KnownCarProblems2004 Ford E-150 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 33 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Ford E-150, most often about the brakes (24% of complaints, typically around 10,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about E-150 model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2004 Ford E-150 problems
Brakes
8 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 10,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Customer car failed on 11-02-2004. The ABS lights in panel board were always on. Customer took car to dealer to check brakes. Dealer said it was a sensor, and they changed it. Even though sensor was changed it kept on lighting up. Two or three months ago customer brakes did not function. Took it to the dealer again.…
Tl contact owns a 2004 Ford e150. The contact stated that the brakes were inoperable . The dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure and as of spradley barr Ford january 7, 2008, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The current mileage was 57,650 and failure mileage was 18,000. Updated 02-14-08 the…
Speed control
4 complaints · 12%Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
When driving on a highway with the vehicle speed cruise control on, the component will shut off without warning. I have brought the auto back to the dealer twice with this complaint, both times I was told that the problem was fixed. Both times the component failed again while in use. I will be bringing the auto in to…
Tl contact owns a 2004 Ford econoline e150. He received a safety recall notification letter in august 2007 on the Ford vehicle speed control. The information provided in the letter is fraudulent and misleading and the dealer lead him to believe that a repair was going to be made during his appointment. The contact was…
Transmission
4 complaints · 12%Today was driving normally on the side road not towing & in overdrive when around 40mph the overdrive disengaged & starts revving like it's in neutral. I pull over & put it into park & then back into overdrive & start driving once again & same thing happened three times. Luckily there was a service shop close. I took…
At the point I reach 40 MPH truck shifts to neutral, have to pull over safely and take truck out of overdrive to get home. Very dangerous when traveling at that rate of speed. Did some of my own investigating and found many website have angry people who also own same vehicles with very low mileage. I saw the range of…
Engine
3 complaints · 9%My 5.4 liter has terrible throttle response at low speeds. The motor has a long lag time, from the time you press the gas pedal until the motor revs and the truck takes off. I have been in a couple of close calls or near misses due to this. If in an emergency operation you need to step on the gas and get out of the…
The contact owns a 2004 Ford E-150. The contact stated that a private mechanic attempted to remove the spark plugs but they were fused to the engine. The vehicle was eventually repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 118,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Visibility and wipers
3 complaints · 9%Parts named most often: power window devices and controls.
Driving down interstate in 2004 Ford f150 xlt with approx. 70k miles and inadvertently lowered rear window. When I went to close the window, I heard a loud crack and realized that the window was not going back up. After pulling off onto the shoulder to inspect what had occurred, I saw that my rear window had dropped…
My 2004 f-150 has a window regulator go out for the second time this is a real issue it is a hazard to my children and a real big cost to me being 300 dollar both times I had to replace it need to be recalled what a big disappointment can you help me in this matter thank you.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Ford E-150 recalls
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: A lift occupant can be injured should the lift begin to stow unintentionally.
Fix: Van conversions is working with ricon to correct the wheelchair lifts free of charge (please see 07e097). Owners may contact ricon at 1-818-267-3000 or van conversions at 610-837-0707.
Full defect summary
Van conversions is recalling 52 my 2004-2007 ford e-150, e-250 e-350 and my 2006 gm savanna 3500 vans built on ford and gm chassis and equipped with ricon platform style wheelchair lifts. These lifts fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 403, "platform lift system accessible for motor vehicles," the anti-stow interlock may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user. The pressure sensing switch that detects the presence of weight on the platform was not adjusted to the necessary sensitivity level. The lift could stow even though someone or something is still on the lift.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: The user of the lift could be injured should the lift move unintentionally.
Fix: Van conversions is working with ricon to correct the wheelchair lifts free of charge (please see 07e095). Owners may contact ricon at 1-818-267-3000 or van conversions at 610-837-0707.
Full defect summary
Van conversions is recalling 74 my 2004-2007 ford e-150, e-250 e-350 and my 2006 gm savanna 3500 vans built on ford and gm chassis and equipped with ricon platform style wheelchair lifts. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 404, "platform lift installations in motor vehicles." the threshold warning system may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user in a certain spot within the defined threshold area.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: In the event of a vehicle crash, the wheelchair may not be adequately secured possibly resulting in injuries to a wheelchair occupant.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the wheelchair securement retractors as necessary. Sure-lok will handle the repairs for this campaign. Owners should contact sure-lock at 1-908-231-1804 or mobilityworks at 1-800-769-8267.
Full defect summary
On certain vans equipped with sure-lok wheelchair securement systems, the sprocket teeth of the retractor assembly is out of alignment.
Electrical: wiring
Risk: The electrical short may cause an ABS malfunction that would illuminate the ABS warning light, or the module may overheat resulting in a burning odor, smoke, and/or fire. This condition may occur while the vehicle is being driven or unattended.
Fix: Dealers will install a new fuse in the ABS circuit and install a heat shield over the ABS module. The recall began on october 15, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also ford is extending the limited warranty (for a one time replacement) of the ABS module for a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever occurs first. If your vehicle has already accumulated more than 150,000 miles, this coverage will last until september 30, 2005.
Full defect summary
On certain vans, a diode in the anti-lock braking system (ABS) module may experience an electrical short.
Engine: engine and engine cooling
Risk: These hot particles may ignite the air filter element with the potential for air induction system damage or underhood fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the air filter element. The recall began september 27, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also ford is extending the limited warranty (for a one time replacement) of the ABS module for a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever occurs first. If your vehicle has already accumulated more than 150,000 miles, this coverage will last until september 30, 2005.
Full defect summary
On certain vans, the air filter element material process resulted in an air filter paper element that can smolder or burn. This change in filter paper composition combined with the configuration of the air induction system, may allow hot carbon particles to contact the air filter element during certain driving conditions that create hot particles.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
Summary
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehi
Questions about the 2004 Ford E-150
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Ford E-150?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: brakes (8 complaints, typically around 10,000 miles); speed control (4 complaints); transmission (4 complaints).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Ford E-150 have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from March 27, 2009 (equipment Adaptive/Mobility). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Ford E-150?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about E-150 model year since 2000, with 33 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.