Problems with 2004 Ford F-150 STRUCTURE

2004 f150 fx4. consumer writes in regards to damaged frame. *ld *js

This vehicle is otherwise in good condition with very little body rust limited to the back corner of the passenger cabin. however the left frame rail starting 14 inches ahead of the front attachment point of the leaf spring. the rust hole extends the width of the frame rail for a distance of 17 inches. one finger size hole was observed. the frame bottom steel was easily stripped away with two fingers and a thumb to the length and width described. the remainder of the frame has extensive surface rust but no hole and otherwise fair condition. the licensed state vehicle inspection shop failed the vehicle due to the frame rust at this location. otherwise, with some minor mechanical issues, the truck is in good condition and could be safely used for a number of more years. online this rust problem at this point has a large number of complaints in ford f-150 trucks in 2004 and 2005. obviously there was a manufacturing issue frame forming to cause this rust through in so many trucks at this frame location and not elsewhere.

My 2004 ford f-150 has 61,000 miles and no rust on the outside of the vehicle. i've kept the truck well maintained and it looks almost new. the frame however right where the rear leaf spring attaches to the frame is rusted right through. it is incredible that this has not been recalled as of yet. hopefully it will be recalled. while driving a part of the exhaust heat shield fell onto the driveshaft. when i went to inspect the underside i found a hole in the frame and i was able to put my finger right through it. *dt consumer stated one important fact that i forgot to add to my complaint is the section of the frame that rusted through has the exact same issue in the same spot on both the passenger frame rail as well as the driver's side frame rail. the 2004 ford escape was recalled for similar issues that year but in the front of the vehicle. my truck has only 61,000 miles on it and from forums and posts i've read it seems to be a major issue for that year vehicle.*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. while the vehicle was being serviced at jim trenary ford (located at 255 john deere dr, moscow mills, mo 63362, (636) 356-9000), the technician noticed that the frame was split completely in half and needed to be replaced. the technician informed the contact that the vehicle could not be driven. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. the approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

The main frame rails( that run from front back) have an extra cladding that is welded to the main frame rails. this area i am referring to is where a cross member( holding the weight of the rear engine and transmission) is welded to the cladding and the two main frame rails. the cladding was not completely welded so water has gotten between the cladding and main frame rails causing severe corrosion and failure of that connection point. even though it could be said i take extremely good care of my vehicles this area suddenly presented as a bulge and subsequent discovery of an extreme failure. this consistent failure happened on both frame rail connection points. i feel that this failure will be overlooked as it was with me ....and could cause frame failure causing public harm.

This a.m. as i entered my driveway, a neighbor stopped me to talk. i stopped and rolled down my window. he went on and on. suddenly, my truck accelerated at full throttle toward my garage 70 feet away. my foot was on the brake to no avail. i turned slightly to the right and hit the corner of the garage. the air bags deployed. my glasses went flying. i was not hurt. a tree had soften the impact. i was severely shaken. my blood pressure was elevated. ford motor company is not helpful. my insurance company, geico, is handling the issue.

Same deal as every other memo i read. major highlighting points: - premature frame corrosion and rust. - mechanic informed me that the frame on the rear half. - rusted and cracked under bed and rear wheel wells - frame would no longer support weight of vehicle - rust thru holes and longitudinal cracks formed on the bottom and side frame surfaces at the stress point before the rear wheel bend. - extremely unusual, truck has been generally been garage kept and maintained in good mechanical condition. - the exterior body does not exhibits spots or surface rust on visible body panels. - no evident signs of rust or degradation of structure. - meticulously maintained vehicle otherwise. (new transmission, drive shaft, engine retimed, spray bed liner, etc.) - catastrophic failure of the frame structure was imminent and that the vehicle was no longer safe to drive. - cannot be repaired and is unsafe. - cannot pass a state safety inspection. - cannot even be put on a lift because it has no structural strength.

