Problems with 1999 Ford F-150 SUSPENSION

Suspension squeaks and grinds along with steering wheel. side utility back doors cable breaks and will not close or will open unexpectedly.

The frame is completely rusted. the bolts are coming through the bed of the truck. bumper is rusted away from frame. unsafe to drive.

Underframe is rotten and rusted out. was hanging on by a two inch piece of metal. vehicle is 1999 with only 94,200 original miles. should not have rusted out. ford will not accept any fault or repair. *tr

1999 ford f150 2wd truck with 80,000 miles the fuel tank fell out of the truck. upon investigation, it was found that the fuel tank straps has corroded apart. when re-installing new straps, it was found that the fuel fill tube was corroded, as well, with several holes in it. also, while re-attaching fuel tank it was found that the rear three cross-members were on there way to corroding into two pieces, and had already completely broken in other places. upon removal of pick-up truck bed for examination, it was found that the rear spring shackle pins had corroded away, leaving no support. further, the frame rails were corroded to the point that they could be bent by hand- no tools used! this should be a major safety recall by ford as an unsuspecting user hauling a trailer may loose their trailer, despite safety chains attached, causing injury, or death, and property damage. an unsuspecting driver would also be subject to the fuel tank falling off the truck, while driving. it could burst into flames, due to hot exhaust, or road sparks. this also poses the safety hazard of fuel spillage on a roadway. this is not the first truck manufactured by ford that has had problems of this nature, but this is the worst i have seen, and there are more than likely more cases known to other mechanics, as well as some that have gone undetected as of yet. *tr

While driving on a local highway i felt my trucks front end vibrate then start to wobble. stoped at a traffic light i could smell the odor of hot metal. i pulled in a parking lot got out of my truck andwalked around the front of my truck. i could feel a lot of heat comming from the left wheel. there was an auto service dealer open below where i pulled off the highway. i left my truck to be checked out. the next day i was told i needed upper ball joint balljoint assembly on both sides ,lower control arms on both sides and also upper contrl arms. the shop keep the old parts. i was lucky because one hour before this i was on interstate 75 in traffic. *nm

Dt: bought a used truck, and after the warranty expired had to replace the starter/the ball joints/he upper tie rods, and the control arm on both sides. engine manifold split, and exhaust system rusted. later, while driving tie rods came off. there was a slight drop at the entrance to the parking lot, and as vehicle went back up the drop, it slid and there was an impact. got out of the car, and saw that the tie rod came off and gouged into the pavement. spoke to the manager of country club chevrolet, and he simply gave consumer a discount on parts and labor. yesterday he went to a certified used vehicle dealer and asked for the 88-point inspection,, and they were unable to provide that information. *ak

Failure of front end sterring parts( ball joints, tie rods, and idler arm). on several occassions my mechanic has instructed me that i should have the front end check for wear and tear due to premature failures in these parts. this is the third time in the past 3 years (@about 20k miles per year) i have had major replacements done on these parts. i do not beleive the failure is due to driving conditions, most is at high ways speeds on reasonably smooth roads. the latest failure has me very concerned about the overall safety of the vehicle as i typical drive on the highway. my mechanic indicated if a failure occurs at highways speeds - it might not be a great outcome... i feel i am lucky in that every time i go to the mechanic (serveral times per year) i have him check these parts. i recently received an inspection in june 2004 and these parts were ok then. now (mar 2005) and i have a major replacement going on. the machanic indicated that i am not alone and the problem is very wide spread. do not get me wrong - i really like the truck and would buy another, but so far dealers (2 local) indicate that my problems are not as wide spread. hence i no longer go to ford dealers for service. the mechanic has also indicated that this issue may be larger in scope thant the firestone tire issues ford had years ago (speculation). but none the less - my mechanic has seen many of these issues and he is a small operation in a small town. at this stage i am unlikely to re-purchase a ford f150 and have major concerns over the saftey of the vehicle.

