2018 Ford Expedition Engine

My cam phasers failed. I had a 6 year, 72k mile warranty. All maintenance was done at the dealership at the correct time. The parts failed at 7 years, 75,600 miles. Had to replace the engine. Dealer wanted to charge me $19000. Found a local shop to do it with new Ford engine for $14000. The cam phasers are a known issue. There are hundreds of vehicles out there that have had the same problem.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that occasionally while driving on the highway at 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate above 70 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that there was not fault found with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced Emission Recall: 24E13; as probable cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Cam phasers are making a loud rattling noise.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle on several occasions, there was a fast-banging metallic sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

The problem is with the cam phasers on the Ford Eco Boost 3.5 V6 Engine. Every morning when the vehicle has been sitting overnight and the engine is cool; the truck makes a loud rattle noise when starting. The rattle goes away within 2 seconds. There are tons of information online pertaining the cam phasers. Ford Motor company is very much aware of this problem on all 3.5 eco boost engines from 2017 through 2020. There have been occasions that if the cam phasers are not replaced there could be major damage to the engine. Knowing it took Ford 4 years for Ford to get it right, this issue should be a recall.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. The contact had not contacted dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not taken a dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Vehicles Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI - Engine Cam Phaser Replacement); however, the VIN was not included in the Customer Satisfaction Program. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 67,850.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal cranking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement); however, the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the program. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, unofficially the failure was diagnosed as a failed cam phaser. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. Additionally, the contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 82,708.

My 2018 Ford Expedition previously underwent a recall repair for a known cam phaser defect at Fremont Ford in Lander, Wyoming. The cam phasers are part of the engine’s variable valve timing system and are critical for proper performance and safety. Despite the initial recall repair, the exact same issue has returned. I am now experiencing rattling noise at startup, reduced engine performance, and engine hesitation—symptoms consistent with the original defect. When I contacted the dealership, they told me that the issue would not be covered again because too much time has passed. This issue clearly indicates a recall repair failure, which poses a potential safety hazard due to timing chain slack and the risk of engine damage or stalling. Cam phasers are essential to the safe and reliable operation of the engine. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this recall needs to be expanded or whether Ford should be required to cover failed recall repairs like mine.

See attached document for complaint.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Check Engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000. 

The service engine light has come on and off (and stayed on, in some instances) for a few years. The alert in the Ford app states that there is a problem with my vehicle's emissions and exhaust system. I have taken it to my local Ford dealership many, many times. When the vehicle is "throwing codes", as they call it, it has to do with the cam phasers. I have had the recall on the cam phasers done already, but they refuse to fix it again under the recall because "the part numbers have changed". Same cam phaser issue, but the same exact parts have different part numbers than they did 2 years ago, so now Ford doesn't have to fix it? The problem has been ongoing since 2020.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine made an abnormal sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle failed to accelerate intermittently while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

My car started having cam phaser issues and caused a decrease in my ability to increase speed when on the interstate. This could have resulted in injury.

After taking my car in for a service bulletin and being told that the noise that was happening in my car was just a noise, I found out that my cam phasers needed to be replaced out of warranty. Driving down the road my car had a decrease in power and could have resulted in a wreck as I was not able to speed up correctly on the interstate.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle was making an abnormally loud ticking sound on cold starts, while idling, and while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the sound was associated to a cam phaser failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21B10. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to verify whether the vehicle was covered. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormally loud rattling sound during cold starts. The check engine warning light was illuminated. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was taken to Worldwide Automotive, where it was diagnosed with cam phaser failure. The mechanic replaced the cam phasers. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall or Customer Satisfaction Program. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N03. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

Faulty Cam phasers The cam phasers in this vehicles makes an undesirable noise, such as a rattle when starting the engine or a knocking noise when idling. Vehicle has at times experiences Poor acceleration, Rough engine running, Tapping or rattling noise when the engine is idling and hot

Cam phaser issue. Chatter noise on cold start up. Guess this is a very common issue with this engine and vehicle

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, an abnormal, knocking noise began to emit from the engine without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic was performed; the diagnostic showed that the engine's timing chain was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N03. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not covered. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 103,500.

Cam phasers make noise when the car is starting, indicative of poor cam phaser design and performance. It seems clear that Ford is aware of this problem (program 21B10) but refuses to provide support for faulty parts now that that limited program has ended.

See attached document for complaint

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, he heard a loud rattling sound coming from the engine compartment that dissipated once the vehicle reached an operational temperature. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Engine Cam Phaser Replacement) Engine and Engine Cooling. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 48,000.