1997 Ford E-Series

ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2005, ODI RECEIVED A PETITION REQUESTING THAT THE AGENCY INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF ENGINE SPARK PLUG EJECTION IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1997 THROUGH 2004 FORD VEHICLES WITH TRITON V-8 AND V-10 ENGINES.ODI RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 474 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WHERE THE COMPLAINANT, OR THE DEALER REPAIRING THE VEHICLE, REPORTED THAT A SPARK PLUG DETACHED FROM THE CYLINDER AND/OR EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE.AS OF DECEMBER 8, 2005, ODI IS NOT AWARE OF ANY ALLEGATIONS WHERE THE ALLEGED DEFECT RESULTED IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, A CRASH, AN INJURY, OR A FATALITY IN ANY OF THE 10,319,810 SUBJECT VEHICLES.IN ADDITION, ODI IS AWARE OF ONLY TWO INCIDENTS WHERE THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT RESTART.INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ODI CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND OBTAINED FROM 72 TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WITH COMPLAINANTS SHOWED THE FOLLOWING:(1) 99% OF THE COMPLAINTS WERE ON MY 1997 TO 2002 SUBJECT VEHICLES.(2) MOST THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED HEARING A LOUD POP WHILE DRIVING OR UPON STARTING UP THE VEHICLE FOLLOWED BY A LOUD, REPETITIVE CLICKING OR POPPING SOUND.(3) MANY OF THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THE POPPING SOUND WAS ACCOMPANIED BY SOME LOSS OF VEHICLE POWER; HOWEVER, IN 99% OF THE INCIDENTS REPORTED, THE VEHICLE DID NOT STALL.IN THE VERY FEW INCIDENTS WHERE THE VEHICLE DID STALL, MOST VEHICLES COULD BE RESTARTED.(4) ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE COMPLAINANTS CITED THAT THEY SMELLED GAS OR A SLIGHT BURNING SMELL WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.(5) IN ALL BUT A VERY FEW INCIDENTS, VEHICLE DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO THE ENGINE.IN ONE INCIDENT, THE COMPLAINT REPORTED THAT THE FUEL RAIL WAS DAMAGED AND REPLACED AFTER ONE OF THE SPARK PLUGS EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE; HOWEVER, THE COMPLAINANT REPORTED THAT THE DAMAGE DID NOT RESULT IN ANY TYPE OF FUEL LEAK OR FIRE.IN ANOTHER INCIDENT, THE ONLY INCIDENT WHERE A FIRE WAS ALLEGED, THE COMPLAINANT REPORTED THAT NO FLUID LEAK WAS OBSERVED, BUT THAT A FIRE RESULTED AFTER THE SPARK PLUG HAD EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE AND HE HAD RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DRIVEN TO ANOTHER LOCATION.NONE OF THE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED ANY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE HOOD.(6) ONLY TWO COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THEY OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE SOME DROPS OF FUEL COMING FROM THE CYLINDER WHERE THE SPARK PLUG HAD FAILED OR ON THE SPARK PLUG ITSELF; HOWEVER, EACH OF THESE COMPLAINANTS REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO SMOKE OR FLAMES AS A RESULT OF HIS INCIDENT.AS THE PETITIONER NOTED, AND ODI?S ANALYSIS SHOWED, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A SPARK PLUG TO DETACH FROM THE ENGINE CYLINDER THREADS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.HOWEVER, ODI?S ANALYSIS OF 474 COMPLAINTS DESCRIBING SUCH INCIDENTS FOUND ONLY A VERY FEW ALLEGED ANY SAFETY-RELATED CONSEQUENCES.NONE OF THESE SHOWED ANY EVIDENCE OF A SERIOUS SAFETY CONSEQUENCE.GIVEN THE LARGE POPULATION AND RELATIVELY LONG EXPOSURE TIME OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, THE COMPLAINT ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT THE RISK TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY FROM THE ALLEGED DEFECT IS VERY LOW.IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT NHTSA WOULD ISSUE AN ORDER FOR THE NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INVESTIGATION REQUESTED IN THE PETITION.THEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE NEED TO ALLOCATE AND PRIORITIZE NHTSA?S LIMITED RESOURCES TO BEST ACCOMPLISH THE AGENCY?S SAFETY MISSION, THE PETITION IS DENIED.

