Problems with 2004 Ford F-150 TIRES

While driving the truck began vibrating, pulled over to see if the tires were the issue. nothing appeared to be wrong, tire pressure was fine and no weights had fallen off. at times the vibration was violent, shaking the whole truck. drove another 10 miles without any issues and the vibration would start again, looked on line and there were several posts identifying the same problem with other ford trucks. *tr

On friday, november 22, 2013 while driving to work on the freeway, i felt several "thumps" prior to the rear left tire on my f-150 blow. there was no load in the truck nor was i towing. i was able to safely get onto the shoulder. aaa responded and attempted to change the tire. he was unable, as some of the tire tread was wrapped around the axle. we also observed the parking brake cable broken. a tow truck was then dispatched to move my f-150 to a garage. damage noted to the truck was a snapped parking brake cable and a kinked hydraulic line. i authorized the garage to repair the brake system and get my truck back on the road. by the time they were able to gather the repair parts, it was the following wednesday (day before thanksgiving) when i able to get it back. first thing i noticed was the broken trailer electrical connector on the bumper. discussions with the tow company and the garage determined that the damage was caused by flying rubber. that wednesday afternoon i took the truck to discount tire to have the damaged tire replaced under the road hazard warranty i had purchased from them. examination of the remaining three ltx m/s tires revealed another tire with a delamination bulge. discount replaced two of the tires under the warranty with ltx m/s2?s, and i purchased two more. i did not want to take any more risks with the remaining ltx m/s's. *tr

I am so mad. i thought i was dealing with a great store. not. first i find out that the tires that they sold be are rated for cars, not full size trucks. im driving on the interstate and it raining. im hydroplaning all over the place. i take it to the shop and he tells me that we were lucky that we were not killed. i had a defective tires. and i need to got asap and have them replaced. im on my way now to go and deal with them. i counted on them to keep my family safe. just because i am a women they sold me something that i should not have had in the first place. *tr

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

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f150 equipped with cooper discoverer atr tires, tire size 265-70-17. the contact stated that the front passenger and driver side tires exhibited excessive cracks and were dry rotted. the vehicle was taken to an independent tire center where they refused to provide a refund for the defective tires. the tires were not replaced. the failure mileage was 80,000. the vin and dot numbers were unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 f-150. he stated while driving at 65 mph, the front and rear driver side tires became flat due to a valve stem failure. the contact had received previous repairs under an unknown technical service bulletin. the dealer advised they were unable to replace the tire because it was included in an unknown manufacturer's recall yet when the manufacturer was contacted, they would not provide any assistance. the failure and current mileages were 35,200.

Goodyear wrangler tire failure. i have 235/17/70 tires on my f150. the sidewalls are peeling, revealing white... i have had two sidewall failures resulting in highway blowouts. the remaining two tires appear to be destined for the same fate. additionally, the tread is showing premature wear. i will be replacing the tires with another brand. *tr

I was having a rattling noise under my truck for the past several months. my neighbor who used to work for ford thinks its the cables for the spare tire under my truck. he believes the spare tire cables are loose and need to be tightened. i looked in the owners manual to figure out how to get the spare tire out. i have to use my ignition key to open the lock to get to the tire. my key only fits half way in and wont open the lock. i used wd40 to maybe get it loose. tried again and nothing. i researched online and many people have the same problem. i called the dealer and they wont fix it for free since its not under warranty. what happens if i get a flat tire? i wont be able to get to my spare. this also happened on my other ford truck. *tr

Pro comp tires side walls are falling apart while driving, this is my second replacement tire out five, don't trust them anymore to drive safely down road. i'll keep them for testing purposes. *tr

No access to spare tire: 2004 ford f-150 "heritage" (2003 body style) spare stored under truck bed lowers using "key" and winch.the winch and key are supposed to engage via a "star shaped" indentation. if this does not engage one cannot lower the spare tire for use. the replacement (ford refuses to pay for)comes re-designed so that one actually inserts the lowering rod into the winch.there is no "star" to strip out or be worn down. with a flat tire on a busy road and one under the truck trying to access a spare tire constitutes a life threatening situation. ford has sold the re-design as a replacement and this in itself is an admission of a defective product design. dealership informed me that they simply cut the tire free and replace the winch at customer cost. *tr

