1997 Ford E-150 problems
NHTSA has received 122 complaints about the 1997 Ford E-150, and 20% of them involve fuel system. Next are engine (18%) and brakes (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 122 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 104,000 miles 52 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 52 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 104,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the Ford E-150 with enough data (47 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Purchased used 1997 ford 150 in early 2005. Drove truck to work in september 2007. Smoke engulfed cab. Truck caught fire and burnt to ground. The truck was a total loss along with construction equipment. Liability insurance did not cover expense. Still paying for a truck that I do not have. Police report was filed. Never received recall notice until after truck caught fire.
While driving my vehicle caught on fire in the rear end of the vehicle. We pulled over and immediately got the children out of the car. Less than a minute later, the entire vehicle was blazing.
The vehicle had been parked for about 1 hour when an explosion incurred which resulted in the truck burning up. The motor area, front wheels and completed cab were destroyed. Gas tank did not blow up.
Engine hydro-lock. I own a 1997 e-150 conversion van. It has the 4.2l v-6 engine. I have had to have the intake manifold gasket replaced along with the water pump and gasket and also timing gear gasket. All due to a faulty intake manifold gasket. Ford replaced this in the v-8 model cars due to reading a lawsuit about it on their site. I have read in many forums that I'm not alone in this costly repair. I contacted ford to be told that the lawsuit did not pertain to my van.
The brake lines have failed in three separate locations over the past 6 months. Fortunately, it has not resulted in any accidents. No confidence in the brake lines on this van.