NHTSA Safety Recalls
2003 Ford F-150 Recalls
The 2003 Ford F-150 has 11 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on July 29, 2011.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2003 Ford F-150. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 11
- Owner complaints
- 423
- Crashes reported
- 43
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
37 fires
side crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2003 Ford F-150, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
11 recalls on the 2003 Ford F-150
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: mounting
- Campaign
- 11V385000
- Reported
- July 29, 2011
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,100,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004 F-150, 1 other model
Vehicle speed control
- Campaign
- 07V336000
- Reported
- August 3, 2007
- Vehicles affected
- up to 3,600,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2004 F-150, 7 other models
Vehicle speed control
- Campaign
- 07V078000
- Reported
- March 6, 2007
- Vehicles affected
- up to 155,584
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 6 other models
Steering: gear box: shaft pitman
- Campaign
- 03V349000
- Reported
- September 22, 2003
- Vehicles affected
- up to 300
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- only the 2003 Ford F-150
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 06E052000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004 F-150, 1 other model
Fuel system, gasoline
- Campaign
- 06E056000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004–2005 F-150, 24 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 06E067000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002 F-150, 1 other model
Equipment: electrical
- Campaign
- 07E066000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004–2007 F-150, 7 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 08E050000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002 F-150, 12 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 09E012000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004–2006 F-150, 57 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004–2007 F-150, 46 other models
2003 Ford F-150 complaints by year
NHTSA has received 423 owner complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150, the newest on August 18, 2026. Of these, 43 describe a crash (10%) and 37 a fire; owners reported 36 injuries and 1 death.
In complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150, the component group named most often is the engine and engine cooling (16%), followed by the power train (15%) and the electrical system (11%).
None of the 2003 Ford F-150's 11 recalls concerns the engine and engine cooling.
Where 2003 Ford F-150 owners gave the mileage (327 complaints), the median was 64,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Engine And Engine Cooling69
- Power Train62
- Electrical System47
- Structure32
- Vehicle Speed Control32
- Air Bags29
Complaints received, by year
| 2002 | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 48 | |
| 2004 | 49 | |
| 2005 | 36 | |
| 2006 | 19 | |
| 2007 | 25 | |
| 2008 | 30 | |
| 2009 | 21 | |
| 2010 | 26 | |
| 2011 | 34 | |
| 2012 | 16 | |
| 2013 | 12 | |
| 2014 | 19 | |
| 2015 | 14 | |
| 2016 | 21 | |
| 2017 | 8 | |
| 2018 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 14 | |
| 2020 | 7 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 3 | |
| 2026 | 4 |
Complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150 peaked in 2004, when NHTSA received 49. 36% arrived between 2002 and 2006, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2003 vehicles, the 2003 Ford F-150 drew 0.5× the complaints of the median Ford F-150 year in the same window: 22nd highest of the 23 ranked years.
That makes 2003 one of the three best-measured Ford F-150 years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 2/5
The 423 complaints about the 2003 Ford F-150 are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Ford F-150 by model year
Other 2003 Ford models
Newest record on this page: August 18, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted