicle for honor missions with the Patriot Guard. We escort the bodies of our fallen heros/soldiers to their final resting place. Recently I had an issue with it spitting a spark plug out. After doing some research and finding that this has been an ongoing issue with the 5.4L motor for over 10 years I am VERY concerned. I am now very concerned with the possibilty of this happening during a funeral precession. If this were to happen during a funeral it would not make good press for Ford. I have been told that this defect is not even covered under the extended service warranty. It has been recommended to me that I get rid of this vehicle ASAP before it blows another plug.

Karen of Waterbury CT (04/09/08)
1998 Lincoln Continental serviced on 04-02-07 at which time new spark plugs were installed. I bought the car 0n 11-01-07 with all the service paperwork including their guarantee on their service.

In January 2008, vehicle was diagnosed as needing a new head because one of the spark plugs was not tightened and finally blew out of the head causing much damage to the head. Boden Automotive diagnosed this problem. I called Shaker's because they did the work and they told me what had to be done but not to bring it back to them. I had Boden fix it for $2,700 and brought the bill to Shaker. They said they could do nothing for me.

Brad of Billings MT (04/08/08)
I own a 1997 Expedition. While traveling cross country taking my family and a family friend to Denver to attend a major league baseball game my 5.4 Triton motor blew a spark plug out of the #6 cylinder. We were within 30 minutes of our hotel at 2:30 in the morning. Longmont Ford in Longmont CO did a great job with a heli insert repair. The tow truck took me to the dealership after dropping my family off at a near by hotel. I slept in the truck with cold feet so I could get into the service dept first thing in the morning. The dealership service dept. did a great job. I was back in my truck and picking up my family by 11:30am. We were able to continue to the MLB game for all of my little league kids that were with us(3)plus a Babe Ruth player. This whole experiance has made this 35 year plus Ford fan very gun shy about the Ford product lines. I question the cowel over engine design of the suv's and f-series trucks. It seems to drive up the labor aspect of any engine repair. Lucky for me the #6 cyclinder was easy enough for the Tech to get access to. The original estimate for this repair was 900.00 and came in just under 750.00. I feel fine about the repair itself as I drove back to home 556 miles with no further problems. However I am now quite worried about the remaining 7 cyclinders. If I were to replace them all I could buy a crate motor for almost the same money. I own a 1950 f-5, a 1977 F250, a 1994 Ranger pickup in addition to the Expedition. My step dad has owned a 1974 F250, 1987 F350, 1993 F350, 1996 F 350 and of late a 2000 F350. With the exception of the 2000 F350 of my step dads and my Expedition we have not had any problems that we felt were a Ford issue. Our Ford family has now been burned twice. The issue with the 2000 F 350 was the cam position sensor that the Ford service depts could not find the problem with as it was an intermitten problem. That truck just went in for the recall two weeks ago after my step dad spent about $2500 and 18 months of no answers. Now a simular problem seems to be developing with our expedition. I can honestly say for the first time ever that my next suv might be a Chevy. This is in the middle of pursuing an upgrade to an Excursion.

Brian of Los Angeles CA (04/07/08)
I have a 2002 F-150 Supercrew V8 5.4 Liter engine that has a blown out two spark plugs from there place. I am writing to you in respnse to the literature i have read on the internet concerning this problem.

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Thomas of Denver CO (04/07/08)
#3 spark plug blew out on my 1999 F-150. To fix the problem and replace the other plugs, boots and coils cost me $950.00. The dealer wasn't appolegetic, and said the problem was just normal wear and tear on the vehicle.

Kevin of Foster VA (04/07/08)
I have a 2001 used ford expedition that has blown a spark plug..took it to a shop had it fixed on march 26th 12 days later another if not the same spark plug blew...i have read alot of complaints and all these people are spending money that they dont have to repair this problem, when it should be ford doing a recall to fix this problem..Thank You

Alexander of Indianapolsi IN (04/07/08)
Spark plug in # 4 cylinder blew out in december 07 --- had it fixed, now in march, another plug blew out. I will never ever buy a Ford again. Period. I loved Ford trucks, but this is foolish and is costing me a lot of money. My truck JUST hit 109,000 and its a 1999 expedition. Very well taken care of.

