10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 104,661 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Fuel tank leaks profusely after being filled past half way about 11 gallons
- Commerce Township, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced stalling without warning. In addition, the seat belt would not latch. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle's software needed to reflashed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact had the engine replaced after it was diagnosed that there was water in the oil pan and a fuel rod failure. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
- Oklahoma City, OK, USA
With my foot on the brake, I put the truck in reverse to begin backing out of a driveway. I applied a little gas to slowly backup around the turn in the drive. As I was rolling backwards, I had my foot on the brake because I was navigating past other parked vehicles. As I was clearing one of the vehicles, the truck suddenly jolted backwards hitting a tree. So then, with my foot on the brake, I put the truck in drive so that I could pull forward away from the tree. As I began to press on the gas pedal and the truck instantly thrust forward, hitting another tree, stopping the truck & knocking the tree over. It happened with such power that the wheels spun down into the mulch bed before I was able to brake, put the truck into park and remove the keys to turn it off. While the damage on the back bumper was minimal, the damage to the front of the truck was extensive & the insurance company declared the truck a total loss. There was one other time, while on the local highway at a stoplight, with my foot on the brake, that the truck began to thrust forward on its' own. After it first rocked forward, I pressed the brake all the way to the floor which prevented it from actually moving forward any more. Once the light turned green, the truck seemed to return to normal functioning. This incident occurred around the time I was due for a tune-up so I figured it was a fluke and would have been resolved with the tune up.
- Midlothian, VA, USA
I was pulling a trailer over the Continental divide with my family and stopped to get gas in leadville, Colorado. As I was pumping gas I saw smoke coming from under my truck bed. I looked under the truck and saw flames near my spare tire. I stopped pumping gas and ran to get a fire extinguisher. After the fire was out I observed that my tail-pipe had broken away from my muffler. The heat from my exhaust had melted the rubber coating on my rear right brake cable. The heat had also melted some plastic near my spare tire. The mechanic in leadville who welded my tail pipe back to the muffler told me the melted plastic came from an evaporative fuel emissions system mounted near my spare tire. (bad place to put it if you ask me) my truck bed-liner also started to melt from the heat. I called Ford to notify them of the safety problem and they only recommended that I take it to a Ford dealer and have it looked at. I doubt I will ever hear from them again. I'm not going to pay out of my pocket to have this problem officially diagnosed. I guess I'm just lucky to be alive and that the whole gas station didn't blow up.
- Thornton, CO, USA
Ford F-150 2004 engine freeze after warning light. Sputtered and choked and locked up and would not drive down the hwy.
- Blair,, NE, USA
We've had a lot of issues with this truck but the main issue is when we drive down the road it misses a lot and the smell of fuel in the truck. We've taken it in and they said a lot of other people have had the same issues with there truck like ours. Please contact us asap.
- Wolcottville, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. While the vehicle was parked, a strong odor of fuel was noticed around the vehicle. The contact noticed fuel leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 04V443000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
- Lakeport, MI, USA
Within a few weeks of purchasing my vehicle in February after pulling into a parking lot the check engine light came on. I also noticed it was making a ticking noise like a diesel engine but it's not a diesel. I went to get the codes and found it was a retarded variable valve timing issue code P0022. I looked online and went to multiple shops and mechanics to figure out the problem. After paying to replace the vct solenoids it was apparent that that was not the issue causing the timing problem. For weeks I noticed the truck shaking and at one point it actually stalled as I was pulling out of a parking lot into a busy road and it stalled as I was going into the road which caused the on coming traffic to slow and stop to avoid hitting me in the middle of the road. After spending weeks in the dealership service shop and a large sum of money they found they needed to replace the engine entirely. I have witnessed this issue happening to many many others online and in person who have the same year range with the 5.4L 3 valve Triton engines. This is absolutely unacceptable for so many vehicle to have the same issue especially when it has under 100,000 miles. It is not only very poor quality for such a large price but also a safety hazard to the owner and others around these vehicles.
- Boise, ID, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. While driving at 30 mph after refueling the vehicle, the fuel tank detached and fell onto the ground. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who informed that the fuel straps and the fuel tank rubber hose separated due to corrosion causing the fuel tank to detach. As a result, the fuel tank straps were replaced but the fuel tank rubber hose was not replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 180,000.
