Problems with 2002 Ford Expedition ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

# 3 spark plug blew for the second time and destroyed the motor head. now have to replace head and have been quoted around $3000 to fix a problem ford has known about and has had many complaints about as well as consumer affairs. *tr

2002 ford expedition with 5.4l - july, 2008 spark plug/coil are blown out of #6 cylinder. october, 2008 spark plug/coil are blown out of #3 cylinder. with coil still firing near exposed cylinder being injected with fuel, chance of fire is substantial. spark plugs were replaced and coils replaced. apparently need to install heli-coil kits to prevent it from happening again. *tr

I have a 2002 ford expedition with a 5.4l engine that has just recently experienced a blown out spark plug and coil. in more than half of the 5.4l engines produced by ford between 1990 - 2005 have experienced a blown out spark plug and coil. the plug thread within the cylinder head are inadequate resulting in replacement of your heads or to temporarily fix the problem with the lock-n-stitch method which is ford approved. the reason i am raising this concern is that this situation has affected so many vehicles yet ford still continues to produced equipment set up to fail. i always see recalls on items that are definitely safety issues but are a cheap fix but when it comes to complex problems that are costly to repair and very common among the same style and size engine it should be addressed as well. at this time i am not sure of the result in damage or injury except for maybe the person working on the vehicle. *tr

I have a 2002 eddie bauer ford expedition, and it just blew out a spark plug at 66 thousand miles or so. dealer says it isn't covered under warranty. i am seeing a huge amount of these v8 triton engines blowing out spark plugs on the internet, and attempted class action lawsuits. it looks like the engine threading is messed up and the plugs blow out. all the plugs are original factory. i smelled fuel after a loud pop happened, and i was worried the engine might explode from gas vapor, but i wasn't on the freeway thank god. *tr

My 2002 ford expedition threw out a spark plug(#3) after i started it. the car showed no signs of any problems prior to the event. from the number of complaints i've seen online, this is not an isolated incident. the dealer recommended a head replacement but i could not afford the $3,700 they wanted. i had to choose the helicoil fox at $600 and was informed that there would not be any guarantee on this fix or how long it would last. *tr updated 07/17/08

Spark plug ejected from engine. original spark plugs in the vehicle. ejected at start up of engine. heads will need to be removed and heli coil inserts installed. *tr

2002 ford expedition - out of the blue, the car blew a spark plug. it was towed, did full tune up and new spark plug. was informed that there have been many problems with blown plugs and faulty aluminum heads in my year and make. it was $500.00. 2 weeks later same plug blew out. had to tow again. my choice was either new car or drop a new engine in the car. a new head would have been a band-aid. i had to put a new engine in, the engine and the labor were $6,000.00. i should have never had to do this for a 2002 that i paid over 30,000.00 for. several mecanics said they are seeing more and more of these coming in their shops from years 2000-2002 in different fords. *tr

My 2002 ford expedition exploded, last night on april 11th. *tr

A factory installed original sparkplug in my 2002 ford expedition blew out of the engine for no particular reason. *tr

#1 spark plug ejected from cylinder head damaging coil and plug wiring this is 2nd incident costing over 4000 dollars to repair head replaced. *tr

2002 ford expedition with 5.4l trition engine suffered spark plug "blow out". *tr

The #3 spark plug on my 2002 ford expedition ejected from the cylinder. i was told by a mechanic that this failure could have resulted in a fire in the engine compartment. i am now looking at a $2,200 repair bill! *tr

On three separate occasions, my 2002 ford expedition has blown a spark plug. this is a well documented, albeit unacknowledged by ford, issue with the triton engines. each time, i incurred the direct cost of an independent mechanic correcting the issue using after market repair kits. websites such as consumeraffairs.com are replete with others encountering the same problems. why ford has not been forced to recall and fix these vehicles is beyond me. there is a very real danger with the blown spark plug igniting vapors and starting an engine fire. each time the spark plug blew, it was while the car was in motion, causing rapid deceleration and jerking of the car. i am using the second date of incident for purposes of this report. the most recent occurrence happened on sunday, nov 30, 2008. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford expedition. the contact stated that the spark plugs caused the engine to fail. the vehicle began to smoke occasionally; however, he was able to continue driving it. prior to filing the complaint the failure occurred three times. it also seemed to occur once every year since 2007. the first failure was repaired by the dealer according to the extended warranty. the second time, the dealer repaired it at the owners expense. the vehicle was being diagnosed at the dealer at the time the complaint was filed. the manufacturer stated that they were not responsible and that there were no existing recalls. the current mileage was approximately 89,000. the failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

