How many miles will a 2003 Ford F-250 last?
Half of the 79 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250 that list mileage came after 74,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 169,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 116 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 79 complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250 that list mileage, the middle half came between 22,000 and 140,000 miles; 30 (38%) came after 100,000 miles, 13 (16%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2003 F-250 last?
The 79 mileages owners gave run from 10 to 345,555 miles. A quarter are at or under 22,000 miles, half at or under 75,000, three quarters at or under 140,000 and nine in ten at or under 170,000; 30 (38%) came after 100,000 miles, 13 (16%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2003 F-250 wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 10 miles |
| 25th percentile | 22,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 75,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 140,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 170,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 345,555 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 30 (38%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 13 (16%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 3 (4%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 6,309 NHTSA owner complaints on the Ford F-250 Super Duty that list mileage came after 44,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Ford F-250 Super Duty last? →
Common problems with the 2003 F-250
NHTSA's file holds 116 owner complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250. Owners named engine cooling most often: 24 complaints, and half of the 18 that list a mileage came after 11,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 24 | 18 | 11,600 |
| Tires | 20 | 13 | 131,681 |
| Electrical System | 13 | 9 | 120,000 |
| Engine | 13 | 10 | 110,375 |
| Power Train | 12 | 8 | 32,000 |
Of the 116 complaints, 6 report a crash, 8 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 F-250 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad F-250: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 116 complaints, the 2003 ranks 18th of the 31 Ford F-250 model years from 1984 to 2014 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (581). The fewest: the 1984 (10).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 F-250 | 10 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1985 F-250 | 21 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1986 F-250 | 38 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1987 F-250 | 38 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 F-250 | 62 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 F-250 | 112 | 14 | 98,000 |
| 1990 F-250 | 111 | 14 | 116,105 |
| 1991 F-250 | 107 | 15 | 102,000 |
| 1992 F-250 | 119 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 F-250 | 130 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 F-250 | 123 | 23 | 103,000 |
| 1995 F-250 | 184 | 28 | 128,000 |
| 1996 F-250 | 176 | 48 | 125,000 |
| 1997 F-250 | 304 | 76 | 114,967 |
| 1998 F-250 | 56 | 19 | 115,738 |
| 1999 F-250 | 581 | 109 | 99,000 |
| 2000 F-250 | 326 | 96 | 72,537 |
| 2001 F-250 | 220 | 122 | 65,000 |
| 2002 F-250 | 156 | 97 | 89,000 |
| 2003 (this page) | 116 | 79 | 75,000 |
| 2004 F-250 | 154 | 125 | 39,000 |
| 2005 F-250 | 144 | 122 | 65,000 |
| 2006 F-250 | 221 | 191 | 60,000 |
| 2007 F-250 | 60 | 49 | 42,000 |
| 2008 F-250 | 197 | 161 | 70,000 |
| 2009 F-250 | 54 | 44 | 67,406 |
| 2010 F-250 | 73 | 56 | 71,000 |
| 2011 F-250 | 248 | 212 | 70,000 |
| 2012 F-250 | 266 | 197 | 79,500 |
| 2013 F-250 | 95 | 67 | 77,000 |
| 2014 F-250 | 143 | 76 | 81,000 |
Every F-250 Super Duty year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Ford F-250 Super Duty years to avoid →
2003 Ford F-250 recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2003 Ford F-250 (2 vehicle campaigns and 5 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 11V352000 | Jul 13, 2011 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS |
| 09E025000 | May 11, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| 09E012000 | Apr 7, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 07E066000 | Aug 28, 2007 | EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL |
| 06E052000 | Jun 12, 2006 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2003 F-250 lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2003 F-250.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 37 of the 116 complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250 give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: F-250 and F250. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: F-250 and F250.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2003 Ford F-250 questions
How many miles will a 2003 Ford F-250 last?
Half of the 79 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250 that list mileage came after 74,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 169,000 miles. Of the 79 complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250 that list mileage, the middle half came between 22,000 and 140,000 miles; 30 (38%) came after 100,000 miles, 13 (16%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2003 F-250 that never had one.
What are the most common 2003 Ford F-250 problems?
NHTSA's file holds 116 owner complaints on the 2003 Ford F-250. Owners named engine cooling most often: 24 complaints, and half of the 18 that list a mileage came after 11,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 116 complaints, 6 report a crash, 8 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 Ford F-250 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad F-250: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 116 complaints, the 2003 ranks 18th of the 31 Ford F-250 model years from 1984 to 2014 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (581). The fewest: the 1984 (10).
How many recalls does the 2003 Ford F-250 have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2003 Ford F-250 (2 vehicle campaigns and 5 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2003 Ford F-250 before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2003 Ford F-250.