2003 Ford Excursion problems & reliability
106 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Ford Excursion, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 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 vehicles.
5 complaints report injuries (7 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2003 Ford Excursion vehicles were involved in 13 fatal crashes with 9 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 26 | 25% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 25 | 24% |
| Tires | 10 | 9% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 8 | 8% |
| Fuel System, Diesel | 7 | 7% |
| Steering | 7 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 7% |
| Power Train | 6 | 6% |
| Suspension | 6 | 6% |
| Engine | 5 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 60,000 miles (middle 50% between 16,000 and 102,000 miles), based on 75 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My wife, two young daughters, and I were traveling out of town for the New Year. As we were traveling southbound on I-85 between Greensboro, North Carolina and Thomasville, North Carolina, I started to notice that the vehicle was starting to vibrate. Over the course of the next +\- 10 miles the vibration became much…”
Tires · filed Jan 2, 2023
“The contact owns a 2003 Ford Excursion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the suspension made an abnormal popping sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that an air bubble had formed on the front passenger’s side tire which he linked to the suspension failure. The tire was…”
Suspension · filed Oct 8, 2021
“The vehicle has a steering issue. It will pull to the right mostly but occasionally to the left. So you spend the entire drive correcting the wheel to try to keep the vehicle in the road. Towing is impossible with this issue because it causes the trailer to go in to a snaking motion because of the constant steering…”
Steering · filed May 26, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD
Defect Petition DP05005 · opened Sep 22, 2005 · closed Jan 4, 2006
- ENGINE STALLING
Engineering Analysis EA05003 · opened Feb 15, 2005 · closed Nov 2, 2005 · led to recall 05V270000
- ENGINE STALLING
Preliminary Evaluation PE04070 · opened Oct 7, 2004 · closed Feb 15, 2005
- ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR (ETC)
Engineering Analysis EA04006 · opened Feb 23, 2004 · closed Feb 10, 2005
- ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR FAILURE (ETC)
Preliminary Evaluation PE03044 · opened Sep 26, 2003 · closed Feb 18, 2004
Technical service bulletins
191 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2003 Ford Excursion. The 10 most recent:
When performing any transmission fluid changes or topoffs involving MERCON SP, MERCON LV has replaced all versions of MERCON SP and can be used going forward. Mixing MERCON LV and MERCON SP in the same transmission is…
SSM 51909 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2023
This SKU is a Transmission Line. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect the connector. The transmission line connector may have an incorrect thread size, which will prevent it from…
RFI20210210_624- · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 10, 2021
This SKU is a front upper ball joint. The Customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for ball studs with excessive rotational friction in the ball joint assembly. Excessive friction in the…
DOR-B8H4Z-11 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 2, 2018
Ford: when shifting between park, reverse and/or during 2-3 shift, an intermittent clunk occurs with a torqshift transmission. Model 2003-2014 f-super duty, e series, excursion, f-53 motorhome chassis, low cab forward…
ASI-44534 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2014
Ford: on some trucks, there is a no crank situation and if voltage on transmission range sensor at pin 21, is less than 5 volts, disconnect the engine cooling fan clutch, electronically, and recheck voltage. Model…
ASI-44404 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 1, 2014
Ford: runs rough, lacks power, hard start, no start. Some vehicles and trucks equipped with 6.0l engine may exhibit a runs rough, lacks power, hard to start, no start concern with or without diagnostic trouble code…
TSB-10-12-6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 11, 2010
Ford: some vehicles equipped with the 6.0l engine may experience a p006a, p132, p0401 or p0402 diagnostic trouble code (dtc) with a lack of power condition, surge, or turbocharger flutter after performing field service…
TSB-09-15-6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 9, 2009
Ford: multiple vehicles with a torq shift transmission intermittent clunk when shifting between drive, reverse and park and/or during 2-3 upshift. Models f super duty; e series; excursion; f53 motorhome chassis and low…
SB-20937 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 1, 2009
Ford: some vehicles with diesel engines may experience no starts, hard starts or rough running when cold and may be accompanied with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0611, p1378 and/or all 8 injector circuit codes. *pe
TSB-08-26-3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 1, 2009
Ford: some vehicles equipped with 6.0l diesel engine may exhibit any one or combination of the following concerns-lack of power, white/black smoke or a surge. *pe
TSB-08-16-13 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2009
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2003 Ford Excursion has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
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 Excursion?
- · 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 60,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.