Bryan of Aiken SC (04/04/08)
My 2003 5.4L Ford Expedition blew out spark plug #3. The vehicle has 52,000 miles. When I started up, the Expedition made a awful thumping sound. A few hours searching on the internet and an inspection of the engine revealed spark plug #3 as the culprit. I can also see from the internet that this is a rather common problem that is going to run me about $3,000.

Darress of Lindon UT (04/04/08)
2001 Ford F150 7700 series, #3 spark plug on verge of blowing (129k miles). I got lucky this time because I was changing the plugs/coils as part of routine (overlooked by previous owner) maintenance. The #3 plug was very loose and coil boot discolored from leaking compression/gas. I feel that I was about to suffer from the common spark plug ejection prevalent with this family of engines. I'll have to keep my eyes on this issue. I do believe that the coils and plugs I changed were original, and long overdue for service, so at least the problem wasn't in a low mileage vehicle in this case.

Matthew of 7912 36th St. Se MI (04/04/08)
I own a 2002 Ford F150 Super Crew with a little over 125,000 miles on it. I've had no problems with it until now, and I'm blowing out a plug. I find out that this has been a known problem for a long time. No more Fords for me. Toyota here I come.

Eugene of New London WI (04/04/08)
Truck blew out #3 spark plug and after reading your web site this is apparently a HUGE problem with ford vehicles.

Jack of Claremore NC (04/04/08)
About Sept. of 07 my 99 Ford F-150 blew the #2 spark plug out of the head. After checking around I ended up at the local Ford dealership where they drilled the hole and placed an insert in it to hold the spark plug. In March of 08 it blew the #3 spark plug out of the head.

Glen of Findlay OH (04/03/08)
I own a Ford F150. I have repalced the coil and spark plug in my truck at least five times and guess what it just blew again. I have written Ford and tried to get them to respond. I see from the consumer affairs website, there are many of us with the same problem. WEhat can I do?

Jim of Stamford CT (04/03/08)
I have a 2002 f150 supercrew with only 68,000 miles and the number # 4 spark plug has blown out twice. The first time it was fixed with a kit and it blew out 2 weeks later. I have owned nothing but ford trucks for the last 12 years but after this I will not buy another one.

Don of Hannibal NY (04/02/08)
i own a 1999 ford f-250 superduty with 111,000 miles on it and it blew a spark plug out of it, i have read ford know's and has known forever of this problem, what i want to know what is being done to make ford correct this major mistake.

Doug of Greenwood AR (03/31/08)
#6 Spark plug on 2001 F-150 blew out of the cylinder head. destroyed the ignition coil. I have heard that this is a common problem with Ford Pickups.

Rob of Valparaiso IN (03/31/08)
My 2001 Ford F-150 pickup 5.4 liter blew a sparkplug . The Dealer said it would cost around $2500 to fix .

Patricia of Clarkton NC (03/31/08)
spit out spark plug 2001 f-150

Brian of Vineland NJ (03/31/08)
I have to say, after reading some many complaints im truly sick to my stomach also. I have a 2003 Ford Expedition, and guess what, #6 plug blew on me today 03/31/2008. I just happened so not sure what costs are gonna be, but your stories a really scaring my. I also only bought my truck used several months ago and still owe on it. If anybody comes up with options for us all to be reimbursed please let us all know. Thank You

Ryan of San Diego CA (03/30/08)
Add me to the list of Blown out spark plugs on the Ford F 150. My 2001 Supercrew has blown out 2 spark plugs and had a cylinder misfire on cylinder #8. I will never buy another ford again. Im going to buy a Toyota next year. Im thorugh with Ford. They told my I had to pay almost 4 grand to get the problem fixed. Ford needs to issue a recall. Im waiting for a class action lawsuit to be filed

Veronika of La Porte TX (03/28/08)
I have a 2002 Ford Focus and I have had numerous troubles with the ignition not activating. WTF? I have been stranded due to this problem many times. This had not only caused problems with me but my husband has had to drive out every time to assist me when my car does this (which is on a daily bases practically) I thought that it was just me but after reading this website it appears that it is an epidemic.

