NHTSA Complaint #10444842 — 2002 FORD F SUPER DUTY

INJECTOR DRIVE MODULE (IDM), DIESEL 7.3 NAVISTAR ENGINE. IDM FAILED WHERE THE LIKELY CAUSE WAS WATER INFILTRATION OF THE DEVICE WITH SUDDEN CATASTROPHIC RESULTS WHICH INCLUDED A SUDDEN SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER, INABILITY TO MAINTAIN HIGHWAY SPEED, INABILITY TO KEEP SPEED ABOVE 5 MILES PER HOUR, AND DEMONSTRATION OF SEVER ROUGHNESS DURING ATTEMPTS TO REV THE ENGINE OR IDLE LOADS. DUE TO THE IDM FAILURE, THREE OF EIGHT FUEL INJECTORS WERE RENDERED NONFUNCTIONAL AND REPLACED; ALSO THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF INJECTORS THAT WERE ONLINE OR OFFLINE DURING THE IDM FAILURE TO ENGINE SHUT-DOWN PERIOD WAS UNKNOWN. DURING THE IDM FAILURE TO ENGINE SHUT-DOWN PERIOD OF ~3 MILES, THE VEHICLE'S OBDII SYSTEM DID NOT ILLUMINATE ANY DASHBOARD INDICATORS DESPITE THE ENGINE'S INABILITY TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. IDM WAS OPERATED IN MANUFACTURER'S OEM CONFIGURATION, WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS, AND UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. ALL PARTS SENT DIRECTLY FROM MECHANIC SHOP TO SUPPLIERS UNDER CORE REPLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS. SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH ON VEHICLE OWNER'S FORMS AND CONVERSATION WITH MECHANIC SHOW FAILURE OF THE IDM DUE TO WATER PENETRATION / INFILTRATION IS KNOWN AND RANGES IN INDICATIONS FROM MINE (SUDDEN SEVER POWER LOSS) TO COMPLETE POWER LOSS / ENGINE STOP. *TR