2001 Ford E-450
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Ford › E-450 › 2001
These records cover every 2001 Ford E-450. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
2 recalls name the 2001 Ford E-450. Newest first.
Ford IS recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-250 sd through F-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 E-150 through E-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 F53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control deactivation switch (scds). the…
Risk and remedy
Risk
A vehicle fire could occur with or without the engine running.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. on 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair as necessary. repairs will be completed free of charge. the safety recall began on october 27, 2009. owners may contact ford at 1-888-222-2751.
On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Overheating could result in smoke or burn and an underhood fire.
Remedy
Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. the recall began on august 7, 2006. owners may contact ford at 1-866-436-7332. (note: also see recalls 05v017 and 05v388)
Owner complaints
16 complaints
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
The contact owns a 2001 Ford E-450. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while restarting the vehicle, the front driver’s side air bag deployed independently. The contact did not sustain any injuries nor seek medical attention. The…
The contact owns a 2001 Ford E-450. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while restarting the vehicle, the front driver’s side air bag deployed independently. The contact did not sustain any injuries nor seek medical attention. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
- Tires
Multiple failures of nearly new nexen roadian LT tire used on two separate ford E-450 limo/shuttle chassis. four failures were experienced within a 6 month period, and included cord/tread/inner liner separation, bulging and related failures. one failure resulted in a blow-out at speed, one…
Multiple failures of nearly new nexen roadian LT tire used on two separate ford E-450 limo/shuttle chassis. four failures were experienced within a 6 month period, and included cord/tread/inner liner separation, bulging and related failures. one failure resulted in a blow-out at speed, one failure resulted in a serious and/or catastrophic bulge/separation, and the remaining failures were similar, but caught prior to becoming dangerous. the remaining two tires were replaced/discarded w/o observed failure. all tires were replaced. one experienced, heavy truck repair and mobile truck tire service located in southern california indicated that the tires were unsafe. the brand, nexen, made in korea, IS not listed in the cpsc list of tire manufacturers? *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
For an unknown reason my 2001 ford E450 ABS light came on stayed on after I started my motorhome. The unit was parked for 4 days prior to this problem. The light didn't come one while driving to the location, only after being parked for the four days. *nm
- Tires › Tread/belt
I just had a tire blowout/tread separation on a 2001 ford E450 rv. the vehicle has 28000 miles and the treads show little wear. The tires are firestone steeltex radial R4S II lt225/75 r 16 load range e. upon inspection of the other tires, notices cracks on the sidewalls of all the remaining tires and a bubble on the sidewall of one tire. What are my actions in regards to replacement of these tires? thanks. *nm
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine
This IS an update to odi #10143249. driving on I70 in denver, blew another spark plug out of the cylinder head. this time it stripped all the threads out. 2) caused a cost of tow and repairs. *Jb 3) service repair did a hielarch (sp?) on the spark plug sleeve. Total incurred cost = $631.30. *Jb
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Driving on I70 in denver, blew another spark plug out of the cylinder head. this time it stripped all the threads out. *jb
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine
1- traveling from east coast west through indiana 2- spark plug came out of cylinder causing a breakdown and towing 3- service required to replaced plug and harness - cost of 75 for tow and 213.85 for parts/labor. *nm
- Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil springs
A crack in the drivers side spring tower frame on a 2001 ford E-450 ambulance.
