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Engine & cooling

2004 Ford F-150 Engine problems

Owners have filed 259 complaints about the 2004 Ford F-150's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 13% of all its complaints, most recently on March 10, 2025. They describe 5 crashes, 14 fires and 2 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
259
Recalls
0
Crashes
5
Fires
14
Injuries
2
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle shuddered and failed to accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact scanned the vehicle with a scanner and retrieved an unknown camshaft phaser error code. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · EngineNHTSA 11647392
Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact observed the spark plug being ejected from the fuel compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11536311
BrakesEngine & cooling

Truck stalls in traffic. Also when hitting the brake. it stalls in reverse. it stalls while idling. Worst truck ever!! Severe safety issue

Filed Incident Unknown or other · Service brakes · EngineNHTSA 11519705
Engine & cooling

Throttle body causes vehicle to stop dead when slowing down on city street.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11396977
Engine & cooling

While driving on the freeway I notice a noise and a lose of power pull off and had truck towed to dealer they called me told me needed new motor I was shocked only has 154000 miles on it what the hell dealer told me $9000 to replace motor what told them I would be there to pick up truck with tow truck well they called me back said $7000 still way to much but I need the truck cant buy a new one so I had to get 2 loans to replace my motor then I find out the motor in a 2004 f 150 has a major issues but the...

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dealer never told me anything of the sort so now I have a truck with the same motor as before that cost me a large amount of money I didn't have ford should step up and take care of the problem so now I have 2 loans to pay off hope to hell this motor last and they wonder why people go postal if ford dosent resolve this I will never buy a ford product again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11353548
Transmission & drivetrainEngine & cooling

F150 stalls out randomly causing a hazard for other drivers and myself. Happens while in gear driving, reverse, etc.

Filed Incident Power train · Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11340306
Electrical systemBody, doors & structureEngine & cooling

PAINT CRACKED ,COILS MALFUNCTION,SPRINGS FRONT

Filed Incident Electrical system · Structure · EngineNHTSA 11311007
Engine & cooling

2004 Ford f-150 engine is bad. The 5.4 Liter engine. I bought this vehicle used 3 years ago and now the engine is ruined. My husband researched and also consulted with several mechanics and found that these engines were known for the cam phasers going bad so ford stopped putting this engine in the vehicles in 2007. The last time I drove this vehicle aa I was making a right turn, the truck cut off on me in the middle of the road which is very dangerous. We owe $8,000 on this ford which is now no food. Sits in our yard. We want action. Ford needs to stand behind their product.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11255155
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. While driving approximately 40 mph, the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the egr valve and the fuel injector needed to be replaced. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The contact stated that the transmission and check engine indicators illuminated and were replaced in 2018. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11240306
Electrical systemAcceleration & cruise controlEngine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and the accelerator pedal hesitated when depressed. As a result, the vehicle made an abnormal puttering sound while in drive. In addition, the electrical system failed. The spark plugs were changed multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the spark plugs should not be touched because they were ford certified spark plugs and tear easily. A special onsite ford mechanic repaired the spark plugs. The accelerator pedal and stalling failures were not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 233,000.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Vehicle speed control · EngineNHTSA 11209100
Acceleration & cruise controlEngine & cooling

Think I bought a lemon truck from ford after spending a lot of money to try and keep truck running but after all the time and effort I put into the truck it will only go in reverse and engin sounds rough .

Filed Incident Vehicle speed control · Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11072126
Engine & cooling

My ford f 150 has thrown a rod & the motor is knocking badly, to my understanding all 2004 ford f150 3v have a bad motor in all trucks, every truck I know have this problem. You exchange this motor to a later or early motor it won't work I being told by the dealership mech. I believe ford should be held to recall & replace these motors. *Js

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11045670
Engine & cooling

Cam phazer is out leaning out the timing, causing the motor to knock and idle at 500 rpms causing the vehicle to completely stop in traffic or at a stop light. I am told at minimum a timing chain kit, phaser, might fix the problem if not I would need a new engine at 5000.00 Dollars this needs to be a recall fix my truck only has 116454.Miles on it and should not need this kink of repairs yet. Or should be covered by ford through a malfunction of equipment that was installed and there for malfunctioned prematurely

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11034734
Transmission & drivetrainEngine & coolingCrash1 injury

Truck died, lost all power while driving down the road. This has happened 5 - 6 times through the years starting around 2010. Sometimes driving down freeway sometimes driving slowly into driveway. Battery was checked, it was okay and connected fine. Various other engine problems later include a rattle noise and low rpm. Running hot, chugging along like running out of gas, etc. Having to pull over till it could go again. Currently just a little over 100,000 miles.

Filed Incident Power train · Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11022872
Engine & cooling

While driving the vehicle at highway speeds - rpms on engine begin to fluctuate between 2000 and 750. At next stop, engine dies, but will immediately restart. No engine malfunction codes when checked with an obd ii reader, and the check engine light does not illuminate.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11022064
LightsEngine & cooling

To begin with I had to have all 4 windows repaired. The mechanism that raises and lowers the windows broke. Since this was bought as a used vehicle, there was no warranty. So I pd. $150. To $175.00 Each. Was told ford knew of this problem but since it wasn't a "safety factor" no recall was issued. I feel like this is quite unfair to the consumer. We purchase a vehicle that has a good reputation and then are told that this expense is our baby to take care of. I feel like this was very unfair to this consumer. I...