On december 22, 2007 while traveling we heard a 'pop' in the engine compartment and then the sound an smell of exhaust escaping the engine. when taken to bob tomas ford in mckinney texas i was told the the #3 sparl plug had been ejected from the engine head which had stripped the threads. i was then told that this has been an ongoing problem but that ford has not issued a recall and was not providing any financial assistance for those customers who were no longer covered by a warranty. my vehicle had 97,433 miles when this problem occurred. the total repair bill was $3375.20 to replace the right head. i requested assistance from ford after pointing out that the maintance schedule that came with the vehicle did not require a check of the spark plugs until the vehicle had reached 100,000 miles. ford stated they would not assist in any way.*cn

Timing chain and tensioners. *tr

My 2002 ford expedition 4x4, 5.3l engine with 71k miles had the #3 spark plug became dislodged as i was driving on the highway at ~65 mph. turns out the threads on the cylinder head are stripped. my car had to be towed to the dealer and is awaiting being fixed. if i choose to have the cylinder head replaced, it will cost ~$3000. i've read other articles and complaints on the internet that lead me to believe there are thousands of people who've experienced the same thing with their ford trucks. i believe there is sufficient data to suggest ford should do a recall on these trucks for this problem. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford expedition. the contact heard a clinking noise coming from under the hood when the vehicle was started. she inspected the vehicle and noticed that the spark plug blew off. the mechanic confirmed the failure, but was unable to determine the cause. the consumer stated dealer informed her this is a common problem with expeditions, the mechanic had not repaired the vehicle. the powertrain was unknown. the current is 82,362 and the failure mileages was 76,400. eq-10203932-4200, date received 12/12/07. updated 12/12/07 *tr

My 2002 ford expedition (83,000 miles) on the way home from lake powell blew a spark plug out of the cylinder head. we were 350 miles from home on vacation and had to obtain assistance and added expense to return home in time for our jobs. the vehicle is still in st george, utah at a ford dealership being repaired. it was explained that the spark plug issue is well known. there is no assistance from ford for repairing the well known design flaw. *tr

Vehicle threw a spark plug without warning while at highway speeds. this stripped out the plug socket requiring rebuilding of the engine heads to really fix it correctly to be sure it wouldn't happen again. mechanic expressed that this was common on these vehicles. destroyed the spark coil and wiring as it blew out. could easily have caused a severe accident at highway speeds, towing a trailer. we were lucky it was late and traffic was light. *tr

On 7/3/2007 i heard a loud banging sound and smelled gas coming from under my engine. when i had it towed to sioux falls ford, they said a spark plug had blown out. when i asked if that was a factory defect, i was told that the plug may have been put in incorrectly. i have never had the spark plugs replaced, so i knew it was a factory plug, but the technician said that they had no way of knowing that. i spent $800 to have the it re-thread. 4 weeks later, a different spark plug did the same thing. at that time, they told me that they would check all of the spark plugs to ensure that they were tight. 4 weeks after that, the ignition coil needed to be replaced in that plug and the plug needed to be replaced. they claimed that their repairs had not caused this, but i feel like i have been getting the run-around on all of this simply because i am a woman. *tr

Engine backfired blowing out no. 7 spark plug stripping out cylinder head. has backfired before splitting no. 3 spark plug. causing the vehilcle to be unusable until repaird. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford expedition. while driving 30 mph, the spark plugs blew out from the side of the engine. the contact pulled over and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the vehicle is currently waiting to be repaired. the current and failure mileages were 68,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford expedition. when the contact started the vehicle, he noticed smoke coming from the engine. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that the cause of failure was due to a blown spark plug cylinder. the dealer replaced the spark plug cylinder. approximately two weeks later, while driving 65 mph uphill, the vehicle lost power. the mechanic replaced the spark plugs and performed a tune up. the following day, while driving 65 mph uphill, the vehicle lost power again. the dealer stated that the engine was blown and needed to be replaced. as of july 11, 2007, the engine has not been replaced. the purchase date was unknown. the current mileage is 106,710 and failure mileage was 106,000.

