Problems with 2001 Ford Expedition ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

2001 ford expedition 4.6l triton v8 spark plug blew out. *tr

Ford expedition eddie bauer 2001 the spark plug burst out of the engine head; causing sparks inside the front area causing difficult to drive the car on the highway. there was a slight fire - luckily no injury. *tr

I was driving down the highway in alaska going about 70 when there was a loud banging sound and it felt like i lost compression. i immediately pulled off at the next exit and checked under the hood at first i thought it was a blown head gasket but upon having it towed to the nearest shop it was determined that the spark plug ejected and caused the cylinder head to melt and also had major junks of metal in the engine itself. *tr

While traveling on the freeway at about 70mph when i heard a loud "popping" noise from under the hood. discovered one the spark plugs had been "ejected" from the cylinder head. the coil that sits above the spark plug had been broken as well. i was able to replace the spark plug and tighten it down enough to seal the cylinder and get the vehicle to a shop. the shop replaced all 8 spark plugs and the broken coil. the vehicle is a 2001 ford expedition xlt with a 4.8 liter triton v8 engine. *tr

I have a 2001 ford expedition that blew out the #3 spark plug six months ago. the repair cost at the ford dealership cost $450.00 with no warranty. this morning i was driving to work and hears the loud pop and knew that a spark plug had again been ejected. i was seven miles from home so i thought i would drive it home. i drove about 20 mph on the side of the road and the gas fumes were so strong that i had to open my window. all it would have taken it a small spark in the engine compartment for my truck to have been on fire. please investigate this before someone is seriously injured. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. while driving 55 mph, the contact heard a loud pop and the vehicle began running very roughly. she pulled to the side of the road and smelled gasoline fumes coming from the vehicle. an independent mechanic confirmed that the number 3 spark plug had ejected from the vehicle, and only 7 of the 8 spark plugs remained. he also warned that there was a potential risk of a fire if she proceeded to drive the vehicle in that condition. the vin was unknown. the failure and current mileages were less than 100,000.

2001 ford expedition. drove for five minutes and parked, then walked into house and turned to look back at car and saw smoke coming out of the hood. i ran over there and found the whole engine compartment on fire. i sprayed with hose and unhooked battery. the part that looks like it started the fire was just below the brake fluid reservoir. *tr

Sparkplug stripped itself out of its seating. the mechanic has noted this three other times over the years within his business alone. *tr

The engine ejected the #3 spark plug, tearing up the threads in the process. the repair involved installation of a helicoil, although the dealer (packey-webb of downers grove il) insisted that the only available repair would be installing a new head assembly. the head assembly, including labor, would have been over 4 times the cost of the helicoil. this must have been due to either weak threads, or improperly torqued spark plugs from the factory. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. while driving 40 mph, the brake and air bag warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel and smoke appeared. the contact pulled into a local gas station, opened the hood of the vehicle, and noticed flames. she safely extinguished the flames. the contact has pictures of the failed component. she is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. the failure and current mileages were 59,100.

After sitting for 7 hours the expedition spontaneously combustion and burned up. *tr

A spark plug blew out of the passenger side head (position #3) on my suv. the truck was traveling at about 45mph at the time under normal (light) driving conditions. my mechanic is working up an estimate, but believes it will cost several thousand dollars to repair. i followed up by researching this online, and was surprised to find many other similar complaints on comparable ford vehicles. at what point is a recall triggered? i have a 2001 ford expedition with a 5.4l v8. the truck has about 80k miles on the odometer. *tr

2001 ford expedition 5.4 v8 triton engine keeps blowing out spark plugs. this happened 2 months ago for the 1st time. i replaced the spark plug. 1 month after that, the same spark plug blew again with my wife and two kids. once again i fixed it. then 2 weeks later, the same thing happened again while i was out of town, and this time it took the threads with it. now i am looking at spending $1,000.00 + to fix it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. the contact stated that five spark plugs have blown out of the engine. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was the result of the aluminum tips from the spark plugs entering the cast iron heads of the engine. the dealer also stated that the failure was common and they were the only location with the tools to perform repairs. the failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 165,000. the vin was unavailable.

