Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2002 Ford E350 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 20 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
HEAD ON VEHICLE STRIPPED BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT IS MADE. THERE WAS A RECALL ON REGULAR E350 BUT MINE IS AN RV. IT WAS IN MOTION WHEN THE SPARK PLUG POPPED OUT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY ON I-65 IN BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA.
THIS 350 ECONOLINE, 8CYL., EXTENDED BODY VAN WAS PURCHASED NEW, AND I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY 120K MILES ON IT SINCE 2002. BEGINNING SEVERAL YEARS AGO, MY MECHANIC COMPLAINED OF SEVERE FRAME EROSION, HAVING HAD TO REINFORCE AND RE-WELD SEVERAL PARTS BACK ONTO THE FRAME, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE BRACKETS WHICH SUPPORT THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS. (TWO OCURRANCES-- LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES). LAST WEEK, MY EMPLOYEE COMPLAINED OF SOME REAR END SWAYING AT MODERATE SPEED CORNERING. WE DISCOVERED A CROSS-TIE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SIDE RAILS AT THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE'S FRAME HAD ROTTED AWAY, THUS CAUSING SOME UNWANTED FRAME MOVEMENT. IF IT WEREN'T FOR A HEAVY-DUTY TOWING PACKAGE I HAD PURCHASED WITH THE VEHICLE IN 2002, I BELIEVE THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES OF THE VEHICLE'S UNDER-FRAMING WOULD HAVE TWISTED AND SEPARATED FROM THE BODY YEARS AGO ! ALSO BEGINNING A FEW YEARS AGO, WAS THE DECAY OF THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE BLOCK, AS THREE SEPARATELY TIMED SPARK PLUGS HAD LITERATELY 'BLOWN' OUT OF THE THREADED WELLS OF THE ENGINE BLOCK. MY MECHANIC HAD TO ADAPT HELI-COIL KITS INTO RE-BORED HOLES IN THE VEHICLE'S SPARK PLUG WELLS. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THESE KITS COME LOOSE, AND BLOW -OUT AGAIN. I'M ALREADY EXPERIENCING A PAINFULLY OMINOUS COMPRESSION LOSS IN ONE (OR MORE) OF THE CYLINDERS. COULD FORD HAVE PURCHASED SOME INFERIOR METALS, THUS PRODUCING A LINE OF JUNK VEHICLES?
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD E-350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO RESTART. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD E-350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF FOUR YEARS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.
STARTED MY 2001 FORD E-350. AFTER 10-15 SECONDS, LARGE POP AND ENGINE DIED. OPENED HOOD AND FOUND RIGHT REAR SPARK PLUG HAD BLOWN OUT OF ENGINE. I'M AN ENGINEER AND I'VE BEEN WORKING ON ENGINES OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS FOR 35 YEARS. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS ENGINEERING DEFECT. FORD SHOULD REPLACE THE PARTS. WE HAVE A FLEET OF FORDS. I NOW WISH IT WAS A FLEET OF CHEVY'S. *TR
2002 FORD ECONOLINE 350 EQUIPPED WITH V8 TRITAN ENGINE. SPARK PLUG BLEW OUT. HAVE TAPPED WITH HELI-COIL REPAIR KIT, BUT HIS REPAIR HAS FAILED. NOW FACED WITH CYLINDER HAD BEEN REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT. *TR
SPARK PLUG EJECTED 2002 FORD VAN. *TR
DRIVING DOWN A STREET AT APPROX. 40MPH I HEARD A BANG AND THEN A BUNCH OF AIR ESCAPING. SOUNDED LIKE AN EXHAUST LEAK. SPARK PLUG WAS BLOWN OUT OF NUMBER 2 CYLINDER. HAD REPAIRED AT LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, PUT IN A NEW HELI COIL. SINCE 7-6-09 HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME NUMBER 8 CYLINDER. THESE FORD ENGINES DON'T HAVE ENOUGH THREAD ON THE ENGINE HEADS TO HOLD THE SPARK PLUGS IN. IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO KEEP HAPPENING UNTIL ALL OF THE THREADS ARE REPLACED. *TR
MY 2002 FORD E-350 HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE A SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT. THIS HAPENED WITHOUT NOTICE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I NEED A TUNE-UP. I HAVE RESEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT FORD TRUCK ENGINES EJECTING SPARK PLUGS. I'M CONCERNED THAT IF ALL THE PLUGS ARE REPLACED, THAT THE PROBLEM MAY NOT FULLER BE SOLVED WITHOUT SOME VERY EXPENSIVE WORK. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD E350. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE AN EXPLOSION. THE VEHICLE PROCEEDED TO A STOP SIGN AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY STATED THAT THE SPARK PLUG BLEW OUT IN THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON A SEPARATE OCCASION FOR AN IDENTICAL FAILURE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE SPARK PLUGS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 72,000.
