NHTSA Complaint #10140430 — 2000 FORD F-150

I OWN A 2000 F150 SUPERCAB WITH THE 5.4L V8 TRITON GASOLINE ENGINE. THIS TRUCK ABS BEEN METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED. ON SUN 17 JULY 2005, WHILE DRIVING WITH MY WIFE AND ONE OF MY SONS, I EXPERIENCED WHAT I LATER FOUND OUT TO BE THE SPARK PLUG BEING BLOWN-OUT OF THE #3 CYLINDER JUST AS WE WERE TRYING TO MERGE ONTO A BUSY HIGHWAY--WE WERE LUCKY TO MAKE IT TO A BREAKDOWN LANE WITHOUT INJURIES. I OPTED FOR THE "HELI-COIL" REPAIR METHOD BASED UPON THE DESCRIBED SUCCESS RATE. ON WED 28 SEP 2005 I BROKE DOWN ON MY WAY TO WORK AFTER THE SPARK PLUG ON #4 BLEW-OUT. THE LOCAL DEALER EXPLAINED THAT FORD HAS A NEW DESIGN FOR THE CYLINDER HEAD BUT THIS REPAIR WAS ESTIMATED AT NEARLY THE SAME COST AS A LONG BLOCK REPLACEMENT WHICH I ULTIMATELY OPTED FOR. THE LOCAL DEALER EXPLAINED THAT THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE FORD WOULD COVER THE COST OF THESE REPAIRS (OR EVEN HELP WITH THE COST) BECAUSE THEY DON'T VIEW THIS AS A "DESIGN PROBLEM" AS I DO. AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO TRY TO PERSUADE FORD THROUGH THEIR CUSTOMER CARE CENTER WHERE I WAS FLATLY TURNED DOWN I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR MYSELF. *NM