2001 ford expedition: spark plug blowout. this is obviously a manufacturers defect as it has occurred on thousands of ford vehicles. there should be a mandatory recall! *tr

One of my spark plugs in my 2001 ford expedition suddenly shot out of the engine block while driving spraying fuel all over the engine compartment. the repairman at the dealer stated "this is just something that happen to aluminum block engines, and it could happen again to the one we repaired or any of the others we didn't repair." *tr

I bought my 2001 expedition 9 months ago, it broke for the first time 3 days after buying it. it has since blown out a spark plug 6 different times. i have sent it to 3 different garages including ford dealerships, every time it breaks down about a month later. *tr

The spark plug on the 8th cylinder blew up and cause a short on the electrical system. *tr

Number #4 spark plug on my 2001 expidition w/ the 5.4 engine blew out. *tr

2001 ford expedition #3 spark plug ejected from engine while driving. 95,000 miles. original plugs. *tr

Spark plug blow out on ford expedition. *jb

2001 ford expedition had its 2nd spark plug blow out this week. there should be a recall. *tr

Spark plug ejection from engine. started the vehicle and the #3 spark plug blew out of head which broke the ignition coil pack above it. mechanic (not dealer) installed an aftermarket kit made for the ford motor. 2001 expedition 5.4l triton 113,000 miles. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. the contact heard a loud bang when he started the vehicle. he drove to the repair shop and the mechanic stated that the spark plugs blew out of the engine block and destroyed the coil. the current and failure mileages were 95,000.

The spark plug exploded from the cylinder head due to a mechanical defect in my cylinder head, and my expedition is the only vehicle i own which legally fits all of my children in their booster seats. the ford motor company won't fix the problem unless i pay them $750, which i don't have, and don't believe i should have to pay to fix their defect. *tr

My complaint is because, i owned a ford expedition 2001 that caught on fire on august 9, 2007. it was out of my house in the night when we started to see smoke in the street, and when we went out of the house, the engine was on fire, and started to advance backwards the fire, until the firemen came and seized the fire. i would like to see if there can be an option to make a lawsuit about this event because of the risk that my family and i lived. *tr

While driving back from new hampshire to virginia, my 2001 expedition popped a plug from its engine. i had to have it towed 200 miles because the smell of fuel it was late friday and there was nothing i could do until monday. i called the customer service line in dearborn, mi. i was told by the female operator (charlotte) to bring my vehicle to bowditch ford and to have them run a diagnostics test. my vehicle went off to the shop via flatbed as to not cause any further damage. i later received a call from the service manager telling me that it would cost $92.50, i ok'ed it because over the weekend i did some research on the triton engine and found that this was a common problem. in the meantime i was still in contact with ford and had even talked to an operator named ralph. i explained to him that i did some research and found that this had happened to nearly 800,000 vehicles and some resulting in death. dearborn, mi said they would keep in touch with the dealership and would contact me thursday. thursday morning came and i was contacted by dearborn again. they told me that there was nothing they could do that i would have to pay for the damages myself. i was also told by dearborn to ask the dealership, "who receives certain allocated funds each year for repairs just like this". the dealership refused assistance. after all was done i was charged for an ecsd diagnose (92.50); 2 spark plugs (6.81); 1 coil assembly ignition (103.69); fuel ingestion cleaner (6.47) another vehicle key ? (30.00); misc drivability charge (92.50); pcm reprogramming the computer? (92.50); clean the throttle body (78.75); clean the injectors? (65.00). they also fixed a speed control deactivation device of which was under recall. as a disabled veteran that was half my check for the month. the dealership had my vehicle for 3 days. 1st day, checked engine and found the number 1 and 4 plugs were screwed up and that the injectors were backwards. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford expedition. the current and failure mileage were 71000. while driving 2 mph the spark plugs spits and it affected the cylinder head, which affected the engine, causing the vehicle not to run. the contact spoke with her insurance company ,and they stated that there was a class action against ford for this problem.*ak the consumer states that to repair the vehicle, it would be $4,000 and the two extended warranties will not cover the cost. update 05/22/07*tr

My 2001 ford expedition blow a spark plug out of the engine head. research indicates this is a very common problem with ford aluminum head engines. ford will not provide the consumer with a program to help with the cost to repair this obvious design defect. they have a redesigned head that will replace the defective head for $3,500. ford takes no responsibility for the financial hardship this engineering defect has caused thousands of ford owners. *jb

