KnownCarProblems2003 Ford E-350 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 46 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Ford E-350, most often about the fuel system (24% of complaints, typically around 104,000 miles). It is 6th of 26 E-350 model years by number of complaints and has 7 recalls.
Most common 2003 Ford E-350 problems
Fuel system
11 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 104,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, storage.
Lost power. Filter heavily plugged particulate. Dropped tank. Bottom of tank has 1/2" silvery flakes. Fuel pick-up screen plugged. Boiled and reinstalled tank. Fuel pump failure about 2 months later. New pump. At 149000 mile, new tank and may need new pump. Tank was delaminating.
Fuel leaks in 7.3l and 6.0l diesel engines in Ford E-350 ambulances. We have had 4 failures of the fuel filter mounting which have cracked and resulted in fuel leaks. Repairs have been made at our expense with significant down time. Repairs have been averaging about $900.00 for each ambulance. There are no tsb or…
Engine
10 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 101,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
Have a 2003 Ford E-350 van cng gas conversion. At 97,000 miles a spark plug blew completely out of the cylinder head and broke off the ignition coil that was bolted to the head. The cng gas could have possibly ignited and caused a fire since the fuel was still being sent to that particular cylinder and the spark was…
My 2003 Ford E-350 with the 7.3 l diesel quit, with 74,000 + miles. The cause of the problem was a failed cam shaft synchronizer, Ford replacement part f7tz-12k073-a.
Electrical
9 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 101,500 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
: the contact stated the vehicle was involved in a crash while driving 15 MPH. The vehicle rear-ended another vehicle, and glanced off the bumper. A passenger in the second vehicle noticed smoke emanating from under the hood, followed closely by flames. A police report was taken, and the vehicle was considered a total…
F-350 diesel running erratically. Than will not shift radio stopped working no power all electronics stopped working. Smelt insulation burning on wires. Vehicle was totally disabled. Towed to dealer. Dealer found fuse box melted. Asked dealer to also check out alternator, [maybe putting out to much voltage] got the…
Brakes
7 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford E-350 pulling a 24-footer auto trailer. While driving 30 MPH and attempting to reduce speed, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. The contact used the trailer brakes to stop the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact mentioned that the…
Steering
5 complaints · 11%Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist system.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Ford E-350. While driving 30 MPH or greater, the vehicle would sway from side to side. The dealer has inspected the vehicle on two occasions and stated that this is a normal occurrence. However, the service advisor at the dealer disagreed with the diagnosis. He felt that there was too much…
The contact owns a 2003 Ford E-350. While driving highway speeds, the contact stated a bolt separated from the engine block. This defect also caused the serpentine belt to fail, which caused the steering wheel and power steering to fail. The dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with repair to the failure. The…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Ford E-350 recalls
Speed control: vehicle speed control
Risk: A vehicle fire could occur with or without the engine running.
Fix: Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair as necessary. Repairs will be completed free of charge. The safety recall began on october 27, 2009. Owners may contact ford at 1-888-222-2751.
Full defect summary
Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control deactivation switch (scds). The scds may leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: The user of the lift could be injured should the lift move unintentionally.
Fix: Around town is working with ricon to correct the wheelchair lifts free of charge (please see 07e095). Owners may contact ricon at 1-818-267-3000 or around town at 1-678-364-8594.
Full defect summary
Around town is recalling 6 my 2003 ford e-350 and my 2006 e-250 wheelchair conversion vans equipped with ricon platform style wheelchair lifts. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 404, "platform lift installations in motor vehicles." the threshold warning system may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user in a certain spot within the defined threshold area.
Speed control: cruise control
Risk: As a result, the fuse is located in the output circuit rather than in the intended input power feed circuit, and may not offer the intended protection in the event of an electrical short to ground.