Right front wheel fell off vehicle while driving. lower ball joint cracked and separated, causing vehicle frame and bumper to land on pavement. dealer mechanic commented that he has never seen a ball joint shear off in such a manner in 23 years of experience.*ak

While driving 20 mph right tie rod failed, causing the driver to drift to the side of the road. consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership, and mechanic determined that right upper and lower ball joints had failed, and they will be replaced. *ak failure occured happened 2 more times. *la

On 12/17/03 while backing out of my driveway to go to work, the left front lower ball joint failed on my 1999 ford f-150 4 wheel drive pickup. this caused the wheel to angle out at a 45 degree angle and lower "a" frame to come in contact with the road. this vehicle only has 69,100 miles on it, is only used for personal transportation (no snow plowing or business use) and has had all scheduled maintenance performed. vehicle up to that point had displayed no driving erratics that might indicate a problem. service manager indicated that this a normal problem that should have been caught during normal maintenance (my original dealer where i purchased the vehicle has sold the dealership) and not covered by any warrenty or recall. ford consumer rep agreed. not only is it going to cost me over $1,000.00 to have my vehicle repaired, i was informed by the service manager that although ford is coming out with ball joints that will have a grease fittings, they will not be available until all inventory of non-grease fitting ball joints are used up. above and beyond my dissapointment with ford and ford products is the constant thought of what would have happened if i was traveling down the highway at 65 miles an hour and this ball joint failed and how many other ford f-150 owners are out there with this same problem waiting to happen!!!!*ak

While driving upper ball joints failed. as a result, the driver lost c control of steering. *ak

I bought the 99 f-150 used. i've owned it for 2 years and in those two years spent over 3000 dollars repairing it. i cant handle the thought of keeping a truck that cost so much in repairs. and now the dealer tells me i need a new transmission. this is one week after i spent over 500 replacing the spark plugs, fuel filter, and getting the fuel injectors cleaned. i have only 58,000 miles on the thing and was told by the dealer that the plugs don't need to be touched for 100,000 miles. well it was missing and that was the problem. the truck slams into gear between 1 and 2, and now the problem is my transmission is bad. at 58,000 miles? and i've never even towed anything. just regular wear and tear? i think these trucks must be lemons. after i get the transmission fixed, i'll have spent $5,600 in a two year span. i have to sell it because the repairs are more than the payment. i guess that's why it was sold to me when it was only two years. old. *nlm

The driver's and passenger's side exterior mirrors are losing their reflectivity. this is clearly a factory defect and presents a serious safety hazard to the driver of the vehicle and passengers of the vehicle. ford motor company and the local ford dealership have both refused to recall the mirrors or to provide financial assistance to repair the mirrors. the dealership has acknowledge the fact that there is a problem with these mirrors, but ford motor company has not issued a recall on them.

Two rear wheel bearings cracked, and it became very difficult for consumer to control vehicle. contacted dealer. *ak

I am curious if anyone else has experienced this problem. i was told it is normal to replace ball joints, and control arms for both sides at 57000 miles.*ak

Vehicle makes a howling noise, it jerked/ accelerated and a clunk noise when letting off gas. dealer admitted they heard a noise. consumer asked for a new rear end, and dealer denied the part. *ak consumer was informed there were problems with the 2001 models, consumer is aksing that the part be fixed or the dealer to buy the vehicle back. *slc

Lower arm where it is attached to truck frame became loose. while driving it makes alignment changes. driver thinks he is going straight, but is going back and forth. *ak the manufacturer suggested lock washers as a temporary fix, but the a- arm has now moved again changing the wheel alignment. *yh

Consumer stateed that the wheel locks up while braking also,the brake pedal, drum, rotors and pads were failed and replaced. *yh

Since the control arm keeps shifting due to the oblong hole that the bolt is held in, the alignment is always incorrect...makes it hard to keep vehichle straight at 60 mph. if the lower control arm keeps shifting, i'm sure the bolt that keeps the control arm in place will eventually be sheared off......causing loss of control.