FORD 2002 E-350 5.4L TRITON. TWO SPARK PLUGS HAVE BLOWN OUT SO FAR. ORIGINAL PLUGS APPX 95,000 MILES. FORD SAYS THE PLUGS SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED UNTIL 100,000 MILES. *TR
AFTER TRAVELING 10 MILES DURING MY MORNING COMMUTE, WHILE AT 40 MPH, A SPARK PLUG EJECTED FROM MY FORD TRITON V8 ENGINE CAUSING RAW FUEL FUMES TO ENTER THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND PASSENGER CABIN. THIS HAS RESULTED IN AN ESTIMATED $1900 REPAIR BILL FROM MY LOCAL FORD DEALER TO REMOVE AND REPAIR THE PLUG THREADS FOR THE EJECTED PLUG. *TR
2002 FORD E350 5.4L SPARK PLUG #7 BLOW OUT. THE AVERAGE CONSUMER WOULD THINK THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE EXHAUST SYSTEM BEFORE EVER KNOWING OR EXPECTING THAT COMPRESSED FUEL WAS BEING PUMPED INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT FROM THE EXPOSED SPARK PLUG ORIFICE. AT THE SAME TIME, THE SPARKED PLUG COIL WIRE IS STILL ACTIVE, COMBINING A NON-CONTAINED FUEL / SPARK CONDITION, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN FIRE OR EXPLOSION. *TR
2002 FORD E350 AT 39,000 MILES ONE SPARK PLUG BLEW.. OUT OF HEAD. FORD DEALERSHIP SAID THEY WOULD ONLY REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEAD AT A COST OVER $5,000.00 DOLLARS. HAD REPAIRED WITH HELCOIL AT LOCAL REPAIR SHOP. AGAIN AT 79,000 MILES TWO SPARK PLUGS BLEW OUT OF HEAD. NOT YET REPAIRED. *TR
THE TRUCK SHUTS OFF. IT SOMETIMES IS INTERMITTENT (RUNS FINE AT CRUISE, BUT WONT IDLE) OR IT COULD BE ABSOLUTE. (TRUCK JUST UP AND DIED! NO REASON!) THERE IS NO TIMELINE, NO PRECURSOR, NO WARNING. I CAN DRIVE FOR 200 MILES, THEN IT HAPPENS, OR 1 TO 7 MILES. THE FAILURE IS A STALL. ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, IF A STALL COMES AND DOESN'T SHUT DOWN THE TRUCK, (USUALLY BECAUSE THE RPM'S ARE BEING REVVED UP.) AND IS RESTARTED, THE ENGINE LIGHT WILL NO LONGER BE ON. THE ENGINE WILL RESTART, OR NOT RESTART, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL RESTART. THEN FAILURE AGAIN. IT STARTED MARCH 1 AND CONTINUES. ALL ELSE APPEARS TO BE FUNCTIONING FINE. I BELIEVE IT IS THE CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. I HAVE NOT YET VERIFIED THIS WITH A MECHANIC, BUT IF THIS IS THE PROBLEM A FORD PART WILL BE BOUGHT AND IT WILL BE REPLACED. *JB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD E-350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE DEALER REPLACED THE SPARK PLUGS THE ENGINE SHOT THE SPARK PLUGS OUT OF THE ENGINE BLOCK 15,000 MILES LATER. EVERYTIME THE CONTACT HAS THE PLUGS REPLACED THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO SHOOT OUT THE SPARK PLUGS. THE CONTACT BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE ENGINE HEADS NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE 131,000.*AK
THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION WAS PURCHASED USED WITH 82,000 SHOWING ON THE ODOMETER. I OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR 2 1/2 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS ENGINE ISSUE. LEFT FOR WORK ON THE MORNING OF DEC. 20 2006. I AM AN IN HOME SERVICE PLUMBER. APPROACH. 