Fix: Dealers will install a new wiring harness, or replace the mating electrical component. The recall began on february 18, 2008. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
Ford is recalling 225,000 my 1992-2003 econoline, my 1993-1995 taurus sho, my 1992-1998 crown victoria, my 1993 bronco, f-series, my 1995-1997 f-series super duty stripped chassis, my 1992-1998 mercury grand marquis, and my 1992-1995 lincoln town car vehicles. The affected vehicles were previously repaired using a wiring harness that is not compatible with the vehicle circuit polarity.
Speed control: vehicle speed control
Risk: This could result in an underhood fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected as an interim repair. As soon as repair parts are available (expected october 2007), owners will be instructed to return to the dealers for installation of a fused wiring harness. The recall began on august 13, 2007, and mailing completed by september 19, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1-888-222-2751.
Full defect summary
On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility
Risk: In the event of a vehicle crash, the wheelchair may not be adequately secured possibly resulting in injuries to a wheelchair occupant.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the wheelchair securement retractors as necessary. Sure-lok is conducting the owner notification and remedy for this campaign. Owners should contact sure-lock at 1-908-231-1804 or accubuilt at 419-222-1501.
Full defect summary
On certain vans built on ford e250/e350 chassis and equipped with sure-lok wheelchair securement systems, the sprocket teeth of the retractor assembly is out of alignment.
Electrical: wiring
Risk: The electrical short may cause an ABS malfunction that would illuminate the ABS warning light, or the module may overheat resulting in a burning odor, smoke, and/or fire. This condition may occur while the vehicle is being driven or unattended.
Fix: Dealers will install a new fuse in the ABS circuit and install a heat shield over the ABS module. The recall began on october 15, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also ford is extending the limited warranty (for a one time replacement) of the ABS module for a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever occurs first. If your vehicle has already accumulated more than 150,000 miles, this coverage will last until september 30, 2005.
Full defect summary
On certain vans, a diode in the anti-lock braking system (ABS) module may experience an electrical short.
Engine: engine and engine cooling
Risk: These hot particles may ignite the air filter element with the potential for air induction system damage or underhood fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the air filter element. The recall began september 27, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also ford is extending the limited warranty (for a one time replacement) of the ABS module for a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever occurs first. If your vehicle has already accumulated more than 150,000 miles, this coverage will last until september 30, 2005.
Full defect summary
On certain vans, the air filter element material process resulted in an air filter paper element that can smolder or burn. This change in filter paper composition combined with the configuration of the air induction system, may allow hot carbon particles to contact the air filter element during certain driving conditions that create hot particles.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Hvac switch failures
Summary
This investigation was opened based on one complaint and reports from four transportation fleets alleging 182 blower motor control switch failures.odi was concerned that these melting and burning switches could lead to an open flame that could spread throughout the vehicle.after a comprehensive review of all data related to overheating blower motor control switches in the subject vehicles, odi did not identify the existence of a safety defect trend.odi reviewed 1,036 complaints, claims, and field reports of failed blower motor control switches and determined that only two fires were likely to have been caused by a failing subject blower motor control switch.this represents a failure rate of
Hvac switch failures
Summary
Odi has received 1 complaint and reports from 4 transportation fleets alleging 182 switch failures.each fleet operates mini buses built on a ford e350 or e450 cutaway chassis.the OEM HVAC blower switches have melted, smoked, burned or experienced open flame and become inoperable on vehicles in each fleet.some drivers have reported a burning smell or smoke coming from the dash.one fleet reported a vehicle fire.no injuries were sustained.however, the bus was carrying special needs children when the driver noticed smoke coming from the dash.the driver was able to evacuate the children prior to the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea) to d
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
Summary
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 ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehi
Questions about the 2003 Ford E-350
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Ford E-350?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: fuel system (11 complaints, typically around 104,000 miles); engine (10 complaints, typically around 101,500 miles); electrical (9 complaints, typically around 101,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Ford E-350 have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 13, 2009 (speed control). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Ford E-350?
- It is 6th of 26 E-350 model years by number of complaints, with 46 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.