- Tires › Tread/belt
I have a 2001 jayco 33' class c motor home on a ford E-450 V-10 chassis. I was traveling on hi I 5 south about 45 miles from sacramento, at 65 mph when the right rear dual tires blew out. the outside tire tread came off and flew onto the hawaii, the inside dual tread came off and wrapped around…
I have a 2001 jayco 33' class c motor home on a ford E-450 V-10 chassis. I was traveling on hi I 5 south about 45 miles from sacramento, at 65 mph when the right rear dual tires blew out. the outside tire tread came off and flew onto the hawaii, the inside dual tread came off and wrapped around the axel. the tires are firestone steeltex lt/225/75r16. I have both complete treads and the inside IS very smooth all the way around. I have what IS left of the rest of the tires. I contacted ford and firestone on sept. 19TH and gave the same report. the blowouts caused some damage to the motor home storage compartment. ford took my info and did not know what ford would do with the info. firestone said they would send me complaint forms. I am telling you folks about this as I have talked to other people that have had the same problem and firestone has been no help. I think this IS a very serious safety issue. my wife and I credit the excellent design, and performance of the ford vehicle and braking system. I had no trouble handling the vehicle and stopping other than the crazy drivers that would not get out of the way. I can send pictures of the tires to you by email if you want. I am positive that I was not overweight and the tire pressure was correct. the inside tire had about 5 to 7000 miles on it and the outside had about 42000 on it however there IS a lot of tread left. I had two other blowouts in november 2002 near barstow, calif. the right front blew from a road hazard and when I got home the inside right dual was flat. I bought two new michelins tires for the front. my tire shop said the others were good to use. I am taking rv to my tire shop on sept. 22 and getting all firestone tires taken off and putting on michelin's. I have also had 3 flats on this mh in the past two years. I think it was valve stem failures. please respond by phone or email prior to oct 3RD. *jb
- Tires › Tread/belt
Firestone steeltex lt22575r16 tread seperation. Tire pres:75psi, speed 65, temp:80f, road surface: smooth highway,. This IS also the third tire failure on this rv. ( at work our ford SUV has had three tire failures just like my rv)
- Suspension › Front
We believe this motor home was sold to us with dealership knowing of axle problem, causing rv unable to have wheel alignment corrected. Front rear axle has slipped causing driving hazard. May have caused further damage to vehicle making it unsafe to operate. Rv had numerous smaller problems with…
We believe this motor home was sold to us with dealership knowing of axle problem, causing rv unable to have wheel alignment corrected. Front rear axle has slipped causing driving hazard. May have caused further damage to vehicle making it unsafe to operate. Rv had numerous smaller problems with this last one being the worst. This has caused us lots of loss of time to travel and enjoy the rv. Was advised not to take any long trips because of problem. Was on a vacation when problem with shower pan occured and shade broke and drawers broke. At same time refrigerator leaked water onto wood floor, which needs to be replaced.in addition, this has created an impairment of market value because of defects in this vehicle.*ak
- Tires
I was driving down I94 in mpls, when the tire blew. I had 3 kids in the rv and a boat behind. almost lost complete control of vehicle. was able to steer rv to shoulder of road. the entire tire had been completed demolished. it looks like complete tread separation, similar to other…
I was driving down I94 in mpls, when the tire blew. I had 3 kids in the rv and a boat behind. almost lost complete control of vehicle. was able to steer rv to shoulder of road. the entire tire had been completed demolished. it looks like complete tread separation, similar to other firestone issues. tire damaged underneath storage compartment of the rv, cost me $200 for emergency roadside repair, approx. $2000 in damage to vehicle, and cost of a new spare (which I haven't bought yet). I was travelling the speed limit, no road issues, no objects - nothing. tire completing separated with no provocation. I could have been killed, along with my entire family.*ak
- Tires
I had two of these tires blew out within 400 miles of each other. If ypu put the tires side by side the damage to tires look almost exactley the same. Ther IS 10,000 miles on these tires. The sidewall on both tires seperate from thread. *Ak
- Tires › Tread/belt
Vehicle experienced blow out of the right side and left side dual tires, both on different occasions. first incident the entire face came off the right side leaving only the sidewalls, second incident had partial separation of tread.(firestone tires lt225/75r16 dot#8x1l 1X1 4700 dh5515x D08R, the second tire was a dot 8X1L 1X1 4700 dh515x D16R) *jg
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components · Suspension
Body design IS too large for E450 van cutaway, brakes can not handle weight. Stopping distance IS impaired. vehicle IS unstable in turns and crashs. Brakes last 20,000 miles to 30,000 miles, tires the same.
