Problems with 2001 Ford F-150 POWER TRAIN

My vehicle has an automatic transmission. i pulled out of my driveway and shifted into drive and the gear shifter went "floppy," became excessively loose and would not shift into any other gear position. i had to shut the engine off and set the emergency brake to keep the vehicle in place right there in the middle of the street. it turns out two 27mm torx bolts had come loose on the steering column shifter assembly inside the dashboard (a nut holding one of the bolts had actually broken into two pieces). see attached pictures. as i researched this problem, i learned that hundreds, perhaps thousands had reported the same issue (that and bushings breaking or slipping out on the steering column causing a similar issue), on f-150's, f-250's, f-350's, windstar vans, and other ford vehicles. this had the potential to be a tragic problem. c'mon, ford, take some ownership and do right by your customers here--fix this problem under recall!

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford f-150. while attempting to stop the vehicle at a traffic light, the gear failed to remain in drive. the failure occurred twice. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electric dial in the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

2001 ford f-150. consumer writes in regards to transmission problems. *smd the consumer stated during routine use of the truck, the transmission stopped functioning. the transmission repair shop, informed the consumer the cast steel gear within the transmission had shattered into two pieces. in october 2009, during an annual safety inspection, the straps holding the fuel tank in place were corroded and almost completely rusted through. in the summer of 2013, ford motor company, sent the consumer a notice, informing him the fuel tank strap were being recalled. the consumer was not overly concerned, since they had already been replaced, ford sent another recall. the consumer informed ford, he had the straps replaced. ford then advised the consumer to visit the dealer about reimbursement. the dealer wanted to see what repairs had been made. once the truck was on the lift, it was discovered the original faulty tank straps had caused a weakening in the skin of the fuel tan itself and that it was leaking gasoline through the skin of the tank. the tank was leaking fuel around the area where the straps rubbed on the tank. ford would only honor the recall, if they replaced the straps. however, they refused to replace leaking fuel tank. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford f-150. the contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle began shaking violently. the contact mentioned that the failure also occurred when in reverse. in addition, the vehicle was leaking fuel. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the spark plug needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

Started truck heard a loud pop engine running rough checked,spark plug blew out destroying coil pack now called ford dealer they said no recall checked on internet noticed a lot of people same problem. a lot money to repair. i had just got back from a 600 mile trip if this had happened during trip would have cost me up to $4.000 to get on road again, this should be a recall! and if i get it fixed i will have to get rid of it because people are complaining 2 or more plugs are blowing out and i can not afford the fix .

(ford f150 xlt v-8 / 4.6 lit.) parked in parking space at wal-mart came out of store cranked up my truck put it into reverse and it would not move forward or back up. the transmission without warning completely bad needed to be replaced. never pulled a trailer or treated hard in anyway. bought the truck new and had it 9 years 49,000 miles. i have heard of this problem with other f-150 owners. ford needs to own up to a defect. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford f-150. when the contact placed the vehicle into park and exited, the vehicle rolled backwards as if the gear was placed into reverse. shortly after, the vehicle appeared to gain speed and did not stop until it crashed into a tree. the vehicle was unoccupied at the time of the crash, but the air bags failed to deploy and the emergency brake was not engaged. there was a lot of damage to the landscaping as well as a fence. the vehicle appears to have a lot of damage also, but it has not yet been inspected. a police report was filed. the current and failure mileages were 110,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford f-150 pickup. the contact has an automatic transmission and the gear indicators have shifted one indicator to the right. when the vehicle was shifted into the park position instead it was in reverse. in order to drive the vehicle the gear shift had to be placed in the neutral position or second gear. the current mileage was 103,000. the failure mileage was 95000. the vin was not available.

Driving my ford 2001 f150 in heavy traffic when a loud bang under from my hood and rendered my vehicle useless and a major traffic hazard as i was in the middle lane with cars and dump trucks swerving around me to pass by me .this is a very serious and common problem that is happening to many ford owners that have the triton engines. spark plug ejection ford must be held accountable only a matter of time before a death occurs..ford dealer tells me i might as well get a new engine at a value of $ 8000.00. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford f-150. the contact stated while the vehicle was slowing down to stop, the engine rpms would increase, the gear engaged and the vehicle lunged forward. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. the remedy did not repair the failure. the failure recurred at 11,000 miles and the dealer stated that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced again. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred him to nhtsa. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 37,000 and the current mileage was 48,000.

