We purchased an 03 coachmen santara rv with the ford f450 triton v10 engine it had 28500 mil. When we bought it in oct. 08. We have not had any work done to it and the engine ran fine,we have taken a few trips in it and it has ran fine. We decided to take it to holbrook for the thanksgiving holiday it ran fine we decided to drive back on friday am on our way back the engine ran fine we got about 20miles outside of payson and without warning a loud bag crash!! Knock! Knock! Knock!! And we immediately lost power I veered off the side of the road I was able to get safely off the road. We had to be towed to a dealership, the dealership called me monday and advised that the spark plug had blown out of the engine head,I never heard of such a thing they tell me the engine head is faulty ok, then my warranty company states they won't cover a spark plug issue what!!,well it just gets better, I go online to find hundreds of people complaining about the same thing and ford nor the warranty company's will do anything about the problem. We have a bumper to bumper warranty and they won't cover a thing. Stating it's a spark plug problem and ford states the same even after the mechanic's argue the fact that it is not a spark plug problem it is a ford design issue with the aluminum heads. If this would have happened while we were going up or down hill, my family and I may not be here and these issues have caused numerous fires. Something has to be done before loss of life happens. I just want a fair deal, if this was something I could've avoided or was do to something I did I could understand,however I/we have done nothing wrong and we are all having to pay for it. Ford cannot continue to say that there is a spark plug issue in the thousand of engines that this same thing is happening to. It's statistically impossible! I hope someone can shed some light on this major problem and help us all.
The worst 2003 Coachmen Santara problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine1
Recalls 2
Equipment: recreational vehicle/trailer
- What is wrong
- Coachmen is recalling 13,662 my 2002-2008 motor homes, fifth wheel and travel trailers equipped with glass shower doors and manufactured from june 15, 2001 thorugh august 6, 2007. When pressure is applied to the towel bar on the glass shower door, the edge of the bar may contact the glass.
- Risk
- Glass breakage may occur which could cause personal injury.
- Remedy
- Owners will be provided with new mounting hardware for the towel bar and installation instructions. If an owner is not comfortable replacing the hardware themselves, a dealer will install the hardware at no cost to them. The recall is expected to begin on or about december 19, 2008. Owners may contact coachmen at 1‑574‑825‑5821.
Recall number 08V639000 · Recall details
Electrical system: alternator/generator/regulator
- What is wrong
- On certain class c mini-motor homes, the generator exhaust pipe may have been assembled and installed incorrectly resulting in insufficient clearance to or contact with the chassis fuel fill tube.
- Risk
- When operating, the generator's exhaust pipe may reach temperatures that could potentially melt and/or ignite the fuel fill tube. Should this occur, the potential exists for a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will disassemble a portion of the generator exhaust pipe assembly, turning one of the bent components around 180 degrees, reassembling the exhaust pipe and measuring to ensure a minimum of 3" air gap with surrounding components. Owner notification began march 24, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact coachmen at 1‑800‑453‑6064.
Recall number 03V081000 · Recall details
What 2003 Coachmen Santara owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Compare the 2003 Coachmen Santara
Other model years
Questions about the 2003 Coachmen Santara
Is the 2003 Coachmen Santara reliable?
Owners have filed 1 complaint about the 2003 Coachmen Santara, close to a typical Santara model year.
What is the most common problem with the 2003 Coachmen Santara?
Engine and cooling, with 1 complaint.
How many recalls does the 2003 Coachmen Santara have?
2 recalls, covering equipment and electrical system.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Coachmen Santara?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history