- Hazelwood, MO, USA
I went to go start my F150 and apron starting it started to make a very load banging noise which I thought was a blown engine the truck had very little power and would not move. I had truck towed home and upon investigation I found that one of the spark plugs blew out of the head. After looking into to this more this is a very common thing with the Triton V8 motor. The heads are made out of aluminum and each plug is only hold on by 4 threads from the constant piston putting pressure on the plugs they blow right out of the hole the only way to repair is to retap the hole and install new plug. The is a flaw from Ford and these engines should be recalled and properly fixed by Ford. When the plug blows out raw gas is going and not being burned this can cause and sure it has caused a fire on some of the engines. This is a very serious problem and could lead to death if a person is looking in the engine compartment when one of these plugs let go it could kill them please have Ford own the mistake and recall the Triton V8 2 cylinder and 3 cylinder engines.
- Evesham Township, NJ, USA
Smelt fuel emitting from the gas tank area but could not find the source of the smell; turned on the ignition key without starting the truck. I saw fuel running down the side of the fuel tank. I turned off the key and proceeded to removed the fuel tank gas straps to lower the tank; with all hoses still connected I turned the key back on; fuel was spewing from the fuel pump. I completely removed the fuel tank and all hoses and found a linear crack on the pressure side of the fuel pump hose connection. This vehicle has never been in an accident and is the original fuel pump to this vehicle.
- Bradford, RI, USA
On 05/16/2014 the number 3 spark plug blew-out of the head causing fuel to be sprayed into the the engine compartment while I was traveling with my family. This is the second time this has happened on this trunk. The first is listed on the approximate incident date of this report. Spark plug blow-out seems to be a consistant problem with the Ford truck engines and could pose a problem of a engine compartment fire, break downs on busy interstates & highways, wrecks and fatalities from sudden slow downs because of engine power loss while traveling or being stranded on isolated roads. These are just some of the possibilities that may happen (or has happened to others). Ford motor motor knows of this problem but won't listen to their consumers. Only the national highway transportation and safty administration can make them aware of the problem so that they will fix it. Also from talking with Ford corporate and Ford Consumer Affairs department the only way they will address this is through a recall. Please do an investigation of this complaint so that there maybe a possibility of a fix and a life and/or injury maybe saved, thank-you.
- Marrero, LA, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F150. The contact stated that on multiple occasions there was a strong odor of gas fumes coming from the engine compartment at random. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The contact was not included in NHTSA campaign id number(s): 11V385000 (fuel system, gasoline), 06E056000 (fuel system, gasoline), 04V443000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 04V200000 (fuel system, gasoline) but continued to smell the strong fumes of gasoline intermittently. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.
- Gillsville, GA, USA
Power loss and surge in flow of traffic at 65mph. Sudden stop and loss of power in traffic. Traffic had to come to halt around me. I had to stop vehicle and attempt to restart several times to restart. This is a known issue with this year and model of Ford and needs to be recalled. I have not had it happen at these speeds and it was terrifying.
- Los Osos, CA, USA
Replaced fuel pump driver module (fpdm) mounted on a support above the spare tire on a 04 Ford F150.first engine code was P0191 for the fuel rail pressure sensor, engine would crank but not start. Ran scan tool and found code P1237 for the fuel pump driver module. The cast housing of the fpdm is corroded and cracked almost splitting it in two pieces. Had to grind off fpdm and the mounting bolts and drill and tap new mounting holes. After replacing fpdm, truck starts and no longer has a rough idle.
- Bloomville, OH, USA
Bought 2004 F150 brand new, never off road, all scheduled maintenance completed: Son driving on interstate at 65mph, heard loud breaking noise, severe rattling, shaking, no power, coasted down ramp and to side road. Towed to mechanic--rod through the oil pan. Mechanic verified that oil was pumped properly through motor.. same mechanic has worked on this car since we have had it. We have had to have all 4 door window motors replaced (twice-second time, we fixed front door windows and had back door windows wired up), the back glass replaced for leaking, the 4 wheel drive sensors replaced, the transmission rebuilt, the overhead cam system replaced and now this.
- Fort Smith , AR, USA
The contact owns a Ford F-150. The contact was driving 60 mph when the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where the contact was informed that the fuel pump control module disintegrated and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired by the contact. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.
- Beloit , WI, USA
The engine blew a spark plug out my grandfather bought this truck new it never had them removed before it did not come lose it blew threads and all out do your god dam job make Ford fix this before someone gets killed from a fire over this when the plug pops out it blows fuel out on the coil pack with it with it shooting lighting bolts if I had been a person with no mechanical knowledge it would have got bad I popped the hood and flames were popping out around the coil pack that is beating the crap out of the fuel rail if I had drove the truck or had been on the freeway that fuel rail would have been busted then a fire ball I can send U picks or make a video of the coil pack smacking the fuel rail.
- Manchester, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon inspection, the bottom of the fuel tank was found to be corroded. The contact also mentioned that the fuel tank straps were also corroded. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000. The current mileage was 100,000.
- Steuben, ME, USA
- Wheeling, WV, USA