2003 Ford E550: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 80 complaints
80
Total Complaints
18,300mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL
Top Issue
9
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

5,700 25th Percentile
18,300 Median Mileage
47,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL
9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
6
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
5
TIRES
4
TIRES:SIDEWALL
3
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
3
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
3
AIR BAGS
3

Severity Assessment

9
Crashes
3
Fires
14
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS DID NOT EXTEND FAR ENOUGH TO SEE TRAFFIC.*JB"
"THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. *JB"
"FAILURE OF THE CAM POSITIONING SENSOR ON A 2001 F250 7.3 DIESEL PICKUP WITH 35,00 MILES. THE TRUCK STARTED DYING AT STOPS. AND SLOW SPEED. HAD TO PUT THE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL AND RESTART 8 TIMES. LEFT THE TRUCK WITH FORD DEALER FOR 2 DAYS(THEY DROVE IT HOME AND PUT 150 MILES ON TRUCK) NOTHING. PAID $140..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL 9 complaints
25th: 5,750 mi Median: 18,300 mi 75th: 43,750 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 complaints
25th: 11,443 mi Median: 26,825 mi 75th: 41,675 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 6 complaints
25th: 13,531 mi Median: 36,970 mi 75th: 48,735 mi
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 5 complaints
25th: 18,300 mi Median: 45,000 mi 75th: 59,640 mi
TIRES 4 complaints
Median: 33,900 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 8 WA: 6 NY: 6 VA: 6 FL: 6 AZ: 5 CO: 5 TX: 4 SC: 4 OH: 3

Who Files Complaints?

68.8%
Original Owners
31.200000000000003%
Second+ Owners

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28