Ok, this is more of a rant than anything else, but would like all of your feed back.

Jan 10, 2001 I purchased a new 2001 Ford Expedition XLT 4x2.
5.4L V-8. 3.31 Ratio Regular Axle. Sport Package (17" Wheels, Fog lights, Heated Mirrors, Leather, Rear AC. Third Row Seat), Moon Roof, CD Changer, etc. Nice truck.

I now have 23,750 miles on it (was attending school and working all of last year, so the miles were higher than they should be this year). Anyway, I have had it in the shop more time than I care to count (but here goes anyway).

5,644 Miles
~ Horn out. (cause unknown). They replaced horn.

10,726 Miles
~ Vehicle Accelerates on its own! (cause Throttle body sticking). Replaced the Throttle Body.
~Fuel gauge Reads low fuel when there is 1/2 tank left. (cause verified) NGS , DCL Display, PID Data Monitor. Reprogrammed PCM, Recalibrated Fuel Sneder.

12,755 Miles
~Veh accelerates on its own still! (cause none listed) NGS, DCL Display, PID Data Monitor, Pinpoint test, Replaced sticking IAC.
~ Right rear tire repair (ran over a nail, no biggie)
~ Lifter Tapping noise in Eng. They were unable to duplicate engine noise.
~ AS Compressor makes noise (cause nothing listed) Evacuated, Replaced leaking O-Ring at compressoe, recharged system.

13,540 miles
~ AC makes noise still. (cause 19703 CC42) Pressure test system, replaced weak compressor Evac and Recharge.
~ Recall 60F0Z1 (cause 00S21) Action 00S21A 0.3
~ Top end Engine Vibration (cause could not duplicate)
~ Vehicle accelerates on it own again! (cause 9E926 CC69) Replaced binding Throttle Body.

14,121 miles
~Door ding from dealership (repaired)

15,698 Miles
~Tranny shutters and shifts hard. Will bounce of Rev Limiter prior to shift. (cause 2001 Exy 5.4 4R100 Drum EXWEAR 7D044) The tested and overhauled the tranny. Cleaned the cooler lines and verfied ok.

~Veh. acceletates on its own again! (Cause they say due to the transmission.) Repaired with the fix to the tranny.

~Steering wheel discolored. Replaced wheel.

15,732 miles
~Tranny hard shifts and will not go into 3rd at all. (Cause 7902) Replaced the tranny with remanned tranny.

16,151 miles
~Horns not working (cause right side shorted out) good ground and power. Replaced horn.
~All 4 belt moldings fadded. (cause sun) Replaced the moldings.

18,057 miles
~tranny when in rev, have to acell to get into gear. Acts like in neutral (no cause, nothing done). No notes
~Veh. accelerates on own again. (Unable to duplicate)
~rear wiper not working (Cause open between C447 and C259) Found open in between C259 and 447. Had to get into dash and repair the open.
~Drivers side seat squeaks at bolster (cause sop) SOP as action taken.

18,392 miles (I am getting tired of typing!)
~SOP Seat track and cushion. Squeak at bend in drivers seat. (cause frame split) Replaced the seat frame and pad. (Just FYI I am 5'10" and weigh 147 Lbs. I am not a big guy by any stretch).

19,019 Miles
~Drivers seat still squeaks! (cause left lumbar support assem. in seat makes noise. Ex Wear in Assem.) Replaced the Lumbar support. (See above!)

21,299 Miles
~Rear Wiper out again! (Cause is open in motor) Replaced the motor.
~Horn out. (Cause one horn has open) Replaced the horns again.

23,210 Miles
~Horns out again. (cause another open) Replaced the horns again.

Ok, that is the history (alot of the codes and such have come off of the Ford Tickets that I have gotten from the dealership)! I have of course kept up with regular oil changes @ the 3k mile mark as well as all tire rotation. Is it me, or is this a little excessive? I had an Audi prior to this truck and I bought that one used. When it was said and done with I had 130k miles on it. I had no where near the number of issues that I have had on my new truck!

I have come from a long line of owning Premium luxy cars. Audi, Acura, BMW, etc. I have never had any issues like this, especially in the first year of ownership. I have a good many friends/ co-workers that have various models of the Exy (all from 98-2001). None of them have had the sheer number of issues that I have had (although every one of them has had one of my problems).

My question, am I being a nit pick, or expecting too much? Am I the only one with this long line of history? Is this normal? I do not think this is what ownership of a Ford is supposed to be like.

What ideas do all of you have.

Thanks for the time,

Boxter

 

CONCERNING THE SELF ACCELERATING PROBLEM, I CAN TELL YOU FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE... IT IS YOUR THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR (TPS).

I HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM FOR THE FIRST YEAR THAT I OWNED MY F150, AND THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP EITHER COULD NOT DUPLICATE, OR COULDN'T GET ANY TROUBLE CODES. EVEN WITH A STANDARD, MY TRUCK WANTED TO KEEP ON GOING WHENEVER IT FELT LIKE IT. HOWEVER, ONE PARTICULARLY BRIGHT GUY IN THEIR SHOP RECOGNIZED IT. TOLD ME THAT " THESE THINGS JUST GO BAD SOMETIMES". ANYWAY, LONG STORY SHORT, THEY REPLACED ONE, THEN IT DID THE SAME THING A YEAR LATER. RATHER THAN TAKE IT IN, AND HAVE THEM NOT LISTEN TO ME, WENT DOWN TO THE CORNER PARTS STORE, GOT ANOTHER ONE FOR $23, PUT IT IN, 15 MINUTES IN ALL AND IT'S BEEN CURED FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF. IF I HAVE TO PUT A NEW ONE IN EVERY YEAR OR SO, AT ONLY A COUPLE OF BONES, IT'S WELL WORTH IT TO ME.

JUST MY TWO.

LEANINTREE.

 

By the way, the expedition you bought is a 5.4. A 5.8 was never built.


Also, I have 94K miles with no problem in the Expedition. I also have 38K miles in the F150 with no problems. There is definately something wrong with yours. Not all of them are that bad believe me.

 

Wow, Sounds like a Jeep GC that I had, but worse.

My Expy has about 35000 miles now and the only thing you listed that I had done is the window moldings (if that's what you meant). Other than that, nada, zip! Runs and drives great and I'm pretty **** when it comes to, well most anything!

 

I wouldn't consider self acceleration and not going into 3rd gear being nit picky. My family has had a couple Expeditions and my F-150 and we haven't had any problems like that. (Knock on wood)

 

I got a 1999 Expy and have had a couple of problems. I now have 37000 miles on it. I had the head gaskets changed at 25k +/- and had them changed again at 35500 again. Now my tranny is slipping and they are telling me that I need a tranny fluid flush. The funny thing being that it started to slip the day after the performed the 30k service including the the tranny fluid! Also my 4wd let go at 29k. A wire shorted out in the dash and 4wd wouldn't engage. It sucked to find out in a snow storm on a 300 mile trip!

 

mike.qu

I wonder if the "experts" at the dealer used the correct ATF? I'm not sure how to tell or if you could get it analyzed to see if it's Mercon or Mercon V. I'd flush it (forget about them) and put in a good synthetic like Amsoil and see if that does it.

 

What is a good synthetic to use? Is there other options besides Amsoil? Should it still be changed every 30k with syn.

 

Boxter, you have all the right to be PO'd. You are not being nit picky at all.

Your situation reminds me of Seacrow down on Florida. He's been having a ton of trouble with his F and his wife's Taurus. More stuff has gone wrong than is normal.

I have no idea why some vehicles, like yours and seacrow's, have so much trouble while most others have no or very minor problems.

One thing is for certain. If you take your vehicle to a dealer, it should be fixed on the first visit. My thinking is you should be going to a different dealer. Members of this board have suggested that taking your truck to a Lincoln dealer is the way to go if your regular dealer's shop isn't good.

 

I have heard that taking the truck to a Linc. dealer is better as well. I have a friend that is a service manager for a local Linc dealer. When I told him about all of the problems (especially the vehicle accel on its own) he asked for me to stay away! Only because after I told him about all of the issues and the fact that I am going to try and have it replaced or repurchased, he did not want any of the paper work to do.

But when (if) I get a new one, bet your bottom dollar it is going to a linc shop for any services.

Thanks guys,

Boxter

 

If I were you I'd ask the Service Manager to print out a repair history for the vehicle before you bought it. If he balks, go up the food chain. You may need the documentation later if things really go sour and you request an arbitration board.

Like many others, so far I'm happy with mine, including having the frame replaced last June ( score Expy 1-Mini Van 0) which required complete disassembly and reassembly of all the big pieces.

I get annoyances like everyone else but grin and bear it. We've ALL had a 4 wheel nightmare and I dumped mine ASAP. I am one to believe in extended warranties to CYA after having burned it more than once.

Sometimes taking the advice of the forum mechanics (in changing a part yourself) will save you more headaches than the time wasted at the dealer especially for a waiting part. Lotsa wisdom here.

99 EB
35K

 

No need to get a print out on the history of this truck as I am the history. I picked up the truck at 17 miles from the dealership brand new. The entire history of the truck is listed above.

I would agree with the statement that many times it is better to do it yourself as opposed to having the dealership do it. However, 2 things come to mind.

1. I did not pay the $ that I did for a new truck to have to fix it myself. As far as I am concerned, I should not have too many things go wrong with the truck in the first place the 1st year of ownership. But things happen and they should be taken care of right, the first time. I guess stupid me for assuming that a car dealership would have qualified techs there that can fix cars.

2. Yes, I am a guy and yes I love cars, but I do not know crap about how to fix/repair them. I am a computer geek. I know computers. I leave the cars to the people that know cars (don't get me wrong. I can change the oil and change a flat etc, so I am not totally useless). So the arguement that you should do it yourself may hold true for some, but for others, it does not.