On a 2004 ford f-150 4 x 4, original equipment tire, right rear, has cracked valve stem with no apparent trauma. *tr

Addendum to odi numbers searched: 10277293 spare tire stem cracked also total: 2 valve stem failures with low milage. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the vehicle has bf goodrich rugged trail ta tires, size 275/65/r18 (na). while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle would vibrate drastically. the dealer stated that the belt inside the tire had rotted and began separating from the tire. the tires had not yet been replaced. the vin was unknown. the failure and current mileages were less than 40,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the vehicle has bf goodrich rugged trail t/a tires, size p245/65r17. while washing the vehicle, the contact noticed that all four tires were rotting an inch down from the tread. he emailed the manufacturer and they advised him to take the tires to a dealer for inspection. the dealer did not state why the tires were rotting. another dealer stated that the failure occurred to numerous bf goodrich tires. the tires have not been replaced at this time. updated 07/16/09.*jb updated 08/04/09 *bf the consumer stated the defect extends around the entire circumference of all 4 tires. updated 08/05/09.*jb

While driving in heavy memorial day traffic on i 87 in ny state tire tread completely separated from tire causing a blow out. *tr

Out of the blue the truck just starts shaking, never know when or where. i have to pull off road and shut it off ,wait a bit, then start and leave and seems to be ok till next time. it has 37,800 miles . last time on i-94 at 65mph it scared me to death it started shaking so bad . i also had a 2005 f150 that did this. its not the tires, or engine but i think the drivetrain . very bad safety issue as i am finding i am not alone with this problem. someone needs to make ford admit what this is and fix these trucks. *tr

I was driving a 2004 ford 150 pickup south on interstate 29 near glenwood iowa when the steering wheel began to vibrate. i tried to pull to the right to see what was causing it when the right front tire seemed to explode. i was able to pull off the highway to the right without losing control of the truck and got out to see what had happened. i found the right front passenger tire still inflated but without any tread on the tire. i also found half the running board was missing, and a small dent in the door just above where the running board used to be. i called a tow truck and had the vehicle towed to tincher ford in glenwood iowa and had the tire replaced. this cost wa s$157.00. i still did not know what it was going to cost to replace the running board. the mechanic mentioned he had never seen the tread on a tire separate the way this one did. i kept the old tire and replaced it with the exact same brand, a general ameritrac tr p255/70 r17. i am nervous about driving on these tires now with the fear of this reoccuring. i just heard there has been a series of accidents and even deaths caused by this tire. i would also like to recover the cost of the repairs to my pickup and tires.*ak

First - tire not listed on this complaint form - continental contitrac owl p255/65r17. driving 60mph on 2-lane hwy - saw smoke & then front right tire popped. truck pulled hard to right. luckily there wasn't a ditch or barrier because truck probably would have rolled with possible injuries. contacted ford dealer because i had purchased tire warranty when truck (f150) was purchased new in nov 2004. they said there was no recall on my year truck/tire p255/65r17 contitrac. they said they would have to call insurer of warranty to see if covered. 3/4 of sidewall blew out! i will be going to ford dealer 3/28/07. *jb

Tl* - the contact owns a 2004 ford f150. the vehicle was in the repair shop for a slow leak on the front passenger side tire so the mechanic plugged the tire. while mounting the tire to the vehicle it exploded. the explosion was caused by separation of the tire beads. the mechanic mounted the spare tire. after driving ten miles the spare tire blew also due to tire bead separation. the tire beads were completely severed in both failures. the failed tire brand is hankook dynapro, size, p235/75r17. the contact was driving 5 mph when the spare tire failed. *ak updated 2/22/2007 - *nm updated *jb updated 04/16/07*tr

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55 mph on the highway, the left front driver side tire sidewall separated without warning. there were no obvious road hazards present. the contact replaced the tire with a spare. the dealer and manufacturer were not alerted. the tire was a hankook, size dynapro as p235/70r17, and dot number of t79cp. *ak

