AI Damage2003 Ford Ford Truck reliability: common problems
Owners of the 2003 Ford Ford Truck filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags and powertrain. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 12
- involving a crash
- 2
What fails most often
- 1 Air bags 17% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 17% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 4 Equipment 8% of all complaints
- 5 Fuel system 8% of all complaints
- 6 Latches, locks, linkages 8% of all complaints
- 7 Seats 8% of all complaints
- 8 Service brakes 8% of all complaints
- Air bags: 2 complaints (17% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 2 complaints (17% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Equipment: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Fuel system: 1 complaints (8% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 12 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Our airbags did not deploy, which is no good since the seats collapsed. And, of course, even though we were seat-belted, our shoulder strap was still in an upright position when we were in a prone position with the stomach portion of the strap still across us.
My 2003 ford expedition was parked on an incline with the parking brake set. The vehicle rolled down the hill and hit a building. It damaged the building and the vehicle(yet to be determined in amount). Took the vehicle to the ford dealership to have it fixed and they found nothing wrong.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150 equipped with cooper tires, tire line: discover at3, tire size: 275/65/r18, dot number: utyjim62518. The contact stated that when the front passenger's side tire was replaced, he noticed a 2-inch blister on the inside of the tire.
I have a 2003 ford explorer that like so many others has a crack(s) on the back tailgate right below the back glass. Ford motor has told me that because my car is out of warranty that they will not fix it.
I was driving my 2003 ford expedition to my children's school on friday, sept 30, 2005, at 8 am. While driving down the road, the driver's airbag deployed. The truck has not been wrecked, hit, or in any kind of accident. There was no reason for the airbag to suddenly & unexpectedly deploy while I was driving.
Water leak witnessed by svc mgr & service writer, but they said their service dept cannot find leak, therefore they cannot repair. $41k truck is barely 2 yrs old and this is the 3rd time I brought truck there because of leak. In the 2 yrs I owned it, I've had 4 other repairs made on other items which "went".
My brakes had recently begun the infamous squealing sound, so I brought it in for a look. The service advisor at courtesy ford in littleton, colorado would only say that it seemed kind of "early" to have to perform this degree of maintenance on my brake system.
Dt: while driving the fuel pump shut-off switch kept disconnecting .. The power steering and power brakes, and everything went out, and vehicle barley got off onto the side of road. This happened without warning. Dealer checked the switch, connected it, and it ran fine. Then, it happened again.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 9,544 of 32,257 model years in the NHTSA data (top 30% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Ford Truck has 13 complaints (24 years in the data). This year has 12, about average.
What to check before buying
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
Other years of this model
- Ford Truck 19887 sources
- Ford Truck 19896 sources
- Ford Truck 19908 sources
- Ford Truck 19919 sources
- Ford Truck 199210 sources
- Ford Truck 19937 sources
- Ford Truck 199415 sources
- Ford Truck 199521 sources
- Ford Truck 199618 sources
- Ford Truck 199734 sources
- Ford Truck 199825 sources
- Ford Truck 199933 sources
- Ford Truck 200025 sources
- Ford Truck 200120 sources
- Ford Truck 200237 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2003 Ford Ford Truck?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: air bags, powertrain, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 12. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: airbags did not deploy (8%), brake failure (8%), A/C or heater (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2003 Ford Ford Truck?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2003 Ford Ford Truck from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2003 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.