- Suspension › Rear
During t wo trips on interstate highways we encountered winds from 10 to 30 mph. on these occasions I found it necessary to slow down to 40 to 50 mph speed in order to control motor home. I had to keep the steering wheel turned at 45 to 90 degrees to keep the unit going straight. additionally…
During t wo trips on interstate highways we encountered winds from 10 to 30 mph. on these occasions I found it necessary to slow down to 40 to 50 mph speed in order to control motor home. I had to keep the steering wheel turned at 45 to 90 degrees to keep the unit going straight. additionally each time a 18 wheel truck passed I had to hold the wheel tightly, as the unit was pushed to the right side of the road and swayed from side to side. when the gas tank IS filled with 55 gallons (330 lbs) the steering changes completely. the front end of the truck feels light. the truck wanders from side to side. some one IS going to be killed when they over steer attempting to keep the unit going straight even in mild winds. warranty statement by winnebago: items not subject to warranty coverage: chassis. these items are covered under the manufacturers individual warranty. warranty statement by ford: warranty IS void if: altering or modifying the vehicle-including the body chassis or component - after the vehicle leaves fords's control. the possible reason for swaying and loose steering are. winnebago added 4 feet to the ford chassis. the purpose was to add a slide out behing the rear wheels. this added additional weight behind the rear wheels. when filling the gas tank additional weight IS added behind rear wheels causing steering to change until gas IS used. winnebago did not alter or improve the suspension provided by ford even though they modified the length of the chassis.*ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- HVAC Switch Failures
ODI has received 1 complaint and reports from 4 transportation fleets alleging 182 switch failures.Each fleet operates mini buses built on a Ford E350 or E450 cutaway chassis.The OEM HVAC blower switches have melted, smoked, burned or experienced open flame and become inoperable on vehicles in each fleet.Some drivers…
ODI has received 1 complaint and reports from 4 transportation fleets alleging 182 switch failures.Each fleet operates mini buses built on a Ford E350 or E450 cutaway chassis.The OEM HVAC blower switches have melted, smoked, burned or experienced open flame and become inoperable on vehicles in each fleet.Some drivers have reported a burning smell or smoke coming from the dash.One fleet reported a vehicle fire.No injuries were sustained.However, the bus was carrying special needs children when the driver noticed smoke coming from the dash.The driver was able to evacuate the children prior to the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames.This PE has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA) to determine if the blower motor switch failures create a situation where a vehicle fire is possible and presents a safety risk to the driver and other passengers.
- Engine compartment fires
Ea05-005 IS closed with ford?s actions in recalls 05v-017, 05v-388, and 06v-286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in…
Ea05-005 IS closed with ford?s actions in recalls 05v-017, 05v-388, and 06v-286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.ford IS also including the entire population of 1998 explorers.ford has informed odi that testing to determine the cause of failures in the 1998 explorers will continue after this investigation IS closed.odi believes that the vehicles exhibiting the factors causing scds failure described in this report correlate well with the observed failure rates on these vehicles by model and model year.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist in the non-recalled vehicles manufactured with scds that are not included in ford?s recalls.odi will continue to monitor the non-recalled population for incidence of engine compartment fires.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached closing report for details.
- Rapid tire deflation
This investigation was opened on certain ford pickup trucks and vans to evaluate the effects of a valve stem ejection (with rapid air loss) and a slow leaking valve stem on vehicle handing.during the investigation, odi evaluated over 1,100 complaints and warranty claims, conducted vehicle dynamic testing on a subject…
This investigation was opened on certain ford pickup trucks and vans to evaluate the effects of a valve stem ejection (with rapid air loss) and a slow leaking valve stem on vehicle handing.during the investigation, odi evaluated over 1,100 complaints and warranty claims, conducted vehicle dynamic testing on a subject vehicle with the failure mode replicated, interviewed owners, and examined complaint vehicles in the field.the results of the test program indicates the effect of a valve stem ejection on these vehicles IS easily controlled. Further, with a population of almost 900,000 vehicles, having two to four years of exposure, odi IS aware of only 3 minor crashes and IS unaware of any injuries.the small number of crashes relative to the large population of vehicles IS consistent with the testing which was performed. Therefore, this investigation IS closed.see the attached report for full technical details.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10018941Vibration/harshness above 45 mph (72 km/h) after tire balance.
- 10013320Fluid leaking from the vent on the transmission mounted parking brake assembly.
- 10013298Cracks in the left or right spring tower flange. Spring tower weld repair and replacement procedure.
- 10010743Intermittent clunk on 3-2 downshift during coastdown/tip-in. Oasis. To include 2005 F-150, e-series and expedition.
- 10008561Engine roughness and driveability symptoms.
- 10007350Clunk from front suspension.
- 10002783Rough idle and/or hesitation when acclerating on certain super duty vehicles equipped with a 5.4L or 6.8L engine.
- 10002154Turtle top addressing vehicle engine compartment rust, undercarriage rust and brake replacement on 2001 ford E450 chassis with a turtle top coach.
- 10000002The rear suspension system installation and maintenance guide revision d. (Bfgoodrich velvet-ride suspension system).
- 630150Some vehicles without front brake dust shields may exhibit premature wear of the front wheel bearings.
- 622744Some cut-away vehicles may exhibit anti-skid brake system diagnostic trouble code c1229, c1230 and c1237.
- 620226Some vehicles built before feburary 15, 2001 may exhibit a constant squealing sound from the front wheels while driving. This may be caused by excessive side to side travel of the anti-rattle clip on the front brake caliper adaptor face.
- 619465Information on lube for life / greasable ball joints.
Every Ford E-450 model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.