Suspension Torsion Bar problems of the 1998 Ford F-150 - part 1

I stepped into my vehicle to go to work, and the torsion bar broke. Snapped into two pieces. Was thankful I was not driving. I have been told by the tow truck driver and the mechanics, that they have never seen this before, and that a piece of 1" round steel should not just snap.

The r/h torsion bar broke at low speed turning into a parking lot. The bar is being replaced at the dealership. They say they have never seen this before. After seeing all the reports on line, I find this hard to believe.

On December 30, 2003, I sent the following letter to Ford motor company and as of yet have not received a reply. Hopefully you can give me some pointers on how I should proceed. Thank you, david moritz david moritz 404 3rd Ave NW 605-532-5343 clark, sd 57225 enclosed are pictures of the torsion bar from my 1998 Ford F-150 pickup. VIN# 1ftzx18w4wkb15005. It has 56,000 miles. The portion that is pictured is the front. The bar broke while sitting idle in my garage. I had been out of town for the weekend so the pickup had not been driven for two days. I found the center piece on the garage floor. From rust spots in the broken area, it appears that it had been cracked for some time. I have owned the pickup for about three years. Almost all of my driving has been highway driving. During that time it has very little off road driving. I am not a hunter or land owner. It has been used for hauling cargo, but not extended use. It was involved in an accident and I have also enclosed the repair records from that. The damage was to the right side. There was no suspension damaged noted. I have looked to see if there were any recalls on it, and have found none. The mechanic who replaced it for me said he had never seen a torsion bar break like this. This is a repair that I dont think I should have to pay for. I have enclosed my statement. I am just thankful that I was not driving the vehicle when it broke. It concerns me that there may be other suspension problems. What I would like to know is what can be done? is this a flaw in the pickup that needs to be addressed? I am also writing to the national highway traffic safety administration to ask for their help in what process I should follow. I can be reached during working hours at 605-532-5343, at my address at 404 3rd Ave. Nw, clark, sd 57225 or by e-mail at mortprnt@itctel. Com. I will be waiting your reply. David moritz.

Driver side torsion bar snapped ,causing front left corner of vehicle to drop unexpectedly possibly damaging sway bar, shock absorber and related bushings. Ford customer service stated there is no coverage, recalls or service bulletins that cover damage/defect. There have been reports of similar issues with expedition and Ford models.

The vehicle was parked, when the left torsion bar failed.

Right side torsion bar snapped in two going across parking lot.

Driver side torsion bar broke driving 60 on freeway. Made truck veer hard to left almost hitting guard rail. Thank god my son didn't hit it. Brought the truck used and of course dealer said it wasn't under warranty that we had. Only the 60 days or 2500 miles from time of purchased. Only had in 25 days.

The front torsion bar broke. The torsion bar had experienced a brittle fracture at the hexagon to cylinder interface.

Passenger side torsion bar broke while parked in parking garage. Don't know what would happen if occured at normal driving speeds. Scary drive home as truck was laying down on right front severly. Took to garage this morning. Five minutes later, woman comes in and says she has a broken torsion bar. You guessed it, another 1998 Ford f150 4x4. Looked at hers, was on drivers side, similar shaped failure as mine, said hers was just parked in driveway when failed. I am afraid to let wife drive my truck now.

Torsion bar snapped causing truck to lean to one side. I was told I was fortunate I wasnt driving it at the time they had many ( over 50) break some while driving. Dealer should replace at no cost to owner only had 21,552 , 1998 F-150 dealer wanted 500. 00 at first then claimed part was defective and I would have to pay labor( jack demmers in wayne,mi. 48185) please help this isnt fair.

The torsion bar had broken while the vehicle was parked. Ph the torsion bar was replaced and the front end was aligned. Scc.

Front right torsion bar snapped while vehicle was parked in my driveway.

While driving, right front torsion bar snapped during regular driving.

Front torsion bar exploded while vehicle was parked in consumer's driveway. Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further details. Consumer has damaged parts.

Dealer told me there were no previous known problems with the torsion bar.

Torsion bar snapped as I shifted into reverse in my driveway.

Torsion bar broke while vehicle was parked in garage.

Torsion bar severed. Defect was discovered while vehicle was parked. Private mechanic has not provided any information as of yet for cause of defect. Please provide any additional information/attachments.

Rt front torsion bar broke while sitting in the drive way.

Front torsion bar broke while parked in garage; dealer/manufacturer were notified; manufacturer informed consumer that they would pay all except 20%, which would be at consumer cost. The consumer states that there were many other owners of this model vehicle with torsion bars problem, but the manufacturer was not even trying to make better quality parts available.

