Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f150 4wd. The contact was driving approximately 2 MPH in inclement weather when the contact drove over snow and the vehicle began to spin uncontrollably. The contact then engaged the accelerated and noticed that the vehicle was in four wheel drive but the four wheel drive would not activate. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 72,000 and the current mileage was 72,200.
2003 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 62, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Ford f-150 spark plug blow out, common in f-150's.
Blow out of spark plug on 2003 ford f-150 4.6l triton v8.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f150. While driving approximately 30 MPH when the road was slippery and attempting to shift into four wheel drive, it failed to engage. The dealer located the failure and stated that the front shift fork and the sub shift fork needed to be replaced. The contact was responsible for paying $ 1,009 to have the front and sub shift forks replaced. He contacted the manufacturer; however, the manufacturer didn"t take a report or offer any assistance with the repair. The failure mileage was 66,879 and the current mileage was 66,921.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. He stated that while driving 10 MPH, the indicator for the four wheel drive failed. As a consequence he briefly lost control of the vehicle, which increased his risk for a vehicle crash. He is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 55,400. The current mileage was 55,792.
Differential rear end factory defect.
Similar to other complaint, I discovered that my 4 wheel drive was not engaging when I turn it on using the switch on the dash. My independent excellent mechanic (I would never use the ford dealer here) found that a wire on the transmission case had been simply disconnected. He reconnected it - no charge. Works fine. P.s. I test the operation every couple of weeks now to make sure it is working just in case I need it.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f150. The contact stated that the four wheel drive worked sporadically in inclement weather conditions. The dealer replaced the vacuum switch, but the failure recurred several days later. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they replaced the vacuum diaphragm motor assembly and the shifting fork control. After the repair, there had been no further occurrences. The manufacturer did not assist. The failure mileage was 69,300 and current mileage was 70,000. Updated 3/11/09 *cn updated 03/13/09.
While driving in a snowstorm the shifting fork on the front differential broke disengaging the 4 wheel drive which caused me to loose control. I have found out today that this has happened to several people I know and that ford has redesigned this shifting fork. I believe this should be a recall. If anyone had been next to me when the fork broke there would have been an accident.
My 2003 ford f150 supercrewcab fx4 4x4, was in four wheel drive as I proceeded to enter highway 39 from my drive. The vehicle kicked out of four wheel drive with the roads being wet which caused my truck's back tires to spin out. My truck then fishtailed as it threw itself into a ditch. The problem with it popping in and out of four wheel drive is a common problem. It happens every time that I use it. I have not taken it to a dealer yet, but have read several forums online that talk about the same problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f150. In an attempt to drive the vehicle, the four wheel drive failed to engage. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they determined that the shift fork failed and needed to be replaced. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 55,661 and failure mileage was 55,650.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. While driving 50 MPH in snowy conditions, the electronic 4-wheel drive disengaged and shifted into 2-wheel drive without warning. As a result, the rear end of the vehicle fishtailed. The instrument panel indicated that the 4-wheel drive was activated. The dealer stated that they would install a new shift fork kit made with different material. As of december 13, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 53,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. On november 6, 2006, the vehicle's coil pack failed. The contact stated that before it failed, the vehicle was running extremely rough and the check engine light illuminated. In december of 2006, she took the vehicle to the dealer because the engine light illuminated again, a second coil pack failed, and there was a hole in the cv boot. The second coil pack was replaced and the contact was told that the cv boot had been repaired. Upon returning home, she discovered that the cv boot had only been turned on the other side and was not replaced. In addition to the first cv boot not being repaired, the other axle boot has detached completely off the shaft. The VIN, purchase date, and engine size were unknown. The current mileage is 55,000 and failure mileage was 49,000.
2003 ford f150 4x4. A heavy snow storm hit northeast on 3/16/07. I had my pregnant wife and three year old son in truck coming back from a doctors appointment. The four wheel drive did not engage. We were stuck for a long period of time. I did some research and this seems to be a common event with the fords and there shift on the fly 4x4 system. I called ford and they said they were aware of the on going problem but told me it was my problem. There were no recalls for the system and again stated "it was my problem!" there are many documented occurences yet nothing has been corrected. Truck is going in for repair on friday and mechanic stated it is approx $500 to repair. The vacuum soleniod and vacuum lines need to be replaced. Ford was also aware of the vacuum problem when I spoke with them. Very frustrating and dangerous with a family relying on a 4x4 when needed.
While driving I began to downshift but was unable. The stick was real loose and I could not find the gears. The analogy (it was like a broken arm it just wobbled) this was scary not knowing how to get my truck (ford explorer,sport trac) in gear. I manipulated the shift and finally got it to first and parked it. The shift had to be moved way right or way left to accomplish this process of gear changing. Guessing what gear your in is not what I want while driving. Took it to the pattchetts ford service department. I was informed that the bolts that held the shift in place had worked there way loose and that ."it was a common occurrence"ronnie, service manager stated. Ronnie stated that was also common for the short stick mustangs. This is real unsafe for anyone who has this occurrence happen to them.
Driving in my back yard, testing new snow tires, speed aprox. 25 MPH, hit 10" deep hole, broke axle, directly behind brake disc, rear wheel on the drivers side, pictures available. Had to replace axle.
I was driving down the road at 50-55 MPH and my 4x wheel drive kicked on without me engaging it, then by itself again it turned off. The next night I was turning a corner and it did it again, it went on and off by itself. My boyfriend did not believe it and then an hour later he was driving and I did it again. I took it the dealer days later and they couldn't find out what it was . They said they tried to provoke it but they couldn't find out why and how it was happening.