We owned a 02 ford expedition which gave me no problem and i loved and owned it out right. in august of 07 the expedition blew out a spark plug from the engine while stopped at a stop light. when i took it to the mechanic they speculated right away what the problem might be and upon checking it out found there speculation to be true. i phoned other mechanics who immediately said they were aware of the problem with that year engine and those surrounding it. it has obviously happened enough times for several mechanics to be aware of the problem and state that ford was doing nothing about it. my husband went to speak to the ford dealership who responded that it was not a problem and they were only aware of a few incidents and were going to do nothing about our problem. we ended up heli coiling the plug and having a temporary fix. we no longer have the vehicle because i could not trust that it would not blow a spark plug again and we have children and need a reliable vehicle. i'm very discouraged by the fact that i now have a car payment when i didn't before. i don't know if any other complaints have been made but the mechanics here seem to believe it is happening far to often and nothing is being done about it. again i owned the expedition out right and am very upset about the fact that i had to buy another vehicle because of something that never should have happened. vehicles don't just blow a spark plug from the engine. thank you tanya bishop *tr

We were traveling at about 30-40 mph on a sharp curve on a freeway on-ramp. we experienced a loss of power and a very loud popping noise. we pulled over since driving at freeway speeds seemed impossible. we were stranded in a very dangerous spot about 100 feet in front of the freeway on-ramp. after aaa informed us it would be about an hour for a tow truck and an accelerating vehicle came within inches of our car, my family and i decided to abandon the vehicle and climb a very steep and dangerous embankment. i feared for my three kids and wife's the whole time waiting for the tow truck. we were towed to a ford dealer where they told us( a week later) the number three spark plug had blown. the usual problem with these engines. the plug blows because there are only five threads for the spark plug in these aluminum heads. the new design from ford now has 12 threads. we decided to have the whole engine replaced since this cost less than having two heads replaced. its 5500 for the engine and 3500 per head. we wanted both heads since the other head would be prone to the same problem. i think ford should own up to this problem because eventually there are going to be serious consequences to someone as a result of this. we were only inches away from this happening. *nm

On july 6, 2005, my of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 2002 expedition triton v-8 the spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine. i heard a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound. the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power. the vehicle did stall and i was not able to drive it upon starting it due to the loud noise i also smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.*jb

Today i had the spark plug blow out of my ford expedition when i was on the freeway with my 3 kids. come to find out this is a common problem and ford won't do anything to fix this problem. *jb

Started with pinging noise from engine 1 day before spark plug on #3 cylinder blew out. broke coil-over-plug module & required repair to head. another failure recently occured on #8 cylinder involving head replacement.

An original equipment never changed spark plug on my 2002 ford expedition suddenly and without warning blew off my engine, stripping the threads on the engine block. prior to this failure, the engine was running well and without problems. *jb

Blown spark plug on a 2002 ford expedition. mileage:36046 cylinder number 3 i took the truck to ford 4 days before the incident as i had been hearing a slight ticking nose coming from engine. ford dealer told me to keep driving it until something bigger happened as my extended warranty might not cover all labor costs if they couldn't find the problem. turns out it was small exhaust leak around the threads of the plug. once the plug blew on the highway approximately 65 mph loud noise and loss of power. now the vehicle needs a new head and will be with dealer for over a week. *jb

My repair is as described in service bulletin # 041601 and nhtsa # 10018745. my coil was replaced. *jb

Started as small oil leak. after placing dye in crankcase found drivers side head gasket leaking. i am having both head gaskets replaced for 17k. there is only 49k on this truck with all normal driving. from other complaints that have been posted i do not understand why ford has not been made to respond to the problems with their product line. this problem has been in complaints since '98. isn't time that some accountability be taken by the manufacturer? *jb

