Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / E SERIES / 1997

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 003276542 Incident Date: Jun, 14 2003
Consumer's City: MIAMI Consumer's State: OK
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: E SERIES Model Year: 1997
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Tires
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jan, 14 2004 Complaint Type: CAG
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: -
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: No
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: We purchased a 1997 ford e150 raised roof conversion van from jim o'neal ford in sellersburg, indiana just across the border from louisville, kentucky. the conversion was by superior in louisville. we purchased that particular van because it was highly rated by ford motor company as a conversion company. we drove the van for six years and just recently traded it in. it has 97,000 miles on it. the major problem we had with the van was with the front end. both ford and our local tire dealer have told us that because the van is raised roof and heavier than normal, we should expect excessive tire and brake wear. however, we often would have to put brakes on the van more than once a year and replace all four tires yearly. the front tires would get abnormal wear (cupping) which would destroy all four tires eventually with normal rotation. at 60,000 miles, a ford repair shop in joplin, mo told us the ball joints were bad and needed to be replaced. they felt that was the problem all along. only 30,000 miles later, we were once again told the ball joints were destroyed and needed to be replaced again. any time we ask if this was normal wear and tear, we were told (with a shoulder shrug) that it was due to the raised roof. i think ford should warn potential buyers of their conversion vans that they will experience abnormal brake, tire and front end wear and should expect to have $6-800 dollars in repairs yearly. if they cannot manufacture a front end capable of handling a heavier load from the raised roof, they should not be selling raised roof vans.