general problems of the 2003 Ford Expedition

The brakes are burning while driving & the emergency brakes are not applied. The power windows are failing 1 by 1.

Lost control, hit parked car and tree, front end damage, driver side fender, driver door, driver received laceration to forehead and two fractured ribs. Air bags did not deploy.

I was driving on the interstate on 7/27/12 to take my daughter back to her mother, as I had my daughter during summer visitation. Half-way into my trip (525 miles one-way) it started to rain and I hydro-planed, resulting in a one-car accident. I slid from the inner lane (passing lane), across the outer lane, into the shoulder and crashed into a guard-rail. If not for the guard-rail, my vehicle would have fallen about 30-feet from the interstate to the elevation below. After the responding department arrived (highway patrol and local police departments), we evaluated that my daughter and I were ok physically. Once I started to evaluate the damage, I looked at the front tires and they are severely warped!! I'm not an automobile aficionado, but my front tires (both) are completely bald on the outer portion of the tires, while the inner threads on the tires show little wear (the tires are only 2 years old). From what I have gathered, the "cupping" the tires experienced are from a faulty/defective front end alignment. I noticed shortly into my trip, that my steering wheel had a moderate vibration. I have had a similar experience when I used to own a 1997 Ford explorer (it always need a front end alignment/adjustment). I was not ticketed for the incident and am coming to the conclusion that the faulty front end alignment may be the cause of the steering vibration, and the wheels cupping, resulting in uneven tread-wear, leading to my hydroplaning accident. . .

Driving on interstate 70 mpg vehicle stalls then proceeds, this happened several times over a course of 1 year. One later incident engine died but restarted. Several months later completely dies. After several hrs vehicle restarts. Ford mechanics claim they cannot make a diagnosis. It will never stall or quit when it's in the shop. I'm afraid this vehicle will be someone's death trap.

On Sunday August 22, 2010 at approximately 10:30 p. M I was driving on the 215 freeway going southbound in the city of riverside, CA. Traffic was light, weather was moderate and it was nighttime. While driving my parents' 2003 Ford Expedition on the far right lane at the speed of 60-65mph I felt the steering wheel lock up and I tried to keep control of the vehicle but the wheels turned to the right and I veered off the lane and into the dirt on the shoulder lane. I lost control of the car, it spun out of control and rolled over two or three times, and took out a big piece of fence and finally stopped. I walked out of the car in complete shock and panic, people pulled over to help, police was called to the scene as well as an ambulance. Accident report was taken by the chp and I was taken to the hospital in the ambulance. I suffered from minor injuries to head and body and had nightmares and woke up screaming for a week. The vehicle was totaled and towed away at the scene of accident.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. While driving approximately 25 mph on the highway in rainy conditions, the vehicle fishtailed and almost slipped on a ramp until he regained control. He also noticed a vibrating noise. He took the vehicle to a repair shop but there were no definite answers as to what the cause for failure was. He had not spoken with the manufacturer or taken the vehicle to the dealer to-date. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 105,000. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

Front tires were wearing unevenly on outside edges. Took to tire shop for rotate and alignment. They said that alignment was outside manufacturer specs, but there is no adjustment mechanism on vehicle. Special camber/castor adjuster kit must be purchased and installed at my expense to allow adjustment. Otherwise tires will continue to wear unevenly and cause premature failure and possible loss of vehicle control.

Vehicle has developed noticeable play/shimmy in steering. When vehicle was new play was not there. It was mentioned to dealer. They checked vehicle over but could not find any problems. However, when vehicle is driven over surfaces like rain grooves, or any surface less than smooth, vehicle wanders/shakes bad. I test drove a couple of similar vehicles at different dealers, neither vehicle had the 'play' in the steering. The problem started at 7500-8000 miles.

The steering wheel was difficult to turn.