Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 09/30/2003 | 2500 | 10 | 09/04/2003 |
| Purchased a ford f250 diesel truck in august 2003. the engine turns off at any given time including on the expressway - 65 mph. ford cannot find a fix for it. they have replaced the truck with a newer engine version. we'll see.*ak *cb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - HOSE | |||
| 03/27/2007 | 1 | 06/15/2003 | |
| My husband was having a routine oil change on his 2003 f-350 ford diesel when the technician noticed he had a radiator leak, there was a hole in a radiator hose. the large dealership was out of stock of replacement hoses. (there's a clue that this is a widespread problem) they decided to pull one from one of the used trucks in stock and had to check three before they found one without a hole (there's a second clue) i found the following on-line so i took my truck in for a coolant leak..more like an added drain in a 3 hose that to me looks like the return under the engine. this hose is located in very close proximity to the steering box.....yep...a hole was worn in this hose from the steering... this indicates to me that there is a design flaw placing the radiator hose too close to the steering mechanism. overheating and stranded motorists constitutes a safety issue. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 07/07/2006 | 52000 | 1 | 01/03/2003 |
| I was driving my ford f150 (51k miles) through town when all of a sudden boom. my children were scared to death and i was more than a bit concerned. when i was able to pull over and analyze the situation i found the coil on plug blown off of the #3 plug on the passenger side. upon further inspection i found the actual spark plug had blown out of the cylinder head. the truck was towed to the dealership from which it was bought and repair costs were in excess of $3100. this is a design flaw and ford should fix the problem. why else do you change designs in the next model year vehicle? *nm | |||
| 04/04/2006 | 86100 | 3 | 06/20/2003 |
| Every time this vehicle ( 2003 ford expedition fx4 4x4 ) is either washed, and or when it rains, the truck will attempt to stall out, in any driving conditions city or fwy, which may cause an accident. i know this to be true for i have this vehicle and it stalled on the fast lane hwy 15, i had first believed it was a fuel problem, due to, it acts like its out of gas, bad filter etc, with this type of truck ford has installed ignition coils, one on top of each spark plug a total of 8, i had ford recently look at the problem and they did replace #8 coil due to water in the spark plug port ( 4-3-06 ), the plug boots do not stop any water from getting into the engine (spark plugs and wire assembly area), i have spoken to ford service dept, and out side mechanics and they all have agreed that this is a common problem with the ford expeditions. what is unethical the ford dealers and service dept, will attempt to convince the consumer that it is their fault and that any warranty may be void, sunrise ford ( 909-434-0473 ) had tried to make me agree or say that i was washing the engine with water to clean it, the only time i look under the hood is to change the oil or check the fluids, sunrise ford has been the only one, doing any major repairs to this truck and there mechanic, lost two machine type screws, and they told me i lost them, and that i should have checked the work after it being done, is this my responsibility as a consumer? but as i write to you 4-14-2006 my wife's ford expedition has failed again it stalled after she left our driveway thank god i have a subaru in case of an emergency, and i will have to take it back to ford to do repairs due to ignition problems. know wonder ford is going out of business they treat their valid customers so poorly. sincerely: gregory m ritchie. *nm | |||
| 12/19/2004 | 38940 | 0 | 02/08/2003 |
| We own a 2003 f250 v-10 triton pick up. while we were driving the #3 spark plug out of the head. ford is refusing to repair the problem. we have extended warranty and we have researched on the internet that there are many other people that have had this problem and they are refusing to do anything. i sent a letter to the office of the attorney general and they advised that we should send one to you also. this is a major problem. what if it happened when we were on the highway going about 70 mph and our daughter was in the vehicle with us? thank god we were only going 30 mph and no one got hurt. as soon as it happened we pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. they said that it was not covered by our warranty since we had put bosch platinum 4 spark plugs into the vehicle. they stated that we now voided our warranty. i researched the entire warranty policy and there is nothing stating that. the dealer was even going to put the spark plugs in for us when we bought them in june of 2003. but they wanted almost $300.00 to put them in. we asked them at that time if we could use them and they said we wuld like you to use motorcraft, but if you choose to use a different brand make sure that they are the same or better. so that is what we did. we have researched so many options and information that there are other people out there that have had the same problem and they do not want to do anything. we also advised them that this truck is my husbands lively hood and if he cant work how are we going to pay the payment every month. we seem to have ro recourse but to extend our hand to you for help. the estimated cost of repair is $4000.00. your attention in this matter would be greatly appreciated. | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 1000 | 12 | 05/09/2003 |
