NHTSA Complaint #10419752 — 2004 FORD F-250

THE PROBLEM BEGAN IN JULY 2011. I OWN AND BOUGHT NEW, A 2004 F-250 SUPER DUTY CREW CAB FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE TRUCK WITH A 6.0 LITER ENGINE. THE PROBLEM STARTED WITH HARD COLD STARTS. WHEN IT DID START AFTER THREE TO FOUR ATTEMPTS, THE ENGINE RAN EXTREMELY ROUGH. AFTER A FEW MINUTES, IT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEVEL OFF. THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THE ENGINE WOULD START AND STOP WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. BUT AFTER BEING PARKED OVERNIGHT, THE TRUCK WOULD BE HARD TO START. THIS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. ON THE EVENING OF AUGUST 11, 2011, AFTER THE ENGINE WAS OFF FOR ONLY THREE HOURS, IT WAS HARD TO START. THE ENGINE WOULD LOPE, IT WOULD NOT LEVEL OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES AND BLEW BLACK SMOKE OUT THE EXHAUST. EVENTUALLY, IT DID LEVEL OFF AND DROVE HOME. I DID NOT ATTEMPT TO START IT UP AGAIN UNTIL THE MORNING OF AUGUST FIFTEEN. IT WOULD NOT START. WHEN I TURNED THE KEY, IT CRANKED, ACTED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO START, THEN BACK TO JUST CRANKING. I ATTEMPTED SEVEN TIMES AND STOPPED CONCERNED I WOULD DRAIN THE BATTERY, DAMAGE THE STARTER, OR SOME OTHER PART. I CONTACTED THE DEALER. IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THEIR SERVICE CENTER. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND DETERMINED IT WAS THE FICM (FUEL INJECTOR CONTROL MODULE) AND WAS GOING TO COST ME $1,300 TO FIX. THIS IS OUR ONLY SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION, SO I RELUCTANTLY GAVE THEM THE GO AHEAD TO FIX IT. THE DAY IT WENT IN FOR SERVICE IT ONLY HAD 55,079 MILES. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. THIS TRUCK IS ONLY SEVEN YEARS OLD. I HESITATED IN SWITCHING TO DIESEL, BUT AFTER RESEARCHING AND LISTENING TO FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ABOUT THE LOWER FUEL COSTS, LOWER MAINTENENCE, HIGHER PERFORMANCE, I SWITCHED. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT IN ONLY SEVEN YEARS, I'M HAVING TO SPEND OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO REPLACE A PART THAT CANNOT BE REPAIRED. POOR DESIGN OR POOR QUALITY? AMERICAN MADE CARS AND TRUCKS USED TO BE BUILT TO OUTLAST THEIR OWNERS. THIS EVENT HAS QUESTIONED MY TRUST IN THE "BUILT FORD TOUGH" STATEMENT. RECALL SHOULD BE THE WORD FOR THIS SITUATION.*KB