2004 Ford F-350 problems
NHTSA has received 216 complaints about the 2004 Ford F-350, and 40% of them involve engine. After that come fuel system (12%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 216 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 24 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 182 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 | 64 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 21 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 10 |
What the data shows
Among the 182 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 48,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 44,000 miles (70 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 24 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Ford F-350 with enough data (145 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 recently attended a funeral for my nephew in omaha, ne. He had died on monday, january 2, 2006 in bellevue, ne he was in a car wash and (according to some witnesses), the ford f350 super duty diesel truck (I believe it was a 2004) suddenly went into reverse at a high speed and backed out of the car wash, across a street, across a lawn and onto a driveway with a wall. The truck was against the wall and the tires were still turning and the tires finally blew and caused a fire that consumed my nephew.
I broadsided a ford ranger that ran a stop sign. Traveling at 35 to 45 MPH. It was a direct hit and neither air bag went off. My insurance company has the truck and is looking into the failure. Ft. Worth police officer said he had seen a 1000 wrecks and if that wreck did not set them off they must be defective.
2004 f-350 began having stalling problems at <2000 miles. After several attempts to fix the vehicle, we asked for a replacement. While waiting on action from ford, we were in an accident on april 15,2005 after the truck failed while crossing an intersection.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f350. The contact stated that smoke appeared from the egr cooler tube. She also smelled antifreeze in the cab of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that it was still safe to drive and to return if the failure worsened. Later, the contact noticed thick, black oil coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop and the mechanic replaced the egr cooler tube with a kit from ford at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 79,000.
The bolts that hold the brackets for the top support of the air suspension system continuously break. This occurred in five vehicle (ambulances) so far, VIN numbers: [xxx], [xxx], [xxx], [xxx], and [xxx]. Took the vehicles to be repaired at ford dealership. There were 2 units with bracket failure, also had broken brake lines which caused the brakes to fail. The brake light on the dash and the brake line was not attached properly. The rear suspension bracket had broken.