2001 FORD F-350 SD Complaints

ENGINE FAILURE IN DECEMBER OF 2003 FORD COVERED MOTOR UNDER WARRANTY.TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN FEB OF 2004. MY TRUCK HAS 37,700 MILES ON IT AND FORD OFFERED TO PAY FOR PARTS BUT NOT LABOR. I WAS TOLD I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, WHICH TELLS ME FORD ONLY STANDS BEHIND THEIR VEHICLES FOR 36,000 MILES. I AM VERY DISSAPOINTED.I HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER FORD VEHICLES SAME MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR WITH TRANSMISSION FAILURE. I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR ANY OF THE REPAIRS. MY VEHICLE IS IS STILLL UNDER THE 3 YEARS AND JUST OVER THE MILEAGE.*AK

I HAVE A 2001 F-350 SUPER DUTY WITH 58,000 MILES. APPROXIMATELY 3 WEEKS AGO I NOTICED A 2-3 IN OIL LEAK UNDER THE TRUCK. AS I INVESTIGATED THE PROBLEM MORE IT WAS NOTED THE THE OIL WAS LEAKING DOWN THE BACK OF THE MOTOR COMING FROM THE TOP OF THE MOTOR. I TRACED THE LEAK TO THE VALLEY OF THE MOTOR WHERE I FOUND A POOLING OF OIL. I CLEANED THE OIL UP IN ORDER TO TRY AND TRACE WHERE THE LEAK WAS COMING FROM. IT WAS FOUND TO BE POOLING IN A COUPLE OF PLACES, AROUND THE H.P.O.P AND THE TURBO PEDISTAL, ONCE THE VALLEY FILLS WITH OIL IT TRICKLES DOWN THE BACK OF THE MOTOR. SINCE THE TRUCK IS STILL UNDER IT'S 100,000 MILE WARRANTY I DROPPED THE TRUCK OFF JANUARY 9,2004 FOR AN EARLY AM JANUARY 10,2004 APPT. BY 10AM I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL STATING THE TRUCK WAS "FIXED" AND READY FOR PICK-UP. THEY SAID THE PROBLEM WAS THE O-RINGS IN THE H.P.O.P AND THEY WERE REPLACED. WHEN I PICKED THE TRUCK UP THE AFTERNOON OF THE 10TH AND GOT IT HOME I LOOKED IN THE VALLEY OF THE ENGINE AND FOUND IT WAS STILL FULL OF OIL. I THEN PROCEED TO CLEAN UP THE EXCESS OIL AND SEE IF IT WAS LEAKING ANYMORE. I'M NOT SURE HOW THE DEALER WAS ABLE TO TELL IT WASN'T LEAKING ANYMORE WHEN THEY LEFT ALL OF THAT OIL SITTING THERE, BUT I TOOK THERE WORD. ON JANUARY 11,2003 I DROVE THE TRUCK 35 MILES AND CHECKED THE TOP OF THE ENGINE AGAIN, AND LOW AND BEHOLD THERE WAS OIL POOLING IN THE VALLEY AGAIN. SINCE JANUARY 11,2003 WAS A SATURDAY I WAS ONLY ABLE TO CONTACT VOICEMAIL AT THE DEALERSHIP. I AM NOW AWAITING A PHONE CALL MONDAY MORNING FROM THE DEALERSHIP AS WELL AS RESEARCHING THE MAGNUSON-MOSS WARRANTY ACT FOR MY OWN PROTECTION. FORD IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND STILL CHOOSES TO DO NOTHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I AM ALSO WELL AWARE OF MANY OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND WILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO FILL THIS COMPLAINT FORM OUT.*AK

