2003 Ford Excursion problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (11) · Tires (7) · Vehicle Speed Control (6)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Excursion model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
79 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Exterior Lighting:brake Lights 2011-07-13 · campaign 11V352000 · 26,715 vehicles
Defect: 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, F-350, F-450, AND F-550 TRUCKS FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQU
Risk: NON-FUNCTIONING LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (191)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2023-09-07 · SSM 51909 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
when performing any transmission fluid changes or topoffs involving mercon sp, mercon lv has replaced all versions of mercon sp and can be used going forward. mixing mercon lv and mercon sp in the same transmission is acceptable. after 30-jun-2023, mercon sp atf will no longer be manufactured and wi
Power Train 2021-02-10 · RFI20210210_624- · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a transmission line. the customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect the connector. the transmission line connector may have an incorrect thread size, which will prevent it from being installed.
Steering 2018-10-02 · DOR-B8H4Z-11 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a front upper ball joint. the customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for ball studs with excessive rotational friction in the ball joint assembly. excessive friction in the ball joint assembly may cause a perceptible increase in steering effort.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2014-05-01 · ASI-44534 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford: when shifting between park, reverse and/or during 2-3 shift, an intermittent clunk occurs with a torqshift transmission. model 2003-2014 f-super duty, e series, excursion, f-53 motorhome chassis, low cab forward. *pe
Power Train:automatic Transmission:torque Converter 2014-02-01 · ASI-44404 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford: on some trucks, there is a no crank situation and if voltage on transmission range sensor at pin 21, is less than 5 volts, disconnect the engine cooling fan clutch, electronically, and recheck voltage. model 2003-2007 f super duty, 2004-2010 e series, 2003-2005 excursion.
Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:injectors 2010-06-11 · TSB-10-12-6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford: runs rough, lacks power, hard start, no start. some vehicles and trucks equipped with 6.0l engine may exhibit a runs rough, lacks power, hard to start, no start concern with or without diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p0611 code or various injector circuit codes. *pe
Showing the 6 most recent of 191 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-01-02 · Tires“my wife, two young daughters, and i were traveling out of town for the new year. as we were traveling southbound on i-85 between greensboro, north carolina and thomasville, north carolina, i started to notice that the vehicle was starting to vibrate. over the course of the next +\- 10 miles the vibration became much worse and eventually forced me…”
2021-10-08 · Suspension · 110,000 mi“the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. the contact stated while driving at various speeds, the suspension made an abnormal popping sound. there was no warning light illuminated. the contact stated that an air bubble had formed on the front passenger’s side tire which he linked to the suspension failure. the tire was not replaced. the contact also …”
2020-05-26 · Steering · 189,000 mi“the vehicle has a steering issue. it will pull to the right mostly but occasionally to the left. so you spend the entire drive correcting the wheel to try to keep the vehicle in the road. towing is impossible with this issue because it causes the trailer to go in to a snaking motion because of the constant steering correction. this occurs when ever…”
2020-01-10 · Service Brakes · 160,000 mi · 💥 crash“pavement was wet...cit was dark ....a car suddenly stopped in the roadway..my anti lock brakes locked up causing me to skid into the car in front of me..causing rear damage to it...my airbag also did not deploy..was going about 25mph..but seemed to increase in speed skidding on the pavement it caused me to lose my safe driving discount on my istat…”
2019-01-08 · Engine · 200,106 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an injector failure. the vehicle was not repaired. a local dealer was not cont…”
2018-11-07 · Vehicle Speed Control · 123,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. while driving 70 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently to approximately 75-80 mph. the contact had to apply excessive force to the brake pedal to slow down the vehicle. also, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. the vehicle was not taken t…”
2018-05-17 · Steering · 235,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. while reversing the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to operate. the contact noticed that the steering wheel bolts were fractured. the dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 235,000. …”
2017-11-14 · Engine · 40,000 mi“faulty exhaust manifold bolts break off and cause excessive noise, exhaust enters the drivers cabin, vehicle will not pass emissions inspection and is expensive to repair. i have 4 ford vehicles with this problem. first incident was at around 50,000 miles and 48 months after purchase. ford refused to make repairs under any portion of the factory wa…”
2017-07-14 · Power Train · 17,000 mi“the 6.8 and 5.4 engines have been failing due to defective valve train cam followers. i am having the 3rd engine installed in my excursion. the cam followers are failing and spitting them out causing catstropic engine failure. i have been in contact with anthony bariana who works for holman distribution in new jersey @ 1-800-521-1223 ext 305 and he…”
2017-05-13 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“tamara recall while driving or stopped the cars power does 100% shut off. no codes or warning lights. in dec/2016 driving on a on a east on charleston blvd in nv, after pulling out of cit bank parking lot going about 45 mph the light turned red and when i went to break the pedal was hard and that's when i saw no power. by then it was too late and…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.