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. the contact's vehicle has general ameritrac tr tires, size 8t25570r17. the tires blew out twice while driving at 60 mph. the sidewall of the passenger side tire blew out one year after the vehicle was purchased. the second blowout was on the passenger side rear tire and occurred the same way as before. the first blowout was repaired. the current mileage is 30,000 and failure mileage was 20,000.*ak

recall campaign number 05t022000; i have a 2004 f-150 with the continental contitrac tire on it original equipment. i have had to replace the tires after just 35000 miles of life. this is a 50000 mile tire. i feel this recall should be extended to the 2004 model year f-150 as well. *jb

Defective b. f goodrich long trail ta tires (265r60 18) ford f150 lariat appear to have a design defect causing a very harsh ride & shuddering upon stopping. when attempting to stop in the rain, the shuddering caused the anti lock brake module to malfunction and resulted in loss of control of the vehicle. ford is aware of the tire defect (a letter was received) yet has declined to replace the tires. *nm

On the ford f-150 trucks mine is a 2004 the spare tires are mounted with the air filler valve mounted on the top side. you can not get at the air valve to check tire pressure. the only way is to remove jack handle from rear seating area and follow the procedures to lower the tire. well that is not going to happen so when you need the spare usually in an emergency situation the tire could be under inflated or perhaps flat. i have tried to contact ford and the will not respond to my complaint. please can you help me and thousands of others many who are not even aware of this. the selling dealers service manager was not aware of this until i questioned them. i also have a 2005 ford escape and the spare is mounted with air valve down so checking air is not an issue. i believe that if it is do able on chevrolet, dodges and others ford can make it right . regards dave emmons. *nm

I had left my car for about five minutes. when i returned the tire was flat, and i noticed a slit in the sidewall. later i filled the tire with air. the visible slit did not leak air, but another smaller crack did. there was no other damage to the tire. *jb

We have had problems with the general ameritrac tr p255/70r17 tires on our truck. within the last 3 months we have had to replace 3 tires, they are very easily punctured. we have not done out of the ordinary driving. it is normal ground and normal driving. when the tires go flat, the puncture sites are too big to plug. our mini van tires hold up much better than these truck tires. is anyone else having this problem? the truck and tires are only a year old and the tread is still good. *nm

Rear brakes applied without prompting truck vibrated wildly causing loss of control. result right rear emergency brake cable detached from seat, rear brakes burnt down to 33 mm. brake rotors out of true. tires wearing irregularly. *nm

Dt: the vehicle has been to the dealer 3 times. they didn't know what wrong with it. there was bad vibration , felt like a tie rod end or wheel was going to come off. they replaced all the tires, put a new rim on it, and put in a new drive shaft . this started around june 15, 2005. the vehicle was taken back to the dealers today for the fourth time. haven't contacted the manufacturer but have checked the information for the lemon law. *ak

Dt: the vehicle has been to the dealer 3 times. they didn't know what was wrong with it. there was bad vibration ,like a tie rod end going bad or the wheel coming off. they replaced all the tires , and put a new rim on the passenger's side, and put in a new driveshaft. this started around june 15, 2005. the vehicle was going back to the dealers for the fourth time. haven't contacted the manufacturer but got information on the lemon law. *ak *nm

The front steering on my 2004 ford f-150 truck will start to wobble after slowing down from highway travel. it acts like the wheels are out of balance. however, i just had the tires rotated and balanced because of this, but it did not help. the vehicle has 23,000 miles. another person i know is experiencing the same problems with his 2004 ford f-150 with 17,000 miles. *jb

2004 ford f150 has tire nibble between 50 and 57 mph and vibration at 45 mph. several trips to the ford dealership did not fix the problem. they replaced 3 rims and 3 tires (contrack). still did not fix the problem. i placed the spare tire on passenger front due to a flat and it reduced the nibble and vibration by half. i purchased 4 new 20 inch cooper tires and 4 new rims and vibration is 95% gone and slight nibble after 10,000 miles. i will have tires rebalanced and alignment checked and plan the have rear lowered by 2 inches. a friend had the rear lowered by 2 inches on his 2004 f150 and helped with stability and vibration. *nm

