NHTSA Complaint #10152266 — 2001 FORD F-250 SD

I HAVE A 2001 FORD F250 SUPER DUTY WITH A 7.3L POWERSTROKE DIESEL ENGINE. OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS I HAVE HAD NO LESS THAN 4 CAM POSITIONING SENSORS FAIL. ON TWO OF THESE OCCASIONS THE PART FAILED SLOWLY CAUSING INTERMITTENT ENGINE PROBLEMS. THE TRUCK WOULD RUN ROUGH AND LOOSE ALL POWER. ON THE TWO REMAINING OCCASIONS THE PART FAILED IMMEDIATELY AND PUT MY LIFE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER. ON ONE OF THESE FAILURES I WAS TOWING A 12,000 LB FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER, ON THE INTERSTATE AT 65 MPH. MY ENGINE STALLED (STOPPED RUNNING COMPLETELY) WITH NO WARNING AND LEFT ME WITH NO POWER BRAKES AND NO POWER STEERING. THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED ME WAS THE LOCATION OF THE INCIDENT. IT HAPPENED ON A LONG STRAIGHT AWAY. IF IT HAD HAPPENED IN THE MOUNTAINS, ON A HILL OR ON A CURVE I WOULD HAVE SURELY CRASHED. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED JUST BEFORE A STOP LIGHT. MY TRUCK WAS ONLY GOING ABOUT 30 MPH BUT THE ENGINE STALLED, ONCE AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING, JUST AS A LIGHT TURNED RED. I WAS UNABLE TO STOP IN TIME AND NARROWLY AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT AS THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC JUST MISSED ME. AFTER THE INCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE TRUCK AND LIMP IT HOME. AFTER THE SECOND INCIDENT I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE TRUCK AND HAD TO TOW IT. I BOUGHT MY TRUCK USED, WITH 52,000 MILES IN OCT OF 2003. MY FIRST FAILURE DID NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL NOVEMBER 2004. WITH IN 6 MONTHS OF REPLACING THE PART WITH A FORD FACTORY PART THE SECOND UNIT FAILED. WITHIN 6 WEEKS OF THAT PARTS INSTALLATION IT FAILED AGAIN. THEN IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR I REPLACED THE UNIT WITH A NEW PART FROM INTERNATIONAL WHEN IT BEGAN TO INTERMITTENTLY FAIL. THIS PART WAS ON THE TRUCK FOR LESS THAN 4 WEEKS AND LESS THAN 2000 MILES BEFORE IT FAILED THIS PAST WEEKEND. I NOW HAVE A BRAND NEW FACTORY UNIT IN PLACE AND CONSTANTLY WORRY ABOUT TOWING OR DRIVING WITH MY FAMILY. EACH REPLACEMENT PART HAS COSTS MORE THAN 125$ WITH ONE AS MUCH AS $185. ON ONE OCCASION I HAD TO PAY A 50$ TOW BILL. *NM