Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an injector failure. The vehicle was not repaired. A local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,106.
2003 Ford Excursion engine problems
30 complaints (28% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 40,000.
- owner complaints
- 30
- of this car's complaints
- 28%
- typical mileage
- 40,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Engine: diesel9
- Engine8
- Exhaust system1
- Engine: other fuel types: turbo/supercharger1
- Engine: gasoline1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Ford Excursion engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Ford Excursion engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: engine: diesel
- What is wrong
- On certain heavy duty trucks equipped with 7.3l diesel engines, the camshaft position sensor located on the engine of the vehicle may function intermittently, possibly resulting in an engine stall.
- Risk
- In the event of an engine stall, a crash could result without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the sensor and replace it with an improved camshaft position sensor free of charge. The recall began on december 29, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 07V553000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
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 vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
Engine stalling
Twenty five of the odi failure reports are duplicative of ford complaints.twenty odi reports do not contain a VIN (and may or may not be duplicative of ford reports).the 14 alleged crashes and 2 alleged injuries were all minor.submitted during preliminary evaluation (pe) 04-070, ford's response to odi's information request (ir) letter contained about 5,000 consumer reports (mors) and 8,700 field reports (cqis).ford reviewed the complaints and categorized them.the manufacturer reports shown above represent a count of unique vehicles that ford categorized as allegedly stalling due to a subject engine component ('a' category, see ford's ir response letter for further detail); some of these vehicles received multiple reports.odi has not yet confirmed ford's categorization of these reports, nor has odi confirmed ford's categorization of the remaining reports (which ford states do not pertain to the alleged defect).ford submitted nearly 19,000 warranty claims, many of which involved claims for a technical service bulletin (tsb 04-13-08) and field service action (fsa 03b05) which ford identified as potential remedies for stalling complaints.odi has not confirmed that either of these are a remedy for engine stalling complaints.several other dealer communications related to engine stall were also submitted as well as over 50 product modifications, 15 of which involve revisions to the software for the electronic engine control unit.further investigation is required and odi is upgrading pe04-070 to an engineering analysis (ea).during the ea, odi will establish and update manufacturer failure report counts, further investigate the frequency and trend of stalling complaints, and determine the scope and safety implication of stalling events.odi will also investigate ford's remedies, their effectiveness, and whether further action is required.
PE04070
What 2003 Ford Excursion owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently to approximately 75-80 MPH. The contact had to apply excessive force to the brake pedal to slow down the vehicle. Also, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in a recall. No further assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
Faulty exhaust manifold bolts break off and cause excessive noise, exhaust enters the drivers cabin, vehicle will not pass emissions inspection and is expensive to repair. I have 4 ford vehicles with this problem. First incident was at around 50,000 miles and 48 months after purchase. Ford refused to make repairs under any portion of the factory warranty. They claim lifetime emissions warranty doesn't cover it, nor the 100,000 powertrain warranty. I have spent over $8000.00 making repairs to these exhaust manifolds. Triton v-10 gas engine.
The inter lights stay on anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour after you turn truck off, the low range 4x4 will not disengage until you back up for about 1/2 mile electrical system keeps turning the truck off shows battery light then glow plug light shuts engine off and have to jump the truck then it runs for 45 minutes and jump it again
The 2003 ford excursion 6.0 liter diesel, first broke down while driving home from the dealer who was working on recall items. The vehicle stalled while driving less than 2 miles from the dealer (dealer now out of business). After a while the vehicle began losing power, but not stalling while driving, especially up hills. After many attempts to clean parts, egr valve etc, it was stated that the injectors were bad. All injectors replaced. Front main leaf spring broke on the vehicle, and had to be replaced - the spring was no longer available, -the repair facility stated that this vehicle has been historically undersized, and they stopped making the original spring, because too many were breaking. We then again started experiencing a loss of power while driving - at this time my kids were driving the car, and this was particularly worrisome. My repair shop sent the vehicle to a heavy truck and diesel repair shop, specializing in ambulances. After charging me $3000 to fix my problems (various pieces an part related to the engine, fuel system, etc), the vehicle seemed to operate well. While up in cleveland for thanksgiving, the vehicle lost power on the highway - . Had to have it towed to a dealer, and rent a replacement during our vacation. The dealer said more of the fuel/engine issues and after charging me another $1500, I was able to drive home. Less than one month later, same stalling issues. The vehicle would simply stall, at low speed, high speed, under load, or no load - towed again to my repair person, and he sent it to a different diesel mechanic who told me that diesel is leaking into the engine, the injectors again need to be replaced, that it has never been fixed properly, and that this engine is notorious for having very significant problem. I am out of a vehicle, down to one for the family, and unable to afford getting it fixed - again.