I own a 2001 ford f150 it has 36,000 miles on it. i've taken great care of the truck, but as of last week after taking it to the dealer because of the truck not starting. i was informed the computer needed replaced and two coil packs. and quote" does have a transmission concern." after waiting 13 days to get my truck i didn't want them to do anymore and i would pick the truck up. i didn't get two blocks and there was an obvious problem with the transmission. i took it to a independent transmission repair shop and asked them to change the fluid and filter and if they saw any problems to give me a call. a few hours later they called and said they found ball bearings and debris in the transmission pan, informed me that it should be rebuilt. i informed them to go ahead rebuild and to save all parts. they first test drove the truck to see if any computer codes would show up. none did, but they did notice it dropping up and down in gears. so it was obviously a mechanical problem to them. to make a long story short they found that a needle bearing had blown up in the planetary gear set. and had informed me that it was a manufacture defect. ford should own up to problem and pay for any and all repairs. the total rebuild cost was $1943.75 something that should never happen with a truck with only 36,000 miles on it. *tr

2/28/07 while driving on rt 3 @ 60 mph my transmission down shifted & the o.d. off light flashed on & off continuously. i stopped & looked it up in the owners manual and found that my transmission should be serviced. took to ford dealer and i was told transmission needed work and that warranty plan expired 2 days earlier. brought to trans shop was shown transmission pan full of metal from gears needed to b rebuilt @ 41000 miles and never towed or plowed,@ a cost of over $2000.00. *jb

There aren't any real events leading to the failure. i took my truck into the local dealership (gary crossley ford) to have the speed control recall work done. while there i asked to have a state inspection done as well. i was told by the service advisor that the lower ball joint were somewhat loose and would need replacing - so i had them do that as well as flush the transmission as well (this truck only had 62,000 miles on it). following that it passed inspections - all was well. not even one month later (possibly only 3 weeks) i tried backing from my parking spot at work and heard a *thunk* from the rear end. not sure what it was i backed up more and heard it again. put the truck in drive and there was a rubbing noise from underneath. i parked it and called a tow rig to take it back to the dealer. upon hearing from them the following day i was told the carrier bearing in the rear end had "exploded" and i'd need to replace most everything in the rear end. agreed to have the work done. got a call a day later telling me that problem was fixed, but there was another - the *thunking* was still there and was likely the transmission. had them check and sure enough, it needed to be replaced as well. finding out that ford was going to "cover" part of the transmission repair made me wonder if there weren't underlying problems that i was not, as an owner, alerted to. the truck never had a problem before these, and i've been very uncomfortable with it since. *tr

2001 f150 lariat the pinion bearings, carrier bearings and the races for both were pitted and in bad shape. *ts ***nar*** prior to taking the vehicle to the dealer the consumer heard a whinning noise coming from the rear end. the rear end of the truck had to be rebuilt. the consumer believes that either the bearing are made of a cheap material, that the gears are bad or where the sit is not set up correctly. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated that an independent mechanic determined while servicing the vehicle that there was a premature failure in the pinion bearings and the carrier bearings from the rear end of the vehicle. updated 7/13/2006 - the differential unit started making noise. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair facility and told that the carrier bearing and pinion bearing and the races for both were pitted and had black streaks on them. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while attempting to put the vehicle in reverse it would not move backward. additionally, when put in park the vehicle would roll. the dealer inspected the vehicle and noted the planetary gear in the transmission needed to be replaced. the dealer rebuilt the transmission and corrected the problem. updated 05/03/06. *jb

Difficulty in shifting, clutch to the floor/non-responsive. upon taking in to dealer problem was due to clutch slave cylinder failure. this rendered the vehicle non-operable. dealer replaced clutch slave cylinder and was authorized to replace clutch due to wear and labor involved should it fail in the near future. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while attempting to shift from drive to reverse, the vehicle made a clicking sound and would not move forward. the contact physically pushed the vehicle into the driveway. after further inspection, the contact determined the drive shaft was broken. the drive shaft broke in two along the welds. the drive shaft was removed and taken to the dealer. the dealer suggested sending the part to the manufacturer for inspection. updated 2/28/2006 - *nm

The slave cylinder on the clutch assembly leaks making the clutch inoperable and the driver unable to disengage the transmission. the problem is well known with ford f150 owners yet there has not been a recall issued. *nm

I brought this car from the dealership bill eard. this car has gave me plenty of problems with its transmission. i have took the car to the dealership but they don't want to help me with anything . so i have took the car to a mechanic and they have informed me that this car is no good. that is the reason i want to cancel the purchased of this car. *nm

Dt: the consumer stated that the rear differential on his 2001 ford f150 rusted. the consumer was having the vehicle fixed. the vehicle was regularly maintained. the dealership/manufacturer were not notified. the consumer said that the rusting starting about a year ago.*ak the consumer stated the rear differential cover has rusted through and was leaking fluid. the rust was not isolated to just one spot. *jb

