10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 1
Average Mileage:
59,465 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Ford F-150:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #39

Sep 262010

F-150 8-cyl

  • 58,800 miles
While driving, my 2005 F-150 would suddenly act as if the transmission was in neutral. The wrench symbol on the gauge panel would illuminate, but the engine was still running. The only way to clear the problem was to pull over, put car in park, shut engine off, restart engine and shift to drive. Luckily this never happened on the highway, but it could have led to a serious accident. I had the truck repaired, and the dealership had to replace the throttle body. This is not covered under warranty according to the dealership. Truck has only 58,800 miles on it. I have seen this issue on this site and others and NHTSA really should investigate this issue.

- Stoughton, MA, USA

problem #38

Aug 292010

F-150

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford F150 truck. While driving 35-40 mph the vehicle the vehicle was skipping and jumping and it was later towed to a local mechanic who had to remove the engine head in order to reach the spark plugs. The mechanic could not get all of the spark plugs out of the vehicle and referred him back to the dealer. The local mechanic repaired the vehicle for $900 since the dealer wanted to charge $2800 to repair the vehicle. The contact stated that because of the design of the vehicle the spark plugs were difficult to reach. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

- Decatur, AL, USA

problem #37

Aug 182010

F-150

  • 90,000 miles
7 of 8 spark plugs broke off while changing out on my vehical this is crazy heard alot of complaints.

- Sulphur, LA, USA

problem #36

Sep 112008

F-150 4WD 8-cyl

  • 35,000 miles
The F-150 was parked in the carport attached to my son's house. It had been parked and not running for at least 3 hours. A passerby noticed the truck on fire and tried to wake all occupants in the house(duplex). At 5 a.M on 9/11/2008. My son never left the house. His body was found just inside the house by the carport door. The fire was coming from someplace in the engine compartment. Due to my sons employment with the military at that time and living on post there has been extensive investigation into this incident. I can supply further data when asked. I hadn't been allowed to see any of the investigative info until the military completed their investigation. That is the reason for the long delay in reporting this incident.

- Mulberry, IN, USA

problem #35

Jun 282010

F-150 8-cyl

  • 98,000 miles
Notified today that there is an issue with removing and replacing spark plugs for the Ford 5.3 Triton V8 3 valve engine. Ford has issued a technical service bulletin tsb 08-7-6 and it is not available on your website. Why" if this is indeed a manufacturers defect should it not be covered by their original warranty or the magnusen-moss warranty act and or the ucc, article 2. this procedure can be both timely and costly for a consumer. I have received quotes ranging from 250 to 1600 dollars. Should the consumer be expected to shoulder the burden of this issue"

- Gastonia, NC, USA

problem #34

Jun 012010

F-150

  • 67,000 miles
Approximately 2 years ago I purchased a 2005 Ford F-150 extended cab truck. I have had no problems with the truck up until this point and my truck currently has approximately 67,000 miles on it. However, approximately three (3) weeks ago I noticed my truck "sputtering" and "missing" and having some difficulty starting. I took it to the dealership (kamaaina motor's) that I purchased it from. The mechanics are now telling me that the spark plugs broke off and fell into the engine "head". they have attempted to retrieve the pieces of the spark plugs (two as they are currently reporting) but they feel that the impact of the spark plugs falling into the head may have now caused my motor to freeze up. At this point they are recommending complete engine replacement for my truck which will cost thousands of dollars. I am devastated. This is my only vehicle and I still owe money to the bank to pay it off. I don't have thousands of dollars to replace the motor and I know can't just get another loan for another car. I have been reading online about this repeated failure on Ford's fault of defective spark plugs and that this is common and of no fault of the owners of the vehicles. At this point my truck is still sitting at the mechanics and is not moving and I am without a car. Is there not anything that the Ford company can do to be responsible for their defective productions"? I devastated by this and have no idea what I am going to do to get back into a running vehicle so I can get to work and take my kids to and from school. Please help????"

- Kurtistown, HI, USA

problem #33

May 252010

F-150

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-150. While driving at 55 mph, the spark plugs disbursed from the engine and the vehicle lost power and stalled. The dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the repairs would be at her expense. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 80,000.

