There were no symptoms leading up to the failure. My 2003 Ford Expedition made a load pop noise and then continued to make a loud but muffled popping sound under the hood. I immediately pulled over and shut off the engine. I had the truck towed to my local Ford dealership where they diagnosed the problem. The problem was the # 3 spark plug had "backed out" or was "spit out" of the engine head. The estimated repair cost to replace the head was $3,500. A less expensive fix of $700 - $800 to rethread the head for the #3 spark plug, but with no guarantee how long it would last. The reason for the complaint is that after having my vehicle repaired I found out through a friend that this was not an isolated incident. After researching online I found that hundreds of people had the same problem with the #3 spark plug. Even the service manager at the Ford dealership told me it was an issue and a poor design on Ford part. However, Ford is not taking responsibility for the problem - leaving it's customers with a hefty repair to say the least. I also filed a compliant directly to Ford headquarters.

- Calistoga, CA, USA

2003 Ford Expedition with 5.4 liter V8 with approximately 80,000 miles. #3 spark plug blew out of cylinder head.

- New Preston, CT, USA

Engine failure on my 2003 Ford Expedition having a 5.4 liter Triton V8 engine. Number 2 spark plug was blown out and the cost to repair is $3000. Ford has known of this issue for some time but will not accept blame. The number of threads to hold the spark plugs is too few.

- Brockport, NY, USA

Vehicle was brought into Ford dealer for a "tapping noise" in engine area.. dealer ran a test and found nothing wrong. Several days later engine starting making popping noises and was unable to drive vehicle due to engine not operating properly..same dealer towed to their facility and said spark plug in #3 cylinder came loose and was ejected and damaged the head. They want $3K to repair this...vehicle has 75K miles with no more warranty.

- Woodbine, NJ, USA

After my 100,000 mile service which included a spark plug change, two spark plugs blew out, causing damage to the cylinder head and major repair cost.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

This complaint is in reference to a mechanical problem I had with my 2003 Ford Expedition. While driving on interstate I-90 near boston, MA, the engine ejected a spark plug from the head casing of my motor (third plug on the passenger side). When the plug ejected, it took with it all of the threads in the casing, resulting in significant damage to the head. This happened very suddenly, and resulted in a dramatic reduction in vehicle performance - which nearly caused a vehicle crash on the highway. I was stranded on the Massachusetts turnpike for some time and had to have the vehicle towed. Much to my surprise, my mechanic indicated that this was the 4th Expedition he had seen this year with this damage to the exact same plug casing - in his mind clearly a defect given that these were all relatively new vehicles without significant mileage on them. I called Ford on this - but they claimed this was not a common problem (I did not believe them). My repair costs for this were over $2,000. Subsequent review of your website indicates that a class action lawsuit has been filed by several persons in California claiming to have incurred the same type of damage. It appears as though this is on your radar screen, but I would like to formally submit this request that this be looked into on my behalf as well as for others who I'm sure this has happened to already - but are not aware that this may be a widespread defect/safety issue.

- Milford, MA, USA