Table 1 shows one common unknown or other related problems of the 1998 Ford F-150.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
The steering wheel locked up and the tierod end leaned out to far.
One day my 1998 Ford F-150 with only 37,000 miles (I am the original owner)was working just fine. Several days later I get into the truck and I noticed the electric windows wouldn't go down,I assumed it was a fuse. No luck on that, all fuses good except the lighter fuse,which I don't use. When I got to my destination I couldn't get it into 4-wheel drive. When I was getting ready to leave I couldn't get the windshield wipers on when it was raining. I had no choice but to drive 30 miles home with no wipers in the rain,extremely hard to see to drive and very dangerous. I found info on the internet that pointed to the generic electronic module. A lot of other people were complaining of the same problem and worse on a online forum. This problem goes back to 1994 when Ford first started using this device. I ended up paying $600. 00 for the dealer to replace the gem that was obviously defective from the start,not to mention the danger of driving in the rain with no wipers. Ford has a recall on the 99 on up 250 and 350 with the same device,but they wouldn't honor this on the 98. They have decided to retool the device by taking the 4-wheel drive control out of this device as a stand alone control. I feel Ford should have replaced this at their expense in light of all the problems this has caused. Some have reported that their trucks have jumped into 4-low while driving on the road,others have said that they can't disengage 4-wheel after using the feature off road.
No events leading up to failure;sudden failure of spare tire retaining cable on personal truck. Cable snapped suddenly and without warning causing spare tire to fall from its stowed position beneath the truck. This caused the truck to become airborne briefly as the spare tire caught the rear bumper and lifted it. Had the spare tire not been additionally secured by an anti-theft cable the tire would definitely have been sent into other traffic behind me or in the oncoming lane. New tire was purchased by me but no other corrective action;dealer and manufacturer refused.
Nothing to warn me of the impending failure. The spare tire cable snapped causing the spare to drop, flipping underneath the trailer-in-tow, causing the trailer to buck. Fortunately, the trailer recovered and no one was behind me. Should this have happened at a higher rate of speed with someone behind me and while carrying a load, it could have turned fatal. The failing part, the spare tire winch, has been replaced. I have counted a minimum of 10 other reports on this site of this failure. I believe a recall is in order.
See odi 10091339 -in examining the failed part there was no evidence of corrosion causing a weakness of the cable. Rather, the retaining lug at the end of the cable appears to have sheared as a result of routine driving conditions over time. In purchasing a replacement part from Ford, I found that they have changed the design of the lift mechanism to add a tension relief spring to prevent the likely hood of a cable failure such as I experienced. Old part: f75z*1a131 new part 2l3z*1a131 this indicates their recognition that there was a design defect in the original part. As these vehicles age there will be increased chance of future failure from cable strain incurred during routine use.
The paint on the tail gate is coming off in sheets. Leaving just the primer coat. Not caused by rust or damage.
No summary.
Floor mats slipped. Yh.
Ea98018, the orignal floor mats slipped through, pushing the acclerator pedal which may cause an accident unexpectedly. Consumer stated when drivers floor mat slips foward toward the firewall, the accelerator pedal will stick and pull open when pressed to floor to pass another vehicle.
Pe98; alleged loss of throttle control; consumer states that the floor mat moves under driver's feet while driving.
Driver's floor mat continually hung up throttle pedal causing throttle pedal to stick.
Floor mat sticks underneath accelerator pedal, causing the pedal to stick to floor. Vehicle lost control, ran into ditch.
The cable that holds the spare tire beneath the truck snapped and the tire bounced out onto oncoming traffic.