8.8

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$740
Average Mileage:
130,500 miles
Total Complaints:
93 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. helicoil insert (37 reports)
  2. not sure (28 reports)
  3. bigserts are inserts instead of helicoil (9 reports)
  4. tapered seat insert in head (not helicoil) (7 reports)
  5. cylinder head repair kit (5 reports)
  6. cal-van kit is 18mm and worked (3 reports)
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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Feb 252011

F-150 Harley Davison 5.4L Supercharged

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

This is the second time now and it was the same plug. It was repaired by a very reputable mechanic and he used the insert instead of the helicoil. Still blew out at 55 mph with out any rawhiding of the truck.

Update from Mar 17, 2011: FIXED YET AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH INSERT. MAYBE THIS WILL DO THE JOB

- tsc240, Ridgeland, MS, US

problem #12

Dec 232010

F-150 Lariat 5.4L Triton

  • Automatic transmission
  • 175,000 miles

Just before Christmas eve, and boom goes the engine.doing 75 on rt 80 with 40 miles to go to get home,I limped home. The plugs have been in for 75000 miles so Ford cant say they were installed wrong but they can say the problem was fixed after 2004. I replaced it with the Cal-van kit and it fixed that issue but I here a death knock on the lower end right in that area ,probably rod bearing and probably caused by bthe compression relief when the plug busted out like a scud missile,thanks ford.

Update from Feb 22, 2011: Well its not the lower bearing and that sucks because its a wrist pin, great, cant fix that by pulling oil pan, running it till it blows and buying a Chevy.. The kit I used worked great, I also bought the scope for looking inside the piston chamber when I did the work.. 384.00 total and 45 mins of my time that I will never get back,,,THANKS AGAIN FORD!! PS,As soon as it goes I'll have a kit for sale to replace the poor workmanship of Ford engineers great NO THREAD IN HEAD FOR PLUG problem

- Joe A., Wind Gap, PA, US

problem #11

Jan 252011

F-150 5.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 183,000 miles

this is the second time this has happened to my truck in less than 2 months! this is bullshit! I am sure that the ford motor company would like to keep their reputation of ford trucks being built ford tough, and I'm starting to think they are wrong!!! RECALL THIS TRUCK!!!

- jc22, Springfield, OR, US

problem #10

Dec 102010

F-150 5.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 180,000 miles

come on ford motor company back your product up and recall this motor!

- jc22, Springfield, OR, US

problem #9

Dec 162010

F-150 5.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 135,000 miles

this is the third plug I have had to fix, I have spent over 1600.00 in service, ford should recall ....what a joke

- Lance H., Claremore, OK, US

problem #8

Nov 222010

F-150 5.4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 117,600 miles

spark plug shot out of head 30 miles from home. stripped threads due to weak aluminum head. no forewarning or preventative measures to keep this from happening. definitely a fire risk, good thing I was 1/4 mile away from a repair shop. this should be a ford recall as it appears to be a known reoccurring problem.

- Greg R., Independence, KY, US

problem #7

Sep 182010

F-150 5.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles

I can't wait to talk to the ISO about this lack of quality .Is Job One to Screw America? This is a lack of control in the material div.Come on Ford .70,000 miles is not what I would call a life time . and When they say 100,000 miles before a tune up . Why would I check the plugs to see if they were tight.

- Scott D., Puyallup, WA, US

problem #6

Aug 262010

F-150 4x4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 108,000 miles

This happened to us twice on a move across the county. I can't believe the amount of info on this. Three different Ford dealers knew all about this problem, but Ford refuses to accept responsibility. We are done the Ford and trying to get the word out to the rest of the world. Even though this issue appears to be well known on line, we didn't know about it until it happened to us. Ford must be spending a lot of money to keep this quiet,

- Susan C., Warner Robins, GA, US

problem #5

Sep 032010

F-150 4x4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 110,000 miles

This happened to us twice on a move across the county. I can't believe the amount of info on this. Three different Ford dealers knew all about this problem, but Ford refuses to accept responsibility. We are done the Ford and trying to get the word out to the rest of the world. Even though this issue appears to be well known on line, we didn't know about it until it happened to us. Ford must be spending a lot of money to keep this quiet,

- Susan C., Warner Robins, GA, US

problem #4

Feb 142010

F-150 Supercrew 5.4L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 86,000 miles

I spent ALL DAY in front of an auto parts place borrowing tools and trying to put a spark plug back in that blew out of my 5.4L Triton v8. The temp. was in the upper 30's and the wind was blowing about 15 mph. Sure would have been nice if Ford had the balls to take responsibility for this defective design and issued a recall to fix the problem. It has to be a defect considering the huge number of complaints there are for exactly the same problem.

- nattex, Joshua, TX, US

problem #3

Apr 242009

F-150 Lightning 5.4L Supercharged

  • Automatic transmission
  • 61,000 miles

3 spark plug blew out of head and ruined coil when it exited the head. Ford dealer stated it was a known problem but Ford wouldn't issue a recall. Found website named blownoutsparkplug.com and flew their tech out to where the vehicle was and it was repaired where it sat. The owners of this niche business are Ric and Dave Mahlmeister based out of Southern California. It took Dave a little over 2 hours to fix the head, replace spark plugs and inspect all spark plug threads. The fix is guaranteed. Cost for this fix is 800.00 plus airfare and expenses if overnight stay is involved. This figure includes up to 2 thread replacement inserts, new spark plugs and new coil. I highly recommend this website in lieu of paying Ford 4K to pull the engine and replace the head, which is what is recommended by Ford.

- curlysfast80, Hermiston, OR, US

problem #2

Apr 292009

F-150 XLT 4.6L V8 Triton

  • Automatic transmission
  • 90,000 miles

Blew spark plug from cylinder head. Out of truck for awhile. Did internet search. Lots of similar complaints. Problem has even spawned businesses to address the repairs. That tells me alot. I asked a 25-year Ford tech about it. He admitted to the problem. Ford doesn't admit to anything.

- peurrung, Seal Beach, CA, US

problem #1

May 202008

F-150 Supercrew 4x4 5.4L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

I have an 02 F-150 with the 5.4L V8 (modular) and have blown 2 spark plugs out of the motor. This is a problem that Ford has recognized and actually approved a company's product to use (www.fulltorque.com) for repairing the problem, but will not recall as a defect. I have spent $2200 in parts and labor (doing the absolute minimum) and I can hear another spark plug about to go. This has been a real pain in the ass.

- jayher, Pleasant Hill, CA, US