drivers side rear brake line developed a hole caused by the emergency brake cable rubbing against it causing all the brake fluid to leak & the brakes failed. Fortunately my husband was driving on our rural road & not out on the main highway. We have not been able to get it repaired yet.
The worst 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine12
- Electrical11
- Fuel system11
- Body10
- Brakes8
- Transmission8
- Suspension7
- Acceleration5
- Airbags4
- Steering4
- Tires4
- Wheels2
- Lights1
- Locks1
- Seat belts1
- Seats1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
Vehicle rollaway allegations
In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated consumer reports of higher than expected efforts when shifting into and out of park could be a result of a groove being worn into the swing arm ramp of the steering column. The swing arm is a component bolted to the steering column that assists in shifting through the transmission gears.an engineering evaluation conducted by ford of returned steering columns found the groove could be created over time if consumer shift more quickly from the drive or reverse to park than the brake shift interlock (bsi) solenoid pin retracts after the brake pedal is applied. In november of 2004, ford released a redesigned bsi solenoid with a shorter pin retracting time as a serviceable component. Ford has noted the shorter retraction time significantly lessens the likelihood of bsi solenoid pin to swing arm contact even with rapid consumer shifts.ford also issued a technical service bulletin, tsb 04-22-12, to instruct service technicians on the proper diagnosis and vehicle repair. Reviewing complaints to odi and data submitted by ford, odi has identified 200 alleged incidents of unintended vehicle movement after consumers believe they have shifted the vehicle into park, resulting in 85 alleged crashes and 32 alleged injuries.in addition to the reports of alleged incidents of unintended vehicle movement, odi has also identified 883 reports of consumers alleging difficulty or the inability to shift the vehicle into park.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-013) to further assess the scope, frequency and risk to motor vehicle safety of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.
PE09020
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
Technical service bulletins for the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 62
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Irregular tire wear
- Steering shudder during low speed maneuvers - 4.0L engine
- Malfunction indicator lamp coming on with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCS) P0171, P0172, P0174 and/or P0175...
- Safety belt retraction speed
- Front axle leaks fluid from vent tube - vehicles equipped with 4X4 or AWD
- Safety belt web stop button service
- Moan/vibration during air conditioning operation
- General (PCM) power train control module programming procedures
- Revised procedure for adjusting alignment on all suspensions - new right hand upper control arm design for...
- Squeaking noise from rear sway bar link
What 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The driver was driving down the expressway and her back tire blew out causing her vehicle to spiral out of control and the vehicle then flipped and started rolling downhill, the vehicle airbags did not deploy in the vehicle at all. The driver and her mother are in critical condition. Yes, the safety of others safety was put at risk. I did contact Ford Manufacturer on her behind of the airbags and they said there is nothing they can do for her with the vehicle being totaled out. But my main problem is why these airbags did not deploy. The vehicle is going to be inspected by her insurance company here in the next few days. There were no prior lamps, messages, or anything that would have indicated that the airbags were defective.
Takata recall .. The smell of fuel inside the cab and outside is really bad. It's making me sick and giving me headaches. The truck doesn't run right and the mileage is awful.
We had purchased this vehicle bout a year ago and when we got it we went to get tires and front end alignment and they ended up replacing upper nd lower ball joints, control arm and sway bar on passenger side.this was 6/20/2017. It wasn't making any noise until 1/3/2018. I was going down city street and something popped and then it started roaring. If you put in 4wd it roars loader and jerks. 1/23/18 replaced drivers side wheel hub and bearings. It still roars while accelerating speed but not as bad in 2wd but put in 4wd its real loud and jerks you . I have done research online for this year model sport trac and it seems like there are several complaints about this same issue. Everytime get one thing fixed on front end something else happens to it. You can drive it but if you get over 10-15 MPH the roaring gets worse and it locked the the whole wheel up and jerked the truck to the side of the road
The cab to frame mounting bolt bushings, and steering stabilizer bushings are have and are crumbling. All need to be replaced. I feel ford is aware of this problem and should have to fix it. I just inherited this truck and just found out about this. Thank you.
