2003 Ford F-150 Recalls, Complaints & Specs

4 safety recalls list the 2003 Ford F-150, and owners have filed 423 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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4 safety recalls for the 2003 Ford F-150

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Mounting (fuel system)

   NHTSA 11V385000 Reported July 29, 2011 1,100,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   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…

   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…

2. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 07V336000 Reported August 3, 2007 3,600,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.

   Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch…

3. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 07V078000 Reported March 6, 2007 155,584 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat.

   Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. The recall began on march 12, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. (note: also see recalls 05v017, 05v388, and 06v286)

4. Shaft pitman (steering)

   NHTSA 03V349000 Reported September 22, 2003 300 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks, the pitman arm to steering gear retaining nut was not fully tightened to the required specification.

   Remedy: Dealers will tighten the pitman arm retaining nut to specifications. Owner notification began on october 1, 2003. Owners should contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.

423 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 2003 Ford F-150 have filed 423 complaints with NHTSA; 43 describe a crash and 37 describe a fire. Reports cite 36 injuries and 1 death. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 78,855 miles. Complaints peaked in 2004 with 49 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Electrical system35
• Engine and engine cooling32
• Vehicle speed control29
• Engine28
• Engine and engine cooling: engine23
• Air bags21
• Fuel/propulsion system20
• Unknown or other19

What owners are reporting

“I moved my vehicle from driveway to park on the street so my husband could park in the driveway. I then turned my vehicle off and roughly 2 hours later, a lady came screaming "fire fire fire!" I went”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, August 18, 2026 · Electrical system

“The contact owns a 2003 Ford F-150 equipped with Firestone Tires, Tire Line: Firestone, Tire Size: 265/70/R17, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and occupied, the”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, August 4, 2026 · Tires

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 2003 Ford F150 (F150 CNG, F150 Dual-fuel 2WD (CNG), F150 Dual-fuel 2WD (LPG), F150 Dual-fuel 4WD (CNG), …). Ranges cover every tested configuration.

Compare Ford F-150 model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Ford F-150 model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 2003 Ford F-150

Other Ford models

• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Taurus18,159 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints
• Expedition9,359 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.