This vehicle was made by Ford as a partially complete vehicle and converted to 4 wheel drive by Quigley Motor Company Inc. The Quigley torque arms installed appear to commonly fail from some of the earlier years and a design change has been made (from C-channel arms to tubular). The design and construction of the C-channel torque arm (connecting the front axle to the frame of the vehicle) is prone to failure from low cycle fatigue near the welds. Upon failure, the structural integrity of the vehicle is compromised which results could range from handling issues to loss of control of the vehicle (if more than one torque arm fails or failure of one leads to cascading failures in other components, the front axle could become disconnected from the vehicle while in motion leading to an accident.

NHTSA ID

11434787

Incident

Sep 6, 2021

DT: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE PUTTING FUEL IN THE VEHICLE IT WAS LEAKING. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED HE THOUGHT THE PUMP DID NOT CUT ITSELF OFF. THE NEXT TIME HE PUMPED FUEL IT CONTINUED TO LEAK. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP, AND THEY FOUND THE HOSE THAT CONNECTED TO THE TANK WAS DRY ROTTED. AT THAT TIME, HE HAD THE HOSE REPLACED.*AK UODATED 12/27/05. *JB

NHTSA ID

10141140

Incident

Sep 28, 2005

Mileage

28,650 mi

DT: FORD EXPEDITION. NOTHING WAS APPARENT BEFORE THE FAILURE. TWO MINUTES AFTER ARRIVING HOME THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. CONTACTED FORD, THE POLICE, AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PUT THE FIRE OUT, AND SAID IT WAS IN THE ENGINE AREA WITH ELECTRICAL ARCING. FORD SAID THEY WERE GOING TO SEND AN INSPECTOR ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, BUT NOW SAID THE CASE WAS CLOSED AND WILL NOT BE SEND AN INSPECTOR. *AK

NHTSA ID

10126208

Incident

Jun 7, 2005

Mileage

100,000 mi

I WAS AWARE OF A PROBLEM WITH THE FORD BRAKE PRESSURE SWITCH STARTING FIRES IN EXPLORES AND RANGERS I BELIEVE. OUR COMPANY OWNS 17 ECONOLINE CHASSIS VEHICLES AT THIS DIVISION. I WAS JUST CONCERNED WHEN I FOUND A BLOWN FUSE IN THE 4-WAY FLASHER CIRCUIT OF OUR 97 E-SUPER DUTY VAN. WHICH THIS CIRCUIT ALSO CONTAINS THE BRAKE PRESSURE SWITCH. WHEN REINSTALLING THE FUSE THE BRAKE PRESSURE SWITCH STARTED TO SMOKE AND GET HOT ENOUGH TO GET THE BRAKE FLUID TO ITS FLASH POINT. THE BRAKE FLUID PROCEEDED TO SMOKE AND PUSH ITS WAY PAST THE SWITCH. NO DAMAGE WAS DONE OTHER THAN A NEW SWITCH. IWAS JUST CONCERNED THAT THE FUSE DID NOT BLOW AND IF I WAS NOT THE THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE.

