2003 Ford F-250 problems
NHTSA has received 151 complaints about the 2003 Ford F-250, and 25% of them involve engine. After that come tires (13%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 151 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 10
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 101 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 | 22 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 13 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 8 |
What the data shows
Among the 101 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 90,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 30,000 miles (28 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 10 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Ford F-250 with enough data (65 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.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 55 MPH the vehicle hit a patch of black ice and fish tailed. The vehicle went out of control, flipped end over end and landed in the median. The passenger and driver were not wearing seat belts. The driver died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airbags did not deploy. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was a total loss. Updated 2/7/2006 -
I had parked my truck in my driveway. I put it in park, set the parking brake and turn off the engine. As I stepped out of the truck the truck rolled down the driveway dragging me about 100 ft stiking the power pole at the end of the diveway. The pole was rotted and fell on the truck crushing me between the body and the driver side front door.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55 MPH the tread completely detached from the two tires on the passenger side. Another tire had a violent tread separation at 55 MPH. Which caused an accident and incurred damages to the wheel alignments, fender, bumper, suspension and other parts underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealership, who replaced all cooper/dominator tires and repair the damages created as a result of the failure tires.
Consumer complained about a fuel injector problem. The fuel injectors overheated and melted the rubber gaskets. When vehicle was in repair shop dealership only repaired two fuel injectors at a time.