I HAVE NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH STEERING CONTROL WHEN DRIVING OVER ROUGH ROADS...LIKE RAILROAD TRACKS. THE STEERING WILL INTERMITTENTLY FREEZE UP AND IT FEELS LIKE THE WHEEL BOUNCE PULSES THRU THE STEERING SYSTEM WHEN DOING SO. MY VEHICLE ALSO HAS MANAGED TO CHEW UP MY FRONT TIRES WITHIN LESS THAN 30,000 MILES. I FIND THIS TERRIBLE. I HAVE CHATTED ONLINE W/ MANY OTHERS WHO HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME TIRE WEAR. THE TIRES IN QUESTION ARE GENERAL GRABBER AW'S. AT THIS POINT I DON'T BELIEVE IT IS THE TIRES THAT WERE DEFECTIVE. A FRIEND WITH A SIMILAR DUMP-PLOW TRUCK HAD A STEERING STABILIZER ON HIS WHILE MINE DID NOT HAVE ONE ON AS STANDARD. I REALLY FELT IT SHOULD HAVE HAD ONE. IT NOW DOES! SO, I'VE SINCE HAD THE FRONT END REALIGNED AND HAD TWO NEW GRABBER TR'S PUT ON SINCE I WAS TOLD BY A FORD DEALER THEY NO LONGER WERE MAKING THE OTHERS. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THESE WILL LAST? I FEEL FORD SHOULD HAVE MADE IT RIGHT TO THE OWNERS AS THIS WAS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE STEERING . TO EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM, I HAVE THOSE SHINY ALUMINUM RIMS THAT DO NOT ALLOW OWNERS TO ROTATE THEIR TIRES WITH OUT/ BREAKING THEM DOWN. THIS WAS CLEARLY A GOOF ON FORD'S PART FOR NOT MAKING ALLOWANCES FOR THIS. *LA

TREAD SEPARATION ON FIRESTONE STEELTEX A/T LT265-75-R16. IN THE PAST MONTH, I HAVE LOST THE FRONT TWO TIRES ON MY F-350 DUE TO TREAD SEPARATION. THE TREAD JUST PEELED OFF THE TIRE LIKE IT WAS A RECAP, THE FIRST ONE SHREDDED IT SELF INTO A BLOW OUT AND LEFT NOTHING BUT A SIDEWALL. THE SECOND HAPPENED IN ALMOST THE SAME MANNER, THE TREAD PULLED APART FROM THE TIRE LIKE A RECAP. I TOOK PICTURES AND STILL HAVE THE TIRE. AT THIS TIME, I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH FIRESTONE BUT NO REPLIES. *LA

THE TURN SIGNALS ON MY FORD F350 (2001) TURN OFF AT THE SLIGHTEST MOTION OF THE STEERING WHEEL. I HAD TWO FORD SERVICE DEPARTMENTS TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT SERVICEABLE. ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS WHEN SIGNALS TURN OFF WHILE I AM TOWING TRAILER AND OTHER DRIVERS CAN NOT SEE AROUND IT. *JB

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2000 FORD F350 TRUCK WITH THE ORIGINAL FIRESTONE STEELTEX A/T, LT265/75R16 TIRES THAT CAME ORIGINAL ON THE TRUCK WHEN I PURCHASED IT BRAND NEW. THE TRUCK NOW HAS ABOUT 28,000 MILES AND I HAVE HAD THE FORD DEALERSHIP PERFORM ALL STANDARD MAINTENANCE INCLUDING TIRE ROTATIONS. THE TIRES UNTIL JUST RECENTLY HAVE ALL WORN VERY EVENLY AND I WOULD ESTIMATE THEIR WEAR AT ABOUT 50-60% WITH PLEANTY OF TREAD LEFT ON THE TIRES.*AK ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2003 I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH FOUR PASSENGERS AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH. SUDDENLY THE TRUCK BECAME UNSTABLE AND BEGIN SHAKING AS WELL AS PULLING THE STEERING VERY HARD TOWARD THE RIGHT. I WAS ABLE TO GET PULLED OVER, AND BEGIN TO INSPECT THE TRUCK TO SEE IF I COULD TELL WHAT WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEM WHEN I NOTICED THAT MY FRONT LEFT TIRE HAD A LARGE BULGE IN THE CENTER OF THE TIRE TREAD WHICH APPEARED TO GO ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TIRE. THANKFULLY THE TIRE DID NOT COME APART AT HIGHWAY SPEED, HOWEVER I AM EXTREMEMLY CONFIDENT THAT IT WOULD HAVE VERY SOON. THE TIRE HAS A VERY DEFINITE FAILURE, AND VERY PREMATURE BASED ON THE CURRENT MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE SEEN THE REPORTS, ETC. CONCERNING THE PAST FAILURES WITH FIRESTONE TIRES ALL AROUND THE TIME I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS CONCERNING THE STEELTEX TIRES AS WELL. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE MY CONCERN WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND IF THERE TRULY IS A PROBLEM WITH THESE TIRES, I ONLY HOPE THAT THIS COMPLAINT MIGHT SAVE A LIFE. I PUT MY SPARE ON THE TRUCK AND I HAVE THE TRUCK AT THE DEALERSHIP RIGHT NOW TO INSPECT THE TIRE. I HAVE ALSO CALLED FIRESTONE AND HAVE A PLAN TO TAKE IT TO A FIRESTONE STORE IF THE FORD DEALERSHIP IS NOT WILLING TO REPLACE MY TIRES UNDER WARRANTY, OR AT LEAST PROVIDE A FAIR AMOUNT TOWARDS NEW TIRES. THANK YOU, JUSTIN EARL DAUENBAUGH. *AK