Lisa of South Setauket NY (03/28/08)
I have a 2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer with a 5.4 liter engine. Last week, I heard a horrible noise, the truck shook violently and I could smell unburned gas. The spark plug and coil were no longer in place. The truck was repaired and I picked it up on Tuesday. On Wednesday -- THE VERY NEXT DAY - I heard a pop on my way home and the all-to-familiar shaking/gas smell. Same plug and coil. Broken again. The mechanic said he'd never seen anything like this. Then I did a computer search and cannot believe that thousands of consumers with the same engine have the same complaint. How could this not be a recall from Ford?

Todd of Milford DE (03/28/08)
Ford 1999 E-350 V-10 spit out a plug wile heading to a job

Gordon of East Barre VT (03/26/08)
my 1999 ford f-250 has blown 2 sparks plugs out of the motor and now i have had the motor changed @ my expensse $3256.00 and when i asked the dealer if there was going to be a recall they said that ford would go out of bussiness if they did a recall of that caliber

Sieben of Chilliwack, Canada (03/25/08)
# 3 cylinders sparkplug in my 2003 Ford F-350 blew out of engine for no particular reason causing extensive engine damage. Many thousands of people have had the same complaint documented on the internet and is a well known problem with these and other aluminum cylinder head engines produced and built by Ford. Ford dealers acknowledge the problem and have performed many repairs on these engines that can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars in repairs.

Alex of Invernes, Canada (03/25/08)
Also had a spit out spark plug on a 2004 ford escape. Unfortunately it didn't burn. Are there any class action suits regarding the matter?

Roland of Panama City FL (03/25/08)
When learning about the nightmares that consumers are experiencing with their 5.4L Ford engines. I became concerned, contacted Ford via E mail. Reply was typical; we are not aware of any problems with the product.  My local Ford dealer tells me different; they are averaging 3-4 vehicles per week with the blown or broken spark plug issue. Realizing that Ford is not willing to assist with this matter; I traded my 04 Lincoln Navigator and a 04 F150 Lariat for two GM vehicles. We were not ready to trade out of our vehicles but just lost confidence in the Ford product.

John of Berne NY (03/24/08)
One spark plug blew out of the enigne. I have a 2002 F150 Supercrew with the 5.4 liter with 90k miles. This is the 1st time it has happened. I'm concerned that this can happen again.

William of Shakopee MN (03/24/08)
my leased 2005 ford f-150 stx started shaking and lost power when trying to accelerate, and would shake more when decreasing speed on 11/26/07 on my way home from work. my check engine light came on and would blink or flash rapidly when accelerating. mileage was at 49,061. on 11/27/07 i brought my leased truck into apple ford of shakopee because it is 2 miles down the road from where i live at even though it isn't the dealership that i leased from because my owner manual said to take it in as soon as possible to the nearest dealership to diagnose the problem. this truck ran when i brought into this dealership, rough but it ran. John Rock their service rep. told me that a diagnostic test will need to be done first at 120.00 dollars. He said before this was done that it sounds like their is a coil damaged. They ran their computer test and  came back into the waiting area and told me they found 2 coils that would have to be replaced, the #3 and the #8 cylinder coils were bad and not working and that they would have to be replaced at the cost of 220.00 per coil.

Hilaire of Parma OH (03/23/08)
I own a 2000 E250 Cargo van with a 5.4 Triton engine that the spark plug blew out (#6)plug. Vehicle has 119,00 miles I need to buy a new motor because of damage to head. Since this seems to be a common problem for many years,I would also like to be on the list for a recall or class action suit. very disgruntful consumer, They say I need a new engine,$5000.00 cost /with a Ford dealer .I use the truck for my small business. This is really a disappointment,I have been telling anyone I know with a Ford Triton egine to sell before they have to change plugs.

John of Dewitt IA (03/22/08)
Our 2002 Ford F250 V-10 blew a sparkplug in Tennessee last year coming home from vacation. We ended up spending 3 days in our camper in a Ford dealership while they replaced the head of the engine. The mechanic at the dealership had a V-8 in the other bay and was replacing both heads on it. He said it was a very common problem. Two weeks ago we were visiting our daughter in New Orleans and blew a second sparkplug out the other side of the engine.

Ken of Alden NY (03/22/08)
I own a 2000 Ford F150 p/u with a 4.6 V/8.While moving cars in my driveway I heard a load noise.Long storey short the #8 spark plug shot out of the head and broke the coil mounting tab.I attempted to reinstall the spark plug but found that the treads are stripped in the aluminum head,a common problem I see when I looked online.The truck does have high mileage but I have never seen this before in my 35 of owning cars and trucks.

Stuart of Newark OH (03/22/08)
Hi this is Stuart again. When I called my local ford dealer about my shot spark plug that wouldn't re thread. They said that it happens all the time and that they have a kit to fix. They quoted me $500 to fix it. When I asked how much the kit was to buy so I could fix it my self they said that it was for the shop only. They said I could call a local parts dealer Because they probably could get it. When I asked the parts dealer how much it was they said $700. And said that I probably shouldn't do it my self. They gave me numbers to shops that said do it all the time.

Jim of Newark OH (03/21/08)
2001 Ford F150 Spark plug blowout. We were 60 miles away from home when #7 spark plug blew out of the head also breaking the coil pack. We had to be towed home and was charged over $600.00 at the local Ford dealer to repair it. These engines should be repaired by Ford. This is a major flaw in the design.

.

Dean of St. Charles MO (03/20/08)
I own a 98 Ford E250 van which I use for work. It has 92000 miles and has always been well maintained. Very dependable until now. While driving to a job on a major interstate, there was a bang, followed by several repeated loud noises. My intial thought was, that a tire was coming apart. Being in the center lane, I was unable to move over because of a tractor trailer on my right. Do to the sudden loss of power as well as traveling up an incline, all I could do was decelerate, waiting for the truck to pass, cutting in behind him and then taking the shoulder. Fortunately, This was able to be done without a mishap as morning traffic was extremely heavy. We limped off the highway at that exit and took a better look at the situation. The friend riding with me realized it was not a tire and removed the engine cover and had me restart the engine. That is when we were able to realize that a spark plug had blown out with the threads from the head and broke the coil pack as well. In a van, due to the plug location, this appears to be a near impossible fix without removing the motor After calling several different mechanically inclined individuals, including the Ford dealership in St. Charles, Mo., The only persons who seemed surprised at my situation was the Ford Dealership. Everyone else was very aware of The Ford Plug Issue. It was common knowledge to all but Ford. My problem just happened yesterday, 3/18/08, so it is not resolved as of yet. How it is handled will definately impact any future vehicle purchases.

Chris of Bayville NJ (03/20/08)
On 3-16-08 my 2002 F250 threw the #3 plug at about 15 miles an hour. My truck only had 55k miles on it and of course my ext warranty expired 3 weeks earlier. Ford wouldnt honor the warranty but offered to cut the price in half to replace the head, still $2000. Luckily I work with an experienced mechanic that was able to install a Helicoil kit. He saved me a ton and also found that #6 & #7 plugs were loose. The plugs were original and never touched by anyone but the factory. Maybe in addition to lack of threads in the head they were not torqued properly. I have always had a Ford truck since my 1979 F100, now I don't know anymore......

Brian of Magnolia TX (03/18/08)
My truck blew spark plug #3 (2003 F250 5.4L motor). Spoke to a Ford service manager about repairing it and questioned the integrity of the design. Ford says that it isn't a design problem and that I would have to pay for the repairs in the tune of $3400 or more to get the cylinder head replaced.

Michael of Cairo GA (03/18/08)
My 1999 Ford F250 with the 5.4L V8 triton engine blew one of the spark plugs out of the cylinder head.

It's going to cost at least $2000.00 for repair of a design flaw that Ford should have corrected.

Stuart of Newark OH (03/16/08)
On my 2003 Ford F150 I spit four spark plugs. One was the number one cylinder after a tune up. Another was shortly after that on the drivers side again. then when i was driving north bound on Ohio 37 the number 3 blow. Had the truck towed home and repaired it. then two weeks ago it blow the number 3 again. This time it didn't destroy the coil pack, so I just re thread the spark plug back in. But today I was driving on the back roads from Newark OH to Heath Oh. When the Number 3 blew again. When I opened my hood the bottom half of the coil and spark plug were laying on my valve cover. Had to have the truck towed home again, because spark plug would not re thread.

Bill of Dallas TX (03/16/08)
Have had nothing but problems with ford the