As well, as far as the comment "go up the chain." Really that is the other issue that I have with Ford. As I talked about before, Ford limits how far you can go. I have had no issues with my dealership. They do what they have the ability to do. However, when something needs to be done that goes beyond what the dealership can approve, they can go up the chain. However me, as the customer, cannot. My only contact with Ford is through the dealership. Yes there is that 1-800 number, but they are there to "work as a liaison between the dealership and you (the customer)."

Case in point. While my truck was in the shop for 30 days straight for the tranny, the dealership was nice enough to offer a loaner car. They have a rental car place on site. So, the dealership (which will cover $20 / day) got me a vehicle. It was a Geo Metro. I called the rental place because the power steering was out (oh, I am sorry sir, that car does not have power steering). As well, I was going to have to pay all of the taxes on the rental as the dealership was only allowed to cover $20 per day.

Well, I am sorry, but again I paid a good deal of $ for a vehicle. And due to no fault of my own, I was going to be without the truck for 30 days (seemed a little long to get a new tranny installed, but ok). I did not think it was fair to expect that I should take a vehicle that is 1/4 the price and 1/100000 the power as my vehicle. But the dealerships hands were tied. So I had to wiat for the dealership to go through its normal leaving voice mails and etc. to get approval on getting a higher $ amount approval for me. Well, who do you think is going to work harder, the guy that is suffering because he is in such a little car that he can drive from the back seat, or the person at the job that when he/she goes home, they are driving the veh that they bought and own? I had to wiat for a week to get the "approval" for the nicer vehicle. Simply because schedules conflicted in that 1 person would be off, while the other one working, but the next day the other person was in a meeting. Get the idea?

I may be coming across as a big whiner or just an a guy that does not appreaciate the extra mile that others have gone to help me out. To some extent that may be true, but I really do not think that I should be in this situation in the first place, but now that I am, IMO things can be done a little better to help keep the customers happy.

Sorry for the rant, and I will step off my soap box now.

Boxter

 

I hear you Boxter,

As I said earlier in this thread, I have had the head gaskets changed twice and they can't tell me why. I know that there is a flaw in the '99 engine design but they won't admit nothing. Calling the 1-800 number is like calling your neighbor. The answer they give you is " We'll put that on record". That is not what I want to hear. I want explanations and results.

I had a 1997 Expedition that I bought used in 1998. I bought it in March '98. While on the test drive, I was making a u-turn and noticed a grinding noise from the rear end. I thought, "great!! this thing has a limited-slip rearend" which is something that I wanted. I thought it was just grinding because there was sand in the road. Well I bought it and the grinding was very frequent and got to be annoying. The truck had 22k when I bought it. I took it in and expressed my concern. It took three times for them to acknowledge it. I said to the Service Manager, "come outside and I will duplicate it at will" and he came out and acknowledged it. The next day they changed the L.S. clutches. A week later the same thing. I went back and this time they replaced the whole guts in the rear end. It was a little better for about a week. The following time the put a whole new axle in. Still the same. The dealer contacted a Ford rep and he scheduled for a rep to come and look at the truck. The reps name was **** something and was from Detroit. My dealer wanted the truck for the day and gave me a loaner. The rep contacted me and said it was normal. My answer to that was show me 5 Expeditions in the Nashua area that do the same. He said he would. A couple days later he assured me again that it was normal but he could not find another truck to duplicate it.

While this was going on a salesman was helping me with the arbitration paperwork. When all the paperwork was complete, I went to see the owner of the dealership with copies of the papers and said all I needed to do was put a stamp on them and they were gone. He asked me to give him 48 hours. I did and he got back to me the next day and said that Ford would kick in a $2000 rebate towards a new Expedition and the dealer would take care of me on the new one. I ended up getting it for invoice plus he threw in the ventshades for the windows, the mudflaps, and also the rear wind deflector which had to be painted to match. The deflector sells for over $300 before paint and installation. I ordered a new on Jan. 31, 1999 and he quoted me 8-10 weeks. He called back a week later and gave me the VIN and said early to mid March. It arrived at the dealer March 1st and I picked it up the next day!

The only problem was that the ownership changed while waiting for the truck and the new owners couldn't care less about providing service. They just want to sell. And now things in service suck!!

 

Whats the LEMON LAW say in your state? I would look into it. Nothing like getting a "NEW" one to replace the "troubled" one.

 

sounds like you bought a P.O.S.

you bought a very nice vehicle dont get me wrong.
but i would be checking in with a lawyer to see if there is anything that can be done.

that is rediculous. i actually got tires of reading.

i have never had a problem with my navigator.
not the slightest thing.
the only thing i guess that had gone wrong is, i go to the university of Memphis and i got back into by a garbage truck last semester and it tore up the front bumper and the passenger running board.

the school owend the truck and so the "school police" said it was not the trucks fault so i could not turn it in on their insurance.
BSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway i went to a junk yard and found a 99 navigator and got new running boards and fender trim to mount them on and a new front bumper.

i like the 99 running boards better anyway.

i hate you are having so much trouble with your truck.