Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
With my foot on the brake, I put the truck in reverse to begin backing out of a driveway. I applied a little gas to slowly backup around the turn in the drive. As I was rolling backwards, I had my foot on the brake because I was navigating past other parked vehicles. As I was clearing one of the vehicles, the truck suddenly jolted backwards hitting a tree. So then, with my foot on the brake, I put the truck in drive so that I could pull forward away from the tree. As I began to press on the gas pedal and the truck instantly thrust forward, hitting another tree, stopping the truck & knocking the tree over. It happened with such power that the wheels spun down into the mulch bed before I was able to brake, put the truck into park and remove the keys to turn it off. …
I was pulling a trailer over the continental divide with my family and stopped to get gas in leadville, colorado. As I was pumping gas I saw smoke coming from under my truck bed. I looked under the truck and saw flames near my spare tire. I stopped pumping gas and ran to get a fire extinguisher. After the fire was out I observed that my tail-pipe had broken away from my muffler. The heat from my exhaust had melted the rubber coating on my rear right brake cable. The heat had also melted some plastic near my spare tire. The mechanic in leadville who welded my tail pipe back to the muffler told me the melted plastic came from an evaporative fuel emissions system mounted near my spare tire. (bad place to put it if you ask me) my truck bed-liner also started to melt from the heat. …
Within a few weeks of purchasing my vehicle in February after pulling into a parking lot the check engine light came on. I also noticed it was making a ticking noise like a diesel engine but it's not a diesel. I went to get the codes and found it was a retarded variable valve timing issue code p0022. I looked online and went to multiple shops and mechanics to figure out the problem. After paying to replace the vct solenoids it was apparent that that was not the issue causing the timing problem. For weeks I noticed the truck shaking and at one point it actually stalled as I was pulling out of a parking lot into a busy road and it stalled as I was going into the road which caused the on coming traffic to slow and stop to avoid hitting me in the middle of the road. …
The engine blew a spark plug out my grandfather bought this truck new it never had them removed before it did not come lose it blew threads and all out do your god dam job make Ford fix this before someone gets killed from a fire over this when the plug pops out it blows fuel out on the coil pack with it with it shooting lighting bolts if I had been a person with no mechanical knowledge it would have got bad I popped the hood and flames were popping out around the coil pack that is beating the crap out of the fuel rail if I had drove the truck or had been on the freeway that fuel rail would have been busted then a fire ball I can send u picks or make a video of the coil pack smacking the fuel rail.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced stalling without warning. In addition, the seat belt would not latch. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle's software needed to reflashed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact had the engine replaced after it was diagnosed that there was water in the oil pan and a fuel rod failure. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 Ford f150. The contact stated that while parked in the driveway the vehicle caught fire and destroyed the vehicle. The garage on the house caught on fire as well as her commuter car. The fire department responded and put out the fire. Ford motor company was contacted and they filed a claim 1496812899. There was a recall NHTSA campaign id number: 06e056000 fuel system, gasoline but her VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 77,603.
2004 Ford f150 started up fine, drove it for 10 minutes, slowed down and it stalled in the middle of an intersection. Would not start back up, called a tow truck to get the truck home. Next day, started up and did the same thing, stalled out. The fuel pump driver module is causing this, along with a lot of other Ford f150's. This is a safety issue! I had my child in the truck when it stalled in the middle of an intersection. The fpdm gets corroded due to the bad positioning of the part.
While applying the brakes coming to a red light at an intersection, all power was lost and driver unable to stop vehicle and crashed into a dump truck. No airbags were deployed, all power was lost. Dealer checked vehicle and said that they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. Very disturbing failure because the dealer could not find anything wrong with the vehicle to fix and that this could happen again at any time.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford f-150. While the vehicle was parked, a strong odor of fuel was noticed around the vehicle. The contact noticed fuel leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 04V443000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
I have a 2004 f-150 that has spit two spark plugs out with in a year. The second one caught fire . There has been this issue with many owners of Ford trucks and is a on going issue Ford won't take care of. Napa auto parts has a repair kit made just for this issue with Ford engines. The cost is $ 73.00 plus having someone do the repair.
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly › Mounting
Ford is recalling certain 1997 through 2003 model year Ford f-150, 2004 model year Ford f-150 heritage, 1997 through 1999 model year f-250 less than 8,500 lbs. Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), and 2002 and 2003 Lincoln blackwood vehicles manufactured from June 20, 1995, through August 4, 2004, originally sold, or currently…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection.
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly › Mounting
On certain trucks equipped with 4.2l, 4.6l and 5.4l gasoline engines, the fuel tank May have a depression at the seam between the top and bottom halves of the tank. If a depression is large enough, fuel May permeate the fuel tank wall resulting in a fuel odor, illumination, of the "service engine soon" indicator light, or a…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank. The recall began September 17, 2004. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
Certain pickup trucks May have a fuel tank with localized depressions in the fuel tank wall at the seam between top and bottom halves of the tank. If a depression is large enough, fuel May permeate the fuel tank wall resulting in a fuel odor, or the "service engine soon" indicator light in the instrument cluster May illuminate.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank on these vehicles. Owner notification began on May 6, 2004. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-248-0186.
NHTSA investigations
Cng regulator leak
The agency has closed this investigation based on its review of complaint reports, discussions with complainants and field and technical data provided by Ford.the subject vehicles are 1/2 ton pickup trucks and are natural gas vehicles (ngv) that are fueled by gasoline or compressed natural gas.the agency has received reports alleging improper operation of the natural gas fuel pressure regulator allowing release of…
Fuel Tank Strap Failure Due to Corrosion
One or both of the steel straps holding up the fuel tank and attaching it to the truck frame can corrode and fail (break or separate).If one strap fails, the tank may tilt and drop and possibly contact the road surface.If both straps break, the entire tank may drop to the road.If either failure occurs while the vehicle is being driven, contact with the road can abrade the tank and create a hole from which gasoline…
Fuel System complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2004 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 74 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2004 Ford F-150, 4% of the model year's 2,029 complaints. The component named most often is delivery › fuel pump (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Ford F-150 fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 11V-385 (mounting, Jul 29, 2011); NHTSA recall 04V-443 (mounting, Sep 13, 2004); NHTSA recall 04V-200 (tank assembly, Apr 26, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Ford F-150 fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 71,000 miles, and 23% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 6 fires and 0 injuries to fuel & propulsion system 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.