Problems with 2001 Ford Expedition ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

My wife was driving our 2001 expedition home from work which is about 35 miles away when the #2 spark plug "blew" out of the cylinder head of the engine causing it to misfire badly. she had to pull off the side of the road in someones yard. luckily the person there let her use a phone to call me. i called into work, went and picked her up and we went to the nearest ford dealership in springfield, tn. we had to suv towed to the dealership, they inspected it and found the spark plug had "blown" out of the cylinder head. ford would not cover any part of the cost because my vehicle had 49k miles on it and i had changed the spark plugs about 15k miles ago because the #1 cylinder factory spark plug "fowled up". anyway it cost me five days without a vehicle and $2953 to replace the head. i am an engineer and feel that this is a design issue with the vehicle. there have been to many other cases just like mine for it to be an "isolated" incident. this may seem like just a property damage issue but if stranded in the middle of nowhere or even on a busy street or interstate it has the potential to be life threating. thank you for your time. sw. *jb

The vehicle was parked inside of the garage without warning the vehicle caught fire. the fire department was called out to extinguished the fire. two people sustained injuries and went to the emergency room on its own. the vehicle was towed and totaled out by the insurance company. please provide additional information.

While driving my 2001 ford expedition at 50 mph i heard a pop and this was followed by erratic handling and poor idle. an inspection later revealed a spark plug which ejected out of the cylinder head and stripped the threads with it. the cost to repair the head was $600.00. initially i was told i would need a $2700 head replacement. the dealer advised me that there still can be no guarantee that the repaired plug won't come out or any of the other plugs. research of this problem shows many expedition and f-150 owners with the same problem.*ak

On 12-21-04 while driving our '01 ford expedition home from work, there was a loud pop, followed by rattling and the engine cut off. my husband found that a spark plug had exploded out of the cylinder head. we took the truck to a ford dealer and he stated that the spark plug exploded out pf the head stripping the groves in the cylinder head. the dealer suggested that we replace the cyclinder head at a cost of $2700. this truck is properly maintained and only has approximately 68,000 miles on it.

a spark plug blew out of socket #3 causing the vehicle to run on 7 cylinders. provide further details. *jb

5.4 engine spark plug blow out. *jb

Several times, usually at stop lights, while idling with foot on the brake, the engine surges up to approx 1000 rpm for approx 3-5 sec. if foot was not on the brake, the truck could have accelerated into the car in front of me, or into the intersection. every time i'm at the ford dealership i have them investigate, but nothing is found on the computer code search, and the symptom is very irregular and rare, so it has not reproduced while at the dealer. i've seen this reported before on mycarstats.com. *nm

While driving at any speed the consumer heard a loud noise coming from the vehicle. the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. the driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and drove it to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. please provide further details. *jb

Without any indication while traveling 23 mph an explosion occurred. then, a loud noise came from the front. a technician servicing the vehicle noticed that the 4th spark plug had exploded.*ak leaving threaded parts inside the engine head, unable to be removed normally, the engine head had to be removed for $1262.02. *cb *jb

Begining in the fall of 2003 my 2001 ford expedition with the 4.6l engine begain to make a ticking sound at start up (when engine is cold). i've had the vehicle in the dealer several times and they have heard the sound, but they have offered no reasonable explanation of the cause or nature of the problem and the potential damage it may cause. there are several service bulletins, including 03256, that noted this problem.*ak

While driving up a mountain vehicle stalled. when this occurred the vehicle lost power steering. consumer was able to maintain control of vehicle and restarted it. dealership serviced vehicle several times for this issue, but was unable to remedy the failure because they could not duplicate it. *ak

While traveling on the highway vehicle will shut down without prior warning, and then a few seconds later will restart. dealership is aware of the problem.*ak

Vehicle had been parked for 3 days when it caught on fire. fire department determined fire started in engine compartment. vehicle was totalled.*ak *scc

Frequently, when i am idle for a few minutes and proceed to pull off or merge into traffic, the vehicle shuts down completely as i try to accelerate. sometimes i can restart the vehicle immediately and other times i have to wait five minutes. i've reported this problem to the regency ford dealership (where the vehicle was purchased) 4 times. they are unable to duplicate or fix the problem. i have also make a complaint to ford motor company about this life endangering hazard, but no similar defects were reported from other 2001 ford exp. i have been told to wait until the problem gets worse to duplicate and correct it. *ph *nlm **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**768009

Since approximately march of 2002 i have experienced four seperate incidents where my truck suddenly accelerated. each time i was moving slowly using the engine idle speed to propel the truck forward when the truck suddenly accelerated. twice i was pulling into my garage, once pulling into a instant oil change station once pulling into a car wash. each time i was able to stop the truck before striking anything using the brakes. pulling into the oil change station i was very startled as the mechanic was guiding me into the stall and if i had not reacted as quickly as i did i'm certain would have been injured. i contacted the dealer by telephone and they stated that no one had reported any similar incidents. i also had the truck examined by another ford dealer and they could not locate any "codes" nor could they duplicate the problem. i have owned more than 25 vehicles during my lifetime and this is a first for me. this is also my second ford expedition, nothing like this has ever happened with that truck either. i hope to resolve this problem before someone gets injured by my vehicle or another expedition. thank you for your interest, michael t. adamczak. dt

Some kind of silvery white substance i powder, and sometimes pieces were coming out of air conditioner vent. substance was making family ill when riding in vehicle. contacted dealer ,and dealer inspected and replaced heater core and vacuum pad, but problem has come back. please add vin#*ak

The vehicle erupted in flames upon impact with another vehicle and burned on the shoulder. the fire appears to have started in the engine compartment and then engulfed the passenger area. there is no evidence to suggest that the other two vehicles that were involved caused the consumer vehicle to catch fire.

Whenever vehicle has been started and running for a minute it would suddenly cut off for no reason. at the time the vehicle would have 1/4 tank of fuel. vehicle not able to be restarted. also, all electrical systems shut down. have taken to dealer twice & mechanic could not locate cause of problem.*ak

While traveling at 25-30 mph vehicle stalled. then, vehicle shut off entirely. contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak

When the vehicle sat on an incline, the engine stalled. if the vehicle had less than half tank of fuel, it would stall. this problem occurred over five times, but the dealer was not consulted. *ak *sc *jb

While at a stop with the brakes applied, the engine revved. the consumer felt the force of the truck as if it wanted to pull off. the consumer pressed harder on the brake and placed the gear in neutral and at that timed the revving of the engine stopped. *ak *ph *jb