2004 FORD E-450 — Complaint #1902651
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EQUIPMENT:RECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER:LPG SYSTEMS:WATER HEATER filed June 16, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1902651 (ODI reference 11527403) concerns a 2004 FORD E-450 and was filed on June 16, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on June 1, 2018. The report was geocoded to Colorado based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as equipment:recreational vehicle/trailer:lpg systems:water heater, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD E-450 cohort independently describe similar equipment:recreational vehicle/trailer:lpg systems:water heater failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2004 FORD E-450 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
THE component system addressed, which is available for inspection, is the propane line routed through a jagged torched hole in the vehicle main frame; location is left-rear frame extension. Pictures are available. IF piping is allowed to remain, the propane line will sustain a propane leak with constant rubbing against the hole going through the frame. Our safety, and the safety of many others across the nation is at risk, specifically with the reports of motorhome fires to date. THE existing problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center at this time. THE existing problem has not been confirmed by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. NO indicators of any kind for system failure are included on this model. Propane smell or fire would be immediate. Problem appeared after news broadcast of last motorhome fire; I investigated problem on my own. TWO attempts to report this system problem failed when NHTSA would not accept or recogn
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1902651 |
| ODI Number | 11527403 |
| Date Filed | June 16, 2023 |
| Failure Date | June 1, 2018 |
| VIN | 1FDXE45S04H |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.