The truck was taken into mechanic. the mechanic put it up, and saw that entire frame was rusted. it is not fixable. contacted john lance ford, where it was purchased. they advised to take truck to nearest ford dealer. we took it to ford in port clinton, ohio. the service manager took pictures and sent it to corporate office. it has been longer than 6 weeks, and have not heard back.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact looked underneath the vehicle and noticed that the entire bottom of the frame was rusted. the dealer (liberty ford, 9311 liberty rd, randallstown, md 21133, 410-504-2897) was contacted and stated that the frames were absolute. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for repairs. once the vehicle was placed on a lift, the mechanic noticed that the main rails that support the frame and the frame of the vehicle had extensive rust. the failure could cause the structure to potentially fracture or disintegrate. the independent mechanic diagnosed that the frame needed to be replaced. the dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin and failure mileage were not available.

My trucks frame has rusted out from the cab corners to the rear part of the frame rails. ford motor company wont do anything about this problem. numerous complaints have been filed, yet they wont do anything about it. im not selling my truck because its a rare version of the 04 new style f-150. this is a very serious problem that people can die from and ford wont back them up on the 04-08 trucks.

The frame on my truck has split in half always been taken care of. ive had it for 6 years and it been good. until recently the bed has started to shake very violently. my dad and i have figured out that the frame on my truck has split in half! i did some research on this issue of frames failing. most 11th gen owners like me have or had this kind of problem. some frames have rotted out completely due to ford. this truck is very unsafe! and ive asked ford if they could do anything and they couldnt do anything. they wont back up their products.

Brought my 2004 f150 xlt to have some service work done, the truck needed a muffler and a new front upper control arm, i was advised by the service manager that i should have my frame looked at before going any further, both right and left sides of the frame in the middle of the truck have severe rust and i believe the structure is doomed to fail, i had planned on driving this truck for several more years as it is my daily driver. i am now left with a truck that cannot be certified for resale and has lost its value and further it is no longer safe. by the way the truck only has 190 thousand kms on it.

I have a 2004 ford f-150 xl extended cab pick up with 140,000 miles. i recently purchased new tires and an exhaust . dropped of the truck at the mechanic to have items installed. received a call the next morning that there was a problem, so went in to see what the issue was. turns out the frame of the truck has rotted on both the passenger and drivers side, where the bed meets the cab. when they tried to lift the truck to install the tires the truck didn't move, the lift just started crushing through the frame rail. quite devastating news to receive since the truck runs and drives great, but is now a big hunk of scrap. worrisome also as i had just taken my family on a 7 hour trip in the truck a month earlier and hate to consider what could have happened if we had been involved in an accident. i feel that in this day and age a 13 year old truck should not experience this issue and the manufacturer should step up and take some responsibility for their product. built ford tough. yeah, right.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. while performing routine maintenance on the vehicle, the contact became aware of extreme corrosion to the subframe of the vehicle. the contact was concerned that the vehicle could fracture and separate at the center between the bed and the cabin. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact stated that the rear driver side frame of the vehicle was rusted out near the fuel tank. the contact took the vehicle to the langley ford dealer who stated that the vehicle was not included in any recall regarding the frame. the vehicle was not officially diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed the dealer's information. the approximate failure mileage was 124,000. updated 08/09/17*lj *tr

My truck has 106,xxx miles on it. i have only owned it for 9 months. i took it to the shop for a repair and was told the frame was so rotten out they couldn't put it on the lift.

My truck has always been well taken care of has 92, 000 miles on it which is very low on a 2004. it was always serviced at the dealer where we purchased the truck. i had 2 extended service warranties through this dealer. there is no rust on the body at all. i took it to another garage to have some work done on it and when they put it on the lift the box on the truck started to pull away from the cab. when it was lowered, and inspected the frame on both sides of the truck was completely rotted thru. i had no idea that it was this bad. the frame must be completely reconstructed and of course ford and the dealer don't want to take any responsibility for it. someone could have been killed not knowing the severity of the frame. i depended on ford to construct a safe vehicle and for the dealer to service my truck in good faith. people should be reimbursed by ford to get the problem fixed and for their lack of a quality product and service. something needs to be done before someone loses their life.