1:30 PM ON THE AFOREMENTIONED DAY, I STARTED MY VEHICLE TO LEAVE ONE JOB AND PROCEED TO ANOTHER, AND UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE, HEARD A VERY LOUD POP, FOLLOWED BY A CONTINUOUS EXHAUST LEAK TYPE SOUND. UPON FURTHER VISUAL INVESTIGATION, I DISCOVERED THAT A SPARK PLUG WAS LAYING ON TOP OF THE MANIFOLD AND THE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER COIL PAK WAS DISTORTED AND PULLED AWAY FROM IT'S ATTACHED POSITION OVER THAT CYLINDER. THE FAILURE WAS THE PLUG EJECTING OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD ( PER DEALER ) AND THE CONSEQUENCES ARE MISSED DAYS OF EMPLOYMENT UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS REPAIRED. THE REPAIR WILL COST ME AROUND 4800,00, NEW CYLINDER HEAD PLUS LABOR TO INSTALL. VEHICLE IS AN E- 350 CARGO 2002. 5.4 TRITON. I WAS UNEMPLOYED 7 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS VEHICLE PURCHASE. THE NEW JOB I HAVE REQUIRES ME TO PURCHASE A SERVICE VEHICLE. *NM
FORD E-350 WITH 5.4 TRITON V-8 IN HVAC SERVICE TRUCK. BLEW SPARK PLUG OUT OF # 7 CYLINDER @ 92,000 MILES ON 5/15/06. LOST DAY OF WORK TO MAKE REPAIRS ON TRUCK , REPAIR PARTS $130.00 ON 6/22/06 BLEW SPARK PLUG OUT OF #2 CYLINDER. PUT TRUCK DOWN FOR 2 DAYS WHILE REPAIRS WERE MADE. I HAD ALL PLUGS REMOVED 4 OF THE REMAINING INCLUDING #2 WERE BAD. THAT'S 5 OF 8 THAT THE THREADS WERE COMPROMISED . ALL OF THESE WERE FACTORY INSTALLED ORIGINAL PLUGS. I HAD THE REPAIR SHOP INSTALL REPAIR SLEEVES IN ALL THE PLUG HOLES. THE TERRIBLE PART OF ALL OF THIS IS THAT I MAY HAVE BEEN LUCKY. I DIDN'T HAVE TO REMOVE THE HEADS , IF THE HEAD IS DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR THE ONLY RECOURSE IS TO REPLACE IT,NOT USUALLY A REAL MAJOR JOB. BUT THANKS TO FORDS ENGINEERS THE ONLY WAY TO REPLACE THE HEADS IS TO REMOVE THE COMPLETE CAB. IN A PICKUP IT'S TOUGH IN A VAN WHO ARE THEY KIDDING. *JB
FORD E350 5.4L TRINTON ENGINE BLEW OUT SPARK PLUG. IT HAPPENED WHEN I RESUMED DRIVING AFTER STOPPING AT A RED LIGHT. RESEARCHED THIS OUT AND FOUND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET. *JB
ENGINE FAILURE ON 2002 E350 FORD VAN. VAN WAS BEING OPERATED NORMALLY ON A RAINY DAY IN CALIFORNIA. VAN STOPPED RUNNING. DRIVER RESTARTED VAN AND RETURNED TO YARD. VAN ENGINE WAS MAKING KNOCKING NOISE. VAN WAS SENT TO DEALER. DEALER DETERMINED THAT VEHICLE HAD LARGE VOLUME OF WATER IN INTAKE SYSTEM AND SAID IT WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. CONSUMER APPEALED TO FORD MOTOR CO. FORD SENT FIELD ENGINEER WHO AGREED WITH FINDINGS; ADDING THAT THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO INGEST A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER, BUT NOT THAT VOLUME OF WATER, THEREFORE IT WAS CONSUMERS FAULT. CONSUMER SAYS THAT IF THAT VOLUME OF WATER CAN ENTER THE VEHICLES INTAKE SYSTEM UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS THEN THERE MUST BE A DESIGN FLAW OR DEFECTIVE PART. NOWHERE IN OWNERS MANUAL DOES IT SAY NOT TO OPERATE VEHICLE ON RAINY DAYS, AND THE DEALER SAYS THERE IS NO SIGN THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SUBMERGED OR DRIVEN THROUGH DEEP WATER. CONSUMER CHECKED OTHER E350'S (EARLIER MODEL YEARS) IN FLEET AND FOUND EVIDENCE OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF WATER IN THE INTAKE SYSTEM LEADING THE CONSUMER TO BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM MAY BE A DEFECT WITH THE 2002 MODEL YEAR OR A DESIGN FLAW. *NLM
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .