"How reliable is the 2003 Ford F-250 Sd?"

"Based on 229 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Ford F-250 Sd has a median complaint mileage of 46000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Ford F-250 Sd?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Ford F-250 Sd is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL, accounting for a significant portion of the 229 total complaints filed."

2003 Ford F-250 Sd: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 229 complaints

229

Total Complaints

46,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

7,000 25th Percentile

46,000 Median Mileage

84,687 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

TIRES

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL

STEERING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING HOME WHIEN HIS VEHICLE VEERED SHARPLY TO THE LEFT. AT THIS POINT HE COULD NO LONGER CONTROL THE VEHICLE. HE THEN SLAMMED INTO A LARGE ROCK IN THE SIDE OF AN EIGHT FOOT BANK. THE VEHICLE THEN FLIPPED ONTO ITS SIDE AND SLID ANOTHER 20-30 FEET. OUR VEHICLE IS A 2003 FORD F250 AND..."

"TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING. WHEN STOPPING THE VEHICLE IT WOULD NOT MOVE IN ANY DIRECTION. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP IN SHAWNEE OK. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION WAS DISASSEMBLED THE INNER PUMP ROTOR WAS BROKE AS WELL AS 1-2 AND 2-3 SHIFT VALVES WERE STUCK. MILAGE WAS 3, 822. NOV 13..."

"I RECENTLY PURCHASED A FORD F250 SUPER DUTY 6.0 LITER DIESEL PICKUP. THIS IS A NEW ENGINE JUST RELEASED THIS YEAR. THEIR ARE ALREADY MANY SERVICE BULLETINS ON THIS FROM FORD. ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS IS RUNNING ROUGH, STALLING, SLOW RESPONSE FROM A STOP, ETC. FORDS LATEST BULLETINS TO THEIR DEALERS ..."

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

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