Complained to dealer a month before the failure of a lack of heat in the car, was told that the only problem was an air bubble. When the engine light went on I drove it a few miles to a Firestone service center which was closer than the dealer, they hooked the car up to the computer and found no problem, they reset the engine light and it did not come back on until the following day as I was trying to get it to the dealer because the car had begun to run hot. I stoppped and had the car towed to the dealership. They have now told me that although the headgaskets will be replaced under warranty I also now need to replace the timing chain, plugs, wires, distributor, water pump, and fuel lines at a cost to me of about $2,000 because Ford is not considering those repairs related to the head gasket failure. When I asked about only having the covered repairs done they stated that the car would not be drivable beacuse there is coolant and oil in the fuel line. How could there be no problems the day before and then coincidentally all of these things go wrong at once?

- Cranford, NJ, USA

While driving, consumer noticed vehicle was leaking fluid, RPM's started running high and vehicle overheated, consumer turned vehicle off and tried to restart it, but it would not, mechanic stated that the engine blew, after head gaskets were replaced 2 months later, the engine blew, a used engine was installed and 70 miles after driving, it blew.

- Pima, AZ, USA

Consumer received recall regarding the heads on the vehicle, after the recall repair the vehicle started running hot, the first time the dealer realized that several things were missed when doing the recall repair and corrected the recall repair, the vehicle still continued to run hot, the water pump and radiator were replaced, and now the head gasket is blown, the vehicle did not experience any problems until the recall work was complete.

- Washington, DC, USA

Refused to honor warranty. Catastrophic failure of component endangered lives of occupants and other vehicle on road. Manufacturer had complete knowledge that component would fail and did not inform consumer and honor the warranty. Failure of component also caused additional damage "not covered" by warranty. Knowlege of defect and correction before failure would have prevented additional damage and a potentially life-threatening situation.

- Roanoke, VA, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Bronx, NY, USA

Ford never informed us this was a known problem and had extended the warranty to 100,000. We have spoken to almost a dozen mechanics and all have said this is a huge problem with this engine. As a result of not being informed of this defect by Ford or the dealership (it was routinely maintained by the Ford dealership), it caused more sever engine damage by it blowing and we are now in need of a new engine. We had very minor warning signs that the Ford mechanic informed us of after it blew, and had we known that we should be watching for this or had it been recalled to prevent such a problem, we would not have the damage we currently have. We also would not have been stranded in 20 degree weather. I believe complete engine failure is a dangerous situation and should be addressed by Ford.

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

No summer listed for above vehicle.

- Bothell, WA, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Eatonton, GA, USA

Engine failed.

- Guthrie, OK, USA

A worn rod caused the engine to fail prematurely while driving. Nlm

- Fulton, IL, USA

Head gasket failed causing leak, after repair of the gasket the engine failed and had to be replaced. Nlm

- New Hyde Park, NY, USA

Engine failed while driving, luckily the engine was covered under recall notice but the consumer was forced to rent vehicles during repair, consumer request reimbursement for rental vehicles. Nlm

- Asbury Park, NJ, USA

Aamco said that due to the engine overheating (faulty head gasket) the transmission excessively overheated also. Additionally, the aluminum piston was damaged/inadequate

- Baltimore, MD, USA

Transmission failed previously and was replaced under ext. Warranty

- Marana, AZ, USA

In July of 1999 we experienced total engine failure while driving on a cross countyr trip. The head gaskets failed, Ford claimed no defect or responsibility even under warranty. Calls for legal action produced a replacement engine but we absorbed all the associated costs. In November 0F 1999 the second engine failed in the exact same way, again Ford said there was no problem with the Ford engines, they refused to replace the engine and replaced both head gaskets instead.

- St Leonard, MD, USA

Was driving 55mph and engine exploded. Coolant system mixed in with the oil according to mechanic after taking vehicle to dealer. Head gasket was cause of problem. Prior to engine exploding, head gasket was replaced. There was engine stalling problems. Took to dealer & it caught fire. Was notified problem was the engine (twice). It needed replacing.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Contacted Ford on engine nothing they can do.

- Quincy, IL, USA

Consumer has problem with the computer (power train control module #6) which caused the fuel injector to run full time, after the computer was replaced, the engine broke down and replaced, vehicle still having problems again with the engine.

- Germantown, MD, USA

No summary

- Edgewood, KY, USA

We were taking our son to usc for the fall start of school. Left grants pass, Oregon, on I-5 climbing the mountains when the car suddenly lost power and came out of cruise control. We saw no smoke, or temperature change, but heard severe knocking at the Oregon/California border. Stopped at gas station and called tow truck to tow car to yreka Ford dealer. Head gasket was replaced in April 1998, before recall notice issued on our purchased ryan extended warranty policy no. G938219, we were only reimbursed eventually for the deductable no additional amount even though we had paid for the coverage that paid for the repair. Even though the problem reoccured, Ford has told us, and two service managers, that they have no obligation to us since our vehicle milage is over the 100,000 mile limit. Our service manager in renton has said that Ford has agreed to provide us with a "customer appreciation certificate" in the amount of $5,000 toward the purchase of a replacement Ford product, unfortunately far short

- Renton, WA, USA