general problems of the 2003 Ford Expedition - part 1

My truck stopped working in November 2025. I was told I needed fuel pump and filter. I replaced those and still didn't crank. I was then told I needed a circuit box. Purchased a circuit box and had it put on. Got my truck back February 2026. March 08,2026, truck went out again. I kept my truck maintenance and don't understand what's going on with it. I was told it is a recall on electrical parts and engine coils and spark plugs.

The brakes are burning while driving & the emergency brakes are not applied. The power windows are failing 1 by 1.

My Ford Expedition started randomly stalling and it stalled in the highway. The engine just shut down in the middle of the highway and it was such a scary a life endangering experience. This total loss of power in the middle of the highway when vehicles are traveling at highway speeds can cause death very, very easily to the occupants of the Ford Expeditions suffering this defect. . Read more...

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.

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.

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.

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 up.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 Expeditions 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.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that on occasions 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. The contact indicated that 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 located in woodland hills CA. Were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000. Jft.

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.

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.

2003 for Expedition not running properly shutting down while driving passenger window stuck brakes not working properly when vehicle shuts down.

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.

Fuse relays keep burning out! I have brought over 10 relays in 2 weeeks. I have done my research and this is a common problem with all 2003 Fords and is very exspensive to fix. I was shocked to find that it has not been recalled! there are videos on you tube to prove that all of these trucks have this problem. I was told I had to replace the entire fuse box but eventually I will have the same problem out of that fuse box because thus is a defect in all 2003 Ford Expeditions. The car cuts off while driving and has almost caused me to be in 2 very dangerous car accidents! it has stopped on me on the highway and street! when I saw that this is a very common problem with the fuel emmision relays and the fuse box I decided to file this complaint in order to get this recalled!.

Credit acceptance corporation 25505 w twelve mile road p. O. Box 513 southfield,mi 48037 1-800-634-1506 installed a gps device when I purchsed this vehicle used. I had it replaced once by the dealer because it not only disabled the vehicle when not moving,but it created a dangerous problem when I was driving cutting the vehicles power off. Credit acceptance denies they had anything to do with it . This started to happen when I fell behind on payments.

While driving on the highway at 70 mph, the vehicle just suddenly lost power and shut down. I managed to get the vehicle to the side of the road. After a few minutes it started and I continued on, after a few miles the same thing happened again. I got it started again and was trying to make a rest stop a few miles away. While pulling into the rest stop the vehicle lost power again and resulted in a collision because of no steering or brakes. The loss of power happened 8 times that day. While looking for answers about the problem, I found on the nhtsb website that other vehicles of the same make, model and year also experienced this same problem that turned out to be a problem with the fuse block. I took it to a Ford dealership to have it checked out. They said it was a fuel pump issue. That would not cause a loss of power. I took it to another mechanic who did find that it was indeed a faulty fuse block. The same mechanic told me that this was not the first time they had come across this problem. This is a dangerous condition that needs to be rectified before someone loses their life in an accident because of this. The loss of power occurs without any warning or check engine lights or codes.

My passenger window and both back windows have dropped several times. I have had to have this fixed more than once on the back passenger side window, what happens is ill try to put the window up and the window motor makes a struggling noise and I am unable to roll up the window. At this point I'm sure it must be a defect because of how it has happened to each window more than once. Also the bumper that goes around the entire car is extremely faded and I am unable to get fixed I have gone to get estimates for a pain job but have been told due to the material it is just going to fade I would need to get it sanded and have them do some special treatment I cant afford and they will not just paint over it for me because they guarantee there work and would have to redo it too often. All the Expeditions I see have the exact same issue.

Cars stalled while turning left against traffic. Would not start right away. Had to wait a few minutes trying to start it and finally it started and I could clear the intersection. Very dangerous and fortunate that oncoming traffic was able to stop. Have cleaned throttle body, aic but fuse on fuse box is melted causing intermittent operation. Started out once a month and now frequently to include this last one in traffic.

This specific make and model year has a defective fuse box which case a fuse called a pcm relay to melt and causes the vehicle to stall and not start. The fuse box will buzz continuously but the vehicle does not start. You can replace the relay which is about $15 but this is more than likely temporary and it will melt and cause the vehicle to stall. The only remedy is to replace the fuse panel entirely which brings me here, the panel alone is $500 and that doesn't include labor and taxes. Ford is well aware of this issue as there are thousands of forums online that refer to this specific manufacturer defect. I've spent thousands replacing parts that did not need repair. Ford needs to foot the bill for this defect because it's a manufacture's defect not a consumer (wear and tear) issue.

