Started my vehicle and heard a loud noise followed by a steady popping noise. I opened the hood and found the rear spark plug on the passenger side had been blown out of the engine. I have since read hundreds of other complaints of this occurring, some causing fires.

- Canonsburg, PA, USA

While driving a loud "pop" was heard followed by an exhaust-type sound emanating from engine compartment. Vehicle was driven 4 blocks to our home where inspection revealed the blown plug.

- Litchfield, MN, USA

My 1999 Ford Expedition has had to have the ignition coil packs replaced at least 4 times. The symptoms are misfire and a resulting severe engine vibration upon acceleration. Once the vehicle reaches a cruising speed, the problem appears to go away, but only until you accelerate again. Ford Motor Company knows there is is design flaw in these vehicles which causes water dripping from some source (the air conditioner or a windshield that is not sealed) to short out the ignition coil packs. They have a technical service bulletin out on the problem, but the problem is not always reported as a check engine light and they fail to diagnose this properly in some cases. The first 2 times this happened, I took the car to two different Ford dealerships. Both trips cost me close to $400 each time. The third time it happened, we went to our local garage and the guy said this was a common problem, well known to auto mechanics, but that the individual failing cylinder could not be readily diagnosed by the computer codes, so it was an expensive repair because they might have to try all 8 coil packs to locate and identify the offender. The last coil pack that failed was replaced by my husband at a cost of $45 as the failing unit was easily accessible. You can see the great difference in cost of doing it yourself vs. Both of my trips to the dealership. My truck is failing again now and of course, it is exhibiting the same symptoms of a coil pack failure. This time, however, the coil pack in question is not easily accessible for the home mechanic and we will be forced to take it in for repair.

- Pearland, TX, USA

Spark plug (believe it was #4) blew out of the cylinder head. 66K miles. These were original plugs, so not attributable to faulty mechanic. Head re-threaded, new plug inserted.

- Westport, CT, USA

1999 Ford Expedition blew #3 sparg plug out of head

- Huntsville, UT, USA

The truck will not start, even though there is power. After waiting a few hours it starts up without a problem. It may run fine for a couple days and then have numerous problems for days on end. This has been going on for more than a month now. Called three dealerships and was forced to take it back to the original dealership (two hours away). The problem did not happen when at the dealership, was not logged on the computer and was charged $100 to do nothing. I have heard from numerous people that this is a common problem with the alarm system (that does not log problems on the computer) that is under warranty. Have called Ford customer service and was told that there was nothing that they could do. After numerous times of lack of starting, the original dealership told me that we needed to leave the truck with them for an extended period of time (three to four days).

- Tracy, CA, USA

The engine starts normally after the key is turned but dies when I shift into gear. After the first failure, the truck was towed to the dealer who performed diagnostics. The tests did not show any abnormalities. I was told that they could not identify the faulty part therefore could not replace anything. They said it could just be a fluke and might never happen again. This was while the truck was under manufacturer's warranty. The second failure occured two days ago, approx. 6 months after the first incident. I was eventually able to get the vehicle started on my own and drove straight to the dealer. Again, they were unable to find any faulty parts. The vehicle is now out of manufacturer warrenty but is under an extended warranty. However, the repair shop said that they could not just start replacing parts without a clear cut diagnostic becasue the insurer would not pay. I am now afraid to drive the vehicle any distance from my home or office in case the defect stalls the car again or manifests itself in some other, more destructive way. I cancelled my trip for the fourth of July and am waiting on a dealer call back. I am assuming this is a glitch in a computer chip or something relatively minor, but difficult to find. However, the problem is a major one in my life as I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. The dealer has been responsive and is researching the problem. I do not know if they have access to a data base of other Expedition/F110 owners who may have had this same problem, so I am trying to distribute my information to a central organization that might be able to recognize a pattern of failure and identify it's cause. The vehicle has been maintained per the manufacturer's recommendations.

- Houston, TX, USA

Had spark plug coil go out on #4 cylinder, shakes at higher speeds tires wear unevenly burning oil smell after you drive it had it to dealership 3 times and they "couldnt locate a leak " ( maybe there techs should read these tsb's?) finally reconized as bad head and gasket replaced still was leaking then I told I needed a total engine replacement! now its outta warrenty and my problem according to Ford dealership. Even though had it in for burning oil smell when under 36,000 (dot number: Na tiresize: 275R16)

- Kingman, AZ, USA

Failure of the #3/#4 coil packs seem commonplace on Ford Expedition primarily due to the design of the heater hose (sits above the coil pack): If the hose drips, the result is a costly repair. This problem is reported frequently on the www.xpedition.net mailing list, and finally showed up an my vehicle. There are reports on the mailing list of people having this problem multiple times (2, 3, 4..).

- Dallas, TX, USA

While driving could smell engine burning oil which came through the vents. There was no oil leaking. Coil broke in the engine/ windshield wipers would come on by themself, while the rear wiper does not work at all/ passenger door panel was loose & came off/ electrical system would cause lights to flicker on & off, and fuel gauge failed to register the correct amount of fuel when filled.

- Fairfield, CA, USA

Tire defect: Driving under normal conditions with my family of five we heard a "bang" and realized the rear right tire had blown. Because of the severity of the blow out we felt immediately that this was a manufacturing defect and expressed our concern to nemer Ford. The Ford Expedition has never been used for any off-road purpose. Nemer Ford refused to do anything and simply referred us to the Firestone dealer. We contacted our local Firestone dealer and they told us it must have been punctured, which we knew was not true. We have not replaced the tire and still have the original tire to prove to someone that the tire is defective! Firestone told us we needed to purchase another tire, I will not risk my family's safety by purchasing another Firestone product.( dot number: Tire size: P265/70R )

- Queensbury, NY, USA

Engine suddenly running very rough and engine check light on. Dealer investigation showed coolant leak on coil pack 4. coil pack removed and replaced and hose clamp tightened. Repair was not done as a defect although many other vehicles have had the same problem.

- Glendale, AZ, USA