Problems with 2003 Ford F-150 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I am one of the thousands of ford owners who have had spark plugs blown out of the cylinder heads while driving. this is a major disgrace that you all will continue to let fmc lie and steel from its customers and deny that there is a problem with there engines. please do the right thing and make ford stand up for their mistakes. *nm

Truck was parked overnight (no problems). next morning, i started the truck. it sounded like a lawnmower trying to start with a loud "popping" noise. smelt raw gas vapors coming from the top of the engine. took to ford to fix. they quoted me $3200 repair job by replacing a cylinder head. i refused and took to a (farther away) trustworthy mechanic to put a thread insert into spark plug hole and use a helicoi for approx $400. ford refused to do thread insert repair, and wanted to sell me same part that broke in the first place. *nm

2003 f-150 with 5.4l triton engine. 54k miles, experiencing right cylinder head gasket leak. ford has tsb 02227 concerning this issue. truck had 36k warranty. the costly repairs are not covered by ford. i believe there should be a recall on this defect in which the parts and labor is covered. i have researched with other owners on the internet who have had the same problems with their vehicles. i also believe there maybe a safety issue since the leaking oil drips onto the exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters which may cause a fire. please look into this issue. thanks. *nm

While driving to work, my f-150, 5.4 liter engine blew out a spark plug. the repair cost is in excess of $4000. the affected aluminum cylinder needs to be replaced. the manufacture does not cover the routine tightening / inspection of spark plugs during the periodic 30k, 60k services even though they (the dealer) knows that there is a design problem with this particular engine. the design problem stems from a minimum amount of threads to hold the spark plug in place. the 5.4 liter engine is a powerful engine that necessitates a thicker and longer well to torque and hold the spark plugs in place. the internet is filled complaints made by ford consumers that have experienced this same type of problems on ford engines. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. the contact stated that the vehicle caught fire while parked in his garage. the vehicle had been driven approximately 10 hours earlier. the insurance investigator was unable to determine where the fire originated or locate any defective parts that may have caused the failure. the engine compartment was damaged, however, the most extensive damage was on the driver side of the vehicle. ford was notified and refused to take responsibility for the fire. the powertrain was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 12,000. updated 3/5/08 *cn the consumer stated all 3 investigators stated the fire was a defect in the truck. fire dept and insurance report. updated 03/04/08 *tr

Dt: own a 2003 ford f150 with 11,000 miles. there is a heat shield over the muffler that was falling down. took vehicle to the dealer, and as instructed by ford, was to remove the heat shield entirely. feels this is dangerous without the heat shield which is not on the vehicle right now. dealer ordered a new heat shield because the old one was deteriorating. ford ordered not to replace the heat shield as per engineering since it was no longer needed. *ak leaking rear seal, pan and gasket were also replaced. *tt *nm

While driving,the vehicle stalled. the consumer was able to restart the vehicle and drove it to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the consumer that the problem could not be duplicated. *jb

I purchased an 2003 f-150 stx 4x4 in july of 2003. less than 1 year later the air conditioner had to be replaced. stopped working with no noticable problems. in the next 12 months the gear box has been replaced twice, i called our local dealer and told them the transmission was shifting harder than usual. took it in and they couldn't duplicate or correct the problem. it continued, and less than 6 months goes by and i am sitting at a red light downtown louisville ky and the light turns green i pushed the accelerator and the truck goes backwards! thank god no one was behind me! after 15 minutes i finally get the truck to the side of the street and call ford roadside asstistance. that was a joke in itself. finally 4 hours later the truck is towed to our local dealer and they call the next day and say it is the transmission. duh! i told them that months ago. they "fix" it and it still is not right. i have even taken it to another dealer and i have contacted ford. the second dealer could not find a problem, so far all i get is, yes, it does shift really hard but we can't get a code to see what is wrong with it! i am still paying for the truck and it is now under the "extended warranty" this is completely wrong! no one should pay $36000 for a truck and have this much go wrong with it! any help would be appreciated.