Truck was running fine. Then on several occasions it would slip out of gear while I was coming off of or onto exit ramps. Seemed like as the engine decelerated it would slip into neutral. Sometimes it would eventually find the gear and sometimes I had to come to a complete stop, which was really scary since I was in traffic when this happened. A short time late (a matter of weeks). I noticed it would not go into gear when the truck was cold (after sitting overnight. This has rapidly progressed into almost complete failure. I can still get the truck to move if I shift manually into l1 or l2 but d does not work at all. Additionally I noticed that sometimes my o/d light would be blinking and sometime o/d would go completely off and the truck would not shift into high gear. I found if I stopped, turned the truck off and restarted it would often fix the issue. This is not longer true. I will be taking the truck to my mechanic on monday. I looked up the issue and see that this is common complaint with many early 2000 ford vehicles. Shame the company does not recognize it's failure and stand up and fix it. I did not have any accident due to this issue but I could see if this failure occurred as someone was pulling into traffic or in the middle of heavy traffic that this could definitely cause a serious accident.
I was leaving the store parking lot. I started the car, pressed the break, put the vehicle in drive and the passenger side airbag deployed. This is the second time this has happened since the first incident in september 2014. The vehicle was not hit or bumped in any way. I was not backing out, I was in drive to pull out of the space.
Took vehicle in fluid changes, complete check, and to investigate a leak under vehicle. After "complete" check said they found bad serpentine belt, air filter and but nothing valve cover gaskets as cause of leak. Cost to repair gaskets over $1000. While doing repair they called again and said they found that the rear timing cartridge was broken and pieces of it missing. Told me that bolt was wore half way through as timing chaining was rubbing it. Said if it breaks before repair engine will "blow" and need to be replaced. Told me it would costs over $2,500 to replace this cartridge. Total cost was now over $4,000. I asked why part was bad when engine only had 84,000 miles and why this wasn't found with the "complete" check. Mechanic stated only saw it because he had things apart to fix valve cover gaskets. Told me it was a plastic part and even with low mileage the plastic deteriorates with time. Said part only designed to last 100,000 miles. If I am to believe this ford mechanic, ford uses a plastic part in a crucial part of the engine (timing) and if that part fails the engine will "blow". And they cannot know the part is bad unless they have the engine apart for other major repairs. So if the valve cover gaskets were not leaking the issue would have been undetected by the ford maintenance "complete" check up. In addition ford has not issued a warning that this engine will possibly "blow" after only 100,000 miles if this part not replaced by a $2,500.00 - $3,000.00 repair. Ford should pay for this repair. They design a vehicle this way with no warning to the buyers/owners. If I am to believe the ford mechanic there is no way to really know you may have a problem. How are we to protect ourselves? My friend showed me this site and did some searching on other blogs/sites dealing with vehicle issues. There are numerous cases of this unacceptable issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that the vehicle ignited in flames while parked in the driveway. The contact did not disclose how the fire was extinguished. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.
My ford sport trac has failed to lock when the gear shift is put into the park position. When you start to get out the vehicle will roll and you will hear a clicking noise in the transmission. It has done this for some time and I had it fixed once but it is doing it again.
Compare the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Other model years
Questions about the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Is the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac reliable?
Owners have filed 78 complaints about the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, close to a typical Explorer Sport Trac model year.
What is the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac year score?
The 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac scores 74 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac?
Engine and cooling, with 12 complaints, typically around 84,292 miles. Next is electrical (11).
How many recalls does the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac have?
No recalls on record.
What year does the Ford Explorer Sport Trac have bad engine?
The Ford Explorer Sport Trac model years with the most engine complaints are 2002 (24 complaints), 2007 (21 complaints) and 2001 (19 complaints).
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