While truck was parked in garage the driver's side torsion broke. February 1999 the torsion bar on the passenger broke while driving at 20 mph. Fortunately in either case no injuries. This is not a normal failure, but after contacting Ford directly and the dealer where the truck needed to be towed eiter stated this is a problem. My family now feels for their safety next time we drive in the truck. I need to be convinced that can't happen again and that there was problem with the torsion bars used on that year truck.

Rt torsion bar broke while driving aprox 50 mph. Front rt of truck dropped and was hard to control.

Passenger's side right torsion bar collasped and broke which caused passenger's side of vehicle to drop down on one side. Consumer has contacted dealer, dealer has replaced torsion bar. Please provide any further details.

Front torsion bar broke overnight while parked. Manufacturer is aware of defect. The torsion bar was replaced by the dealer.

Sudden an spontanious breakage of torsion bar at low speed without hitting any obsticle or pot-hole in road.

Torsion bar failed causing lower left side to pull to the guardrail, consumer was driving at the time and had heard a loud noise.

Was moving 15mph when a pop sound was heard. Right side went down. Was barely able to steer vehicle. Took vehicle to firestone retailer & informed it was torsion bar that had snapped.

Consumer got in vehicle and torsion bar on left side broke. Dealer had no explanation, they repaired it. Consumer was concerned that this problem could result in a serious injury or death. Consumer changed his own oil & hoping this wasn't a problem.

The truck was sitting in the parking lot at work when the drivers side torsion bar broke. From some people I have talked to this has happened to quite a few other trucks-same side torsion bar. The dealer has worked with us as well as can be expected considering that the manufacturer refuses to acknowledge a problem. I haven't been able to speak with a representative because they are " on vacation". I am concerned about what could happen to another family with the same truck if perhaps the bar would break while driving. This a a dangerous problem that Ford motor company is refusing to do anything about. I have written to them on two occassions now asking for them to issue a recall since this is not just my truck, but many others. Also, I do not believe the anti-lock brakes should fail on a truck with the mileage it had at the time. The dealer also worked with us on this problem. Our total bill was for $90. 87 for both of the problems, but I still believe that Ford motor company should reimburse us this money considering that this is a major defect both with the tortion bar and the anti-lock brakes. Thank you for your time regarding this important matter. I do not want anyone to be injured because of Ford motor company ignoring these problems.

The dealership is calling the torsion bar a "wear and tear item" therefore it is considered a warranty item and not a manufacturing defect. For my truck, which is used as a commuter vehicle, has the "off-road package" and has seen a non-paved road all of 5 times, I find it unacceptable that this item is not covered under some sort of warranty or recall. I have searched the NHTSA database and seen numerous (36) customer complaints on the same type of failure. I could understand the torsion bar failure (maybe) if the truck were used on a daily basis for construction purposes or if I exceeded the recommended uses of the vehicle, but I have not. The truck is at less than half its expected life and yet one of the main suspension components had failed. This bar replaced the coil springs on the past generation of trucks. Have you never heard of coil springs snapping? I also find it rather troublesome that Ford has recently been accused of turning the other way when problems arise with its vehicles. Is this going to become another firestone recall scenario or will Ford take responsibility for its engineering/manufacturing mistakes? Im starting to wonder what built Ford tough actually means.

Passenger side torsion bar failed and suspension dropped. Fortunately vehicle was stopped. Broke at rear mounting at tensioner point. Ford replaced under warranty but refused to change driver side even though it exhibits significanct surface corrosion in the same area. From my search of NHTSA and other internet data and from Ford employee comments this appears to be a repeat problem for this vehicle. I have electronic photos showing pitting and corrosion of driver side torsion bar that Ford states is acceptable. I have noted that NHTSA opened an action #pe98-009 on this matter 13 Feb-98 and closed it 30 June-98. I've also noted numerous complaint filings for f150 torsion bar failures with NHTSA and other internet data bases. This would seem a highly dangerous situation that could result in accident and fatalities if breaking at highway speed. I beleive this warrants a new investigation and issuance of corrective action requirements to Ford. The fact that complaint files indicate frequent back orders for parts might indicate Ford is doing a lot of replacements.

Torsion bar snapped while merging onto interstate, dropping the front end.

Front torsion bar broke while vehicle was sitting in garage overnight. Dealer notified.

Defective torsion bar broke in parking lot. If vehicle was driven it could have caused a crash.

Complete failure of the torsion bar on the front left of vehicle. Break is about six inches from the front of the bar. Vehicle had been parked for in excess of three hours on level ground when failure occurred. Have over 30 witnesses that can attest to when failure occurred.