- Dorchester, SC, USA

problem #32

Feb 232010

F-150 8-cyl

  • 59,000 miles
At just over 59K miles on my 2005 F-150 5.4L Triton V8 driving at 30 mph I noticed a ticking sound that increased/decreased with rpms. Traveling about 2 miles further the noise increased in volume so I pulled over and raised the hood. The noise was coming form the passenger side of the motor and the motor was shaking as if miss firing or running iraticly. I had no engine warning light or any other notifications on the dash prior. I went directly to my mechanic. When my mechanic came out to see what was happening he knew right away what was going on. He has repaired this problem several times before. He said that I had blownout a least one spark plug. This is a known flaw with the Triton V8 motors or rather the spark plug design that was put in the engine from the factory. The spark plug is a three piece design the is crimped together and ultimately cracks and separates over a period of time leading to literally blowing up. In some cases the threads in the motor where the spark plug screws in can be torn out. This requires re-tapping new threads or a heliocoil pack. This issue was not pointed out to me by Ford prior so I could prevent possible damage and very expensive repair costs as I know they are aware of this problem and that is very wrong. The manual provided by Ford with the truck says the spark plugs don't need to be changed until 100K. After further investigation online I found hundreds of others experiencing the same problem prior to 100K. I will be sending the bill to repair my truck to Ford through my attorney as this is negligent behavior and a faulty design flaw that I could not have prevented. Ford is sending owners of this motor down a path of guaranteed financial and potential physical harm. Ford needs to stand up and own this mistake.

- Minden, NV, USA

problem #31

Jan 282010

F-150

  • 49,500 miles
While at ~45mph, I eased off the accelerator to go into a left hand turn. My F150 then lost all power and shut off (no power steering, etc), and there were 2 tracker trailers coming in the opposite direction from me. I was barely able to complete the turn with the momentum that I had before the truck died. The truck re-started without any issue. This had happened before 2 other times with large gaps of time in between (once in November 09 and the other time a week before this latest incident). The other 2 occurrences were similar (highway speeds of 60mph), and restarting without any issue or error codes. An error code was generated (finally) with the incident described at the top of this complaint, and I brought the truck to the dealership. They diagnosed a faulty throttle sensor which was replaced. At less than 50,000 miles I did not expect to see an issue with this sensor, and certainly I would expect the truck to default into the "limp home mode" described in the manual, which it did not. There were several other similar complaints for this on some forums and I felt it might need some attention.

- Exeter, RI, USA

problem #30

Nov 172009

F-150

  • 43,567 miles
While traveling through a tunnel at approx.55 mph the engine on my 2005 F-150 with a 5.4 liter engine quit running at full speed and went into what Ford calls limp mode. Luckily there was no other vehicle behind me or I would not be here to write this. The truck has since this incident quit running all together several different times. I took the vehicle back to where it was purchased and was charged $75 to diagnose the problem. They said that the throttle body was not functioning properly and it would cost $450 to replace. Ford knows of this problem and will do nothing to repair the defective parts on their own. The dealer that is doing the repairs said that there are 397 of these parts on back order, that should tell them something! this could be a life threatening defect that the Ford Motor Co. Will not take responsibility for.

- Martins Ferry, OH, USA

problem #29

Nov 282009

F-150

  • 70,400 miles
Spark plug breaking off in engine.

- Las Cruces, NM, USA

problem #28

Apr 102009

F-150

  • 40,000 miles
Ventilation fin got stuck on a piece of foam. The motor controller then failed. This resulted in inability to switch air flow direction in the vehicle.

- Eagan, MN, USA

problem #27

Nov 172009

F-150

  • 71,000 miles
There were no warnings or events leading up to the incident. No warning lights, no noises. We had been driving earlier, but only about 5 miles and then we ate dinner, so the car rested. We came home and my son was about to take his young daughter home. My son was in drivers seat, I was putting granddaughter in back seat child safety seat. Then I leaned into the passenger side front cab to grab a coke from the cupholder. My son turned on the truck, Ford F150 pickup, and we heard a boom. It was so loud the neighbors all came out.-it sounded like a bomb! I was lacerated on the hand. My son was in pain, my granddaughter was screaming, and I went to rear cab from outside, unstrapped her and carried her out onto the sidewalk far away, fearing fire or explosion. My son was lacerated on his chest, stomach and was deaf in left ear for more than 2 hrs. The inside lights went on, and the car was running until we were brave enough to take out the keys about 10 mins. We had to wash dust off of ourselves, the smoke filled the cab. We called police and made report and called ins. Carrier and made report. Today we had it towed to Ford dealer. I know this is a Ford F150 defect. If my son had been driving, he would have had a terrible accident with my 4 yr old granddaughter in the truck. I am going to force Ford to fix this and we are all hearing humming in our ears. The adjuster came out, gave us an estimate, we had the truck towed to Ford dealer. I called Ford customer service, , they took the complaint, and said wait 15 days for response. They asked me "what do you expect to be the outcome of this call"" ah what" I said that I expect them to pay the $1000 deduct and the cost. The rep told me to have a happy thanksgiving! its not her place to tell me that I should be grateful. I told her we were. I want Ford to pay for this, the adjuster said they should. I bet they wont!

