Most common 2003 Ford F-350 SD problems
Share of the 132 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford F-350 SD complaints by model year
Best F-350 SD years: 2014, 2013, 2012. Years to avoid: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2018, 2022. Compare all years →
2003 Ford F-350 SD recalls (4)
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.
Vehicle speed control
Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 Mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair…
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.
Vehicle speed control
On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch May overheat.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. The recall began on March 12, 2007. Owners May contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. (note: also see recalls 05V017, 05V388, and 06V286)
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 5 possible defects involving the 2003 Ford F-350 SD:
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.
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.
Accelerator pedal sensor (etc)
Failure counts from odi?s analysis are stated above; see the additional problem experience discussion in the summary report.Ford data contained duplicative reports for 4 odi complaints and 1 crash.three crashes were allegedly due to intermittent operation of the electronic throttle control (etc) pedal, one crash occurred when an etc disabled vehicle was struck by another motorist, one report contained no detail.the…
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 2003 Ford F-350 SD owners say
Engine & cooling all 55 →
On 05/31/2013 after driving aprox 50 miles at highway speeds the truck was parked and a small fire started due to leaking oil on the hot exhaust system from a rusted oil pan. The fire was extinguished before it consumed the entire vehicle. I have contacted Ford motor co. Customer care and was told that the truck was out of warranty and that the cost to repair 1500.00 to 2000.00 would be my responsibility. I am disabled and on social security with a very fixed income and cannot afford the cost of this repair. From looking at all the other posts and living in michigan with winter salt, Ford has recalled many of their vehicles due to rust and corrosion of various components that could cause a accident or death. Please investigate this major problem with Ford trucks and other vehicles with the 7.3 liter diesel engine. I have contacted my dealer and they said this is a very common problem. …
While preparing for a camping trip this pass summer, I went to check the oil level. When I went to remove the oil dipstick, the dipstick tube broke, due to corrosion. This is the first time in my 25 years of owning a vehicle for that to happen. It would be alright, but in order to replace the tube, it is required to remove the exhaust manifold to properly replace it. In turn it cost more money to replace a product that should not break. I was fueling my truck and wanted to check all my fluids.
Fuel & propulsion system all 24 →
Vehicle was accelerating onto on-ramp to interstate 90 west bound at pines road in spokane valley wa. Vehicle was driven by my wife. At approximately 30 MPH their was a loud bang and noise that sounded like an exhaust leak. Vehicle was driven to the shoulder and shut off. My wife called me and I came to investigate what had happened. I turned the engine over and determined it was not an exhaust leak but that a spark plug had been blown out of the right side of the engine. It was the number 4 spark plug from the front on my v-10 gas engine. I located the bent spark plug at the approximate location of where the incident occurred. Other than being bent the threads on the plug were intact and did not appear to have been cross threaded. I had the plugs replaced at just over 100,000 miles as per the owners manual. …
Faulty Ford fuel tank. Diesel tanks are delaminating, causing fuel line/filter to clog and vehicle not to run properly. 6/16/10 replaced fuel filter, ran for one day. Took truck to henry curtis Ford on 6/17/10, they told us about delamination, not their fault. Charged us $909.28 to remove tank, clean and replace micron filter. Hcford says that the new gas tanks from Ford are on back order, not available until approx. Sept 2010. On 6/30/10 truck runs improperly again,fuel filter clogged due to delamination, changed fuel filter. On 7/1/10 truck runs bad again, leave truck again with henry curtis Ford with an odometer reading of 73812 and a 1/4 tank of gas. They called and said the fuel filter is clogged, they again want to pull the tank and replace the micron filter at a charge of $900 + only eleven days after they just did it. …
Wheels & tires
Truck starts to have a vibration and at higher speed gets worse by the time you think it May be a bad tire you May get pulled over before it blows out or it blows doing extensive vehicle damage before you get stopped. Between 04/15/09 to 08/16/12 I purchased 6 uniroyal laredo 265/75r16 tires for 2003 f-350 Ford truck. On 9/15/2910 a tire separated and had a huge knot and adjusted with a new tire. On 8/16/2012 another tire separated and had a knot it was replaced and adjusted with a new tire. Since 2012 every one of the 6 tires has separated and had a knot. 2 blew completely before I could get stopped doing extensive vehicle damage. The left front blew out in May of this year taking me directly into incoming traffic and almost hitting a couple headon on a motorcycle and then ending up in the incoming vechicles road ditch at 65 MPH. …
I purchased lt265/75/16 bf goodrich rugged terrain t/a tires for my truck exactly 5 years and just over 21K miles later I had 2 separate tire failures less than a few hundred miles apart. First tire a belt slipped. Had a giant bulge in the tread. I put my spare on and inspected the other tires. All OK. No cracks no dry rot. I have pics. Tire pressure set equally at 78 psi. I was away camping and pulling a 9000 lb trailer. Local tire store didn't have a replacement so I headed home figured I would replace it with another matching tire at home. About 100 miles later we had a second tire fail. This one blew out at highway speed, causing a lot of damage to the truck and left me stranded with no spare. After doing so research and reading bfg recalls for tires similar to this one but different sizes, I am left to wonder if all of these sizes should have been included in the recall. …
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2003 Ford F-350 SD a good car?
Based on 132 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2003 F-350 SD rates average: 1.2× as many complaints as a typical year of the F-350 SD at the same age. 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 2003 Ford F-350 SD?
The engine & cooling — 55 complaints, 42% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine › diesel. Next are the fuel & propulsion system (24) and wheels & tires (19).
How many recalls does the 2003 Ford F-350 SD have?
There are 4 recalls for the 2003 Ford F-350 SD, 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 F-350 SD?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2014, 2013 and 2012. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2018 and 2022. See the full Ford F-350 SD years comparison.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford F-350 SD problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 45,000 miles; 51% 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.