Suspension Torsion Bar problems of the 1997 Ford F-150 - part 1

While parked in the driveway owner was getting something out of the vehicle and the torsion bar broke. Owner contacted the dealer, who replaced the torsion bar. Currently vehicle was having a vibration problem, but the owner stated that the vehicle needed a heavier suspension.

Rt torsion bar failed when setting in driveway. It seems as though this is safety concern that nhsta needs to reopen as there appear to be many other identical failures reported. I was suprised to learn that, when the dealer worked on the vehicle, there was no recall related to the torsion bar failure.

Torsion bar twisted off on the drivers side causing front corner to drop 6" to 8" inches. And a loss of suspension on that side. Later the passenager side snapped.

Torsion bar broke without prior notice. When bar broke entire front end of vehicle fell in. Dealer made repairs at consumer's expense.

Vehicle was parked inside of garage. Consumer noticed that vehicle was leaning on left side. Vehicle wasn't like that when she pulled inside of garage that evening. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. Mechanic told consumer that torsion bar had broken. There were no injuries. The dealer says there was a high failure rates of 1997 and 1998 models.

Torsion bar on left side broke while backing out of driveway. Dealer notified and informed that vehicle was not covered under a manufacturer's recall, and out of its warranty. Please feel free to provide any further details on this matter.

While parked and vehicle still running left front of vehicle just dropped. Consumer had no prior warnings of problem. Contacted dealer, and the dealer has not had a chance to look at vehicle. The torsion bar snapped causing the front of the vehicle to drop. The consumer believed that the torsion bar had material defect.

Front torsion bar broke on left side while driving at a low rate of speed, causing wheel to go into an angle and frontend to fall.

While vehicle was parked torsion bar snapped ,and front end fell down. Contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to fix problem at no cost.

Front end rod snapped while driving. Contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything for consumer . It was the torsion bar that had snapped and the consumer was concerned about the safety of this vehicle.

Torsion bar on this vehicle snapped while parked in the garage. Had this happened while driving the vehicle, it could have resulted in a very serious accident. Ford accepts partial responsibility for this failure, and has agreed to split the total cost of repairs 50/50. I disagree with this and don't feel that I should be charged for their neglegable safety defect.

Ford need to issue a recall to many reports of bad torsion bars.

While driving front torsion bar broke which caused loss of control, and could have resulted in a crash.

Right front torsion bar broke while vehicle was parked. Vehicle taken to dealer shop for repairs.

Left front torsion bar broke while parked in garage. Vehicle towed to dealer and repaired at consumer's cost.

While driving, consumer heard a loud bang followed by the front right end of the vehicle falling directly onto the wheel wall. The right front torsion bar broke in half dislodging a piece of metal that had rusted through.

Front driver's side torsion bar broke while vehicle was parked. Have heard that this has ocurred on other Ford trucks. This truck's suspension has not been obused in any way. I am only relieved that this failure happened while the vehicle was not being driven.

Torsion bar failed.

While driving at about 5 mph torsion bar broke, the left front of the vehicle dropped down on the tires of the truck. If driving at a higher speed, it could cause the vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic.

Consumer was traveling about 10 miles and stopped at a stop sign, he heard a loud baning. . Got out of the car, and front left side dropped out. . Et.

While pulling out of driveway torsion bar on the passenger's side broke. Truck was towed to the dealership. Torsion bar has been replaced.

While parked, unoccupied and not running, in an closed garage the right side torsion bar broke in two. The break occurred just behind the location where the torsion bar fits into the lower control arm. As a result of this failure the right front suspension dropped approximately 8 - 10 inches. From examination of the part it is clear from corrosion in the break that the part had been cracked for sometime before final catastrophic failure occurred. While this vehicle has just over 49k miles, they have been primarily highway miles. The vehicle has never been used for towing and has never been used in an "off-road" environment. Ford has been notified and is willing to repair at a discounted price. However, they will not acknowledge the existance of a problem. While I have shown the dealer the broken part, I am retaining the part and refusing repairs at this time due to Ford's lack of demonstrated concern over this situation. I has registered a conplaint over the phone with the NHTSA. However, I am filing this complaint to demostrate the urgency of my concern. If this failure had occurred during highway driving, it would have almost certainly caused an accident possibly causing bodily injury. Reviewing complaints listed on the NHTSA web page I quickly found several complaints of torsion bar failure and a NHTSA action (pe98009). If it is possible, I would like to obtain a copy of the results of that action. At this time I have serious concerns about the safety of this vehicle as well as like vehicles on the highway.

This is the second torsion bar to break on this vehicle. The left front bar broke previously while the truck was parked at home. This happened the spring/summer of 1998. Two different dealers said this would be very serious if it happened at regular speed on a highway/interstate. I will get the detailed information and file a second report when the business is open tomorrow. The 3/6/99 torsion bar broke while I was hunting and driving minimum speed.

I was backing out of the garage at about 2-5 mph when I heard a loud bang. I immediately stopped and noticed that the truck was tilting noticeably toward the right or passenger side. I inspected and found that the passenger side torsion bar had snapped in two, and was hanging down. Temperature was approximately minus 7 degrees f. Which was the low for the overnight. I have noted that this failure has been cited by others at the nhtsc site as well as some Ford internet bbs sites. I also noted that an investigation was initiated by nhtsc but has been closed already, I would suggest perhaps prematurely since failures are obviously still occurring. There has been no acknowledgement to consumers by Ford motor CO. Of this problem or suggestions of what corrective action to take if failure occurs in heavy traffic at 65 mph.

The torsion bar failure was not an isolated incident. I have heard of several others reported to my dealer, and have found a number of others on the web. I found the failure unusual since I do not use the truck off-road, it is driven like a car. Also, I have never had or heard of spring or torsion bar failures like this. I suspect either faulty material or a design problem. Had the failure occurred at any considerable speed, there would have been aloss of control of the vehicle with nothing supporting half the front end.

Backing out of lot, torsion bar snapped on right front. If this had happened on the highway at regular speeds, extensive damage as well as injuries would have resulted. Dealer repaired but Ford refused to pay due to over warranty mileage. This has to be a defect and must be checked to prevent others from injury.

After backing out of a driveway torsion bar broke. Dealer notified, and informed consumer that vehicle was out of warranty and they would only repairs at consumer's cost. Also, parts are on a national back order. Consumer would like some help in this matter.

This is a follow-up to odi#704135 filed yesterday. In this incident, the torsion bar broke while thr truck was sitting in our drive-way. It was fixed under warranty by vermillion Ford, 101 west cherry, vermillion, sd; phone 605-624-8624. They sent the paper work to Ford, but they could not tell me if Ford requested that the torsion bar be sent back to Ford. After two original bars breaking, for others' safety, we feel this merits recall consideration. Thank you.

While driving about 40-45 mph the torsion bar in the front end snapped in half, causing owner to lose control of truck. The truck is being repaired.

Left and right torsion bar broke.

The torsion bar broke on two occasions.

Left front suspension torsion bar failure.

Torsion bar broke.

While vehicle was in park right torsion bar broke, causing the front end of the vehicle to drop. Please give any further details.

The torsion bar on this broke while the vehicle was parked, making a loud gun like sound. Dealer has been contacted.