2003 Ford E550 problems & reliability
65 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Ford E550. Last verified Aug 8, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
7 complaints report injuries (10 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 20 | 31% |
| Power Train | 9 | 14% |
| Tires | 9 | 14% |
| Electrical System | 7 | 11% |
| Air Bags | 6 | 9% |
| Visibility | 5 | 8% |
| Fuel System, Diesel | 4 | 6% |
| Fuel System, Other | 3 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 5% |
| Seat Belts | 2 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 17 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 46 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 36,750 miles (middle 50% between 10,000 and 48,713 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“In reference to our 2003 ford f-550 diesel dump truck. The first documented occurrence the problem of loss of power while on the road and running was back in 2005. The problem was finally properly diagnosed on 9/13/07 by mccafferty ford. The problem was that the lining of the fuel tank was flaking away and clogging…”
Fuel System, Diesel · filed Sep 25, 2007
“In the third week of june 2007 my wife moved my truck from the parking spot in the driveway, braked twice with no problem. On third brake depression, pedal went to the floorboard. Truck impacted our 2004 ford explorer in the driveway, damage to both vehicles approximately $3000 total. Afterwards the brakes maintained…”
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · filed Aug 20, 2007
“While driving truck engines would shut off and then restart. This happened a couple of time on a narrow mountain road causing me to lose steering for a second or two, very scary. Problem fixed after I replaced the cps on my own. *tr”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Jun 5, 2007
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2003 Ford E550 in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2003 Ford E550?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 36,750 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.