2004 Ford F-250 SD problems
NHTSA has received 345 complaints about the 2004 Ford F-250 SD, and 34% of them involve engine. Next are electrical system (17%) and fuel system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 345 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 34% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 14
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 58,000 miles 305 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 | 84 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 38 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 34 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 38 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 25 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 19 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 10 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 305 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 58,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 47,000 miles (105 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 14 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Ford F-250 SD with enough data (224 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
I was involved in an accident driving my 04 ford f250 diesel pulling a 25 ft fifth wheel. A car pulled out in front of me on the highway. I swerved to try to miss, but hit the cars left front end. We went off the road, down the ditch, up the ditch and into a grove of trees. Hit a tree right in the middle of the bumper. Both my wife's and my eyeglasses flew off. My wife suffered a severe chest bruise from the seat belt. My concern and question is: why didn't the air bags deploy?
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f250 super duty. The contact was driving approximately 50 MPH and encountered black ice on a slight incline. The vehicle skidded out of control and began to roll over. The front passenger seat belt completely detached and the passenger was ejected from the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The driver suffered whiplash. The front seat passenger was transported to the hospital and was hospitalized for four months.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f250 sd. The wiring harness and the fuel injector control module failed on his vehicle. He had to purchase the parts but could not install them. He had to take the vehicle to the dealer to install the parts because they had to program the computer. The dealer repaired the fuel injector control module at no cost but the wiring harness had to be repaired at his own expense. The dealer informed him that his VIN was not included in NHTSA recall #05v270000; electrical system wiring.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-250 sd. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle but the vehicle continued to stall intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician advised that the fuel sensor would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.