Most common 1999 Ford E-350 problems
Share of the 72 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford E-350 complaints by model year
Best E-350 years: 2018, 2016, 2015. Years to avoid: 1997, 1995, 1999. Compare all years →
1999 Ford E-350 recalls (8)
Vehicle speed control
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…
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…
Vehicle speed control › Cruise control
Ford is recalling 225,000 my 1992-2003 econoline, my 1993-1995 taurus sho, my 1992-1998 crown victoria, my 1993 bronco, f-series, my 1995-1997 f-series super duty stripped chassis, my 1992-1998 Mercury grand marquis, and my 1992-1995 Lincoln town car vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new wiring harness, or replace the mating electrical component. The recall began on February 18, 2008. Owners May contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Vehicle speed control
On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch May, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected…
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
Vehicle description: on certain vans with ambulance prep packages or other severe-duty applications involving operation at or near the gross vehicle weight with frequent twisting of the vehicle body, such as off-road, rough road or speed bump events, the 35 gallon mid-ship fuel tank could develop a crack where it contacts the…
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and, if cracked, will replace the tank. Insulator pads will be installed on all vehicles to reduce the stress levels in the fuel tank. Owner notification began April 19, 2001.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Vehicle description: bi-fuel cng pickup trucks and bi-fuel cng vans, modified by cfi control systems, inc., fail to conform to the requirements of FMVSS no. 303, "fuel system integrity of compressed natural gas vehicles." the label affixed to the fuel filler door by the vehicle modifier contains the inspection date and…
Remedy: Owners will be provided a label with the required statement, along with instructions for affixing the label at the fuel filler door. Owner notification began November 2, 2000.
Wheels › Lugs/nuts/bolts/studs
Vehicle description: cutaways and stripped chassis with single rear wheels. The lug nuts can potentially bottom out on a shoulder on the studs.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear wheel attaching studs.
Show 2 more recalls
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Vehicle description: utility vans equipped with the "60/40" hinged side cargo doors. The strikers for the 60/40 door single latch system were found to contain stress cracks at the striker wire lower stake joint. Strikers with stress cracks May not meet the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the door striker.
Power train › Manual transmission
Vehicle description: pickup trucks built with single rear wheels and equipped with 3.55:1 and 3.73:1 axle ratio. These vehicles were built with incorrect speedometer driven gears, resulting in a lower speedometer reading than the actual vehicle speed being driven.
Remedy: Dealers will install the correct speedometer gear.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 5 possible defects involving the 1999 Ford E-350:
Blow back during refueling
There is no summary currently available
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 have reported a burning smell or smoke coming from the dash.One fleet reported a vehicle fire.No…
HVAC Switch Failures
This investigation was opened based on one complaint and reports from four transportation fleets alleging 182 blower motor control switch failures.ODI was concerned that these melting and burning switches could lead to an open flame that could spread throughout the vehicle.After a comprehensive review of all data related to overheating blower motor control switches in the subject vehicles, ODI did not identify the…
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 vehicle with the failure mode replicated, interviewed owners, and examined complaint vehicles in the…
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
What 1999 Ford E-350 owners say
Wheels & tires all 26 →
The contact owns a 1999 Ford E-350 Jamboree equipped with Sailun Tires, Tire Line: Terramax H/T, Tire Size: 225/75/R16, DOT Number: (535PLE50). The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, there were pieces of the driver's side inside dual tire striking the underside of the vehicle and hitting the highway. The contact managed to drive the vehicle back to his residence. The contact stated that the tread had separated leaving only the steel belt and the side wall. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate vehicle failure mileage was 80,000 and the tire failure mileage was 5,000.
I recently purchased a used 24' 1999 winnebago itasca spirit with very low mileage and at that time I noticed a shaking or vibration problem possibly coming from the tires. I owned a motor home in the past and have some experience. This motor home sat for several years so I attributed the shaking to the memory in the rubber of flat spots on the bottom from sitting for a long time that usually smooth out when driven especially after 30 or 40 miles on a warm day, but after a 400 mile trip it didn't smooth out, in fact it seems to have worsened. Before purchasing it from a private party I ran an instavin and carfax report and only discovered an uncompleted NHTSA recall #05s28 on the speed control only. …
Engine & cooling
I have a 1999 chinook class c with a Ford e-350 chassis powered by a triton v-10. Shortly after buying it used we had a spark plug pop out. It was an original plug. We had them changed and took a cross country trip. As we were coming up on memphis tn. Another plug blew out. We were on an interchange in a very dangerous place. We could not get out as there was a freeway on both sides. It took 3 1/2 hours to get us out of harms way. Just last weekend it happened again though I drove off the freeway. I have since read that this could cause a fire as the gas is getting pushed out the plug hole and the plug is out and firing. I have done some research and Ford says the plugs were not torqued to spec which caused it to happen. We had our original plugs when it 1st happened. I also read online where a dealer had a very low mileage v-10 with original plugs and it happened to him. …
1999 Ford e350 caught fire and burned to a total loss while sitting cold in my driveway. I bought the vehicle used on nov 8, 2010. Dec 12, 2010 I drove about 3 miles to the grocery around 20:30; I returned home and parked the vehicle in my driveway about 20:45. About 22:15 a passing car observed flames coming from the front of the vehicle and flaring to contact my house. The witness alerted me at my door. I immediately grabbed the garden hose and attempted to spray water into the front grill, left side to put out the fire. I could not see where the actual fire was as the hood was closed, I sprayed where the flames exited the grill. The wind was blowing about 20 MPH and I could not extinguish the flames. The vehicle was facing north, the wind blowing from west to east. The flames began to shoot out from the passenger wheel well in a horizontal streak as the wind stoked the fire. …
Fuel & propulsion system
The vehicle stalls on numerous occasions due to lack of fuel. Investigation proved that the interior paint of the gas tank peals blocking the fuel pump. Research shows that delamination of the gas tank is frequent in this model causing a very unsafe condition as the van can stop at anytime as it looses power and propulsion due to the paint flakes blocking the fuel.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Ford e350 van. The contact stated that the diesel fuel tank developed corrosion. The corrosion had filtered into the engine and caused the engine to stall while the contact was driving 65 MPH. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic who advised that the entire fuel system needed to be replaced due to the corrosion. The contact had the fuel tank and fuel injectors cleaned previously but the cleaning did not remedy the issue. The failure mileage was 285,000. The VIN was not available.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1999 Ford E-350 a good car?
Based on 72 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1999 E-350 rates use caution: 1.5× as many complaints as a typical year of the E-350 at the same age. It is one of the E-350 years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1999 Ford E-350?
The wheels & tires — 26 complaints, 36% of all complaints for this model year, most often about tread/belt. Next are the engine & cooling (13) and fuel & propulsion system (9).
How many recalls does the 1999 Ford E-350 have?
There are 8 recalls for the 1999 Ford E-350, the most recent from October 13, 2009 (vehicle speed control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford E-350?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2018, 2016 and 2015. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1997, 1995 and 1999. See the full Ford E-350 years comparison.
At what mileage do 1999 Ford E-350 problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 87,000 miles; 23% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.