| I bought a 2003 ford f250 super duty with a 6.0 l diesel 5/2003. since the purchase, there is a noticable lack of power below 1800 rpms. i have taken the vehicle into the ford dealership 6 times with the same complaint. the dealership has continually attempted to repair the problem, but on the most recent visit, i was advised all of the 6 liter motors are experiencing this problem. the dealership advised there is nothing they can do. they advised ford has not provided a solution to the problem. a close friend recently purchased a 2004 6 liter motor and is experiencing the same problem. this is a huge safety issue, especially in heavy traffic. the vehicle hesitates at the start of acceleration and has placed me in several comprimising positions since i have owned the vehicle. the vehicle is especially bad when i start from a stop. this is a constant problem which occurs every time the vehicle is driven. | |||
| 06/09/2003 | 35000 | 8 | 05/30/2001 |
| Failure of the cam positioning sensor on a 2001 f250 7.3 diesel pickup with 35,00 miles. the truck started dying at stops. and slow speed. had to put the truck in neutral and restart 8 times. left the truck with ford dealer for 2 days(they drove it home and put 150 miles on truck) nothing. paid $140 for 2 hours labor. next day paid $256 to get a new cps installed and one week later no problem. the ford diesel forum on the internet has hundred of truck owners in the same boat. we all pay $100 or more and carry a spare cps. nhtsa should look into this and recall this item or put ford on notice because one of these days someone is going to get killed. *jb | |||
| 04/10/2003 | 6375 | 1 | |
| The vehicle stalled without warning. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - DIESEL | |||
| 12/16/2006 | 46000 | 4 | 01/01/2003 |
| While driving truck engines would shut off and then restart. this happened a couple of time on a narrow mountain road causing me to lose steering for a second or two, very scary. problem fixed after i replaced the cps on my own. *tr | |||
| 03/27/2007 | 1 | 06/15/2003 | |
| My husband was having a routine oil change on his 2003 f-350 ford diesel when the technician noticed he had a radiator leak, there was a hole in a radiator hose. the large dealership was out of stock of replacement hoses. (there's a clue that this is a widespread problem) they decided to pull one from one of the used trucks in stock and had to check three before they found one without a hole (there's a second clue) i found the following on-line so i took my truck in for a coolant leak..more like an added drain in a 3 hose that to me looks like the return under the engine. this hose is located in very close proximity to the steering box.....yep...a hole was worn in this hose from the steering... this indicates to me that there is a design flaw placing the radiator hose too close to the steering mechanism. overheating and stranded motorists constitutes a safety issue. *jb | |||
| 11/17/2006 | 48950 | 1 | 09/15/2004 |
| No warning/symptom camshaft position sensor failed -10* outside with icy roads 7:00 pm moderate traffic on freeway engine shut down this is a 1ton pickup going 55 mph with very little steering control with lack of power steering. my understanding this is a common occurrence with the ford 7.3 diesel poor design this is also a dealer only part that cost $175.00 i was just glad i was able to get the vehicle on the side of the road and avoid an accident. *jb | |||
| 06/16/2006 | 8 | ||
| We have 3- 2003 f550 trucks, the first two trucks are always in the shop for repair to the engines, the first truck 1fdaf56p83ed86142 has had two re-manufactured engines put in and the 2nd truck 1fdf56p83ed86143 has had patch jobs done to the motor. these trucks are work trucks and are on the highways five days a week or more, but the safety issues of these trucks is that the engine either freezes up or just quits and this has happened on a corner, intersection on a hill they are going down. at this time we have been lucky that there has been areas to pull off the side of the road and cars have able to swerve around us to avoid an accident. he had to back down with the traffic on the west bound side to get to an area that was out of the way. also