Transmission locked up and would not move in reverse had to be towed to transmission shop total rebuild cost of $2000 shop said he sees 2 a week with this problem 2001 ford f150 46000 miles automatic transmission. *jb

Vehicle is 2001 f150 supercrew 4x4 purchased new in 2001. vehicle has 81,500 miles and has never been used for towing or hauling heavy loads. automatic transmission will not engage right away in forward gears. there is a delay of several seconds before engagement. works alright in reverse and once vehicle starts moving. seems to be similar to problem noted in tsb 01-11-7. brought to stateline ford in phillipsburg, nj to investigate. was told that there was internal problem with transmission and that replacement is recommended. asked if this was normal for this transmission to fail at 81,000 miles and i was told it was not. called ford customer relations center to explain problem and see if ford would participate in part of cost for replacement. was told they would not. called dealer to see if this could be discussed with field rep and was told they couldn't. *nm

The vehicle's automatic transmission failed. *nm the transmission continued to break down. there was no reverse due to the low in reverse clutch being inoperative. there was slippage as well due to the reverse sun gear weld being broken. *sc *jb

While driving transmission disengaged and exploded internally. this caused damage to the third/fourth, and reverse gears. vehicle decelerated, it would not go over 40 mph. consumer contacted the manufacturer, who said there was nothing they could do. *ak

Ford gave no reason for complete trasmission failure. fortunately sllipping and failure occured during transmission warm up in drive way. complete transmission replacement at 40,000 mi at owner expense.*ak

Couldn't change gear when i was going uphill, almost caused accident. *la

1. while driving at various speeds, vehile shook. taken to the dealership several times for repairs at my expense. 2. several "gold" spark plugs replaced due to the shake...my expense 3. coil replaced due to the shake. my expense 4.at 49,000 miles tried to back out of drive way and it would not go into gear. had to drive through yard to get out, took to dealership, replaced transmission. dealership payed for all but $500.00 5. at 60,000 had to have torque converter and flywheel replaced. truck would make loud rattling/vibration noise - dealer would not cover cost - my expense 6. try to start vehicle, as soon as you release key it shuts off, cannot keep it running while idle, currently having it towed to dealership. *ak

No summary listed. *ak

Clutch failure: my truck has been in the shop multiple times for the malfunctioning of the clutch. the clutch has to be pumped up during long periods of non-use i.e. long highway driving or parked. the dealership has replaced the slave cylinder twice, once under warranty, once owner paid. *ak

Automatic overdrive transmission failure with 65877 highway miles. could not be rebuilt,had to buy new trans.vehicle under 3 years old and factory would only help with $700.00 of $3000.00 plus bill.*ak

Transmission would not shift from a dead start. i would attempt to cross an intersection and the transmission would not engage. when it did it was with a violent jerk of the vehicle. the force of the jerk was similar to being in a rollercoaster. took vehicle to local ford dealership and the only explanation i was given was that the transmission was running hot and ford now required an in-line cooler filter be installed on the transmission at my cost since the inline cooler filter was not original.*ak

Consumer states while traveling at 75 mph lost complete acceleration. vehicle would only function in first gear. dealer was not able to duplicate problem. *ak

While driving 45 mph overdrive light illuminated, transmission slipped while shifting from second gear to third gear and from third gear to fourth gear. also, there was hesitation and rpms increased. dealer replaced transmission with a rebuilt one.*ak

While driving the transmission emitted a noise and the gears moved between first and third gear. *nlm

Consumer states while driving the vehicle at any speed, the automatic transmission begins severely slip from gear to gear. forcing to pull out of the road. dealer was notified. please provide further information. ts

Purchased 2001 ford f150 larietsuper crew cab pu on 4/01/2000, 26 miles on odometer, at time of purchase also purchased roadside assistance pkg and extended warranty, esp, from ford , have had serious braking problems with vehicle, vehicle was repeatedly serviced at ford dealership for these repairs, none of which were covered, in may 2002 entire engine failed and had to be rep[laced, was informed by dealership that the problem was that one of the eleectronic brains that control /operate this component failed, on dec 27, 2002 the transmission gave out entirely, luckily the vehicle was not on the freeway at the time, was towed to dealership where it still sits, have called, e-mailed and mailed info to ford customer care without any results other then from phone rep saying that there is nothing that ford will do...this vehicle has been very costly to maintain and for a ford is definatly not bulit "ford tough"...i am very disappointed in the attitude of ford motor company regarding my disappointmnent with this vehicle