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #26

Nov 152009

F-150 8-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
2005 F150 5.4L V8. Engine dies while driving. No warning, no indication. Only connection seems to be that it happens during the first time the truck is driven in the morning. All electrical is still working during stall. Go to hit the accelerator pedal and nothing. It is completely random. It has happened 3 times in the last 2 weeks with random days in between. Turn the key off, turn it on and all works fine. Others have had this issue in complaints, it can not be a coincidence with so many others having the same problem. This could pose a safety issue to F-150 drivers or other vehicles around an F150 if this stall happens. The incident date is just the most recent. Taking my truck to the shop this week to get it checked out. I want answers from Ford! I am the original owner of this truck with only 32000 miles on it. Never driven hard, used for towing or heavy payloads.

- Mission Viejo, CA, USA

problem #25

Apr 172007

F-150

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-150. While driving the vehicle began to stall and shut off. He made several attempts to restart the vehicle and was able to resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a technician concluded that it would cost $600 to repair the vehicle. No repairs were made. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 70,447.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

problem #24

May 122009

F-150

  • miles
Sudden engine surges occurring at any time weather moving or stopped at red light or while slowing down to stop.

- Rising Sun, MD, USA

problem #23

May 122009

F-150

  • 69,500 miles
Regarding: 2005 Ford F 150 truck purchased new from dealer, has been having problems with stalling. It has stalled in reverse and while driving on freeway. It is very dangerous. I almost got into an accident today on the freeway, which is why I am taking the time to look into this matter. I also know a few people with the same problem and have also seen many postings online for this issue. Many people have been injured in accidents and many trucks have caught on fire. All have started with these same problems. Ford recognized this problem until the made year of 2004. I do believe it also a problem with 2005, and maybe with other years. This really needs to be checked into. I have had my truck looked at by a mechanic, and he is not sure of the problem. I see a lot of problems with Ford and fuel injectors and cruise control with my year of truck, but no recalls. This is a serious matter and I would appreciate that it be handled responsibly.

- Garden Grove, CA, USA

problem #22

Apr 172009

F-150 8-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
I have a 2005 Ford F-150 (4.6L V8) and I recently had a spark plug blow out of the engine, for the second time. The first time it cost me $556.50 to repair it. This time it happened in a different cylinder. This time I had my 2year old daughter with me and was stranded along interstate 70 for over an hour. I didn't report it the first time, because I thought it was an isolated incident. Now after some research, I have found that this happening around the nation. I am not sure why there hasn't been a recall. Not only can this be a fire hazard, but in my case, my daughter and I were stranded along side a very busy highway.

- Monongahela, PA, USA

problem #21

Apr 122009

F-150

  • 45,000 miles
My truck is a 2005 Ford F-150 with 45,000 miles no prior problems serviced as per the Ford recommendations as well as regular oil changes. While on vacation getting off the freeway off ramp in reno Nevada and coming to a stop at a red light my car started to shake and sputter as if it was going to turn off and the check engine light was on. After the light turned green I proceeded through the green light and parked the truck in a safe spot off the street. I turned off the engine and lifted the hood and there was a small odder of gas fumes. Seeing that I needed to get to a safe area I slowly drove the truck to a hotel. The next day on Monday at a slow speed no more than 25 miles per hr. I drove the truck to the Ford dealership where I spoke with a Ford service advisor. The Ford service advisor told me that there was a (fuel injector notice) for this year make and model Ford truck. He also said that there could be a possibility that other engine problems could incur as a result of the bad fuel injector. He said that there could be a possibility that my motor could (hydrolock) and cause other problems in the engine and that there was also a possibility that my catalytic converter could be damaged. After receiving this info I left the dealership they shuttled me back to my hotel. Later that day they diagnosed the problem. This is the explanation of what the dealership said was wrong with my truck: (1)bad fuel injector. (2)bent rod. (3)bent valve spring (4)scored valve head (5)possible bad catalytic converter estimated damage $4,300 and if catalytic converter was damaged $5,100.

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #20

Dec 182008

F-150

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact noticed that the temperature warning indicator was illuminated on the instrument panel, which meant that the vehicle was overheating. He also noticed smoke and water emanating from the vehicle. If the vehicle would have stalled while driving, he could have been seriously injured in a crash. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer and they replaced the water pump at the cost of $300. Immediately after the repair, he noticed that the vehicle idled roughly. He took the vehicle back to the dealer and they stated that the engine needed to be replaced at the cost of $5,000. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 82,000.

- Port Charlotte, FL, USA

Read the next 19 complaints »