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have purchased fords for years with no complaints until now. Also, the headlights developed a leak and filled with water thus shorting out my right headlight,and is slowly doing the same to the left one. I have been told that just the burned out bulbs cannot be replaced,that the whole assembly had to be replaced and this is at a cost of approx. $175 To $200. Per assembly. This is outrageous. Also,there is a problem with what used to be "points & plugs" which are now a "coil" assembly. This problem developed approx. 6 Months ago. According to the readouts I have gotten, the #1 plug is misfiring approx. Every 1,000 revolutions which causes a miss in the engine and was very alarming to me since I was on the highway about 200-250 miles from home, traveling by myself. So, another expense is looming. I realize there are expenses to owning a vehicle. I do not expect to not have any problems or repairs with my vehicle,but I did not anticipate this many. Nor did I expect the cost of the repair parts alone to be so outrageous. I am on a fixed income and had I anticipated these problems I wouldn't & #8203; have made this purchase. I truly love my truck, but is there anyway these other repairs can be done for a lesser amt? I've already pd. To replace motor & rotors in all 4 windows. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. [[redacted]] ('parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.S.C. 552(B)(6).')*Jb

Filed Incident Exterior lighting · Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11005226
Engine & cooling

Complete engine failure less than 100,000 miles. Driver and front passenger window motor failure.

Filed Incident Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11002683
Engine & cooling

On 5/21/08 spark plug # 3 popped out while I was driving down the freeway I had it repaired. Then on 1/8/13 spark plug #3 came out of my 2004 ford f150 and I took my truck to ford . When they were replacing the threads on #3, #5 popped out so they replaced the helix coils on it as well. In april my truck start having the same issue with the # 1 spark plus. This does not seem like something that should just happen. There should have been a recall on this a long time ago.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10991722
Seats & seat beltsElectrical systemEngine & coolingFuel system

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced stalling without warning. In addition, the seat belt would not latch. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle's software needed to reflashed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact had the engine replaced after it was diagnosed that there was water in the oil pan and a fuel rod failure. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Filed Incident Seat belts · Electrical system · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 10985703
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that while stationary, the camshaft phaser malfunctioned. The contact stated that there was a knocking noise coming from the engine of the vehicle. In addition, the spark plugs and the timing chain were the source of the failure as well. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10979368
Engine & cooling

2 Times in the last 6 months, most recently on 2/27/17 my vehicle suddenly accelerated as if the gas peddle was being held to the floor. I was stopped at a light this time and had my foot on the brake, so I was able to prevent my vehicle from lurching into the intersection. I placed the truck into neutral and shut off the ignition. When restarted the vehicle functioned normally. The first time this occurred (about 6 months ago) I was slowly entering a parking lot when the truck suddenly accelerated.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10958278
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning and was able to restart the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The dealer diagnosed that the air conditioning compressor and plenum kit needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000. Updated 03/21/17*lj *cn

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10954144
Engine & cooling

Blew the spark plug clean out of motor leaving no threads while sitting at a stop light

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10950163
Engine & cooling

I purchased my 2004 f150 with 10,000 miles on the engine in december of 2004. I now have 130,000 miles on the engine and im told the engine is junk. I changed the oil religiously every 3000 miles and I even had the spark plugs taken out and the engine completely cleaned internally. I love this truck and am finding it hard to beleive that at 130,000 miles its junk. The cams are not getting oil and its causing the engine to rattle and make loud noises, when I drive the truck on the highway at 65 or 70 miles an hour...

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it runs great but as soon as I slow down on the ramp, the noise and rattle start. The engine check light came on. The mechanic says I need a new engine. The warning was cam retarded. The rest of the truck is in great condition. The interior looks almost new. I kept my truck clean inside and outside. I even kept my floors scrubed and clean. I just had to sell my house because of my health and now my only vehicle went to hell. Is anyone paying attention to these complaints and trying to fix them. I'm told this engine is noted for this problem. Really!!! 130,000 Miles on a pickup truck is nothing. Why are these engines that were put in these trucks breaking down and nothing is being done about it? After this experience with buying a new vehicle, I know I'll never purchase a new vehicle again. Especially not a ford. I believe that the ford company is aware of this problem, but isn't concerned with the consumers problem, because nothing is being done to help the consumer fix the problem. I the consumer am shocked that I have to junk my vehicle with the low mileage. I'm told $8000.00 For a new engine. Wow!!! Not possible for me to even consider. Please please look into this problem and help the consumer with a resolution. I don't want to junk my truck!

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10925523
Engine & cooling

Tring to pass smog but truck has misfire witch caused motor to shake spewing gas at 76 in oakland ca thank god my roomate spotted it as we're leaving pump or we could have blown up or worse after a struggle we were able to get the truck out of gear and push it out of the pump area .

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10862197

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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