2003 Ford F-350 problems
NHTSA has received 104 complaints about the 2003 Ford F-350, and 25% of them involve engine. After that come cruise control (12%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 104 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 67 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 | 24 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 67 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 47,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 23,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Ford F-350 with enough data (66 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.
Without prior warning while in traffic vehicle surged forward while pressing the brake pedal, causing a collision with a tree. There were minor injuries. Both driver and passenger were transported by ambulance.
The consumer's vehicle was involved in a front end collision while driving 50 MPH. Upon impact, the front air bags did not deploy. Passengers in the rear seats sustained minor injuries. There was no indication that there was a problem with the air bags prior to the collision. The vehicle was a total loss. The front seat passenger's air bag deployed prematurely. *scc
On december 7 2003, our 2003 ford 350 truck while driving down the road at 55 miles an hour, pulled sharply to the left causing us to spin out of control. We hit a ditch on the left shoulder of the road, causing the truck to flip over onto the right side. We ended up in the middle of almond trees. We had our 1 year old granddaughter with us. We've informed ford it was a mechanical problem, but as yet all they've done is start the body work. We would like to know what caused the truck to go out of control.
While driving 55 MPH the vehicle's steering failed without warning. As a result the driver lost control and collided with a pole. No report of air bag deployment.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-350. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, a spark plug flew out of the engine compartment and hit the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where a coil and the spark plug were replaced. The failure occurred two additional times after. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000 and the current mileage was approximately 101,000.