2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer from North America - Comments

I have a 2001 Expedition and have changed 6 coils. Two in the last month. I'll never buy a Ford again!

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

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.

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???

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.

Ford didn't take any government bailout money.

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.