Dealer broke two spark plugs.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 423
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From: Pittsburgh
I've never put more than 18,000 miles on a vehicle before trading it in. I guess if I hit 30k I'll worry about it then.
Although I did see a piece of porcelain drop into someone's cylinder once...The tech thought it would just blow out the exhaust valve if he fired it up. We ended up buying an engine that day.
Although I did see a piece of porcelain drop into someone's cylinder once...The tech thought it would just blow out the exhaust valve if he fired it up. We ended up buying an engine that day.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,921
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From: Susquehanna Valley, pa.
I just saw an article on our local news tonight about this problem, Ford did bow to the pressure of the media and pay for the repair but, I bet they wont in 99% of the cases.
http://www.wgal.com/news/13763192/detail.html
http://www.wgal.com/news/13763192/detail.html
AKRON, Pa. -- What should have been a simple maintenance job turned into a $2,000 ordeal for a Lancaster County pickup truck owner and a mechanic.
Larry Ross said he bought his 2004 Ford F-150 in August 2006. The truck had nearly 100,000 miles on it, but Ross said it was in great shape. Ross took the truck to his mechanic a few months ago to keep it running smoothly.
"We were just going to do a routine spark plug check as recommended by Ford at 100,000 miles," Ross said.
Ross said that the job should have been done in one day and cost no more than $200. But there was a problem. Ross said his mechanic realized he wasn't going to be able to get to all of the spark plugs inside the engine. The only way he could get to all eight of them was by removing the entire cab of the truck, according to Ross.
The mechanic said that he had never seen the type of spark plug that was inside the F-150. He said the plug is twice as long as normal and has a metal sleeve on it.
"When you rotate this spark plug and try to extract it, then you break this thing loose and it pulls out, leaving this piece into the head," said one mechanic.
The only way to get to the broken pieces and change the plugs was to take the cab off the truck, the mechanic said. Eight on Your Side consumer reporter Brian Roche asked the mechanic about the problem.
Roche: "How did you feel as the mechanic calling the owner of this vehicle saying, 'Listen, this simple little job is going to become a major situation?'"
Mechanic: "How would you feel getting the phone call saying that your $200 tune-up is now gonna be $2,000 or more?"
Ross said he had no problem with what his mechanic did. Ross said Ford told him the issue wasn't their problem.
Roche called Ford, telling them, "We think this is an issue that would be of interest to all vehicle owners."
While News 8 waited for a statement from Ford, Ross got a letter from the company and a check for almost the entire cost of his repair.
A Ford spokesman in Detroit told Roche that the cab of the truck did not have to be removed to make the repair. But Roche said it's apparent that Ford realizes there's an issue because last year the company issued specific instructions and a special tool to remove the spark plugs from the Ford Triton engine.
The truck in News 8's story had a lot of miles on it. As other owners take their 2004 Ford F-150s in for the 100,000-mile maintenance, they could face the same spark plug problem. There are about 350,000 Ford F-150 pickups from model year 2004.
Larry Ross said he bought his 2004 Ford F-150 in August 2006. The truck had nearly 100,000 miles on it, but Ross said it was in great shape. Ross took the truck to his mechanic a few months ago to keep it running smoothly.
"We were just going to do a routine spark plug check as recommended by Ford at 100,000 miles," Ross said.
Ross said that the job should have been done in one day and cost no more than $200. But there was a problem. Ross said his mechanic realized he wasn't going to be able to get to all of the spark plugs inside the engine. The only way he could get to all eight of them was by removing the entire cab of the truck, according to Ross.
The mechanic said that he had never seen the type of spark plug that was inside the F-150. He said the plug is twice as long as normal and has a metal sleeve on it.
"When you rotate this spark plug and try to extract it, then you break this thing loose and it pulls out, leaving this piece into the head," said one mechanic.
The only way to get to the broken pieces and change the plugs was to take the cab off the truck, the mechanic said. Eight on Your Side consumer reporter Brian Roche asked the mechanic about the problem.
Roche: "How did you feel as the mechanic calling the owner of this vehicle saying, 'Listen, this simple little job is going to become a major situation?'"
