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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 12
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
91,589 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Ford Expedition electrical problems

electrical problem

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2003 Ford Expedition Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #82

Jun 012014

Expedition

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Faulty fuse panel. This is a known issue. It is ALL over the internet. There has never been a recall. The vehicle will stall while driving. On attempting restart or crank, there is a buzzing noise from the fuse panel. The pcm #203 I believe, corrodes or melts through the board on the panel causing the fault. Replacing the fuse/relay will correct, but for a time. Panel replacement is required. First incident at 165k. Second incident at about 205k. After the last panel replacement, the vehicle continued to stall. Another faulty fuse, for the day running lamps, caused a fault, which melted the housing between the panel and the wiring harness. The screw attachment is "crunchy" because of the melted elements. The smell is noticeable, and the panel requires replacement again. Third incident about 246k. This is a fire hazard. The wiring harness is hot to the touch. Being a KNOWN issue, having discussed on various socials and with ford dealer techs, this should have been recalled ages ago.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #81

Sep 202016

Expedition

  • 156,000 miles
Fuel pump relay shorted out in motion. Highway and city streets. Steering locks up engine just dies in motion. Super dangerous and scary replaced fuse box and same thing happened again. No power steering engine just dies in motion. So scary on highway 75 mph.

- Coolidge, AZ, USA

problem #80

Jun 222020

Expedition 4WD

  • 186,000 miles
My fuse and relay panel has a defect and now my truck won't start.

- Apache Junction, AZ, USA

problem #79

Jun 012020

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 130,989 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Was driving car had at least 80 miles when car cut off at light in would not come back on so I had replaced fuel pump only to find out my fuse box isn't reading my fuel relays from the burning relays replaced.

- Daytona Beach, FL, USA

problem #78

Mar 102020

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 190,035 miles
As my fiance was coming from work the car suddenly just quit on him while doing 75 mph. He guided the car to the side of the road to a complete stop. He tried to crank the car again to only hearing a buzzing sound. The first mechanic thought it was the starter so he changed it out. The vehicle still would not start but kept making the buzzing sound. The mechanic came out again to see what the issue was told me to change my relay switch I did still hasn't started up yet. My vehicle has been sitting up for three weeks now.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #77

May 012019

Expedition

  • miles
Sunroof leaks badly it has fuse box shorting out. When it rains my windows go up down alone. All lights shorted out and nothing working any longer

- Blythe, GA, USA

problem #76

Jun 052019

Expedition 8-cyl

  • 236,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the fuse box failed. While driving 85 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning, the steering wheel seized, and the fuse box made a buzzing sound. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, reached under the dashboard, and pulled the relay fuse to stop the buzzing noise. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence where an independent mechanic diagnosed that the fuel pump was burned. Another mechanic came also came to the contact's residence and informed her that the fuse relay and the fuse box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called anderson Ford (3900 clemson blvd, anderson, SC 29621, (864) 225-4151) and was provided with a quote. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times and the fuel pump/filter, 402 sensors, and fuse relays were replaced numerous times. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 236,000.

- Anderson, SC, USA

problem #75

Sep 292019

Expedition

  • 200,000 miles
Keeps blowing the fuel pump reply. We have had to replace the reply 4 times in the last few days. After removing the reply from the fuse panel and looking at the port it is burning both fuse and fuse panel.this happen when we are running and when the fuse blows it kills the vehicle right away in the middle of the street

- Norton, VA, USA

problem #74

Aug 162019

Expedition

  • 248,000 miles
This has happened 3 times, first time stopped at a red light, when foot was put onto gas to go vehicle instantly lost power with no stuttering or stalling and had to put in park turn key over to go again. Second time, going 65 down the highway vehicle suddenly acted like it lost power and speed decreased, pulled over to side of highway and put in park and started right up. Third time, going 65 down highway started to act like it was losing power and showed dash lights as if all power was cut short and then gained all power back without having to pull over and restart.

- Maryville, MO, USA

problem #73

Apr 012018

Expedition

  • 25 miles
I have a huge problem with my 03 Ford Expedition shutting of randomly it is very dangerous on highways you lose power steering and all power to motor almost caused accidents many times I believe many people have this problem and it all relates to the fuse box please make this a recall so many people can get hurt or even killed

- Selkirk, NY, USA

problem #72

Jul 082019

Expedition

  • 250,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The truck would just turn off while driving at 55 or 60 miles an hour, no steeringwas on highway, no brakes put in neural to get to side of road with cars all around me.this has happened 3 times, then it would not start at all when fulled up with gas, had to be towed, then when I was down to 1/4 tank, would not turn over, had gas in it too, but would not start, had to be towed in shop now again 3rd time, had problems with the door agar going off had senor replaced still comes

- Palm Bay, FL, USA

problem #71

May 032019

Expedition

  • 204,000 miles
The vehicle was stationary, when unlocking the vehicle with the keyless entry, it moved the sideview mirrors and never movws back. I put the mirrors back where they belong and every following time when I unlock the vehicle with the key fob, it continues to do the same. I bought the vehicle this way.