Take a look a my vehicle history, i baby my truck - never used off-road. i have replaced several items that i feel should have been fixed by ford. i had to buy a warranty that cover most of the stuff. some parts with defects that were replaced. most replaced at 40,000-80,000 miles 1.) transmission completely replaced 2.) rearend replaced 3.) i'm on my third set of all 4 ball joints 4.) tie rods, tie rod ends (replaced twice now) 5.) coil 6.) headlight housing (3-4 times) 7.) brakes, numerous things worked on and replaced dealership was never able to stop the thumping noise that is still there, said it was normal (not) 8.) idler arm (replaced twice) 9.) sunroof switch replaced twice, reported loud bang when opening. a&b kia said it was normal - no, now it is completely broke and will barely open and have to force closed. 10.) sideview mirrors vibrated 11.) abs sensor replaced 12.) keyless entry replaced 13.) steering bearings replaced 14.) back bumper is rusting these are just some of the things i can remember right off hand. i've got all receipts. i take care of this truck - wash and wax once a week by hand (unless really bad weather) then i just take it to the car wash automatic or actual people washing. keep inside just as nice. if you want to check out a vehicle for safety/recall information you should start with mine. *ak

Vehicle is not safe without seatbelts working properly 100%. dt rq04011.*pco

Consumer stated that while driving at any speed and no warning the manual transmission will jerk making a loud noise. dealer replaced three times and the problem is reoccurring. please provide further information. mr

While driving consumer was unable to take vehicle out of gear. dealer examined vehicle, and determined that slave cylinder failed, causing clutch assembly to leak.*ak

A scraping sound from the right rear was noticed at 31,000 miles. informed dealer of noise, sounded like brakes scrapping. dealer said brakes were fine. 51,000 miles noise turned into a wining sound. dealer said it was a non-related sound. ford refused to honor warranty for mis-diagnois during warranty period. dealer did not give any further advise nor recommendations at 31,000 miles. ford said a wheel bearing check was not done at 30,000 miles. dealer tech said axel was out of factory tollerance was cause. repair cost was $3,500.00. i did not know what made the noise , i was describing the noise as possible brakes, but now ford says that is what i asked them only to look at. that is not true, i said it is making a noise , sounds like the brakes, they should have drove it rather than just looking at the brakes. they said it was fine then, now they say i should have brought it back if the noise was still there. i did not as they said it was ok. when it started grinding , i then brought it back. i was lucky it did not lock up and cause an accident.*ak

while driving at 65 mph transmiission fluid was leaking from rear. please provide any further iformation. *ak

Gear shift sticks and is sometimes impossible to shift gears.*ak

Fluid leak in clutch system, dealer could not find source so he relpaced master cylinder and slave cylinder. then feb 21 2003 had same problem. dealer relaced complete cluch assembly including the slave cylinder. also at this time they noticed that the air bag switch was not functioning prorerly. this switch had been turned off at time of delivery and was never turned on again. how can this switch fail under this condition? this truck is driven over the road and well maintained. i don't feel that i should be having this much trouble when the clutch is not used as much as if it were used for in town or suburan driving. i feel that this model and year has a faulty clutch and air bag system.

Tapping noise in transfer case below four wheel drive shifter. *ak

I have taken this vehicle to the service department on 7 different occasions for vibration while driving at speeds of 34, 52 and 72 mph. they have had the ford regional rep look at this vehicle 4 times and he insists that i have a tire problem! i have already been through 5 new sets of tires, 2 new sets of wheels, a drive shaft replacement and a rear end overhaul and i still have the same problem! i would appreciate any assistance that your office could provide in helping resolve these problems!*ak (tiresize: p26570r17)

Significant automatic transmission slippage, almost as if the transmission is slipping into neutral. this happened yesterday when i was making a left turn and was nearly stopped in the middle of the intersection. this problem started after about 20 minutes of freeway driving, and 10 minutes of in-town driving. it was prominent in all auto transmission gears: reverse, 1, 2, and 3/drive. i had the vehicle towed to the closest dealership in arroyo grande, ca 93420.

Intermittently when coming down an incline it would come out of overdrive; dealer notified. feel free to provide any further information. *ak

The transmission hesitates as it shifts from 1st gear to second gear. i was told it is normal by the dealer where i bought the truck and other dealerships as well. i have found out there is a defect in the transmission which causes this delay in the shifting of the transmission. this problem has been found in 4r100 transmissions built from 7/27/2000 to 3/23/2001. i believe this transmission to be unsafe and ford denies there is a problem. i want this transmission replaced with a new transmission. i have had this problem since the truck was new and all ford does is deny, deny, deny.