Blown spark plug in 2001 ford expedition 2006, had it repaired for $2,000. today 2/14/07 it has happened again, i will have it towed to the same place for repairs probably costing another $2,000 - $3,000. *jb

Tl* - the contact stated that his 2001 ford expedition caught on fire in the engine compartment. the contact had driven the vehicle approximately 8 hours earlier and there had been no warning signs. a witness told the contact that his vehicle was on fire in the driveway. the contact stated there had not been any recent repair work done to the vehicle. the vehicle had approximately 110,000 miles. the engine and dash area burned. the vehicle was destroyed. there were no injuries. the contact has a police and fire report. *jb updated 2/27/2007 - *nm

I have a 2001 ford expedition 5.4. i was driving home with my two children when i heard a loud bang/pop and my truck came to a halt. i had it towed to a local repair shop to find out the noise i heard was my spark plug that had blown out and hit the aluminum heads causing damage. the heads were sent out to a machine shop and when it was all said and done, i paid over $3,000 to fix it. a few days after picking it up, i had to take it back in because a cool pack went bad, this was like my third one so far. this all happened in october 2006 and not even 6 months later in march or april, my truck was back to barely running/moving. i had it towed again and once again its the engine. it has been a viscous cycle and one thing after another. it will cost me at least $5,000. to replace the motor with just a remanufactured one. in the last year the truck has sat in my yard more than half the time due to engine trouble. i am unable to get to and from work which is causing my family major financial stress. i cannot afford to fix this again. i still owe over $15,000. on the truck and am paying $420. per month for something not even running. i am stuck between a rock and a hard place. i don't understand why ford will not stand behind their product. any help/advice will be greatly appreciated. *tr

I had a misfire on #7 spark plug on my 2001 ford expedition. it was repaired on friday at a shop. saturday afternoon @ 12:30 # 2 spark plug was blown out of the engine completely now it has a blown motor. i have owned this suv for 4 months. i have the old spark plug and coil pack from #7 and i only have the coil pack for #2 the rest of it is missing. from all i have read on line im not alone. *nm

I bought a 2001 used ford expedition in december 2006. by august 2007 while in hay way 11 from el centro to calexico i made a stop in a stoplight in heber avenue. as i accelerated i notice the car running roughly. i stopped and open the hood and i notice that spark plug # 3 blew out of its place. i bought a new spark plug and it would not fit since the old spark plug damaged the head. pieces of metal went in the cylinder and warped it as well as the piston. no i have to put a new engine in since i do not have extended warranty and the cost is about $2600 dlls. i researched this issue in the net and with local mechanics and i notice that there are lots of people that have the same problem with this expedition or f150. *tr

While driving at low speed, the number three spark plug shot out rendering my 2001 ford expedition unusable. fortunately, i was able to pull off to the side of the heavily traveled road. upon further research, this appears to be a very common problem. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle lost speed and began to buck. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic shop, where it was determined that there was an electrical shortage. the number 8, 7, 5, and 4 engine coils have been replaced on the vehicle. the consumer stated the number 7 & 5 coil has been replaced twice. updated 07/25/06. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle accelerates on its own. this occurs approximately two times a week. the dealer determined it is a faulty mass airflow censor. the contact expressed it has not been repaired due to a warranty dispute. the defect only began a few months ago.

While driving my 2001 ford expedition with a 5.4 liter engine, the spark plug blew out of the head and damaged it. the vehicle has been well kept and from some research i have found that this is a very common problem with the ford engines. i feel it needs to be investigated, if this is a recurring problem there needs to be a recall or ford should pay for repairs. repair cost apx. 3,700.00. *jb

Spark plug blow out on ford expedition. threads in head stripped causing premature failure. *nm

No events prior to failure. blow out of #3 spark plug from cylinder head. ford estimates $3,600.00 to repair. no repair done. deciding what to do. *nm

2001 ford expedition eddie bauer with a 5.4 v8. sitting at a stop sign, as soon as i pressed on the accelerator to proceed the engine blew the 3rd spark plug on the passenger side. towed to ford dealer estimates to fix are 800 for heli coil, 3500 for head replacement. *jb

