1999 Ford E350 caught fire and burned to a total loss while sitting cold in my driveway. I bought the vehicle used on Nov 8, 2010. Dec 12, 2010 I drove about 3 miles to the grocery around 20:30; I returned home and parked the vehicle in my driveway about 20:45. About 22:15 a passing car observed flames coming from the front of the vehicle and flaring to contact my house. The witness alerted me at my door. I immediately grabbed the garden hose and attempted to spray water into the front grill, left side to put out the fire. I could not see where the actual fire was as the hood was closed, I sprayed where the flames exited the grill. The wind was blowing about 20 mph and I could not extinguish the flames. The vehicle was facing North, the wind blowing from West to East. The flames began to shoot out from the passenger wheel well in a horizontal streak as the wind stoked the fire. Neighbors called 911 while I diverted the water spray from the vehicle to the house and garage since the van was parked within 2 feet of the garage door and the wind now had flames shooting 8-12' high and brushing the wood garage door. The firemen arrived, knocked the vehicle hood off with a tool and sprayed the engine compartment to extinguish the fire. Due to the wind, the van was completely fire gutted and a total loss. The fire inspector advised me of the Ford cruise control recall and said he could find no other possible cause for the fire in the engine compartment as there were no leaks of any kind and no recent repairs in the engine compartment. Local Ford dealers have declined to tell me if my VIN had warranty work to repair the switch.

- Port Richey, FL, USA

I was doing some city driving in my Ford van and all of a sudden it started to sound rough and like my muffler fell off. I stopped had it towed and they told me the spark plug had blown out of the engine. When looking into it seems that it is a fairly common problem. My understanding is that if I had not turned the engine off quickly I could have had a fire in there as there still is gas and combustion going on(the other 9 plugs) now I don't know if or when the other plugs will go on me ands am afraid to drive the car more than a taxi cab ride home.

- Scranton, PA, USA

I have a 1999 chinook class C with a Ford E-350 chassis powered by a Triton V-10. Shortly after buying it used we had a spark plug pop out. It was an original plug. We had them changed and took a cross country trip. As we were coming up on memphis tn. Another plug blew out. We were on an interchange in a very dangerous place. We could not get out as there was a freeway on both sides. It took 3 1/2 hours to get us out of harms way. Just last weekend it happened again though I drove off the freeway. I have since read that this could cause a fire as the gas is getting pushed out the plug hole and the plug is out and firing. I have done some research and Ford says the plugs were not torqued to spec which caused it to happen. We had our original plugs when it 1st happened. I also read online where a dealer had a very low mileage V-10 with original plugs and it happened to him. I think these heads are defective and should be replaced. I cannot find aftermarket heads so I would feel safer. It has always happened going down the freeway. The mechanic at the shop where it is says he has a Ford kit to repair the heads. He says it is the only kit for this he has ever seen yet Ford denies there is a real problem. I just feel lucky I have been able to get off the road each time. These engines are in many rv's and larger trucks which are harder to maneuver I.e. more dangerous.

- Laytonville, CA, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Ford E-350. The contact stated that the spark plug has blown out of the head due to the lack of threading needing to keep it in place. The mechanic informed him that the failure has occurred three times within the last five weeks. There are no recalls available for this failure. The mechanic also stated that this could be due to a design flaw. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 139,000 and current mileage was 140,000.

- Auburn, WA, USA

Oil leaking from head gasket. After two failures of this possible factory defect, dealer is replacing my engine with a rebuilt engine. They initially told me it would be a brand new factory engine. This is totally unacceptable. I want a brand new factory engine. Ford is not taking care of this problem in a manner consistent with its serious nature. To say "it's fixed" by putting in a rebuilt engine is ridiculous. Word at Ford enthusiasts message boards is that 1999 5.4 liter engines have casting defects. Please help.

- Dripping Springs, TX, USA