Most common 2003 Ford F Super Duty problems
Share of the 27 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford F Super Duty complaints by model year
Best F Super Duty years: 2004, 1996, 1995. Years to avoid: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008. Compare all years →
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 6 possible defects involving the 2003 Ford F Super Duty:
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…
Accelerator pedal sensor failure (etc)
The subject vehicles for this investigation include model year 2002 and 2003 excursion and f super duty trucks equipped with 7.3l diesel engines and an optional power adjustable pedal (pap) feature.the subject vehicles utilize an electronic throttle control (etc) system to control engine speed and power.the accelerator pedal position sensor of the etc system was replaced under Ford's field service action (fsa) 03b03…
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 Super Duty owners say
Engine & cooling
My truck has spit out two spark plugs on the passenger side of the engine. These plugs had to be repaired with a hell-coil and this is a temporary fix. It cost me $400 to repair both. My truck has over 100,000 miles and spit out the first at 120,000.
I have a 2003 f350 superduty truck. It has a triton v10 engine. The spark plug blew out of the engine. This happend 2 years ago also. Forunately I was on surface streets and was not on the freeway which May have been fatal.
Fuel & propulsion system
2003 f350 pu truck 06 diesel engine. Check engine light came on starting the truck and the idle speed was at 600rpm then all of a sudden the truck accelerated to 1100rpm. I had put the truck in drive just as the jump in idle speed and the truck lunged forward. The idle speed went back to normal. As we stopped at a stop sign, the idle speed jumped again causing the truck to run almost into the oncoming traffic. Had I not had the break on, there would have been an accident. This problem persisted each time the vehicle was started and would last until the motor wormed. Each time, weather in drive or reverse, the idle would jump and the truck would leap, without warning. I took the truck to the Ford dealer where I was told that this was a well known problem and they had replaced a lot of the 3c3z 9f838 injector sensors and the 37130 pigtail harness. …
9501 miles. I filled the fuel tank the fuel guage went to full when I turned the key on then a couple of minutes later the needle went down past empty and stayed there until about half a tank of fuel was used then the needle came back up. I took the pickup to fenton Ford in mcalaster OK. They reset the computer, this did not fix the problem. I took the pickup to future Ford in clovis ca when I returned home and they could not reprogram the computer due to Ford not having the computer update available at that time. At aprox. 16500 miles I took the pickup in to freedom Ford in fresno ca. After replacing the instrument cluster on the dash, the fuel sending unit and the part in the tank is fixed so far. This took five trips to the different shops to finally get repaired.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2003 Ford F Super Duty a good car?
Based on 27 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2003 F Super Duty rates better than average: 41% fewer complaints than a typical year of the F Super Duty 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 Super Duty?
The engine & cooling — 13 complaints, 48% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine › diesel. Next are the fuel & propulsion system (6) and steering (2).
How many recalls does the 2003 Ford F Super Duty have?
NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2003 Ford F Super Duty. You can still confirm with your VIN using our VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford F Super Duty?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2004, 1996 and 1995. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2008. See the full Ford F Super Duty years comparison.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford F Super Duty problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 96,000 miles; 25% 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.