Mechanic: "How would you feel getting the phone call saying that your $200 tune-up is now gonna be $2,000 or more?"
Ross said he had no problem with what his mechanic did. Ross said Ford told him the issue wasn't their problem.
Roche called Ford, telling them, "We think this is an issue that would be of interest to all vehicle owners."
While News 8 waited for a statement from Ford, Ross got a letter from the company and a check for almost the entire cost of his repair.
A Ford spokesman in Detroit told Roche that the cab of the truck did not have to be removed to make the repair. But Roche said it's apparent that Ford realizes there's an issue because last year the company issued specific instructions and a special tool to remove the spark plugs from the Ford Triton engine.
The truck in News 8's story had a lot of miles on it. As other owners take their 2004 Ford F-150s in for the 100,000-mile maintenance, they could face the same spark plug problem. There are about 350,000 Ford F-150 pickups from model year 2004.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 742
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From: CO
Well, regardless, we all know that Ford will have to do something to get out from underneath this mess. Fancy tool, penetrating oil, TSB, moonshine, prayer...none of these will keep all of them from breaking off. For the most part, it will be the ones that do the work themselves (or local garage) that will cry the most. What really amazes me is that after mass-producing vehicles for many decades, they still cannot come up with an easy to maintain vehicle. Why did they ever think of changing the design of a simple spark plug if the original design had no problems at all? Anyway, I had my plugs done at 30K with no major issues (240 bucks at dealership) with everyone saying thay have never heard about or experienced this issue yet. The first thing I asked was if they would cover the cost of head removal/installation if they broke them off? Answer: "That's not going to happen anyway, but we would do that, of course." I'm glad that we did not even start down that road. One last thing, I plan on driving this truck into the ground, so maintaining it is at the top of the list.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 14
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Broken Plugs
OK WELL, I'M OVER MY WARRANTY BY 2000 MILES, IF I KNOWN THIS WAS A PROBLEM I WOULD HAVE HAD THEM DONE AT 30000 WHEN MY WARRANTY WAS STILL GOOD. I TOO WAS TOLD AT FORD WHEN I BOUGHT MY TRUCK THAT THE PLUGS WERE GOOD FOR 100000 MILES.....WELL IF AT 37000, 3 PLUGS BROKE, IMAGING IF I WAITED TILL 100000 ALL 8 WOULD HAVE SNAPPED. WHAT A CRAP *** DESIGN FLAW.... NOW I'M STUCK WITH PLUG TIPS IN THE CYLINDERS AND HAVE NO DAMN CLUE TO GET THEM OUT....I CAN SEE THEM WITH A LIGHT AND MIRROR. IF IT WASN'T FOR ME PURCHASING THE WHIPPLE SC AND TRYING TO INSTALL THE NEW 0 DEGREE PLUGS I WOULDN'T HAVE EVER KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. ALL I CAN SEE DOWN CYLINDER IS THE PORCELAIN WITH A HOLLOW HOLE WHERE ELECTRODE USE TO BE. HOW DO I GET THIS OUT........ I'M SOOOOOOOOOO PISSSSSSED
HOW DO I GET ON THE CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT .....
HOW DO I GET ON THE CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT .....
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 559
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From: Houston, TX
Originally Posted by JohnK
My 04 has 25000 miles and after hearing all the horror stories about broken plugs I thought I would have them changed at low mileage. I considered doing it myself but I didn't want to be responsible for breaking one off so I took it to the dealer as it's still under warranty. They said it would cost about $450 for a plug change which I thought was outrageous but I told them to do it for the peace of mind of having new plugs. Well, they broke the plugs on cylinders one and three. It took them three days to get it squared away. One broke the "conventional way" with the sleve stuck in the head but the other broke at the porcelain. They almost had to take the head off to get it out but they managed to get it out somehow. Warranty covered all the extra labor. They installed "updated plugs" with anti-seize and i'm back on the road. The service manager said I did the right thing by having them changed. I mentioned taking them out about every 10000 mile just to keep them free but he said I wouldnt have to with the updated plugs and the anti-seize. I might do it any way just to be safe.
What a nightmare. My truck is way out of warranty. I hope to God this doesn't happen to me!!!