Dt: the consumer owns a 2001 ford expedition. the consumer's wife was driving and the spark plug blew out. the consumer took the vehicle to the dealership and they said that it was a manufacturing defect and that the problem was not the spark plug, but the #3 cylinder head. the consumer could not afford to have this problem fixed. there was no warning. the consumer called ford and they said that the consumer was responsible for any repairs. the consumer only had vehicle for ten months and searched the website and found that this was a known problem with this particular engine. there was no accident. *ak (12/01/05) the spark plug violently ejected causing a loud noise which startled the driver, almost causing him to lose control of the vehicle. *sc

The spark plug blew out of my 2001 ford expedition. i was cranking the vehicle and heard a loud pop and then the motor started popping and shaking. i had to have it towed to the ford dealer that has handled all my repairs. they claim the aluminum in the head is faulty and there are no threads on the head but the heads on the spark plug are fine. the warranty company claims that they do not cover the threads on the head; just the head itself. well duh is that not part of the head. i am still fighting with both the dealer and the extended warranty company. i have paid the extra cost for the maintenance and repairs on my vehicle over the years because i wanted the dealer to handle everything just in case something like this did happen and the warranty company could not get out of paying because i didn't have the dealer do the repairs. i expected better than this from ford. i had every preventive maintenance performed on this vehicle that ford motor company recommends and it was done by a ford dealer; plus i have the extended warranty. either ford, the dealer or the warranty company should pay for this; because judging from the other complaints that i have seen; they are all aware of the problem!!!!!!! *jb

On 09-15-2005 at 12:10 am i discovered a large fire in my garage. my family and i escaped without harm. the fire department responded quickly and extinguished the fire. all contents of the garage were destroyed. some damage occurred to the home. according to the fire investigator (cal state lic no. pi-75781), the expedition in the garage was probably the cause of the fire. *jb

2001 ford expedition 5.4l for about 2 weeks it sounded like there was an exhaust leak. had an appointment to have exhaust looked at on 9/6/05. coming home from work on 9/2/05, was stuck in slow traffic. when traffic broke up, i started to accelerate and heard a pop and lost power. i had to get over 3 lanes of traffic to pull over. the truck was making a loud noise and smelled gas. had to call a tow truck to pick it up. it cost me $200 to have it towed home. on 9/6 i called the dealership that had worked on it last and they pretty much told me that did not want to look at it. so i called the local ford dealer and they told me the same thing. so i had it towed to a local engine shop for repairs. they are pulling both heads and installing 8 new head certs, which cost me $2000.

I was dropping my grandmother off at church. i pulled into a parking space. when i went to start the truck, the engine started making noises and i saw and smelled smoke. i opened the hood and i saw the engine shaking went the truck was on. today, ford is recalling 2000 expeditions along with other models due to cruise control problems causing fires under the hood. the truck is a 2001 expedition which has 75,000 miles on it. ford is saying it is not their problem and they are not taking responsibility for this issue. *jb

I was driving the vehicle to the dealer when the check eng light started rapidly flashing. ,pulled over opened the hood and burst into flames , now i am out the down payment and the remaining amount that the ins did not pay . i am not able to purchase another vehicle putting me into a bind. *nm

Dt: there are recalls that should be investigated car is a 2001, but they will not recognize car as a recall because they recalled the 2000 models and not the 2001. this car was delivered in 2001, and they used 2000 parts, although it is a 2001 model. they changed the transmission design. *ak

Driving about 40 miles per hour in my 2001 ford expedition w/ triton v8 5.4l when i heard a loud pop. vehicle was very loud afterwards but still driveable. had to stay under 15 mph to turn around and drive it the one mile i had already driven to return home. greater than 15 mph produced sounds similiar to the sound of an extremely loud lawnmower. problem: blew a spark plug. don't know which one yet but from what i am reading on the internet, the repair will be sure to drain my wallet. am having it towed to the dealer tonight to find out the damage to my engine and my purse.*ak

Owner drove the vehicle for approximately 51/2 hours, and then it sat for 1 1/2 hours. when driving off the ferry at approximately 15 mph engine ejected the spark plug from the seventh cylinder . owner contacted the dealer, and had the vehicle towed. owner was waiting for the results of the defect. *ak