Requestng ford be made to issue a recall for exhaust manifold holes and cracking issues. This issue is known and the are multiple forums online where people are talking about having this issue. When the manifold leaks, the risk is there that exhaust fumes can get into the driving compartment and asphyxiate the people in the car. It is an expensive repair for an issue for should have resolved long ago.
2003 Ford F-150: gas smell in the cabin
6 of the 423 complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150 describe gas smell in the cabin.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 143,688
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
Gas smell in the cabin by model year
What owners say
Driving up a hill at highway speed I heard a loud bang and a clunk and the truck started shaking. I was quite startled. I pulled over immediately, shut it off, and found the spark plug had ejected from cylinder number 6. Not being far from home, I attempted to drive it the rest of the way on less busy roads, but I had to pull over again when I started smelling a strong gasoline smell. I was able to disconnect the fuel injector and drive it the rest of the way home, but I feel there was a danger of an accident when the incident happened due to the sudden loss of power in traffic on a hill, and then a danger of a fire when I had tried to continue driving it with the fuel injector active.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. The contact stated that exhaust fumes were present inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the manifold was leaking. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
On a return trip from columbus ohio to new orleans la, a spark plug ejected from #3 cylinder, passenger side second from the front. Engine stalled but was able to be restarted. Smell of fuel was very prevalent. No other apparent damage to any other systems on the engine. Plug was the original factory installed plug and had not been touched by any mechanic since the truck was new. Brought to the dealer. After a $700 repair bill, they tried a helicoil, but this failed after just 1 use of the truck on the highway. . A $28,000 truck should be able to keep its spark plugs in the heads.
Spark plug ejected from the cylinder upon routine vehicle starting. Vehicle was warm when started. Once the spark plug ejected I noticed the smell of gasoline and smoke. A small fire was easily extinguished however could have been severe.
Coming home to va from ohio we were going through the mountains and had to keep flooring the truck. The spark plugs acted like they were fouling and the truck sputtered home. We came home and our mechanic said we blew out or ejected two spark plugs on our triton 4.6l 2003 pick up truck. He said it would have to be repaired by ford and it would probably cost about $900. We found out this is a recurring problem on the new non-plug wires trucks using a series of coil, over plug coil connectors specifically on the triton ford truck motors. Why hasn't the federal safety agency contacted ford. We smelled gas the whole way home; about 500 miles after it happened. If the gas fumes ignited it would have burned my truck up but could have hurt my wife and three grandchildren riding with us. [xxx] I bought the mechanic eight sparkplugs *$6.99 each, then eight coiled/sleeves $52 each and a new coil unit $163, he is having a company heliarc-coils to repair the sparkplug seats. This is a very poor design, and had I known this when we bought the truck, we wouldn't have. I sent ford motor a customer service complaint as well. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: mounting
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling certain 1997 through 2003 model year ford f-150, 2004 model year ford f-150 heritage, 1997 through 1999 model year f-250 less than 8,500 lbs. Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), and 2002 and 2003 lincoln blackwood vehicles manufactured from june 20, 1995, through august 4, 2004, originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. Prolonged exposure to road deicing chemicals may cause severe corrosion of the fuel tank straps which secure the tank to the vehicle.
- Risk
- As a result of the corrosion, one or both straps may fail allowing the fuel lines to separate from the tank, or in some cases, causing the tank to contact the ground. Either scenario may result in a fuel leak presenting a fire hazard.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a ford or lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection. Early in this campaign, if replacement straps are not available, dealers may install a cable support under the strap as an interim repair or a steel reinforcement over the existing strap as a permanent repair. Any repairs will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on september 16, 2011. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's recall campaign number is 11s21
Recall number 11V385000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2003 Ford F-150 fuel smell
Is gas smell in the cabin a common problem on the 2003 Ford F-150?
6 of 423 owner complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150 (1%) mention gas smell in the cabin. The model year with the most reports is 2002.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Ford F-150?
There is 1 recall and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Ford F-150
Fire or smoke 32Tire blowout 18No deployment 16Adaptive cruise 12Check engine light 9Engine failure 9Sudden acceleration 9Door locks 8Grinding brakes 7Fuel leak 7Seat belt 7Whining noise 7Wipers 7ABS 6Ball joint 6Brake failure 6Loss of power 5Water leak 5
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