MULTIPLE FAILURES OF CLUTCH MASTER/SLAVE CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES. TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE FAILURES ARE PROBABLY DUE TO OTHER PROBLEMS IN THE CLUTCH. I REPLACED MY CLUTCH AND FOUND A SIEZED PILOT SHAFT BEARING, DAMAGE TO FLYWHEEL, AND BAD CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE. *AK

IN THE LAST 4 MONTHS I HAD 2 TIRE TREADS SEPARATE CAUSING THOUSANDS IN DAMAGE. IN BOTH CASES 100% OF THE TREAD CAME OFF. REPAIRS INCLUDE NEW LEFT QUARTER PANEL, NEW1/3 OF THE TRUCK BED, NEW LEFT FRONT FENDER, NEW FRONT BUMPER, REPAIR OF BRAKING SYSTEM AND NUMEROUS OTHER PARTS. THE TIRES WERE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON MY 2001 FORD F-350. THE TIRES WERE FIRESTONE STEELTEX RADIAL A/T, LT265/75 R16, LOAD RANGE E, DOT VNW8 1XL 1701. THE MIDDLE 3" OF THE SECOND TIRE THAT SEPARATED APPEARED THAT IT WAS NEVER BONDED TO THE CASING. I'M SURE MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE OVER REACTED AND HAD MUCH MORE SERIOUS RESULTS. THE BODY SHOP MANAGER AT GENTRY FORD (ONTARIO, OREGON) SAID HIS FATHER HAD EXACTLY THE SAME TIRES ON HIS VEHICLE AND TWO OF THE FOUR TIRES ALSO SEPARATED.*AK

TIRE BLOWOUT ON 2001 F-350 WITH 32000 ONE-OWNER MILES. TIRE IS A FIRESTONE STEELTEX A/T LT 265 75R16 123/1200. I HAVE KEPT AIR PRESSURE AT FORD'S SPECIFICATIONS. MILES ARE ALL HIGHWAY OR PAVED SURFACE. I WOULD SAY THESE HAVE BEEN EASY MILES ON A COMMERCIAL GRADE TIRE.*AK

2001 F350 P/S DIESEL DUALLY 4X4 PURCHASED IN FEBRUARY FROM RED SIMON FORD IN AUSTIN, TX-EXCELLANT CONDITION; LAST WEEK EXPERIENCED GRINDING NOISE IN FRONT WHEEL AREA; TOOK TO BUD CROSS FORD, CALDWELL, TX; INFORMED THAT WHEEL BEARINGS FOR BOTH FRONT WHEELS (INCLUDING HUBS) NEEDING REPLACING. VEHICLE HAS 48,000 MILES ON IT - ROAD MILES ONLY; NEVER ENGAGED 4WD; NO HEAVY HAULING. DEALERSHIP ALSO INFORMED ME THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE BUT USUALLY NOT UNTIL 60 - 70,000 MILES. I ALSO OWN A 2000 F250 PS DIESEL 6-SPEED 4X4 - OF WHICH I HAVE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS NOR HAD WORK/REPLACEMENT NEEDED FOR WHEEL BEARINGS/HUBS - IT HAS 108,000 MILES. THE REPAIRS FOR THE F350 COST OVER $1250 - I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND RECALLED.*AK