2003 ford excursion will sporadically not start. When this happens, it will crank but will not fire. It will not start with a jump start. Typically, after several tries the battery will drain. At that point it will start with a jump start. It also usually starts after it sits for at least 1 day. This sporadic incident has been occurring over 6 months. I've had it checked 4 times by a trusted and capable auto service center. They have run comprehensive diagnostics, reviewed every possible source of the problems, have researched every possible issue and have found nothing. Otherwise the vehicle runs well - when it starts. The latest incident was today feb. 24, 2010. This has occurred at least 10 times in 6 months.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford excursion. The contact was driving approximately 65 MPH on a wet road and suddenly, excessive white smoke expelled from the rear tail pipe exhaust system. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. The engine stalled again and the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The technician stated that the failure was contributed to a broken fuel injector which also resulted in damages to the engine. The estimated repair cost was $12,000. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction at this time. The failure and current mileages were 78,000. Updated 02/01/10 *bf the consumer stated that the vehicle ran rough and it lacked power. The dealer found the #1 cylinder had a broken piston. The consumer stated the check engine light never illuminated to warn him there was problem. Updated 02/02/10.
Spark plug blown out of 8th cylinder of v10 ford triton.
2003 ford excursion limited with 6.0l diesel engine. Only two weeks ago, my truck began to surge in acceleration at both idle and while cruising. It has also begun to stall out at both idle and while cruising. Also the vehicle has begun to have a strong smell of diesel fuel which enters the passenger cabin at start up. My service engine light has begun to light up and I checked the light with a digital diagnostic code reader. The code was p2285 (injector control pressure sensor circuit low). The situation is quite dangerous. My wife had complained that the vehicle surged ahead and she almost hit the car in front of her while stopped at a red light. When I drove the vehicle, it also began to buck and surge in both forward and reverse. While backing out of my driveway, the vehicle accelerated rearward and only by my having my foot near the brake pedal, stopped it from racing rearward. The vehicle has also cut off while at idle and while driving now. Again, a very dangerous condition. I have seen on the ford truck enthusiast websites that I am not alone. There have been many complaints of this condition and faulty injector control pressure sensors especially in the '03 models but even later models. I am just out of warranty by a week, and ford said they could do nothing for me. I have seen what the dealers have quoted others to fix the problem up to $2000.00 for wide ranging solutions (replacing turbos, replacing all injectors, etc.) I use this truck to transport my disabled child and definitely cannot afford the dealer to rip me off for $2000. It is a $140 part and should take no longer than an hour of a technician's time to replace the sensor and pigtail harness. Clearly, ford knows that they have a problem as they had a cust. Service program 03b05 and 03b06 regarding this issue for 47,000 other '03 trucks with the 6.0l engine. They said my vehicle's VIN did not fall into those 47,000. Obviously it affects many more trucks than the 47,000.
While driving about 25 MPH, the engine stalled and I lost steering control. Luckily no other cars were approaching because I was making a left turn on to a busy street. Very dangerous. The stall has also occurred at least 5 other times, usually when decelerating when coming to a stop light. Today, the ABS light came on, then I heard a click and all the gauges lost power, the radio display went out. I could not restart the vehicle - only heard a click sound. After waiting an hour, the vehicle started. Batteries have already been replaced by dealership a couple months ago. It was in the shop because under aggressive acceleration, the glow plug light would come on and there was no power. Sensor replaced along with batteries. Problem occurred again when driving it home from the shop. Talked to ford and they do not seem concerned about potentially dangerous problems that dealership can not fix.
Questions about the 2003 Ford Excursion engine
Does the 2003 Ford Excursion have engine problems?
Owners have filed 30 complaints about the engine of the 2003 Ford Excursion, 28% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford Excursion engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 40,000 miles.
Is there a recall for the 2003 Ford Excursion engine?
Yes, 1 recall: 07V553000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
Other 2003 Ford Excursion problems
Electrical 26Brakes 10Tires 10Fuel system 9Acceleration 7Steering 7Suspension 6Transmission 6Body 4Seat belts 4Visibility 4Lights 3Driver assistance 2Locks 1Seats 1
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