The tires are wearing uneven on the front treads. consumer stated that he checked the weight of the truck for the weight required for tires and they did not match. manufacturer stated they were aware of the problem, however, no response from the manufacturer on the tire replacement.*ak

Vibration problem started at 26k. had vehicle into dealer 5 times. road force balance didn't resolve problem. told i needed new tires which i bought at 30k, but didn't totally eliminate vibration. ford corp. nor several dealers are interested in resolving. next step lemon law arbitration. *nm

I currently own a 2004 f150 fx4 supercrew. the truck has a bad vibration between (60-65 mph) which in turn causes the bed to shake. the dealership balanced the tires and replaced the driveshaft, and now they are ordering a counter balance which will be installed under the right rear of the truck. the dealer is also looking into the possibility of a problem with the goodyear wrangler tires which have 1 ply of nylon in the tread--the tires seem to be real bad in cold weather. i voiced my concerns about the bed shaking and how you can take your fist and hit the rear bumper of the truck and the bed will shake repeatedly. according to a ford technician--"this is a characteristic of this truck". this "characteristic" makes this vehicle unstable on rough roads. personally i believe ford should save its name and correct the problem. i am still working with my dealer, but things are not looking good. *jb

While driving at highway speed my left front tire came off. the tires were rotated and torqued 5,000 miles ago. the truck was towed to a ford dealer who dismissed us and told us that its our problem because we rotated and torqued the wheels. i talked to a relative who is an asst. plant mgr. for ford and he said that this happens quite often and that there might be some issues with the material that is used as the final coating on these stems and nuts which cause theme to come loose. we declined to have the dealership fix the truck and took it elsewhere for a second opinion. the dealership wanted to charge approximately $1,700 to fix the problem. the second opinion told us that only a few things needed to be repaired. stems and bolts were replaced and the rest of the wheels were checked for $211.00! pleases check into this for me. i wouldn't ask for your help if i really felt that this was our problem. thank you, nancy jowiski *jb

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 ford f150. the tire manufacturer is continental tires, contritrac, size p255/65r17. it is a tubeless radial tire. at only 3000 miles the truck shook . they changed two tires because the tires were not good. on june 27, 2005 the rear driver's side tire blew out. *ak

I purchased a 2004 ford 150 4 wheel drive crewcab. living in oregon we have snow during the winter. when i attempted to purchase chains for this vehicle i was told they would not fit. when i contacted fords customer relations i was told i should have read page 276 of the owners manuel prior to purchase so i know own a $41,000 4 wheel vehicle that can not be driven in the snow. fords attitude was so what! *ak

2004 f-150 super crew 4x4. vibration in vehicle. steering wheel shackes. dealer states that tsb is aware- manufacturer. is working on it. have seen information about this exact problem in many identical trucks. what is ford going to do? what can i do? help.*ak

I am going to give you a view of what has happened with this truck in the 2 months that i have owned this new truck. the day after i bought the truck i took it back for a vibration in the breaks and a vibration in the wheels at 30 and 75 well as i am sure all of you know the vibration in the wheels at those speeds was the tires are out of round and well the breaks well we are still on that one i also had a vibration in the rear end. well they told me that they had to get new tires and that the rear end was bad. so now that they have replaced the rear end and replaced the tires and rebuilt the break system that still does not work, and now the window falls off track and i smell something burning in the truck like plastic also let me add that the keypad does not work. now remember that this truck in two (2) months old i bought it on august 23 2004 and it is now november 9, 2004. so what do you think that i should do??? i do appreciate all the input .*ak

I have a 2004 f150 4x4 reg. cab 4x4 pick up truck. it has goodyear wrangler tires on it. lt275/65 18c wrangler at/s. they keep cupping. i am now on my 5th set of tires. ford wants to and did at one time put on p275/65 18 on the truck. i was against this dropping to a p metric tire. they now reinstalled the light truck tires again at my request. ford stated that they know they have a problem with these tires. my biggest concern is that they are dropping to a p metric from a light truck. the cupping is also a safety concern with not getting good contact with the road. i will give you the fist date this happened. the first time i only had 181 miles on my truck. *nm

