Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Ford F-250 SD owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While driving down the road, a spark plug blew out of the engine on my 2003 v10 triton f250 truck. It has 86,000 mi. And still has the factory spark plugs in it at the factory torque settings. The spark plug exploded out of the engine and could have potentially caught the engine on fire (I read in some cases where it did catch the engine on fire with the same incident). It caused some internal damage when blowing out of the engine, but the plug was no where to be found. I have noticed that Ford has a problem, with this particular vehicle and others, with the spark plugs ejecting out of the head, but has done nothing to fix the problem with their engineering defect. I noticed that the head only has three threads holding the spark plug in place and that is not enough to hold one in place with an aluminum head. The potential safety hazard with this problem is high and very severe. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford f-250 SD. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact noticed smoke from the rear of the vehicle and there was a loud popping noise. The vehicle was completely surrounded by smoke resulting in a fire. The vehicle stalled. The fire was extinguished independently. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence and was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 07V553000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000. Updated 7/1/15 the consumer stated there was no fire, just excessive pressure in the crankcase causing the engine to blow oil out the glow plug. Updated 03/31/16.
The truck stalls without warning while driving. When this occur, the truck loses all power, including brakes and steering. This has resulted in two accidents. In one of the accidents, the truck went into a ditch and the air bags failed to deploy upon impact. The occupants sustained minor injuries. The dealership performed a diagnostic test, but no failure code was found. The manufacture is providing no assistance in this matter.
5.4 liter motor blows spark plugs out of the engine, because some moron at Ford designed an engine with 2 or 3 threads per plug port on aluminum heads. Ford is paying a class-action lawsuit for model years 2004 - 2008, but mine is a 2003. Thanks for the screw-job, Ford.
I purchashed the 6 liter 2003 250 truck in May of 2003, and nothing but a nightmare ever since. It has already had a cracked exhaust manifold which was causing poisonous fumes to enter the cab, the dealer fixed it and said it happens. Well it only had 5,918 miles on it. I bought this new truck so I wouldn't have to be taking it to be fixed all the time. Well since that day in May the truck has been in the shop 3 times for no power, poor gas milage, surging and bucking while in the tow / haul feature. And all they do is re-program it and say that is the problem. Well I disagree and I feel this truck is unsafe and is a time bomb waiting to happen. I feel that someone needs to start a class action lawsuit against Ford or they need to step up and stand behind their supposed quality and make the customers happy and safe. …
I have had rough idle problems since I bought the truck new. This was the first diesel vehicle I have ever owned so in the beginning I thought it was normal, but it kept getting worse. I purchased the truck in April 2003. I have had hard shifting since I bought it. When I back the truck up and then shift into drive it will slam into gear as a vehicle with no transmission fluid reacts. There was a dangerous hesitation when crossing traffic and sometimes the truck would have a 3-5 second stall. It has blown white smoke more recently and would not kick down into passing gear on the freeway. I have had the truck in for service several times and the last time they told me that they had no fix at that time. I just got off the phone with a customer service manager and she tells me that the fix will raise the noise level up 5 decibels. …
My truck died on my way home and almost caused me to not only run into a bunch of trees, but almost hit another car in the oncoming lane. My truck just shut off without warning and I had no power steering, power brakes, or any way of an easy stop. I had to get the passenger in the car to help me steer the 7500lb vehicle to the side of the road. I had heard that the camshaft position sensor is notorious for going out at the worst possible moment and didn't believe it until I experienced it myself. I did a little research the next morning and my truck was giving me all the signs of a bad cps. I went to the Ford dealership and bought a new cps for just under $30. I installed it in the parking lot I ended up in and after a few cranks, my truck started right up and hasn't given me any other problems since then pertaining to the cps. …
I was at a stop sign on 12/3/2010 and when I stepped on the gas to go, I heard a extremely loud popping noise. I pulled off to the side of the road and discovered that one of my spark plugs and the coil was flopping around in my engine. I call a friend of mine who is a mechanic at a Ford dealership and explained what had happened. He knew exactly what it was and which plug had blown out, without even looking at it. After getting my truck home and taking a closer look, it seems that these were the original spark plugs installed at the factory. This was not a case of over torquing or not tightening. This is a case of faulty design and poor quality by a company that apparently does not care if someone is hurt or killed by there poor design. What if this had caused a accident with my kids in the car??? What if this started my vehicle on fire????? …
I started to hear a ticking noise in my truck. So I t had it looked at by my mechanic. He could not tell where the noise was coming from. So about a week later I was getting ready to go to work, I started up my truck and a loud pop!!! And black smoke from underneath my hood. I shut the truck down and pop the hood and that's when I saw the mangled coil pack. So there I was [redacted] out of a day of work cause I had to fix this problem, which took me all day to fix. Off to pepboys I went to buy another coilpack as well as all 8 spark plugs. Might aswell right? So $120.00 later the problem was fixed until now!!! Here we go again..... Same freakin noise and its getting louder. Since I can't tell which sparkplug it is I really don't know how to fix this prob before another coilpak blows again. I really hate this engine. …
Tl contact owns a 2003 Ford f-250hd. The contact stated that while driving at any given speed the vehicle would jerk. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and inspected where it was determined that the failure occurred from the injector wire harness. The vehicle was repaired at a cost of $100.00. Four years later the contact noticed a antifreeze smell in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and inspected where it was determined that the oil cooler had failed. The vehicle was repaired at a cost of $844.00. Three months later the contact attempted to start the vehicle and the vehicle would not start. The contact is in the process of taking the vehicle to a dealer for further inspection. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed to take the vehicle to a dealer for further inspection. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage is 76,286. …
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Diesel
On certain heavy duty trucks equipped with 7.3l diesel engines, the camshaft position sensor located on the engine of the vehicle May function intermittently, possibly resulting in an engine stall.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the sensor and replace it with an improved camshaft position sensor free of charge. The recall began on December 29, 2007. Owners May contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
NHTSA investigations
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 December 3, 2007 letter, Ford advised NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall to replace the cam position sensor (cps) in approximately 1.2 million subject vehicles to address reports of engine stalling.a new design cps with improved performance and durability will be installed as a remedy.owner notifications will begin in December 2007.
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…
Engine complaints in other F-250 SD years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2003 Ford F-250 SD?
NHTSA has 74 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2003 Ford F-250 SD, 42% of the model year's 178 complaints. The component named most often is engine › diesel (27 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Ford F-250 SD engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 07V-553 (diesel, Dec 5, 2007). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford F-250 SD engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 42% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 2 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.