Frame rusted in half,

The frame under my f150 is rusted through. i only have 81k miles on it and i don't understand why the frame is rusting so badly. it has already cost me 2,400 to have a certified welder replace some of the sections that were rusted out. i know just found another part of the frame that is rusted under the leaf spring. that is now going to cost me another $500.00.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact stated that the frame was fractured. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 89,000.

Frame rusting out prematurely causing a safety hazard.

Both rear suicide doors will not open, the latch mechanism is broken and apparently cost over $700.00 to fix both. in addition i have replaced the wheel bearing on all wheels twice and now another one is going bad. it seems like i never have a period when all the bearings are good.

During an oil change it was noticed that the left hand front differential mounting bracket appeared to have a crack pursuant with tsb 06-11-12. however upon closer examination it was shown that the damage was more extensive then the "concern of the left hand front differential mounting bracket separating from the frame rail." mention in the tsb. instead of the aforementioned mount breaking, a section of the frame approximately 1/4 of an inch around the welds for the differential mount on all sides had separated from the rest of the frame leaving a hole in the frame approximately four inches across.

The frame of my 2004 f150 is almost completely rotten from the front of the leaf spring all the way up to the drivers door. the bed supports are also rotted completely off making the bed unsafe and unable to use.

I own a 2004 ford heritage 4x4 and the frame is literally rusting away on or about the 10th of march the bracket that holds the rear driver side leaf spring rotted away and punched through the bottom of my bed. i was only going 30 when it happened so everyone was safe. i also had to replace the trailer hitch last year because the frame was so rotted away. i stopped at a stop sign and when i went to go i saw my trailer just go up and slam back down on the ground. luckily i was not going 65 mph otherwise i would have had a accident. the back of the frame now is paper thin. ford should do a recall on these frames. i have owned many ford and never had rust this bad. *tr

2004 ford f-150. consumer writes in regards to vehicle frame rust problems. *smd consumer sent additional correspondence. *smd the vehicle had to be towed to the repair shop, because the brakes went out. the rear brake lines, hoses, calipers, master cylinder and pads were replaced. updated 03/09/15. *jb

When it rains water comes in and drips on the passenger side rear seat. i have replace the third brake light lens twice and the rear window. i have read forums and it seems like this problem is common. i have a truck that smells like mildew. i have to drive it now with the interior pulled out. *tr

The mirror(s) are full of corrosion and the drivers side mirror fell right off the car while driving. *tr

My truck is only 10 years old and the frame is all rotten out i think it is a very serious thing if you are driving along and it breaks. *tr

I took my truck to a garage to have the oil changed. while up on the rack the rust was noticed by my mechanic who said it would not pass inspection better have it fixed. i contacted a professional who came to my house and looked at it with the bed off. upon his inspection he found it was unrepairable there was not enough original metal left to weld to. i have contacted ford customer relationship center only to be told there is no warranty, no recall, sorry for your luck and got hung up on. while researching online i have discovered that ford has a recall on 2004 escapes for this very same reason "the frames are rusting out" it would make sense to me that there must have been a bad batch of metal used in the building of these frames. i would like to know if any more 2004 vehicles from ford have reported similar problems and what can we do about this? *tr

-repair shop-2004 ford f150 crew cab, frame completely rotted through, frame replacement required. customer will not have repaired. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact stated that the frame members were extremely corroded. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 109,000.

When driving at relatively low speed, the hood lifted violently. the driver was able to stop the truck safely. the portion of the hood which secures the hood striker gave way, allowing the hood to open so violently that the grille flew off. the hood was properly closed/latched before the incident, and the striker was still in the latch (complete with pieces of aluminum torn off of the hood) after the incident. it appears that galvanic corrosion (steel striker on aluminum hood) likely caused the issue. since this truck is in a fleet, the remainder of the f-150s of the same body style (my2008 and older) were checked, 65 of 580 trucks had either cracking or corrosion around the striker bar which may lead to this issue. note - this is an ontario, canada fleet but these issues likely affect us-sold vehicles. *tr

