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 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2003 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while her husband was driving home, there was black smoke coming from the exhaust, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the residence and turned off. The contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000.
I have been trying to get the exhaust manifold bolts replaced by several machine shops and did my own checking on the Ford F-250 Web site and everyone tells me the same thing! Ford knows about the problem but is doing nothing to correct! I have finally found a shop that will fix the broken exhaust manifold blots ! But I would like to know what ford truly knows about this problem . To get it fixed they have to replace all the bolts do to the bolts being so rusted ! Now I only have 121, + miles on my2003 and with the bolts broken it starts admitting gas fumes into the cab . I did check your site and could only find but 1 complaint , so if this is an issue with the exhaust manifold bolts braking and all the ford forums are full of complaints where are they being filed at on your site ? …
Truck had no check engine light then caught on fire going down the road and burned to ground within seconds Incident report 46-24-05039 08_30-74 US-30 - PA 74 30 W
The truck had what sounded like valve tap going on when it was started. I thought nothing of this since truck is a 2003 but this was a change from earlier trip. I proceeded to drive the truck since no warning lights were on and power seemed fine. Going 35-40 MPH about 1 mile from home I heard what sounded like a shotgun going off and the truck began to run badly and I limped it home with windows down because of gas smell. The next day I opened the hood to see what was going on and I found cylinder #2 had blown apart the coil pack and had also ejected the spark plug from the cylinder head. Following that I took removed all other coils and plugs to find that 5 of the 8 were loose and working their way out of the threads. I believe that the only thing that prevented an engine fire was the fact that the spark plug had shorted itself out. This is a serious problem. …
My truck shuts off while driving for no reason whatsoever. The lights come and it throws no codes at all. I have experienced this while driving down the road at speeds of 50 or less. But it doesn't matter it still dies just the engine. I have not seen one investigation by the government at all. And as I go online many people are suffering the same fate to where people have gotten into accidents... I want answers!!! We need answers as this is a serious problem. The engine just dies but I don't lose electrical power, but I do lose steering and it's very hard to control the truck at these times. Ford denies everything and will not help at all without money in hand!!! This is wrong... We need government to step in and help!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford f-250. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal noise and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who replaced the oil pump. The contact also indicated that there were multiple failures with the vehicle. At least twelve fuel injectors were replaced by the dealer at least twelve times; however, the main failure was the turbo bracket being unstable. The dealer diagnosed that the four bolts were rusted with corrosion and the bolts, which were not in place and the j-tube internally fractured. The dealer replaced the four bolts and the j-tube. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The check engine light came on and we pulled over then when I put the truck into drive to pull out it barely moved. We were almost hit bc the truck wouldn't move so I put in in reverse to get out of the road and it did fine. So I tried to pull out again n drive and again it wouldn't go no matter how much gas I gave it. It sounds like something is drownding out or it isn't getting gas. But like I said. It won't go forward in drive or 1st or 2nd. Only in reverse will it move normally. This is major!!! I can't have my kids at risk bc there's something wrong with the truck. I have only had the truck about 3 weeks so it's very frustrating.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford f-250. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle began to stall without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the turbo needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to penske Ford (located at 8970 la mesa blvd, la mesa, ca 91942, [phone]), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 72,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford f-250. The contact stated that in order to keep the vehicle's engine on, the hazard lights and headlights had to be activated; however, the lights did not illuminate. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
[redacted] 5/3/03 recall 03b06 6/4/03 air conditioner failure 6/17/04 air conditioner failure , ac blend door binding ,plenum defective,had to remove dashboard to repair 6/18/03 4x4 failed to engage, faulty gem module 6/18/03 oil leaking at rear of motor, rear main seal failure, still leaking to date 11/6/03 water seperator failure, perform recall 03e04, perform recall 03l12 1/14/04 rear heater leaking , rear heater core failure, replace fuel manifold,because fuel seperator light still warning 2/27/04 rear main seal leaking/ no repair offered 3/11/04 rear main leaking / no repair offered 5/17/04 air conditioner failure,faulty line conection/rear main still leaking 6/10/04 rear main still leaking /no repair offered 8/5/04 recall 04s15 peformed/ turbo failure, unrelated to recall 8/13/04 rear main still leaking/ no repair offered 9/15/04 rear main still leaking / no repair offered/power …
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…
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 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2003 Ford F-250?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2003 Ford F-250, 32% of the model year's 116 complaints. The component named most often is engine (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Ford F-250 engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2003 Ford F-250, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford F-250 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 35,000 miles, and 50% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 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.