With only 23000 miles on my 2003 f150 supercrew 4x4, my transmission had what they called an "internal failure"... Transmission had to be completely rebuilt.
On an average of once a month, the transmission will not come out of park and the truck has to be pushed from the front with another vehicle to get the transmission to release.
2003 ford f150 rolled backwards while parked resulting in the vehicle colliding into a building.*mr the consumer stated the ignition was off.
Transmission line cracked on my 2003 ford 150 super crew. Trasmisssion began to shift erratically leading to total transmission failure at around 36,000 miles.
While driving 55 MPH the front hubs locked. As a result, the vehicle disengaged out of 4-wheel drive without warning.
The wheel drive quits working while travling down the road. It also will not lock in when sitting. The light on the dash indicates that the hubs are locked in but its not working. I currently have it a the ford dealer getting it fixed and it is not under warrenty. The dealership confirmed there is a probklem with this model and has many other complaints but will not cover the cost. They told me that I should lock in the hubs often to keep the seals lubercatd and that its the owners problem fo rnot doing this. It would have been nice of them to tell me when I bought the truck that this was requried to be done on a regular basis. I have not had this problem with my other ford trucks.
I have a 2003 ford f150 my 4wheeldrive stopped working , but the dash indicator said it was ingaged. This makes for a very unsafe operating condition. Because you do not drive the vehicle the same if the 4x4 is working.I brought it to the local ford dealer and they repaired it . This apparently was a common problem. The part# f75z*3n139*kt which cost$133.98 and the labor was $302.00. This part is very cheaply made and will probably break again. The tech told me there is no way to prevent this from happening again. This part is a safety hazard. I hope that you investigate this matter. I have looked on ford links and websites and have seen numerous comments of this problem. Please if you can help me, it would be appriciated. I kept the old parts, the material they use on the fork won`t hold up to the conditions in the front differential.
I have a 2003 ford f150 pickup, v6, 5-speed manual transmission. My warranty expired at 36,000 miles and my clutch slave cylinder failed at 37,000 miles. After contacting the dealership and telling them about the problem and asking them if they would cover the part since it had failed prematurely, and they answered "no". I took it to a private shop and had the slave cylinder replaced. The day after I got it back I periodically heard strange noises coming from the transmission. I took it back into the shop that replaced my slave cylinder. Upon observation they found nothing. After driving it for two more days the problem was extremely evident by the noises that were constant whenever I shifted as well as in neutral. I took it to a reputable transmission shop and told the shop that I wanted to be there when the transmission was opened up. I was present when they opened up the transmission. As they pulled the transmission apart, they found mangled thin metal debris, some pieces as large as my thumbnail. After taking the entire transmission apart and inspecting all bearings and all other parts, they found that the pieces were a foreign material to the transmission. They did not come from any part of the transmission. One of these pieces found its way between the gears on the counter shaft and broke one of the teeth, explaining the noise. So, in short, we are currently having the transmission rebuilt at a cost of $1800.00 on a vehicle with only 37,000 miles on it.
2003 ford f-150 4x4. After only a few hours in 4x4 mode, truck no longer engages into 4x4 mode, creating hazardous condition as people expect this to work and truck is very prone to getting stuck in road or leaving the road without this feature (as all such trucks are relatively very light in the rear). Owners of 4x4 vehicles expect this feature to work as advertised and failure can create serious safety issues. From short investigation - speaking to ford mechanics and visiting ford-trucks.com, this is a very common problem. This is a serious safety issue for reasons given above - after personally getting stuck in a public road, and very nearly several times, the truck is no longer used whenever there is any chance of snowy conditions (I am in the north-east). I strongly believe this to be a design defect - the fork which engages the front axles has a plastic end which breaks or falls off after a short period of time. I request that this be investigated and if found to be a design related issue, which I believe it clearly is, that ford be required to fix these vehicles without cost to the owner and provide an extended warranty for this issue. Also note that I have taken the truck to 2 ford dealers with the same diagnosis, both quoted 6-7 hours of labor when it clearly takes half or less of this time (again, please see the ford-trucks.com/forum). I believe ford is using this known issue to purposely over charging customers for a known design defect. Thank you for your consideration of this safety issue.
While driving down hill in the rain, the rear wheels suddenly locked. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and the cause was determined to be a failure with the rack and pinion and the drive shaft. Recently, the consumer has experienced the same problem.
While driving at 45 MPH, suddenly the right rear axle broke and snapped off. This resulted in the right rear tire flying off followed by the driver losing control of the truck and impacting a ditch . The driver sustained minor bruises. *jb the engineer stated that the axle flew off on impact even though the tire flew off prior to impact.
As noted by another complaint: howling noise in rear differential. Rear differential replaced once. Noise continues. I called ford motor company and they told me there was a design flaw that only affects certain vehicles but they are working on the problem. I asked...when could I expect it to be solved. The answer was...it might never be solved. They replaced some gears in the differential, but the problem has started again. They refuse to put in a new differential saying that it would be "cost prohibitive".
Complained of dashboard vibration at time vehicle was being serviced. Ford service technician determined that the drive shaft needed replacement. The drive shaft is being replaced under warranty as the vehicle only has 16,500 miles. The service technician also advised that vehicle needed alignment. I am curious if the drive shaft problem and the vibration contributed to the tires being out of alignment.
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