he was lucky he was in an area where the west bound traffic could see him, if this would have been more of a curve there probably would have been an accident. someone is going to get killed, because there is no warning when these trucks will shut down, because of motor problems. the motor have had intercooler problems, injectors replaced, motor shutting down, etc.. the ford motor company is well aware of this problem because we have read in other papers of similar incidents, it looks at this time that ford is trying to patch the trucks together instead of putting in a new motor and style, in which is not having these problems. we have also filed a previous complaint with ford motor company the first time the oil coolers went out and the injectors, then again today when the motor quit again in traffic in the mountain areas, this was motor shut down for no reason. there a lot of dangerous curves and hills, some are which 6% to 10% grades that a semi or larger would not be able to stop as quickly as a passenger car or smaller vehicle! *jb | |||
| 11/07/2004 | 41500 | 1 | 10/20/2002 |
| 2003 ford f250 6.0 diesel, the hose between the tubro and the intercooler is blowing off. this results in a loss of power and if the clamp cuts the belt it will result in the failure in the power steering and power braking systems. ford has a upgrade hose kit (5c3z*6c646*aa) for $100.00 if the truck has more than 36000 miles.mine has 41000. the hose failed on interstate 26 as i was pulling my 29' travel trailer up a 6% grade at the saluda mountains, after the hose failure i was only able to proceed at 20mph, not good on a interstate with trucks going by at 60-70mph. ford motor co. customer assistance dept. stated this problem was a engineering problem not a warranty issue.both the dealers, the dealer that sold me the truck and the one which repaired it said it was a common problem with the 6.0 engine) , therefore there is no recall, only a upgrade kit after failure. i feel i should have been notified of this problem before failure and the part should have been replace at no charge. during regular service, i have 41000 miles on my truck.the selling dealer is the only servicer. this sudden loss of power in high speed traffic can cause someone pulling a loaded truck to be rear ended, would be bad in my case with a 29' trailer and a f-250 truck scattered on the interstate.*ak | |||
| 07/21/2003 | 851 | 2 | 07/08/2003 |
| 2003 ford super duty f350 6.0 liter diesel: the first time i tried to pull my 5th wheel with this truck, it would buck furiously and i could only stop the bucking by depressing the accelerator pedal to the floor of immediately let up off the pedal. during this trip with the 5ht wheel in tow, at 815 miles the engine quit at the most inopportune times. i was climbing a 5% grade and traveling in the truck slow lane on interstate 68. i managed to get the rig to the shoulder but still in a very dangerous situation. it took 3 hours to get the rig moved to a safe location. the fuel injection control module (ficm)had failed. ford has designed this ficm no less than 4 times. the mechanic told me that i had a fuel injector misfiring since day one of this truck being in service. the truck was out of service for 5 days while repairs were made. a month later on august 8, 2003 at 2568 miles i lost a fuel injector or two and broke a rocker arm while traveling on interstate 74. the truck was out of service for another 10 days while the engine was pulled out and 27 parts replaced. with the addition of one business day for a factory recall brings the total business days out of service to 14 days. the sad part is that i traded a 2002 f350 with more problems than i care to talke about in the hopes that i could make my life a little easier with this 2003 f350. big mistake!*ak | |||
| 10/03/2003 | 10000 | 1 | 06/11/2003 |
| Truck idles very rough. when shifting from reverse to drive truck goes dead. excessive smoke when cranked. engine races when idling. truck lags when accelerator is pressed. *la | |||
| 06/30/2003 | 1500 | 1 | 12/18/2002 |
| Vin number 1ftsw31p13eb48296 this is an 03 ford f350 4x4 crewcab , automatic with the 6.0 power stroke diesel. in june or there abouts this vehicle received the recall where they replaced the icp and flashed the computer. the truck now exhibits extremely low power below 1800 rpm making it dangerous to pull out into traffic. there is approximately a 4 to 5 second delay from stepping on the gas to where there is adequate power to pull into traffic. i have had several near misses to to the situation. when to power does come on it is suddenly and can cause the tires to lose traction. prior to the re-flash the truck was fine with a smooth power increase form the point of stepping on the gas. i was told ford detuned these trucks with the re-flash( without my knowledge of the reduction in power). i feel this is very dangerous, and is especially exaggerated when towing a trailer which is what i bought this truck for. it has been in the shop numerous time and the dealer cant help as ford will not allow them to put the old program back it.*ak | |||
