NHTSA Complaint #10245240 — 2003 FORD F-150

ON 10/1/08 I WAS COMING OUT OF A PARKING LOT AND HEARD A LOUD POPPING SOUND. LOSS OF POWER AND RAN ROUGH . IT WAS ALMOST DARK SO I COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS WRONG SO I DROVE IT THE TWO MILES HOME, ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. NEXT MORNING I TOOK THE TRUCK TO HOLDER FORD IN LAKEPORT, CALIFORNIA AND THEY SAID I HAD BLOWN OUT THE REAR PLUG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE ENGINE. THEY REPAIRED IT FOR $715.00 AND I GOT IT BACK ON MONDAY 10/6/08. AGAIN ON 10/11/08 SATURDAY THE SAME PLUG BLEW OUT. THIS TIME I WAS IN THE FAST LANE OF THE FREEWAY IN SAN RAFAEL HEADING FOR SAN FRANCISCO. THE TRUCK LOST POWER AND EVERY TIME I BACKED OFF THE GAS THE ENGINE DIED. I FOUGHT WITH THE TRUCK TO GET IT STARTED AND KEEP IT RUNNING TO GET IT ACROSS THREE LANES OF BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC TO AN OFF RAMP. WHEN I STOPPED AND RAISED THE HOOD I SAW IT WAS THE SAME PLUG THAT WAS JUST REPAIRED. I CALLED HOLDER FORD AND THEY SAID SERVICE WAS CLOSED AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME UNTIL MONDAY. I DROVE THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALER ONLY TO FIND THE FORD DEALER HAD GONE OUT OF BUSINESS THERE SO I CALLED A TOW TRUCK AND RENTED A CAR. I WAS 150 MILES FROM HOLDER FORD AND MY TOWING WOULD ONLY ALLOW 100 MILES. BESIDES THIS BLOWN SPARK PLUG ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT IT COST ME $400.00 FOR THE TOW AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH FOR A RENTAL CAR. NOW I FIND OUT THERE ARE ONLY THREE THREADS IN THE HEAD TO HOLD THE PLUGS IN, AND THE HEADS ARE ALUMINUM. THE TRUCK IS A 2003 FORD F150 LIGHTNING 5.4 TRITON V8 WITH 70,000 MILES. *TR