2003 Ford F-550 Sd: Reliability Data

40
Total Complaints
60,753mi
Median Mileage
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
Top Issue
2
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

38,625 25th Percentile
60,753 Median Mileage
107,550 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
12
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
2
ENGINE
2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
1
SUSPENSION
1
AIR BAGS
1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT
1

Severity Assessment

2
Crashes
6
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"NAR 9-8-03. INOPERABLE THROTTLE PROBLEM, SEVERAL TIMES THE ENGINE DROPPED TO PERMANENT IDLE IN TRAFFIC. *CB"
"WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED A FIRE STARTED UNDER THE HOOD. VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK"
"2003 F550 4X4 60,000 MILES, FUEL TANK HAS 4 STRESS CRACKS, LEAKS OVER 2 GALLONS DIESEL FUEL DAILY. FAULT CAUSED BY MANUFACTURING DEFECT, FORD STATES NO RECALL. TANK WAS SOLDERED, WOULD NOT HOLD, REPLACED WITH NEW TANK. DEFECTIVE TANK AVAILABLE. *AK"

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.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 12 complaints
25th: 50,125 mi Median: 62,087 mi 75th: 84,169 mi
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY 3 complaints
Median: 60,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 5 NY: 5 NM: 5 VA: 5 PA: 4 MD: 3 FL: 2 OK: 2 OH: 2 WA: 2

Who Files Complaints?

30%
Original Owners
70%
Second+ Owners

Ford F-550 Sd — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1999920
2000855
2001350
2002310
2004671
2005410
2006550
2007250
2008312

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