Pinging noise coming from engine, have taken vehicle in twice with no resolve. bought truck new in jan 03, have 29,000mi on it. first they replaced the maf still heard noise, then second try they reprogramed the computer. service manager stated it might be coming from fuel injectors. sound heard on acceleration at all speeds greater under load.*ak

I purchased my ford f150 on december 29, 2002 from sunrise ford in north hollywood, california. i returned it in march 2003 because there was an odd clunking, grinding and whining sound when it was driven. i was told that they could not find anything wrong with it. then i took it back one more time in april of 2003 and they still could not find anything wrong. in may 2003, i moved to arizona and on may 9, 2003 i took it to berge ford located mesa, arizona. they tested the vehicle and could not find anything wrong. even though they previously mentioned that it could be the rear end that has the problem. i took it in again on september 17, 2003 to berge ford and they found several items wrong with the truck. although they fixed the items listed on the service ticket, the truck is not fixed. this vehicle obviously has a problem. i would not waste my time leaving work to deal with such issues if the issues did not exist. it took four times to locate a problem and it is still not fixed. i took the car to berge ford on may 26, 2004 again. this time they replaced the air flow valve. i again took the vehicle in on june 1, 2004 and they couldn't find anything wrong again. i believe that this vehicle is truly a lemon and i am hoping that ford can work with me on these issues. i was told i do not qualify for the lemon law because of my mileage, but the problems started before i was over the mileage limit. it is frustrating to deal with these issues for over a year. if there were not any problems then why would i have returned the truck 3 months after i bought it? i would love to trade it in, but i do not want to lose again by being upside down. i spoke with a gentleman at berge ford and he said that there is a possibility that ford might be able to buy the truck back and that is exactly what i need them to do at this point. thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. *ak

I have many problems with my 2003 ford f150 from engine noises to transmission leaking and slipping. my vehicle has been in twice now and nobody at fords or their engineers seem to know what is wrong. fords does not know what to do. i would greatly appreciate if someone could look into this matter because no one should have this many problems with a brand new $30,000 vehicle.*ak

I have a 2003 supercharged harley truck,the concern is that all eight spark plugs were dark red in color and vehicle was missing horribly under a load with the a/c on or off.there was no check engine light,and vehicle fuel economy dipped to 11mpg on highway.it almost felt like a torque converter going south.the vehicle gets sunoco ultra 94 only and is babied.the vehicle only has 7k on it.p.s iam also the foreman at a large ford dealer.i hae never seen this before,unless high octane additives were used.what caused this.no one at ford knows. i am very dissatisfied with my 44k truck*ak

I have a 2003 f-150 supercrew 5.4l 2x4, from day one, a hollow knocking noise is heard at idle most noticeable when in gear at idle, or low rpm. i have had it into ford several times and nothing has been done. we even started another truck on the lot (same year, engine ect.) and the noise was not found on the other truck. the service manager states he does hear the noise but ford does not know what it is therefore they cannot fix it so no attempt has been made to find or repair it (my truck has not been on the rack even once). please advise as to what i can do to resolve this problem. *la

Just had my 2003 f150 5.4l fixed after the #3 spark plug blew out. new plugs and heads cost me $4000.00. the heads are the updated version ford now has. the original were 3 threads, allowing for the plugs to blow out before the 100,000 plug replacement. they now have 7 threads. ford needs to recall and repay us. *jb

On a cold start up vehicle knocks every morning. has been to ford dealer 5 times. they have told me numerous things, like use heavier weight oil, no problem, we hear it but not sure what it is, we hear it common engine noise. problem still exists. first time i took it in was 4/2003, and vehicle is at dealer now again. *cb

Hollow knocking noise in the 5.4 engine most noticeable when cold. ford and the dealer tell me to put up with it because it is normal. something about piston clearances or slap. i did not pay $30,000.00 + for a new vehicle to listen to it knock in the mornings when i start it up. ford is aware of this noise in the 5.4 and i would like someone to look into this because they are not willing to do anything about it. *la

Excessive exhaust noise when warming up and cooling down such as loud popping noise. *jb

We purchased a 2003 ford f150 supercrew fx4 in october of 2002. on december 2,2002 this vehicle lost control of it's brakes and acceleration pedal. it was picked up that day and taken to the dealership to be fixed. it is still to this day at the dealership. we have not had possession of it since. they have repeatedly tried to fix it but we unable, until 01-22-03 when we were told it was fixed. but even so we are not given a guarantee by the dealership that it is. they do not feel safe with it on the road also. we are in the process of acting on the lemon law with ford. at first,we were told that the egr valve was the problem , it litteraly let moisture into the throttle body which formed ice, and they have pictures of this, which made the vehicle lose control of the brakes and the throttle to stick wide open. i have been told that there has been further complaints against moisture in throttle bodys of the same trucks but not to the extent of ours. also there is complaints of the gas pedal sticking but ford is telling people that it is thier floor mat creating the problem. i really feel this should be looked into before someone gets hurt or killed. it is not a good feeling when you are driving on icy curves and hills and the speed keeps increasing on its own and the brakes dont work! the only way i stopped it was by throwing it in park,thank god it was in 4 wheel drive, this probably ruined the transmission, but it was the least of my concerns at the moment. i had a car coming towards me and one following behind me, thank god no one was hurt. please check into this.