2003 ford f-150 super crew, howling/whining noise from rear differential during accelleration. Noise only occurres between the speed of 40mph and 60mph, most noticable at 50 MPH.*ak so far defect has not caused operational failure. Problem has been brought to attention of the ford dealership who sold me the truck. First attempt to repair resulted in no work performed, noise considered acceptable by ford specs. Second repair attempt (after writing to dealership) reslulted in service manager diagnosing a ring and pinion gear problem. They replaced the ring and pinion gear 3/30/2004. Problem reoccured after 4 weeks, additional attempt to repair resulted in originial conclusion that noise was acceptable per ford specs. Inconsistent pattern of repair with problem still existing.
2003 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 62 of 62, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Howling noise in rear differential. Rear differential replaced twice. Noise continues. Ford now refuses to repair rear differential because of complete overhaul twice. Ford now says noise is "characteristic" of this vehicle. This is not true as I have driven other identical vehicles without the noise. Noise goes away after repairs are made for about 6000 miles.
2003 ford 150 ext cab 4x4 truck was being driven at approximately 40 MPH with a light load. As the truck was shifted from 3rd to 4th the drive line broken in half and began pounding the undercarriage of the vehicle damaging the fuel tank and exhaust sytem. The driver claims the clutch was non responsive and there was a strong smell of burned clutch has the vehicle was stopped. Ford rep is claiming damage is the result of abuse and/or prior damage to the driveline based on photographs supplied by dealership (the ford rep did not physically inspect). The dealership has no opinion of why the failure occurred and has claimed to have never seen such a failure. I do not feel that there is documentation to support ford's position and they are simply attempting to avoid a warranty claim. Of even deeper concern is the possibility that other f150's could experiance the same failure which could result in injuries and/or loss of life.
Purchased the 2003 f-150used from hertz rental at 22,00o miles. Within 2000 miles, a grating sound began to occur periodically. Basically, after you are at a stop or complete a turn, the truck will make this grinding sound as you accelerate. It lasts for a second or so and sounds and feels like you ran over a cattle guard. It does it sometimes and not others. Also, the truck will sometimes drop its idle to 100 while stopped and almost die. Also the air conditioning makes a loud groaning type while when you first turn it on. You have to turn the truck off and back on to make it stop. Ive had the vehicle 3 months and its been in the shop 8 times. Each time they tell me they cant find a problem. I dont beleive this considering theres many others on here with the same problems. Ive called customer assitance and they just say go to the dealer. Its got 30,000 miles on it. My warranty time is running out. I cant sell it because id have to take a loss on it. Ford has hung me out to dry. Please please help. My wife and I cannot afford this kind of financial hit. I dont expect a new truck, I just want my truck fixed so I can trust it.
While the vehicle was parked with the brake depressed, the front wheels began to turned which caused the vehicle to roll down a driveway. During this incident a baby was injured. The cause of the problem has yet to be determined. Please provide any additional information.
Drive train wine between 47 MPH and 55 MPH in my 2003 f-150 supper crew. The ford dealer replaced the rear drive shaft but the problem still existed. Dealer called ford and ford said because I have a sliding rear window, tonneau cover and 3.73 rear end gearing these items are causing the wine. The ford dealer said that if tried to run this problem through warranty again ford would deny it. The dealer also said I should take this problem to another dealer.
While parked vehicle came out of gear and rolled down the hill into a ditch.
Rear axle whine noise at 45 to 50mph & 67 to 72 MPH. Loud & getting louder. Ford dealers all over the area said ford knows of noise but has no fix. Said they were told ford would not spend money to fix because they were not making much as a company now. Two repars on rear end & still noisy, engineer had dealer put 125 wt grease in rear axle to try & quiet noise down. No good> lost fuel economy also. I need help getting repaired or getting a buy back from ford.
When making slow turns in my 2003 ford f-150 supercrew (only 42,000 miles on the truck), the truck has a vibration. Went to a ford service technician, and they could not diagnose the problem, they suggested to re-pack the clutch packs, which was done. Vibration still occuring 1 week later. According to other's who also own ford vehicles, this seems to be a huge problem that ford states is normal wear and stating its a problem we have to live with.
The four-wheel drive would not operate properly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer that replaced the parts with parts from another vehicle of the same make, model, and model year. Those parts failed the same day of repair. Please provide any additional information.
The 4 wheel drive failed to disengage. The truck has been serviced by several dealerships for this issue. They all gave different solutions to solve the problem, but none of the solutions related to what was in the owner's manual. *ph the vehicle did not disengage or shift out of 4x4 into 4x2 under a load or in a bind. The brakes pushed to the drivers side and a made noise, and the A/C didn't switch from defrost to vent due to the radio and bezel vacuum to the A/C system. The A/C selector switch was replaced. *sc
1 bought a 2003 f150 extended cab. The transmission is always loud, sluggish when it does shift and slips all together.
Within a few thousand miles of purchase, we began noticing a sporadic grating noise from the rear end. More distubing is the hard shifting between 1st and 2nd gears that is also sporadic. The shifting problem happens on long trips of 150 miles or more. It will usually happen about once a day but of course we never know when. The grating noise is less frequent and can happen anytime. Our vehicle is currently at the dealership for a fourth visit for these problems. Ford has not been able to replicate the grating and hard shifting which makes sense but at the same time we are stuck with a vehicle that has not provided new truck performance. Since the problem has become more frequent, it will probably lead to transmission failure once it is out of warranty. I have considered selling it but that would be unethical since the next person would eventually experience the same problems. Ford needs to step up and replace the transmission. There is one other similar complaint in the data base.
At highway speed vehicle goes into low 4-wheel drive.
Having a problem with transmission slipping or not changing gear correctly. Plus a noise or vibration grinding. During this time as well. Very upset. I have taken the vehicle to the ford dealership but they cannot duplicate the problem while there. Ford said they will not fix until duplicated. I am very upset have taken to dealer four times.
Heard unusual noise coming from the rear-end of my 2003 ford f-150 supercrew the noise starts at 90 MPH. Is this an on going problem? Please look into it.
Heard unusual noise coming from the rear-end of my 2003 ford f-150 supercrew 4x2. The dealer notified me that driveshaft was being replaced. Is this an on going problem? Please look into it.
Intermittently the shift indicator won't engage from park to drive. Dealer inspected several times and could not duplicate or correct the problem.
I have many problems with my 2003 ford f150 from engine noises to transmission leaking and slipping. My vehicle has been in twice now and nobody at fords or their engineers seem to know what is wrong. Fords does not know what to do. I would greatly appreciate if someone could look into this matter because no one should have this many problems with a brand new $30,000 vehicle.
2003 ford f-150 king ranch "howl". Nar 07/28/2003.*mr driveline vibration. Dealer notified.
Purchased new ford harley pickup. Loud noise in rear, shop could not identify. Rear axle broke in curve and rear wheel on driver side was several yards from where truck finally ran off road and overturned. Total loss.
We own several ford f-150 trucks. In the last 3 months we had four separate problems with the rear axles. One truck the axle broke and the wheel came completely off. Another truck the axle was destroyed and had to be replaced. The last truck is brand new with less than 2000 miles and experienced the same problem yesterday.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Ford F-150?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history