2003 Ford E550 problems
Owners have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Ford E550. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. Next are tires (11%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 81 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 21,000 miles 58 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 | 29 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 58 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 21,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 27,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 14 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 86% of model years in our database.
It is also covered by 4 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.
The passenger side airbag on our 2003 ford ranger xlt failed to operate in such a manner, during a collision, to prevent a head injury to my wife. Neither the airbag nor the seat belt retarder kept her from striking her head on the rear view mirror and dislodging the mirror from the window.
1) no events leading up to the failure - air bags failed to be released 2) on 04/03/05, my husband and I were involved in a 45 MPH head on passenger side crash driving our 2003 ford ranger edge. Passenger air bag switch was in the "on" position at the time of the accident and did not deploy.the second vehicle involved (caused the accident by running a red light) was more of a front quarter panel impact and both of their air bags deployed.
I bought a 2003 ford f250 super duty with a 6.0 l diesel 5/2003. Since the purchase, there is a noticable lack of power below 1800 rpms. I have taken the vehicle into the ford dealership 6 times with the same complaint. The dealership has continually attempted to repair the problem, but on the most recent visit, I was advised all of the 6 liter motors are experiencing this problem. The dealership advised there is nothing they can do. They advised ford has not provided a solution to the problem.
While driving truck engines would shut off and then restart. This happened a couple of time on a narrow mountain road causing me to lose steering for a second or two, very scary. Problem fixed after I replaced the cps on my own.
Other model years of the E550
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1996
- 1995
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992