2003 Ford F-450 Sd problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Fuel System, Diesel (5) · Tires:tread/Belt (2) · Engine And Engine Cooling (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford F-450 Sd model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
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 (110)
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.
Equipment 2020-01-13 · DOR-U2J7Y-02 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a spare tire hoist. test results identified that the pull force parameter was not within specification, as a precautionary measure unsold inventory was requested to be returned for testing and containment. we don't have evidence that these test results have contributed to a product fai
Equipment 2020-01-13 · DOR-C2C6H-02 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a spare tire hoist. test results identified that the pull force parameter was not within specification, as a precautionary measure unsold inventory was requested to be returned for testing and containment. we don't have evidence that these test results have contributed to a product fai
Electrical System 2019-09-02 · SSM 48157 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2002-2008 f-super duty, f-150 and mark lt vehicles may exhibit concern during or after programing the vsm. the programming may fail or vehicle symptoms such as inoperative door locks, dome lamps, door ajar indicators or auto lamps may occur after successful programing. to ensure the vsm is conf
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 110 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2013-05-06 · Fuel System, Diesel · 119,311 mi“the truck began to shake and lose power, eventually not even being able to stay running. the mechanic upon review found the tank liner had delaminated from inside fuel tank and had plugged up fuel sender. both needed to be replace at a cost of $2800, ford dealer stated there was nothing they could do. *tr …”
2010-07-20 · Fuel System, Diesel · 5,000 mi“the egr, ficm, and injectors on this vehicle have caused traffic hazards. we can not pull out without the engine spitting and sputtering. we have replace all of the above, some more than once. last time in to the ford dealer they suggested that we use a thinner oil to lubricate the injectors better. this also doesn't work. we have read many…”
2010-06-03 · Suspension:front · 25,000 mi“truck has no power when first starting and the front end shimmies something terrible. hard to control. *tr…”
2010-03-30 · Fuel System, Diesel · 64,042 mi“the coating on the interior of ford diesel fuel tanks corrodes and collects as sediment in the fuel system. the sediment, collects at the botton of the fuel tank and is sucked into the fuel system. the fuel lines become fouled, the fuel pumps become clogged and require replacement. as the coating continues to deteriorate, the only recourse it to…”
2009-01-23 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 90,000 mi“when driving down a hill with lots of turns. the truck stalled (shut off) all of the sudden right before a turn. luckily was able to keep the truck on the road and restart the truck in neutral. took truck straight to hansel ford asked them to tell me what was wrong with the truck. they checked the computer in the truck, and said they could not find…”
2009-01-23 · Fuel System, Diesel · 136,000 mi“the lining of the fuel tank has been flaking off into my fuel lines, which is restricting my fuel filters. because of the lack of fuel, 2 fuel injectors went bad and had to be replaced. and the turbo was over compensating for the lack of power, due to fuel shortage, so the turbo had to be replaced as well. now that we have found the source of the p…”
2008-11-24 · Fuel System, Diesel · 54,579 mi“the lining of the diesel fuel tank flaked off which clogged the fuel filters, which resulted in poor engine performance. *tr…”
2008-08-20 · Tires:tread/Belt · 95,773 mi“tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f450 super duty. the vehicle has double coin radial tires, size 225/70/19.5 (na). this complaint is related to odi number 10239016 regarding the other five defective tires. the tires were serviced by an independent tire mechanic and tread separation was discovered in six tires. there was one tire with a different…”
2008-08-20 · Tires:tread/Belt · 95,733 mi“tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f450 super duty. the vehicle has double coin radial tires, size 225/70/19.5 (na). the tires were serviced by an independent tire mechanic and tread separation was discovered in six tires. there were five tires with the same dot number. the tires were replaced on the vehicle. the failure mileage was 95,773 and cu…”
2006-03-09 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:diesel · 500 mi“events leading to failure: truck was purchased on 12-19-03 1.) on 1-19-04 truck had no power, dealer found 2,3 injector shorted, dealer replaced injectors and checked bore in cyl head per hotline. 2.)1-21-04 engine was missing in fire. dealer replaced both injectors per hotline. o-rings blown apart and injector wont seat, hotline suggest looki…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.