Wow, this is AWESOME!!! I've had my 2k F150 a year now, and this has been a problem since shortly after we bought it. I was searching a different issue and came across this thread. Yeeeeha!! New task added to hubby's honey-do list! Kudos to all who contributed and especially to Greg who posted it!

One would think that since this issue has been around since 2000 (if not before) and dvdrouin1 has a 2006 with this same problem, Ford would take steps to rectify the problem! How disappointing.

 

Update: I just done the repair last month.

Thanx again.

 

add me to the list! fixed mine tonight in about an hour, awesome thread

 

I also used these step by step instructions to fix my odometer. It was a bad solder joint, exactly as described. THANKS.

I worked for a large company for 5 years building printed circuit boards for super computers, and this is called a cold solder joint.
Obviously they had a quality control issue, or an inspection issue (no inspection) if this is a common problem across so many years of trucks!

attaching a pic of the cold solder joint

 

Just bought a 2003 Heritage Edition 5.4L, with this same problem. I'd already fixed it once before on my old '99 F150 and it worked perfectly. I removed the instrument cluster on the '03, and lo and behold, it has the same pin with a poor solder joint! Soldered the pin, put it back together, and it - again! - works perfectly.
This saved me $900 when I bought the truck - a dealer had quoted the previous owner $1150 to fix it! It took me about an hour... what a ripoff!

 

This manufacturer defect is a gold mine for the Ford dealers. Look at how many people have posted on this thread with the same problem. Imagine all the Ford owners who have this problem and don't have the ability to fix it or know-how to find the solution. If it weren't for my husband, I would have had to dish out $900+ to get the problem repaired.

Ford HAD to have know about this! From 1999 to - what was the latest model to post - 2006?! That's SEVEN FREAKIN' YEARS the dealers have been milking people... and at $1k a pop, no less! Unbelievable.

 

It all comes down to dollars and cents... They have people who's only job is to weigh the cost vs. the benefit, or the cost to repair vs. go to court.

 

Ford did not have to know about this.
This thread was not made until AUG-2003, which the New body style 2004 MY was being made and the MY range that this thread covers was only in the 2004 Heritage and Lightning models at that time.

The 2006 that is listed in this thread, is not the same issue as the 99-03 MY trucks.

I love how some expect Ford to fix the product for free for life ( theirs not the trucks ).

Bet if you count the individual posts in this thread not just the total ( I have 248, but you need to discount my post # 248 and one of your 2 posts ) I would say there are 235 unique cases here out of 1999 to 2003, selling 1M units per year, that is 4 M trucks with 235 problems.
Lets take an assumption and extrapolate that there were 5,000 cases out of 4M units.
It is not a pandemic problem is what the math says.

 

I would have to believe it more widespread than that. When I bought my truck 3 yrs, the first time it went in for service, the service writer looked at it and said, I see your odometer isn't working. He then stated that at least 75% of the trucks he sees have this issue.

 

I am using math, members registered on the site here, and the number of posts in the thread, it was not a guess or belief.

Same thing happened with the spark plug issues on the 2V 5.4L.
People believed it was wider spread than this site showed, due to them thinking or feeling their opinion was more correct than math.
While the method I used is not conclusive, it shows the percentage in this community as a subset.

Hard to say what this actually means.
Is the 75% a real number, or him taking a guess ?
What is the time frame he is using ?
Is he accurately counting ( not counting the same truck more than once is a 2 year time frame ).
How many trucks in total over this unknown time frame has he seen ?
Did he start estimating this after seeing 3, where for the time from 1999 to 2001 he did not see any, and did not keep track of those trucks ?

Again I cannot say that my math is 100% correct but i did better than tossing a number out of < 1% without any backing.

 

I bought my truck in 2008, so the newest truuck he would have seen was already 4 yrs old, and the oldest 11. I would have to believe teh number is p-robably more along the lines of less than 10 percent, if you include Expeditions.

 

It looks like both of you have a point here.

All that being said - it seems to me that there are "a lot". I'm not specifying what a lot is, but it's enough that it's obvious that there were production issues at the time the odometers were manufactured. An the problem continued for some time.
That is not a good thing and you would think that Ford would admit to there being a problem.
If it was the straps that hold your gas tank on (still waiting for the parts to come into the dealer on that recall) - they would have to admit it, but this is only an accessory - so no one is going to get hurt - if it fails.

The least they could do would be to make the replacement part available at a reasonable price so that it could be replaced without the huge gauging that happens at the dealerships.

Aa far as the spark plug problem goes - when I popped mine. I called the dealer and they responded like I was ordering a pizza.

"Popped plug - oh ya - that will be $400.00. We have all the parts and do it all the time. In by 11:00 - out by 2:00 - no problem."

You don't think Ford knows about that problem as well?

 

How have people with dead odometers, been getting their vehicles to pass the yearly safety inspections? Or, are other states (besides PA and NY) more "lenient"?

Just that requirement alone tells me that these dead odometers would have to get fixed within a 12 month time frame...

 

Great thread write up. My 2002 repair went well and only had a problem removing the headligt swtch. It would be helpful to know where those pesty retaining tabs are located. Headlight switch removal for non-quick release switch.

I'll have to give it a few weeks to be sure it's fixed. Seems to be more of a problem after sitting a week or so.

While I had it all apart I started looking to see what it would take to align the shift selector indicator. It's not a big issue until someone else drives your truck. After checking out the topside while the cluster was out, I followed the cable down under the steering column. Stick your head under the dash and find the steering shaft u-joint and then follow the shaft twards the steering wheel. About 6" twards the steering wheel you will see a black plastic cable clamped down with a white bracket. The cable will have a red thread looking center cable coming out of it. Right next to the bracket there is a thumb screw adjustment. Pretty easy to adjust. Just hard to see the indicator and the thumb screw at the same time. I did a search but did not see anything on this.

 

There is a thread on the shifter adjustment in the index of the Ariticles and How To. Check it and if your truck is different, do a separate writeup and I will copy it into the How To section.