Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Ford Expedition owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was driving a 2001 Ford Expedition [redacted]. I was coming from 290 expressway going towards central ave. I turned on parkside ave as I was driving my 9 year old son stated that the car was smoking. I told him OK I'm going to pull over. As I was about to pull over it started to catch fire. My children started screaming the car is on fire, the car is on fire. I said to them it's going to to be alright. I started pulling them out by there shirts, arms, legs whatever I could grab. We all got out safe thank god. My 2 year daughter is still afraid of big trucks and still talk about the fire today. I lost my children clothes (school uniforms) and some shorts I bought earlier that day. I lost there book bags, and my purse. I also always carry 2 or three pairs of shoes in my truck at all times they are also gone. I lost my nice radio I got from the flea market. …
Approximately 15-20 minutes after I got home from work my 2001 Ford expeditions catches on fire. We, my wife and 3 kids here a loud pressure sound go off outside. Not sure what was going on, we run to the front door and as my wife opens the doors she screams that the house is on fire. We run back inside, she calls 911 and I take kids safely through the back yard. I got back inside the house and open the garage door and find the entire one car garage filled with smoke. Luckily, neighbors grab the hose and one a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The flame reached the garage door and frame including gutters and roof tiles. Thankfully to the neighbors the entire house did not catch on firm said, the local fire department when they arrive at the scene. The loud pressure sound we heard was the driver side tire blow out. …
June 2007 while driving to Mexico for family vacation, a spark plug blew out of the engine in gila bend arizona where the temperatures were close to 110 degrees. I had our dog with us so we could not go into any air conditioned buildings due to having a dog. My 8 and 10 year old boys along with my elderly mother were forced to sit outside and wait for hours until help arrived. It blew while driving on the highway. May 2015 same thing happened but this time we were heading to a family reunion camping trip and had to cancel as our vehicle would not get us there. It blew while driving on the highway. 141000 miles on the vehicle. Oct 2015, the third spark plug blew while my son was driving 25mph to school. He had to miss school that day as he had no way to get there. 187000 miles on the vehicle. …
I have owned this vehicle since 2012. I have had three plug to pop/ blow out, since I've owned. 1st time- was 9/2012. Was driving and heard a pop, was in motion,engine light flashed and had to be towed. 2nd time-was 6/2014 was on a mountain road, in motion and light came on heard a pop , vehicle lost power , was scary though I was going to wreck , due to lost of power . 3rd time-05/2015 , was in town, coming back from the store in traffic, was in motion , it popped then died , ( light didn't come on this time)almost got hit in the rear end ,due to lost of power. I cranked the vehicle and it sounded horrible. When I cranked it again I let it roll on it's own to down the hill to gas station to get it off the road, got it towed home. This is an issue Ford knows of,please get them to address and fixed. It soon. …
I parked my 2001 Ford Expedition xlt SUV in my parking stall on the afternoon of November 2, 2009 at approximately 1600hrs. The vehicle was parked until time of the fire which occurred between 1600hrs and 2325hrs. The entire engine compartment burned the fire was so intense that the hood of the car completely melted away. The fire burned and melted through every part of the inside of the vehicle. The front windshield busted out as well as 4 passenger windows. I have pictures and video of the aftermath of this fire. No one was injured and no other vehicle or property was damaged. Nothing unusual was noticed up to the day the vehicle fire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. After starting the vehicle, the contact smelled a burning odor under the hood. The contact looked under the hood and noticed that the engine compartment was on fire. The contact extinguished the fire. A fire report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 05V017000 (vehicle speed control) after the fire, but the dealer denied the repair. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* - the contact stated that his 2001 Ford Expedition caught on fire in the engine compartment. The contact had driven the vehicle approximately 8 hours earlier and there had been no warning signs. A witness told the contact that his vehicle was on fire in the driveway. The contact stated there had not been any recent repair work done to the vehicle. The vehicle had approximately 110,000 miles. The engine and dash area burned. The vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The contact has a police and fire report. Updated 2/27/2007 -
Tl contact owns a 2001 Ford Expedition. While driving 55 MPH, the contact heard a loud pop and the vehicle began running very roughly. She pulled to the side of the road and smelled gasoline fumes coming from the vehicle. An independent mechanic confirmed that the number 3 spark plug had ejected from the vehicle, and only 7 of the 8 spark plugs remained. He also warned that there was a potential risk of a fire if she proceeded to drive the vehicle in that condition. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 100,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2001 Ford Expedition. She stated that the vehicle was parked for 2 days without operation yet the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A fire report was available. The vehicle was towed to an undisclosed location. The manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact to submit all documentation pertaining to the fire before they would provide any assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 90,000.
My complaint is because, I owned a Ford Expedition 2001 that caught on fire on August 9, 2007. It was out of my house in the night when we started to see smoke in the street, and when we went out of the house, the engine was on fire, and started to advance backwards the fire, until the firemen came and seized the fire. I would like to see if there can be an option to make a lawsuit about this event because of the risk that my family and I lived.
NHTSA investigations
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…
Engine complaints in other Expedition years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2001 Ford Expedition?
NHTSA has 137 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2001 Ford Expedition, 24% of the model year's 578 complaints. The component named most often is engine (46 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Ford Expedition engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2001 Ford Expedition, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Expedition engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 110,000 miles, and 1% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 26 fires and 4 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.