2003 Ford E-350 problems
NHTSA has received 59 complaints about the 2003 Ford E-350, and 19% of them involve fuel system. Next are brakes (17%) and engine (17%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 59 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 45 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 | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 45 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 85,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 104,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 12th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Ford E-350 with enough data (30 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
A patient, 21 year old ambulance driver, has been treated here at the university of missouri from 10/27/14 for injuries from an auto accident, sustained when a vehicle pulled out in front of the ambulance she was driving. Her air bag deployed, protecting her appropriately. However, there is a metal disc beneath the airbag on the steering column, which was quite hot, and as she was trapped in the vehicle, she sustained burns to her chest and to her clothing.
The consumer was driving on the highway preparing to exit when there was a loud "pop" and the engine stalled. The consumer coasted to the side of the road and noticed smoke emitting from under the hood. When the hood was opened, the vehicle exploded and caused 2nd degree burns to the consumer.
Traveling east on I20 outside of columbia, sc aprox. 3:30am struck a deer and pull over on emergency lane on and off ramp. Park vehicle and got out to examine the damage. Walked around vehicle looking at damage and as I opened driver door to get falsh light to look underneath van for damage used flash light to look at damage and as I got back up to get in van I steped up on running board on driver side to get back in vehicle and vehicle lunged backwards throwing me to ground.draging me aprox.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford e-350. The vehicle was included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 07v069000, seat belts:front:anchorage. The manufacturer was notified and he was informed the parts needed were on back order. This process has been ongoing for approximately 9 months with no resolution. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 78,000 and the current mileage was 80,079.
Failure of fuel vapor valve assembly part #f65z*9b593. Gas vapors build up in tank and are released under pressure when gas cap removed for refueling. Vehicle operates normally with no warning light for at least 30 days or more before check engine light comes on. I think it is fair to say under the correct conditions these vapors could ignite at gas pump when refueling.