2003 Ford Excursion problems
NHTSA has received 139 complaints about the 2003 Ford Excursion, and 22% of them involve engine. Next are electrical system (21%) and brakes (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 139 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 56,000 miles 105 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 | 36 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 19 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Of the 105 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 56,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 29,000 miles (26 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Ford Excursion with enough data (90 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
While driving on hwy 210 my ABS light came on then my interior lights went dim my head lights started to flicker then the dash board was like christmas everything started to blink fuel like miles to empty seatbelt ect.. Then loss all power steering wheel locked I had my four children in the car when we flipped in to a ditch after hitting some mail boxes.. Wth I see some of the same reports why hasn't ford fixed this problem!!!
While traveling on the road at about 45 MPH consumer had to slam on the brakes, seat belt did not lock and driver hit the windshield. (second consumer for this letter: christopher erosion walters) the tires blew out and the vehicle flipped over. The driver's seat belt problem remained the same.
When driving the vehicle stalls and also occasionally losses turbo power. Has stalled at stop signs and when pulling into parking spaces. At this time you lose brakes and steering, very dangerous!! When loses turbo, it takes about a minute or two for it to kick back on.
Faulty exhaust manifold bolts break off and cause excessive noise, exhaust enters the drivers cabin, vehicle will not pass emissions inspection and is expensive to repair. I have 4 ford vehicles with this problem. First incident was at around 50,000 miles and 48 months after purchase. Ford refused to make repairs under any portion of the factory warranty. They claim lifetime emissions warranty doesn't cover it, nor the 100,000 powertrain warranty.