NHTSA ID

10124874

Incident

Jun 8, 2005

WE PURCHASED A 1997 FORD E150 RAISED ROOF CONVERSION VAN FROM JIM O'NEAL FORD IN SELLERSBURG, INDIANA JUST ACROSS THE BORDER FROM LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. THE CONVERSION WAS BY SUPERIOR IN LOUISVILLE. WE PURCHASED THAT PARTICULAR VAN BECAUSE IT WAS HIGHLY RATED BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY AS A CONVERSION COMPANY. WE DROVE THE VAN FOR SIX YEARS AND JUST RECENTLY TRADED IT IN. IT HAS 97,000 MILES ON IT. THE MAJOR PROBLEM WE HAD WITH THE VAN WAS WITH THE FRONT END. BOTH FORD AND OUR LOCAL TIRE DEALER HAVE TOLD US THAT BECAUSE THE VAN IS RAISED ROOF AND HEAVIER THAN NORMAL, WE SHOULD EXPECT EXCESSIVE TIRE AND BRAKE WEAR. HOWEVER, WE OFTEN WOULD HAVE TO PUT BRAKES ON THE VAN MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR AND REPLACE ALL FOUR TIRES YEARLY. THE FRONT TIRES WOULD GET ABNORMAL WEAR (CUPPING) WHICH WOULD DESTROY ALL FOUR TIRES EVENTUALLY WITH NORMAL ROTATION. AT 60,000 MILES, A FORD REPAIR SHOP IN JOPLIN, MO TOLD US THE BALL JOINTS WERE BAD AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THEY FELT THAT WAS THE PROBLEM ALL ALONG. ONLY 30,000 MILES LATER, WE WERE ONCE AGAIN TOLD THE BALL JOINTS WERE DESTROYED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. ANY TIME WE ASK IF THIS WAS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR, WE WERE TOLD (WITH A SHOULDER SHRUG) THAT IT WAS DUE TO THE RAISED ROOF. I THINK FORD SHOULD WARN POTENTIAL BUYERS OF THEIR CONVERSION VANS THAT THEY WILL EXPERIENCE ABNORMAL BRAKE, TIRE AND FRONT END WEAR AND SHOULD EXPECT TO HAVE $6-800 DOLLARS IN REPAIRS YEARLY. IF THEY CANNOT MANUFACTURE A FRONT END CAPABLE OF HANDLING A HEAVIER LOAD FROM THE RAISED ROOF, THEY SHOULD NOT BE SELLING RAISED ROOF VANS.

NHTSA ID

10070333

Incident

Jun 15, 2003

AT 70 M.P.H. ON FLAT , DRY ROAD THE TREAD SEPERATED FROM THE INFLATED FIRESTONE TIRE AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO MOTORHOME.

NHTSA ID

10050984

Incident

Aug 17, 2003

WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH AND WITHOUT WARNING REAR DRIVER'S OUTER TIRE BLEW OUT, WHICH RESULTED IN TREAD SEPARATION, FIRESTONE, MODEL LT225/75R16E DOT: UNKNOWN. FORD AND FIRESTONE WERE NOTIFIED. *AK

NHTSA ID

10051819

Incident

Dec 19, 2003

A TIRE BLEW OUT AND DAMAGED THE MOTOR HOME. FIRESTONE LT 225/75/16. PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILS.

NHTSA ID

10021919

FORD: THE BLOWER MOTOR ON SOME VEHICLES ARE OPERATING EITHER INCORRECTLY OR NOT OPERATING OR JUST FUNCTIONING ON ONE SPEED. *PE

SOME 1997-2008 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 4.6L 2V, 5.4L 2V, OR 6.8L 2V ENGINE--SPARK PLUG THREAD REPAIR PROCEDURE--NOT COVERED UNDER NEW VEHICLE LIMITED WARRANTY. *NJ THIS INCLUDES F-53 MOTORHOME CHASSIS. UPDATED 2/23/10. *PE

WDS COP KIT DIAGNOSTIC TIP - COIL ON PLUG (COP) IGNITION SYSTEMS - ENGINE MISFIRE OR ROUGH RUNNING. *TT

GUIDANCE FOR CNG TANK INSPECTION FOR VEHICLES PRODUCED AFTER DECEMBER 2, 1996. *TT UPDATE. *TT

INTERMITTENT ROUGH IDLE - NON-COMMANDED EGR (EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE) FLOW. *TT

DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE B1876, B1880, B1915 AND/OR B1920 IN THE ECS MODULE - VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AFTERMARKET HIGH CURRENT DEVICES. *TT