2003 Workhorse W22 problems & reliability
113 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Workhorse W22, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. 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.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 106 | 94% |
| Electrical System | 2 | 2% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 2% |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 2% |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 2 | 2% |
| Steering | 2 | 2% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 1% |
| Equipment | 1 | 1% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 1% |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% |
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 22,000 miles (middle 50% between 16,000 and 30,000 miles), based on 77 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2003 Workhorse W22. The contact stated that upon stopping the motorhome in her driveway, her husband discovered a bluish-black color smoke emitting from underneath the vehicle. The rear passenger side brake caliper had caught fire and the contact's husband was able to extinguish the fire with a…”
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · filed Jan 14, 2022
“Navistar is recalling.....there's a recall to replace all four calipers but they won't replace the rotors all four of them are cracked from overheating because of the calipers hanging up . This recall is for a workhorse w22 chassis.”
Service Brakes · filed Jul 14, 2018
“Rear calipers were replaced on recall with rebuilt calipers. After less than 500 miles the right rear caliper blew out all brake fluid resulting in complete loss of brakes. This happened 40 miles from home on a state road.”
Service Brakes · filed Jun 25, 2016
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- OVERHEATING DISC BRAKE CALIPER
Engineering Analysis EA07016 · opened Nov 16, 2007 · closed Aug 19, 2009 · led to recall 09V217000
Safety recalls
The 2003 Workhorse W22 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — 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 Workhorse W22?
- · 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 22,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.