6th Jan 2009, 15:15
I wish I would have seen this blog before I bought my 2006 EB Expedition. I had a problem with it surging as I take off and took it to the Ford dealer. I was told the number 1 coil was bad. It is covered under my extended warranty, but (and here's the kicker) the dealer told me that I should have the spark plug replaced. I asked them how much it would be to just do a tune up and replace all of the spark plugs and boots. I guess I was thinking $150 to $200 for a tune up. Right? Wrong! I was told it would be over $800 for a tune up on the motor because of the engine design. Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?
We bought the Ford because we needed a larger SUV and it was ranked higher than the GM products. We liked the power 3rd row seating and the fact that it folds into the floor unlike the GM SUVs. My wife drives the truck and that was important so she could raise/lower for kids, groceries, etc. Well, the new Sequoia has the power assisted seats now as well. BYE BYE FORD! Good luck with bailout from Congress. You need it!
25th Jan 2009, 06:40
I have a 2001 Expedition and have changed 6 coils. Two in the last month. I'll never buy a Ford again!
5th Feb 2009, 19:38
Master Certified working tech here with 35 years experience; automotive instructor too!... LOVE this site... for car REPAIR info gleaned from reading the problems folks -- like you! -- are having with a particular model.
In this case: "ignition coil" failures are indeed common with MANY late model vehicles... not just Fords (try VW for example!!). Most of these vehicles, like the Expedition, have an ignition coil mounted right on top of each spark plug, connected together by a short rubber boot with a flexible internal wire.
Coils can go bad for many reasons. In my experience, it's usually due to worn spark plugs and oxygenated fuel (most people in the county use this kind of gas -- brand doesn't matter). Worn spark plugs make the coils work VERY hard. Oxygenated fuels make the coils work VERY hard.
You won't have an option with gas. But if a coil fails, then ALL the spark plugs should be replaced immediately, along with the offending coil (s) ; doing this MIGHT spare the other coils. In cases where coils are easy to replace, just replacing the bad one (s) is fine: again, with ALL the plugs.
In the case of Expeditions though, you may want to consider replacing ALL the plugs & ALL the coils at the same time, as it is indeed a VERY tough job: even for a pro! We have one in our shop right now, and I'm glad as boss, I can pay someone else to climb into this mountain of a vehicle and do this "repair".
The charge to our customer for accurately determining what's wrong (car was "bucking" on acceleration+ check engine light on), and changing ALL the plugs, ONE coil, PCV valve and needed throttle clean: $700... the Ford dealer across the street would be closer to $1000... yes, TOUGH JOB!!
Almost every manufacturer on the planet thinks their car will go 100,000 miles on set of spark plugs. Never seen it! Average is 75,000 miles (1996 model year vehicles and newer ONLY). With some cars, the average spark plug life is only about 50,000 miles: yet the owners manual STILL says they're not needed until mile 100,000... go figure... sue the manufacturers for lying?
Good luck all! jps1158@yahoo.com
6th Feb 2009, 00:48
I own a Expedition 98, I had to change 4 times the coils in the last 2 years. 2 times the plugs.
I might sell this truck pretty soon.
11th Sep 2009, 09:54
I have a 2003 EB Expedition and I'm sick and tired of this coil ordeal. I'm now having to replace all plugs and coils once again.
Anyone want to buy a 2003 Ford EB Expedition with 89,000 miles???
11th Sep 2009, 11:39
Glad I got a good one. I have a 1998 Expedition with 160,000 miles and have had very few problems with it. I have had it for a few years and have had to replace altenator and left lower ball joint. I wash my truck once a week and have had no problems with coils.
5th Nov 2009, 22:19
I changed the oil and air filter on my 2001 5.4 Expedition. A few days later the service engine soon light came on and it was running rough. I know what you are thinking after reading the previous posts. The SUV has 78,000 miles on it. I bought it used in 2004 from carmax. I have to say it has been a great vehicle. Never had any major problems. I really like it. Anyway, I was worried that something major was screwed up. I took it to Autozone to to get the code checked. They check it for free. It showed #7 cylinder misfire. The guy says,"Oh I know what you need". I thought he was pretty good but obviously he had seen it many times before judging from the posts here. That's right, time for a new ignition coil. Cost me $40. Not bad considering what some of these other folks have paid to have it replaced. You have to know it is a booger to get to this thing, but I was able to do it. Truck runs fine now. This was my first coil to go bad so I hope the others last. If not at least I will know what to do. Good luck everybody. This is a great site.
23rd Nov 2009, 20:51
I had a similar problem with my 2000 4.6L Ford Expedition (85,000 miles). When I would reach any speed above 30mph, the SUV would start to misfire and it seemed to shake all the time. So after reading this forum, I went ahead and tackled this issue myself, and it saved me a lot of money.
First thing I did was take the advice of many on this forum and went down to Autozone to have them run a free computer check. The gentleman said I had a misfire on cylinder #4, which is located on the passenger side all the way inside (closest to the dash). He figured that since I had never changed the spark plugs on my SUV, to buy them for all 8 cylinders first and test the vehicle. If the problem still existed after replacing then most likely that coil is defective (#4). After changing the passenger side spark plugs, I decided to move the coil that was in the #4 spot up to the front in case I had to replace it. This would have made it much easier to swap out if needed.
Well after replacing all the plugs, which took approximately 3 hours, I decided it was time to test it out. The SUV ran perfect and there were no misfires above 30 mph. I have yet to take it back to Autozone to run another test but from what I can tell everything is working fine even on the highway with speeds of 60mph+. The spark plugs that were removed appeared to be in bad shape. So before you replace the coils, it may be time for you to take a look at your plugs too.
Who knows what my local mechanic would have done if he would have found a bad plug. He could have easily charged me for a coil and I would have never known it to still be good! Thanks for all the input here, this forum really helped and saved me a lot of money!
9th Aug 2008, 20:57
Well I came on this website because the "service engine soon" light came on last night. I have a fresh oil change, and I was about to trek 750 miles back home today. They diagnosed the problem @ auto zone-for free. Guess what? Coil # 6. I am a lady who knows nada about cars, but I will try to fix it myself. I can't afford 100's of dollars at this point. My truck is a 01 Expedition. I bought it used. It was okay up to now. The auto zone employee recommended a tune up, esp. new spark plugs. Now I know that this the coil problem may likely be a recurring issue. I will learn how to fix it myself. Does anyone know where to get discount parts in Maryland?