While driving the consumer felt vibrations coming from the front and rear of the vehicle. *nm in the first week of driving the vehicle the consumer detected a vibration in the front and rear of the vehicle. all four tires wore out around the outer edges. the consumer paid cash for a new vehicle and expected new tires. the consumer was refused a new set of tires. *tc *jb

Twice the engine has gone into "fail-safe" or "limp" mode; diagnosed as a "computer" glitch on a brand new 2004, less than 700 miles, ford f150 pu; once entering the highway; once entering an intersection. when this happens, there is enough power to get you off of the road. stopping the truck, cutting it off and back on allowed for normal use. also excessive vibration checked 3 times, was told under investigation; no fix yet. 3 out of 4 new tires were replaced during diagnostics stating that they had "flat" spots on them.*ak

Vibrations throughout the chassis at speeds between 50-60 mph. vehicle is at dealership for 3rd time for same problem. so far just road force balance of tires, and both front tires replaced. problem first noticed with less than 700 miles on vehicle, the day after delivery of vehicle.ui*ak

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 ford f150 super cab. the contact complained about steering problems. took vehicle to the dealership several times, and they have been unable to correct the problem. vehicle will shimmied while going down the road, they replaced the rack and pinion and it helped some. the tires have been changed, realigned, and balanced, and nothing helped. he did know of other people that also had this problem. a friend said that they knew over 500 reports on a website of these problems as well. this problem has been occurring since the vehicle was purchased in september 2004. *ak *nm

I have a 2004 f150 and am having the same problem as most others here. i have a bad vibration that was starting at 42 mph and is now happening at all speeds all the time. the dealer has rebalanced the tires, put on a vibration damper and also has replaced all 4 tires and wheels as a set all to no avail. the dealer i bought the truck from has been going out of their way to try to help me, but like me they are getting very frustrated as ford is not doing much if anything to try to fix it. i am now going to be seeing a ford engineer on sept 20th about the problem. so far nothing has been done to fix it. fords engineer says it is a characteristic of the tires and that i should live with it. i don't think so. i have been to my dealer 5 times for this problem.*ak

I purchased my 2004 f150 supercab 2x4 august 12 and paid my first payment to ford motor credit september 11. it has 4500 miles on it and already needed four new tires! during the past month i have had seven (7) flats. granted, i drive five miles (one way) down a dirt road sometimes twice a day, but that's exactly why i wanted a truck, i thought it could handle it. i showed the tires to the service department at the dealership where i purchased my truck, their response: it looks like somebody has been peeling out on gravel that gravel is really eating up this truck" "i'm sorry, we can't help you". actually, the tires look like somebody has been doing donuts on barbed wire or run through a meat tenderizer, chewed up. rocks the size of english peas are cutting / puncturing these tires. is anybody else having the same tire issue? *ak

I have a 2004 f-150 supercrew, from day one i have noticed a vibration in the steering wheel between 55-70 mph, i have had it in for service now four times in 3 months. dealership indicated that it was "road force" bad tires. after replacement vibration still existed. *jb

Severe steering wheel shake at 50 mph plus. roush tejon f150 supercrew. 20" roush wheels with 20" bfg all terrain ta tires. dealer has tried to balance 2 times. ntb cannot balance. local shop at my expense cannot balance. dealer is not test driving to verify repair is correct and complete.*ak

Driving on the freeway (approx. 65 - 70 mph) and the right passenger tire blew out on the sidewall. my 2004 f-150 only has 9700 miles on it to date. unfortunately, there were no corrective actions taken to correct the failure. the dealership as well as other tire stores, did not carry this particular tire (255x65xr17). ford leaves you with no other alternative except to purchase all new wheels and tires. *jb

Every time you reach the speed between 65- 70 mph the vehicle / steering wheel shakes as if the tires are not balanced. i had them balanced 3 times already and it still does the same. rear end of vehicle throws to l/r when going over bumps. i've test driven other makes and there isn't a problem going over the same bumps. *jb