Most common 2004 Ford Excursion problems
Share of the 95 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Excursion complaints by model year
Best Excursion years: 1999, 2005, 2004. Years to avoid: 2000, 2001. Compare all years →
2004 Ford Excursion recalls (2)
Exterior lighting › Brake lights
Ford is recalling certain model year 2011 ranger trucks built from January 25, 2011, through April 25, 2011 at the twin cities assembly plant, and service parts distributed to dealers for certain 2004 through 2011 model year ranger trucks, 2002 through 2005 model year excursion vehicles, and 2002 through 2007 model year f-250,…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the switches free of charge. The safety recall began on August 15, 2011. Owners May contact Ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
Electrical system › Wiring
Certain pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans equipped with 6.0l diesel engines May experience stalling without warning while driving and May or May not restart.
Remedy: Dealers will upgrade the fuel injection control module (ficm) wire harness or replaced, and/or have a new injection control pressure (icp)) sensor connector installed free of charge. The recall began on July 22, 2005.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2004 Ford Excursion:
Engine stalling
Twenty five of the odi failure reports are duplicative of Ford complaints.twenty odi reports do not contain a VIN (and May or May not be duplicative of Ford reports).the 14 alleged crashes and 2 alleged injuries were all minor.submitted during preliminary evaluation (pe) 04-070, Ford's response to odi's information request (ir) letter contained about 5,000 consumer reports (mors) and 8,700 field reports (cqis).Ford…
Engine stalling
In a June 7, 2005 letter, Ford notified odi that it would be conducting a safety recall of approximately 180,000 Ford f-super duty, excursion and e-series vehicles equipped with 6.0l diesel engines to correct two wiring related conditions that could result in engine stall (NHTSA recall no. 05v-270, Ford no.
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
What 2004 Ford Excursion owners say
Engine & cooling all 29 →
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford Excursion. While driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact placed the gear into neutral, while in traffic, and restarted the vehicle. Afterwards, the vehicle was able to drive normally. The vehicle was taken to future Ford Lincoln (located at 650 automall dr, roseville, ca 95661, [phone]) where a wiggle test was performed because a failure code could not be found. The injection control pressure was replaced with a used part. The contact stated that the vehicle was worse after the replacement of the used part and the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who stated that a wire harness was needed to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. …
Total loss of engine power massive amount black soot exiting exhaust while driving recall # 05V270000 was not performed on vehicle ( I am the original owner) never received notice in mail and dealer somehow missed this "work" and Ford should have followed through on this situation. Other repairs done to this vehicle to "fix" this problem was to drain the fuel tank (algae in fuel was the excuse-no algae) fuel pump and filter rail (not problem) two turbochargers were replaced due to excessive sooting (one warranty one at my expense) EGR valves and a cam sensor (Ford knows the problems exist because Ford discountinued the 6.0 litre motor) this problem has occured multiple times over my ownership.
Electrical system all 21 →
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford Excursion. While driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact placed the gear into neutral, while in traffic, and restarted the vehicle. Afterwards, the vehicle was able to drive normally. The vehicle was taken to future Ford Lincoln (located at 650 automall dr, roseville, ca 95661, [phone]) where a wiggle test was performed because a failure code could not be found. The injection control pressure was replaced with a used part. The contact stated that the vehicle was worse after the replacement of the used part and the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who stated that a wire harness was needed to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. …
Tl contact owns a 2004 Ford Excursion. After the vehicle had been parked for eight hours, the contact smelled something burning when it was restarted. He noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle burst into flames two minutes later. The fire burned through the air conditioner hose and erupted. The eruption also extinguished the fire. The contact is a mechanic and he inspected the vehicle. He was able to start the vehicle and drove to the dealer. The dealer stated that the failure was caused by a loose wire. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 04V327000 (electrical system:battery) for the 2003 models. The current and failure mileages were 56,880. Updated 03-04-08 the consumer believed the problem he experienced was related to the recall. Updated
Fuel & propulsion system
Total loss of engine power massive amount black soot exiting exhaust while driving recall # 05V270000 was not performed on vehicle ( I am the original owner) never received notice in mail and dealer somehow missed this "work" and Ford should have followed through on this situation. Other repairs done to this vehicle to "fix" this problem was to drain the fuel tank (algae in fuel was the excuse-no algae) fuel pump and filter rail (not problem) two turbochargers were replaced due to excessive sooting (one warranty one at my expense) EGR valves and a cam sensor (Ford knows the problems exist because Ford discountinued the 6.0 litre motor) this problem has occured multiple times over my ownership.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Ford Excursion. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the fuel injection control module needed to be replaced. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,096.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2004 Ford Excursion a good car?
Based on 95 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2004 Excursion rates average: 22% fewer complaints than a typical year of the Excursion at the same age. It is one of the best Excursion years by this measure. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Ford Excursion?
The engine & cooling — 29 complaints, 31% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine › diesel. Next are the electrical system (21) and fuel & propulsion system (12).
How many recalls does the 2004 Ford Excursion have?
There are 2 recalls for the 2004 Ford Excursion, the most recent from July 13, 2011 (brake lights). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Excursion?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 1999, 2005 and 2004. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2000 and 2001. See the full Ford Excursion years comparison.
At what mileage do 2004 Ford Excursion problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 83,000 miles; 32% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.