| 08/01/2003 | 18300 | 2 | 04/16/2003 |
| Since may 2nd, 2003 have had farm truck, f550 6.0 liter diesel 4x4 cab & chassis, into dealer six (6) times for a problem with 6.0 liter diesel motor, have asked twice to fix leaking transmission/transfer case and have complained once about severe front end shake (to which no responce was made and after discovering ford had installed drive position only tires on front axle, replacement was made with proper steering tires). truck used for long distance transportation of hay, straw, cattle and machinery. engine since having 2,000 miles has rough idle, excessive smoking, engine miss (skip) under load or idling, poor fuel economy. on august 1st, 2003 the engine lost power, a short while later stalled, while under load and on a major interstate. this caused significant loss of braking capacity on the pulling unit, with a heavier load or on a grade this could have been serious. able to get on shoulder, truck re-started proceeded with caution to next ramp engine stalled again coming down ramp same braking problem. this time it appears that a number of fuel injectors failed dumping fuel into crank case, 11 extra quarts, metal shavings in pan and destroying the turbo. (drop down menu for vehicle information only shows option of e550 this is a f550.)*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - OTHER FUEL TYPES - TURBO-CHARGER | |||
| 06/16/2006 | 8 | ||
| We have 3- 2003 f550 trucks, the first two trucks are always in the shop for repair to the engines, the first truck 1fdaf56p83ed86142 has had two re-manufactured engines put in and the 2nd truck 1fdf56p83ed86143 has had patch jobs done to the motor. these trucks are work trucks and are on the highways five days a week or more, but the safety issues of these trucks is that the engine either freezes up or just quits and this has happened on a corner, intersection on a hill they are going down. at this time we have been lucky that there has been areas to pull off the side of the road and cars have able to swerve around us to avoid an accident. he had to back down with the traffic on the west bound side to get to an area that was out of the way. also he was lucky he was in an area where the west bound traffic could see him, if this would have been more of a curve there probably would have been an accident. someone is going to get killed, because there is no warning when these trucks will shut down, because of motor problems. the motor have had intercooler problems, injectors replaced, motor shutting down, etc.. the ford motor company is well aware of this problem because we have read in other papers of similar incidents, it looks at this time that ford is trying to patch the trucks together instead of putting in a new motor and style, in which is not having these problems. we have also filed a previous complaint with ford motor company the first time the oil coolers went out and the injectors, then again today when the motor quit again in traffic in the mountain areas, this was motor shut down for no reason. there a lot of dangerous curves and hills, some are which 6% to 10% grades that a semi or larger would not be able to stop as quickly as a passenger car or smaller vehicle! *jb | |||
| 11/19/2004 | 10000 | 5 | 02/04/2003 |
| Turbo charger hose keeps blowing off pull a horse trailer w/f350 diesel 2003 ford & on nov. 19,2003 i got my right hand burned trying to put turbo hose back on, to get truck & trailer off road ford dealer would not come out. ilgot to a deler in gerstown ,maryland & got new hose & clamps after being on the road for over 12 hours to go 175 miles. this is the 5th time it has happened to me the truck has only 23000 miles; truck loses power & when on a hill will not move happened 5 times; ford installed new turbo charger & it lasted approx.3000 miles & hose blew off again; i am afraid to use this truck to pull my horse trailer & i am invoking the lemon law.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 05/15/2003 | 14200 | 1 | 03/27/2003 |
| Exhaust manifold bolts breaking. causing exhaust leak and exhaust fumes into vehicle cabin. *jb | |||
| 10/21/2005 | 38500 | 3 | |
| The cold air tube to the turbo blew loose on a uphill pull. i experienced a severe loss of power and lots of black smoke. i am pulling a 5th wheel trailer and had this been on a mountain pass i feel i could have lost control, thus resulting in a deadly accident. country ford at las vegas re-attached the hose b ut gave no guarantee that it would not happen again. i believe ford should re-engineer the tube with a more severe flange that could be better secured. *jb | |||
| 10/26/2004 | 52000 | 1 | 03/01/2003 |
| Exhaust leak into cab with only 5200 miles. this was making occupants sick and eyes burn. dealer said this is not covered under waranty. *ak | |||