2003 FORD F-250 Complaints

WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKE PEDAL VEHICLE VIBRATED UNCONTROLLABLY. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC REPLACED THE BRAKE DRUMS. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM RECURRED. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DRIVER TRIED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO DO SO. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK *TC

F250 FORD DIESEL CAUGHT FIRE WHILE PARKED. I CONTACTED THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM AS OF DATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP IN TUSCALOOSA, AL IN JANUARY FOR REPAIR. THE DEALERSHIP CHECKED FOR A BURNING SMELL AND SAID IT WAS THE FUEL FILTER. THEY REPLACED FUEL FILTER AND A MONTH LATER THE TRUCK CAUGHT FIRE.

[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)

2003 SD F250 4X2 REG CAB 5.4L EFI V-8 IS ONLY GETTING 11 TO 12 MILES TO THE GALLON. I BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE GETTING SOMETHING LIKE 16 TO 18 MPG. DEALER HAS NO FIX.*AK

VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY ROLLED OUT OF PARK WITH NO KEYS IN THE IGNITION. CONSUMER STATED THIS WAS THE THIRD OCCURRENCE. VEHICLE ROLLED OUT OF GEAR, AND A SNOW BANK STOPPED IT. DEALER FOUND NO DEFECTS.*AK

2003 FORD F250 WAS IN THE SHOP DUE TO FAILURE TO START AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE.***NO ANSWER REQUIRED****. *MR *TT *NM

I PURCHASED A NEW FORD F250 TRUCK, VIN 1FTNX20L33E, ON APRIL 17, 2003, FROM ELKHORN MOTORS IN ELKHORN, WI. ON OCTOBER 24, 2004, AT AROUND 45,000 MILES, I ROTATED THE TIRES FRONT TO BACK IN WISCONSIN BEFORE A TRIP TO FLORIDA. AFTER THIS TIRE ROTATION, I NOTICED A TENDENCY FOR THE STEERING WHEEL TO OSCILLATE WHEN I STEPPED ON THE BRAKES. I ASSUMED IT WAS RELATED TO TIRES AND PLANNED TO REPLACE THEM ON MY RETURN. I PICKED UP A 5TH WHEEL IN FLORIDA AND STARTED BACK ON NOVEMBER 2. THE OSCILLATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS MUCH WORSE, SEEMINGLY AGGRAVATED BY THE CHANGE IN CG WITH THE TRAILER ATTACHED. HARD BRAKING AT HIGH SPEEDS WORSENED THIS CONDITION BUT I WAS MOSTLY ABLE TO AVOID THIS SITUATION FOR THE TRIP HOME. THE TRUCK ACTED COMPLETELY NORMAL WHEN THE BRAKES WERE NOT APPLIED. I REPLACED BOTH FRONT TIRES WITH NEW ONES. I INFORMED MY MECHANIC OF MY SYMPTOMS AND ASKED HIM TO REALIGN THE FRONT END IF HE WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING ELSE AMISS. HE FOUND THE TIE ROD END THREADS WORN SO MUCH THAT THE ADJUSTING SLEEVE WOBBLED INSIDE IT EVEN THOUGH THE BOLTS WERE TIGHT. THERE WAS ALSO EVIDENCE FROM RUST PATTERNS THAT THE ADJUSTING SLEEVE AND TIE ROD END HAD BEEN MOVING IN AND OUT. THE TIE ROD AND BALL JOINT WERE REPLACED AT A COST OF ABOUT $285. THE FAILURE OF THIS PART PRESENTED A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. FORD'S POSITION IS THAT THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS VEHICLE AFTER THE WARRANTEE IS OVER. THEY DID NOT EVEN ASK IF THE PARTS WERE AVAILABLE. (THEY ARE.). *AK

I HAVE A 2003 FORD F-250. IT HAS SEVERE HANDLING PROBLEMS. WHEN YOU PULL A TRAILER WITH IT, THE TRUCK DRIVES LIKE THE TRAILER IS TRYING TO STEER IT. IF YOU PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE, IT IS ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLE. THE BACK END STARTS TO SWAY FROM SIDE TO SIDE, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES THE TRAILER TO WHIP BACK AND FORTH. ALSO DURING PANIC STOP SITUATIONS, THE TRUCK DARTS LEFT AND RIGHT AND FEELS LIKE IT IS OUT OF CONTROL. I HAVE TALKED TO NUMEROUS FORD DEALERS. ONE TOLD ME TO CHANGE THE TIRES AND/OR TIRE PRESSURE. I TRIED FROM 35 PSI TO 75 PSI IN 5 PSI CHANGES, IT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. I BOUGHT ANOTHER TYPE OF TIRES. THEY HELPED A SMALL AMOUNT. FORD HAS REPLACED MOST OF THE FRONT STEERING COMPONENTS. THIS HELPED FOR ABOUT 2000 MILES. THE LOCAL FORD DEALER HAS STATED "YOUR TRUCK HAS HANDLING PROBLEMS, BUT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR TRUCK". THEY WILL NOT FIND THE PROBLEM OR REPLACE THE PARTS I FEEL WILL FIX IT. I THINK THE SPRING PACKS AND SUSPENSION BUSHINGS ARE TOO SOFT. I KNOW OF ANOTHER FORD THAT HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND FORD BOUGHT THE TRUCK BACK FROM THE CONSUMER AFTER ADMITTING IT HAD PROBLEMS THEY COULD NOT FIX. MY WIFE REFUSES TO RIDE IN THE TRUCK WHEN PULLING A TRAILER OR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.*AK

WHEN TAKING OFF FROM EITHER A STOP SIGN OR LIGHT VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE FORWARD PROPERLY. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STALL AT AN INOPPORTUNE TIME. ITS WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP 6 TIMES IN 1 1/2 YEARS, AND WAS INFORMED BY DEALER THAT PROBLEM WAS LOW RPM POWER, WHICH WAS POOR TORQUE, AND AN IMPROPER GEAR RATIO IN TRANSMISSION.*AK THE CONSUMERS FOOT CONTACTS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HANGER WHEN ATTEMPTINGTO DEPRESS THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. THE ENGINE RUNS ROUGH AT IDLE 750 RPM CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO VIVRATE. AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 750 AND 1000 RPM THE ENGINE WILL NOT MAINTAIN A CONSTANT SPEED. SPEED FLUCTUATES UP AND DOWN RAPIDLY. THE ENGINE PRODUCES VERY LITTLE POWER AT LOW RPM'S BELOW 1500. OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE ARE AS FOLLOWS: DEFECTIVE FUEL INJECTORS, LEAKING REAR MAIN SEAL, LEAKING BRAKE LINE JUNCTION BLOCK, LEAKING GASKETS ON REAR TRANSMISSION HOUSING, AND BROKEN FASTERNER ON THE METAL LINE. *TC

WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH VEHICLE SHUT DOWN. VEHICLE WILL NOT START RIGHT UP AGAIN. ONE HOUR INTO DRIVING THE PROBLEM STARTED. ENGINE MADE A WHISTLING SOUND. OTHER THEN THAT THERE WERE NO WARNINGS. CONSUMER HAS TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN FOR THE SAME PROBLEM A TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES. *AK POWER STEERING AND BRAKES SHUT DOWN AS A RESULT OF LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. *TC