Driver's side lower control arm retaining bolt slides left to right. vehicle now veers to the left. *ak

The left lower control arm bolt is mounted in a sloted hole with no locking mechanism. this allows the left front wheel to go out of alignment and make "clunking" noises. i am personally aware of at least 237 failures of this model through the f150online message board. ford maintains that it is not a problem and refuses to fix it. my dealer, bell ford, will not fix the problem without authorization from ford. thus, a vehicle with the potential for loss of control remains on the road.*ak

Noise in the engine due to worn idler pulley, belt and alternator. *mjs

Front windshield-the windshield would rattle going down the freeway everytime we would be in the truck. took it in to advise the dealership and all they did was reseal it. took it in again the second time and they did the same thing. after the third time i made them put in a new windshield. 2 weeks ago this cracked in half. also the transmission was slipping. they replaced it with a new one. also the rear end was leaking. *ak

The steering geometry and suspension travel lend the vehicle to excessive over steer resulting in loss of control. yh

Truck was unstable with cause unknown by dealership. owner has taken vehicle in for corrective action several times, however nothing has changed. vehicle vibrates excessively when at idle with rpm gauge fluctuating up/down. *ak consumer states that the engine runs rough, oil level dropped and there was a clicking noise in which the dealer replaced the fan blade and fan clutch. rear brakes experienced grinding, dealer applied a silencer to the front and rear brake pads. consumer has experienced several problems with the a/c and heater, problems still exists. vehicle uses a lot of gas, idles rough and experiences small hesitation upon acceleration. vehicle kicks into gear. vehicle drifts to the right, while driving at higher speeds, vehicle and steering wheel vibrate. driver side rear view mirror rattles when closing door, when everything is closed there is an outside noise, dealer resealed the windshield. when turning on the lights, the clock and a/c are delayed. there is a whining noise when turning steering wheel. window control buttons stick at times, dealer replaced the window switch. *slc

Vehicle pulls a 5500lbs trailer: whenever slowing down to make a turn on an incline, shifting from second to first gear, vehicle will shutter and jerk violently.also, rear end virbrates when taking off from a stop. if traveling 70mph and above, entire vehicle shakes. contacted the dealer, and they can't fix it. *ak

This problem relates to a bolt that holds the lower control arm assembly to the frame of the pickup. the bolt is continously moving in the hole and is wearing a grove in the side of the bolt. ford has denied coverage for alignment problems which i later discovered to be the result of this bolt that moves in the frame. the dealer solution has been so far to re align vehicle, but this has been only a temporary fix. my concern is that the bolt will catastrophically fail under stress and allow the lower control arm to detach from the frame.

While driving consumer hittire on the rear of a tractor, vehicle bounced away, and air bag did not deploy. *ak

When hitting small pavement irregularities vehicle wandered all over the road. also, consumer could see where the bolt on the lower control arm has moved. dealer was aware of this problem, but did not have a solution. please provide any further information.*ak

Front shocks bolt getting loose and there is a knocking noise coming from the vehicle. *ak

The drivers side mirror (remote controlled type)vibrates at highway speeds causing rear viewed vehicle lights at night to bounce all over the place creating a dangerous situation. dealer replaced mirror three times to no avail. stated "ford knows about it, but has no fix, why not complain to the dsb". there is nothing i can do for it until ford acknowledges it as a defect and issues a tsb to us". okay i filled out the dsb form and a factory rep came and looked at it and stated: "98% of all f150's with these mirrors vibrate". "there is nothing i can do for you." issue is still pending before the dsb. ford's only tsb ref this issue says check tire pressure and/or bug deflectors. both of these were looked at, still shakes. ford has a design problem between the door/mirror combination. and the passenger side mirror does not move at all. *ak

Vehicle experiencing ongoing problem with heavy bouncing while driving.dealer notified, and vehicle had been in repair shop on three occasions, and problem remained unresolved. can nhtsa help or provide additional information. *ak

Poor gas mileage; has averaged 15.4 miles per gallon, and ford advertises 16 city to 20 highway. other f150 owners report poor gas mileage. is this false advertising because i would never have purchased truck getting 15.4 miles per gallon when i travel mostly highway miles. i have a loud rattle noise under truck and the catalytic converters and muffler have all been replaced! also, vibration via gas pedal from engine (?) noted between 45 and 55 mph. *ak