- Lake Butler, FL, USA

problem #70

Dec 012018

Expedition

  • 243,146 miles
Check engine light came on while driving home and the engine shut down 4 times each time the battery would die instantly. We had to keep jump starting it to get home. 2 days later the check engine light started flashing. Scanned it came back P0304 cylinder 5 misfire. Changed spark plugs and coils. Engine light went off.ran obd2 scanner to double check codes. Code P2503 charging system low voltage. Took battery to advanced auto parts had them test it. The coca should have been 650cca and was at 11cca so bought a new battery. Next day took son to school less the 2 miles ran fine on my way home it died 3 times this time I would wait a few minutes then restart it. Check engine light never came on started searching on line and and calling mechanics. So bought new alternator. Started the truck to warm up after 5 minutes it shut down again waited a minute and started back up did it again. This time the battery light came on. So after searching many people were saying the fuseable link was bad so went to Ford had one ordered installed it to day. Battery light still on started it ran for 5 min and died again. So now I bought new spark plugs, coil packs, battery, alternator, fusible lin. Now obdii code B1676- battery pack voltage out of range tester battery fully charged tested alternator it's at 14.7 which it supposed to be.

- Somerset, KY, USA

problem #69

Nov 012018

Expedition

  • miles
"takata recall" I was driving down the interstate at 65 mph when my truck just cut off, had to have it towed in to the shop. Had fuel pump replace, 2 weeks later same problem.had to have it towed again fuse was replace. 3 weeks later I'm now having to have the fuse box replace. Ford Motor Company don't think this should be a recall issue. They just came out with the latest update fuse box in 2017.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #68

Mar 022017

Expedition

  • 160,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. Occasionally, the vehicle would not immediately start due to a faulty fuse box. The fuse box was replaced by the owner and the failure was remedied. Eventually, while driving, the vehicle shut completely off and could not be restarted. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer (vista Ford in woodland hills, ca) were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

- Lancaster, CA, USA

problem #67

Apr 052017

Expedition

  • 120,000 miles
The engine stops running without warning. I was driving on the freeway at 70+ in heavy traffic. All of a sudden the engine shuts down. I put the vehicle in neutral and engaged the flashers. I tried to restart the vehicle while maneuvering to the side of the road avoiding multiple close calls. Once stopped, I put the vehicle in park and tried to restart. After a couple of minutes the car restarted. I took the vehicle to the autozone to see if there were any fault codes. One code indicated the fuel pump was an issue. They advised me that they have seen this before and directed me to go to the dealership. The dealership could not look at it immediately so I had my son pick me up with another vehicle. The following day they ran a diagnostics ($95 fee that was totally unnecessary since this is a well know failure) on the car and indicated that it was the faulty central junction fuse box located inside the vehicle on the passenger side near the feet. Pn 3L1Z-14-A068-aa-A11 @$517. Installation costs $215. When I got home I searched the web and found that this is a common failure for this vehicle. The blogs and comments are of multiple near missed collisions among other things. This part failure happened on vehicles that were less than one year old. It can happen at anytime to any 2003 Ford Expedition. This part was redesigned for later Ford Expedition because Ford knew of the problem. If you contact any pick and pull salvage yard you will find that all of these central junction box (fuse boxes) are not available since everyone tries to replace them by themselves because of the high costs. Also, there are multiple companies that will repair the faulty part with a re-engineered circuit. Ford has since made a new part with a different pn / model number. This should have been a safety recall in the first year. It is very dangerous and lives are at stake.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #66

Jan 122017

Expedition

  • 180,000 miles
The complaint is in regards to the circuit board. The car may stop at random times. We have been in the vehicle going 35 miles an hour and the car suddenly stopped. It appeared that it was a fuse that burned out.... that seemed to fix the problem temporarily but then it happened again at a higher speed. Luckily there were no injuries. Ford seems to be aware of this problem and should issue a recall. I was told from dealership that what happens is that the water runs down the side and gets into the fuse box. This is causing a short. So, the reason it worked the first time was because we added a new fuse. But, the second time that it stopped it burned the fuse box. Now, I had to tow the vehicle and replace the part costing over $500. After researching this issue it appears to be a number of complains with the same issue. Ford should issue recall.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #65

Sep 122016

Expedition

  • 224,000 miles
2003 for Expedition not running properly shutting down while driving passenger window stuck brakes not working properly when vehicle shuts down.

- Texarkana, TX, USA

problem #64

Jan 012013

Expedition

  • 42,000 miles
Open door sound indicator while engine is running--vehicle stopped to let passenger out. When any door is opened, the open-door high pitched steady-hum sound comes on, which is normal, however, the hum will not shut off. It continues loudly for 8-10 minutes and then reduces to a faint hum under the dash. The sound(s) continue even after the SUV is turned off, put in park, and the key is removed. We are the original owners of the 2003 eddie bauer Expedition and it's otherwise in excellent shape with just 57,000 miles. This problem has recently been verified by a local Ford/Kia repair shop whose mechanic scratched his head in confusion; however, they want to charge us to tear the dash apart to attempt to figure out why this is happening. They can't turn the indicator speaker off altogether. We want to know what Ford knows about the problem; mainly, what is causing the problem. Can if be fixed via a simpler solution (maybe a simple fuse or wiring?), is this is a possible future fire danger, and have any others have experienced this unusual occurrence.

- Eagle Point, OR, USA

problem #63

Aug 292016

Expedition

  • 128,500 miles
Vehicle stall while driving freeway.my wife first then I experience myself stall vehicle on fast lane very dangerous.vehicle just shut off cannot steer the wheel lucky enough to glide to safety side.fuse box burning the fuel pump relay lots of complaint in internet how many lives to waste before anyone act on it.

- Winnetka, CA, USA

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