Was driving down the road at approximately 55 mph and the left driver's side window came crashing down. i thought a rock was coming through the window and almost went off the road. *tr

In late-june 2012 a loud clunk/thud/pop/small explosion occurred in the passenger-side door of my 2004 ford f-150 regular cab truck, while the vehicle was stopped and idling, and the window dropped into the door frame. when i returned home i removed the door panel and discovered that a small piece of molded plastic, 1 1/8" x 1 7/8" (probable cost to ford about 39 cents) on the window regulator had disintegrated/failed, allowing the regulator cable to release the window. i have found a replacement window regulator on the internet for $70 (ford charges $175 for the part) and will repair the defective item myself. i notified ford of the failure of a less-than-quality plastic piece on the regulator and asked for reimbursement. ford responded: "there are no factory warranties or programs in effect on your vehicle that would provide financial assistance for your current vehicle concern." however, they did add: "recommend that you keep your repair receipts in case ford initiates a recall or customer satisfaction program in the future based on customer feedback or further engineering review of similar complaints." i see from the large number of complaints on this website by ford truck owners that i am but one of hundreds who have been affected, and obviously, there will be hundreds more; the odds are very high that the majority of the plastic pieces on ford truck window regulators will fail sooner or later, and i seriously doubt that the 2004 ford f-150 truck is the only model year that contains plastic parts in the window regulators. $70 to replace a failed piece of plastic that initially probably cost ford about 39 cents to produce is a sad commentary on quality. *tr

Is anybody doing anything about the ford window regulator problem. over the years all of my sons windows have all fallen down. at times leaving the kids with exposure to whoever passes by...this is not safe. two windows failed on the same day. tried to call ford and got no reasonable response... *js

While attempting to accelerate onto a highway my vehicle sputtered and i was unable to get up to speed in a reasonable amount of time. fortunately i was on a 4 lane highway and the approaching vehicles were able to avoid me by pulling into the passing lane. i brought my vehicle in for service and a corroded fuel pump control module was responsible for the hesitation. according to my mechanic, he categorized the problem as defective design. the module is mounted in a area susceptible to corrosion. this is a relatively easy fix however in my case the spare tire carrier had to cut off to access the module. *tr

I have owned this truck since 2004, no serious issues. this past friday i noticed power was still going to my truck when it was turned off. the power accessory relay was clicking vigorously then stopped, no power inside my vehicle. i started the truck and everything worked except for the radio. i went for a drive than and then the reverse lights came on the door buzzer was going off, as i went to stop i heard a grinding noise occur than stopped. was able to get it home. i have 30 years of mechanic experience and tried to find a possible short. when i removed the passenger side rocker panel i found the harness covered in rusty water. now doing research on the internet, i have seen hundreds of people complaining about this issue, that ford wont cover. it turns out many people had to have wiring harness replaced costing thousands. while conducting my research i have found out water is leaking through the windshield the rear window and wiring harness that travels through the firewall. please help, ford will not admit to their mistake. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact stated that there was rust forming on the rear driver and passenger side tire wells. the failure recurred continuously. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the entire rear panel needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 84,800.

Rear passenger side quarter panel rust due to rubber panel being improperly installed at factory. full rust through in the middle of the panel, from the inside out. *tr

Rust in the rear passenger quarter panel due to a know factory defect of a rubber pad being installed improperly, contacted ford about the problem, they refuse to repair or assist in any way. *tr

I am the owner of a 2004 f-150. this is my fifth ford product on a row, two of them purchased new. recently the passenger side rear window regulator failed, causing the window to slide down into the door. in december. i purchased a replacement regulator/motor assembly and just finished the installation. when i examined the old unit i found the operating cable incorrectly spooled onto the primary pulley. when the cable overlapped itself the end pulled out of the lifting block. when i was searching for information about the replacement procedure, i came across numerous websites detailing complaints about the failure of f150 window regulators. this leads me to believe that the problem is due to a faulty design and should be addressed by ford with a redesigned part and a recall to replace existing units. i will be contacting my congressman, about this expensive and annoying defect.websites detailing the issue are listed below: http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2011/08/problems-with-ford-f-150-window-regulators/ http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/f-150/2005/windows_windshield/power_window_regulator_failure.shtml information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt

I was traveling on a main boulevard when all of a sudden the drivers side window slid down with a loud sounding bang. the window did not break. however, what seems to be a spring loaded mechanism, must have broken causing the window to collapse down inside the door. the sound was so loud, it caused a nervous reaction in me which resulted in pulling on the steering wheel to one side. thankfully, there were no vehicles to that side and i was able to correct my steering to get back into my lane. as if one experience was not sufficient, it happened again 9/1/11. this time on the passenger side door. the same exact experience repeated except that this time i was driving at 75mph on i-25. i expected to find a recall to this dis-functional mechanism. what are the chances of this happening almost back to back within a 6 week period? *tr

Window regulator on 2004 f 150 lariat drivers door broke allowing the window to drop scaring me so bad that i went off the road just missing crashing into several trees. it sounded like someone had shot out my window, while i was driving in a thunder storm. the roads were wet, but there was know warning when the windowbroke, then i was getting hit in the face with rain it felt like glass hitting me in the face. this should be a recall by ford, i have research this problem and have found it to be massive in numbers with a big expense to ford customers. this many cases seems more than just a fluke incident. this should be looked into, i'm so lucky to be here now i just missed those trees and my wife is now scared that it may happen to one of my other remaining windows and does not want to ride with me anymore.. *tr

2004 ford f150 supercrew starts shaking horribly at highway speeds when pulling a travel trailer. it doesn't matter if you slow down, speed up, or take out of gear the only way to make it quit is to come to a complete stop. this has happened 3 times to me so far and it feels as if all the wheels are about to fall off. i called my dealer and they said that they haven't heard of this problem, but if you do a search on it there is a lot of people concerned of this dangerous issue. luckily i haven't been on an interstate with my travel trailer because i would believe that this could cause me to possibly lose control at those kind of speeds. *tr

Door power window regulator fails (broken plastic piece) and door window glass falls into the door. this usually occurs while driving - see thousands of internet reports. this is a dangerous defect in the regulator that ford knows about and refuses to recall. repair part and labor cost approx $400 per window. i have had 2 window regulators fail so far! ford should be responsible for this. *tr

On 25 march 2011, i encountered a loud pop in the door on the driver-side of my 2004 ford f-150 regular cab truck, and the window disappeared into the door frame. i removed the door panel and discovered that the cable mechanism within the window regulator had failed. without further delay i turned the truck into my ford dealer to have the window regulator repaired, and received a repair bill of $301.86 (the regulator alone cost $159.36); the ford advisor stated that they had the part in stock since the window regulator failure was a common occurrence. i did not inspect the regulator to determine why the cable mechanism had failed. after this incident i visited www.nhtsa.gov to determine the extent of the problem, and learned that more than 240 other 2004 ford truck owners had experienced the exact same problem in one door or the other in their trucks. as might be expected when inferior parts are installed in a vehicle, such as the window regulators in the 2004 ford trucks, the passenger-side window regulator also failed. in the second instance i determined that a small, cheap piece of molded plastic on the window regulator had failed because of the immense pressure applied to it when the window was being raised. details of that failure are listed elsewhere on this website. *tr

3rd power window regulator failure in 1.5 yrs on 2004 ford f-150 supercrew truck. when regulator fails, it sounds as though someone struck or shot the window causing me to jump and take my eyes off the road to see what had happened and if any passengers were injured almost causing me to collide with an on-coming vehicle. i have had two of the regulators replaced by a local paint and body shop where i was told that it is a known problem with the regulators. my cost to date has been in excess of $350 and i now have two suction cups holding one window up until i can afford to have it repaired. *tr

2004 ford f150 window regulator failures...multiple times..several months apart. the window comes crashing down and is totally open. i have dogs that ride with me. this has got to be fixed by ford. *tr