2003 Ford F-150 engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 99 complaints for the 2003 Ford F-150, 19% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 99 19% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 102,000 miles 82 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 0 and 8
Injuries and deaths: 0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 82 complaints that include mileage. 22% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	10
20k to 40k miles	2
40k to 60k miles	6
60k to 80k miles	6
80k to 100k miles	16
100k to 120k miles	9
120k to 140k miles	9
140k to 160k miles	7
160k to 180k miles	6
180k to 200k miles	4
200k+ miles	7

What the data shows

Of the 82 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 102,000 miles, and 22% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 8 fires.

What owners wrote

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire while parked in his garage. The vehicle had been driven approximately 10 hours earlier. The insurance investigator was unable to determine where the fire originated or locate any defective parts that may have caused the failure. The engine compartment was damaged, however, the most extensive damage was on the driver side of the vehicle. Ford was notified and refused to take responsibility for the fire.

Reported at 12,000 miles, June 2005 Fire

I had a sparkplug blow out on my 03 f150.....which at first sounded like a noisy lifter. I took it in for repairs at the ford dealer and it cost me $1180.00 to install a heli coil.

Reported at 185,000 miles, October 2009

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Ford models