2002 ford expedition (eddie bauer) with 63000 miles on 12/24/05, at approximately 1530 hours, we loaded up our infant and toddler into their car seats. i started the engine and immediately heard a loud thumping noise from under the hood and could smell gasoline. i immediately shut off the engine and looked under the hood and noticed that a spark plug coil pack was moved out of place and the retaining screw bracket was broken off the coil pack on the passenger side of the engine. i pulled the coil pack out and realized that the spark plug was no longer screwed into the head. there was no damage to the threads on the spark plug. it was obvious that the spark plug had blown-out of the head. i did a google search and found that there are numerous complaints of the same problem for the triton engine for 1998-2002 model years. i also found that ford is not paying for any repairs. to repair the problem, the head and head gasket will need to be replaced. i got a price quote of $2954.10 (including tax, parts, and labor). had i left the engine run longer, the spark plug will still be firing with gasoline being discharged into the engine compartment, a severe fire hazard. *nm

Dt: the contact stated while driving at approximately 25 mph heard a loud boom. the vehicle sputtered and jerked. he pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. the vehicle was towed to a dealership, where they found the problem to be a blown out spark plug. no repairs were made. *ak

Blew spark plug. *jb

On sept. 16th, 2005, as i was driving in my ford 2002 expedition, my engine blew a spark-plug out of the engine which caused me to swerve out of my lane and loose all power on the highway. it was a very dangerous experience for me and my family and other drivers around me. i have since learned that ford is aware of this obvious manufacturing defect and has done nothing to prevent this from happening and does not stand behind its product. the attached letter was sent to ford motor company. i purchased a 2002 ford expedition brand new from syosset ford on long island. after four years and 62 thousand miles, i was told by tower ford of great neck that i blew a spark-plug out of the engine head. they requested that i change the entire engine since there maybe cylinder damage, and also i would now have a new warranty for my engine. before spending $5,253.34, i looked into the problem with other customers on the national highway traffic and safety administration and found out that other purchasers of this engine have had the same problem and ford has done nothing to compensate them or fixed the engines problems. they know this is a problem in this particular engine and continue to use it, even though, ford states that no tune-up is need on this engine for 100,000 miles. it is obvious that this is a manufacturer??s defect in the engine and nothing is being done about it. at this point, i had no choice but to have a new engine installed or junk a $39,000 suv. tower ford replaced the engine in september. now here i am again, three months and 4,900 miles later i had to change the front blower motor for $335.09. in march two months and 2,100 miles later, tower ford tells me that spark-plugs one and two, and coils one and two, need to be replaced and this is not under warranty for my new engine and it will cost me $488 plus tax. what??s next? *jb

Dt: the contact owned a 2002 ford expedition and on friday a spark plug blew out the side of the engine through the right cylinder head and caused the vehicle to lose power. *ak *jb

Dt: the contact stated the inside of the vehicle occasionally had a strong smell of gasoline when driving at 75 mph. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic, but the mechanic could not duplicate the problem. the contact only used the vehicle for driving her children to school, which was about 5 or 6 blocks away. due to her fears about the smell she tried to exchange the vehicle for another but the dealer denied her request.*ak

On several separate occasions the engine has revved upon depression or release of the brakes. this causes the vehicle to lurch forward unexpectedly. the radio also becomes louder as if the speed sensitive volume is affected as well. i have notified the dealer but as they have been unable to duplicate the problem, they have not responded. please help as i fear that this will eventually cause an accident.

The vehicles engine missed, lost power and made a banging noise. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the entire engine was replaced. about 100 miles later the banging returned. *nlm

While traveling down the hill the vehicle shut down without prior warning. please fill in addtional information. dealer is aware of the problem. ts

The consumer stated that four days after purchase, the vehicle vibrated and lunged side to side, the tires were balanced to try and correct the problem, however the problem was still not resolved.*yh

While sitting inside car at convenience store with the expedition idling the number 3 spark plug shot out the cylinder head. the car started popping and had to have the auto towed. there are numerous drivers having these problems with ford tritron 5.4l engines. had to place a heli coil to hold a new spark plug. *tr