Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Ford F-250 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 13 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Truck had no check engine light then caught on fire going down the road and burned to ground within seconds Incident report 46-24-05039 08_30-74 US-30 - PA 74 30 W
The contact owns a 2003 Ford F-250. The contact stated that both turn signals and the windshield wipers would intermittently fail to operate as needed. Over time, the failure worsened and the components failed to operate. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS DO NOT WORK
MY FRONT END SHAKES IT'S NOT THE HIGH SPEED WOBBLE MY TRAILER BRAKES THEY DO NOT WORK I'M BLOWING FUSES IN MY FUSE BOX VIA TRAILER MY TRUCK MAKES A MOANING SOUND KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE A FOGHORN THIS IS WHEN I STARTED OR I COME TO A STOP AND WHEN IT'S IDLING DOESN'T DO IT ALL THE TIME MY SHIFTER ON MY COLUMN CAME LOOSE AND WON'T GO INTO PARK
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD F-250. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE, IT FAILED TO START AND THE FUEL GAUGE FAILED TO PROVIDE AN ACCURATE READING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT HE NEEDED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 143,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD F-250. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ENGINE HARNESS AND CAM SENSOR, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE ALTERNATOR WAS OVERCHARGED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD F-250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IN ORDER TO KEEP THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE ON, THE HAZARD LIGHTS AND HEADLIGHTS HAD TO BE ACTIVATED; HOWEVER, THE LIGHTS DID NOT ILLUMINATE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.
TRUCK COUNT FIRE WHILE NOT IN USE. FIRE UNDER HOOD ON THE DRIVERS SIDE OF THE TRUCK. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD F-250. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS HAD BECOME EXPOSED, CAUSING A SHORT AND BLOWING THE ENGINE FUSE. THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THAT THE WIRES WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.
DT: AT 9 PM VEHICLE PARKED VEHICLE IN DRIVEWAY AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE. VEHICLE HAD SAT FOR ABOUT 10 HOURS. VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE IT WAS PARKED. THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS FROM MECHANICS UPON REGULAR INSPECTION THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. NO PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE BEFORE AND NO MODIFICATIONS. A NEIGHBOR KNOCKED ON CONSUMER'S DOOR AND ADVISED HIM THAT THERE WERE FLAMES COMING FROM THE DASHBOARD AND THE HOOD AS WELL. BY THE TIME FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED THE WINDOWS WERE GONE, INSIDE DESTROYED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, CUT THE BATTERY CABLES, AND THEN SHOWED THE OWNER THAT BATTERY POST WAS ABLE TO TURN 360 DEGREES, WHICH MEANT THE POST WAS LOOSE. ALSO, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED THAT IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. OWNER CONTACTED THE DEALER, WHO WAS UNCONCERNED, AND TOLD THE OWNER TO CALL INSURANCE COMPANY. OWNER WILL CALL FORD TODAY. THE POLICE DID NOT DO A REPORT. *AK
VEHICLE PARKED COLD ENG 15 MINS, WOULD NOT START, SMOKE AND DASHBOARD ON FIRE ---- CRUISE CONTROL ?
[XXX] 5/3/03 RECALL 03B06 6/4/03 AIR CONDITIONER FAILURE 6/17/04 AIR CONDITIONER FAILURE , AC BLEND DOOR BINDING ,PLENUM DEFECTIVE,HAD TO REMOVE DASHBOARD TO REPAIR 6/18/03 4X4 FAILED TO ENGAGE, FAULTY GEM MODULE 6/18/03 OIL LEAKING AT REAR OF MOTOR, REAR MAIN SEAL FAILURE, STILL LEAKING TO DATE 11/6/03 WATER SEPERATOR FAILURE, PERFORM RECALL 03E04, PERFORM RECALL 03L12 1/14/04 REAR HEATER LEAKING , REAR HEATER CORE FAILURE, REPLACE FUEL MANIFOLD,BECAUSE FUEL SEPERATOR LIGHT STILL WARNING 2/27/04 REAR MAIN SEAL LEAKING/ NO REPAIR OFFERED 3/11/04 REAR MAIN LEAKING / NO REPAIR OFFERED 5/17/04 AIR CONDITIONER FAILURE,FAULTY LINE CONECTION/REAR MAIN STILL LEAKING 6/10/04 REAR MAIN STILL LEAKING /NO REPAIR OFFERED 8/5/04 RECALL 04S15 PEFORMED/ TURBO FAILURE, UNRELATED TO RECALL 8/13/04 REAR MAIN STILL LEAKING/ NO REPAIR OFFERED 9/15/04 REAR MAIN STILL LEAKING / NO REPAIR OFFERED/POWER LOSS SINCE TURBO REPLACEMENT *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT WARNING VEHICLE WILL STALL. IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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