NHTSA Complaint #10314198 — 2004 FORD F-350

SINCE NEW VEHICLE PURCHASE, MY FORD F350 DIESEL P/U EXPERIENCED ENGINE SURGING (200-250 RPM) WHILE STOPPED WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE. THE SURGE WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO LURCH THE TRUCK FORWARD WITH THE BRAKE APPLIED, SUCH AS AT A STOPLIGHT. IN SEVERAL CASES, I ALMOST REAR ENDED OTHER VEHICLES BEFORE APPLYING THE BRAKE HARD ENOUGH TO STOP THE TRUCK FROM MOVING FORWARD. I LATER LEARNED TO ANTICIPATE THE SURGE USING THE BRAKES TO MINIMIZE MOVEMENT OF THE TRUCK WHILE STOPPED. MY SURGING PROBLEM WAS CONFIRMED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS BY TECHNICIANS DURING TEST RIDES, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM IN THE SHOP. IN ALL CASES, THE FIRST STEP WAS TO REFLASH THE ECM WHICH MASKED THE PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL DAYS WHILE THE TRUCK RELEARNED MY DRIVING HABITS AND PREVENTED A DIAGNOSIS. THE ENGINE HAD TO BE OPERATED AT FULL TEMPERATURE IN ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE THE PROBLEM DEVELOPED. IN THE SHOP, IDLING THE ENGINE TO WARM UP TO NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. FORD DEALERS MADE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS (10 OR MORE) TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM: REPLACING INJECTOR CONTROL PRESSURE (ICP) MODULE, EGR VALVE, AND ICP WIRING CONNECTORS TO NO AVAIL. THE PROBLEM WAS FINALLY DIAGNOSED AND CORRECTED, OUT OF WARRANTY AT APPROX. 44,500 MILES, BY REPLACING THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. I FOUND A DEALER WHO WAS WILLING TO SEND A TECHNICIAN ON A TEST RIDE WITH ME AND HOOK UP AN ONBOARD COMPUTER LAPTOP THAT IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM BEFORE REFLASHING THE COMPUTER ECM. A NUMBER OF SURGING COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER OWNERS OF FORD F350 ARE POSTED IN ONLINE FORUMS DOCUMENTING SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND FRUSTRATION. THE INCIDENT DATE PROVIDED IS THE APPROXIMATE DATE OF THE FIRST OCCURRENCE. IN MY CASE, THE SURGING OCCURRED ON A NEAR DAILY BASIS, ALTHOUGH INTERMITTENTLY, FOR 41000 MILES OF DRIVING WITHOUT ANY RESOLUTION FROM FORD. THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WAS REPLACED IN FEB 2009 WHICH CORRECTED THE SURGING IN MY TRUCK. I PAID A $100 DEDUCTIBLE. *TR