2003 Ford Expedition XLT 4. 6 fuse box fail fuse pump relay burn, on 01/14/2015 while the truck was in motion on the 5fwy going 70 miles the truck shot off luckily my wife was able to pull to the emergency lane with out hitting any other car on the fwy. I replace the fuse box for another used one that I bought at a junk yard,the truck run got for a year , on 01/05/2016 it happen again while driving the truck on the 118 fwy going 75 the truck shut off again same problem fuse box , fuse relay is burn in have post it 3 videos on you tube look for 2003 Ford Expedition XLT 4. 6 cranks won't start is under javalosrealestate.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle was jerking violently and stalling intermittently on several occasions. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attepts. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop who diagnosed that the coil springs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not able to be driven at this time. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approxiate failure mileage was 120,880. Dyd.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that her vehicle caught fire while parked in her driveway. The vehicle burned down to the frame and fire report was filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 220,000. The VIN was not available. Sr.

Engine wont turn off with keys taken out, dashlights on and off, air conditioner came on when door was opened, warning bell and no keys in ignition, head and tail lights remain on, side mirrors move and will not go back, when key pod used all these problems go off at the same time.

The engine would randomly shut off with no warning. Sometimes the engine would shut off while driving, other times would shut off at a stop light. The issue happened 10 times over a 3 day period. I was lucky to not crash as the engine died once while making a turn on a busy road. Once it died, so did the power steering and brakes - very scary. There were no engine codes that came up and no indication anything was wrong, the engine would simply shut off. While diagnosing the issue I did some internet research that indicated it could be the fuel pump relay issue. The fuel pump relay is a non-serviceable relay that is soldered to the main fuse box circuit board. I removed the fuse box and disassembled it revealing the fuel pump relay was getting hot and had melted the solder on the board. When the relay cooled, the solder made contact and the engine would start right up. When driving the solder would warm up and break contact. This would shut the fuel pump off and the engine would die. There are reports of this all over the internet. The only repair for this item was to replace the main circuit board as the relay cannot be replaced without soldering to the circuit board. Once the fuse box was replaced, the issue was resolved. I believe this could potentially be a huge problem and could lead to serious accidents. I have read this problem affects numerous years of the Ford Expedition.

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.

The car was running well and suddenly it die. No lights in dash board, no shakes, no any previous sign of trouble. Simply it die. I pumped the accelerator pedal and the car continue running. Next time, few days after the incident, the car does the same. This time do not continue running when I pump gas. I have to put in neutral and start it again. It start at once. Could be more than two weeks without signal of problem and then, it happen again. Some other time, it happen 4 or 5 times in a half hour trip.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the fuse box in the vehicle smelled like smoke and was overheating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuse box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 185,000.

On Feb 13, 14 the door locks on the right hand side of the Expedition failed to lock when the car was placed into motion - which made the car venerable to entry or exit with or without stopping. Took the car to the dealer, we were told needed to replace both right side door locks because they are a matched set - cost $500. Two weeks a go the same thing has happened to the left side of the car have an appointment for Monday Feb 23 to investigate the door locking problem. Two sets of locks failing (righthand side & lefthand sides) within a year should be investigated for defective parts and possible injury if someone were to open the door while the car was in motion.

Bulbs melting third brake light assembly internally. This happened to original and recently replaced unit. Bulbs were seized to the plastic mounting and melted/deformed both bulb mounts and reflector. Unit is now defective.

Was driving the 2003 Expedition on interstate 10 near pensacola, when the vehicle shut off. The car coasted to a stop, luckily I did not cause a wreck and my family and I was safe. It has happened several times, at least 10 so far. We have replaced the fuel pump, fuel pump relay switch, the fuel filter, had the injectors inspected and it still does it. I did some research into the problem and it turns out the right side front passenger window leaks down onto the interior fuse panel and is causing the electrical system to short out. In all cases once the vehicle cools down, the car starts right back up again. I have taken it to 4 garages and now I have it at the Ford dealership in pensacola. Where they are looking at it. It turns out that the p0231 code keeps re-appearing in the system (fuel pump relay circuitry) which shows the problem could be the fuse panel since the fuses are soldered to the board and not plugged in. Hopefully Ford recognizes this problem and will order a recall soon.

There are many issues and concerns about my 2003 Ford Expedition. From reverse back up sensor blinkers windows, four way flashers, cd player, four wheel drive, wipers, back up lights, power mirrors, power seats, dash board gages, power locks, all will stop working suddenly at different periods of times. Ford has staitef there are no recalls for this years make and model when all owners of this vehicle have complained about all of these issues. I am fiancing this vehicle for $10 thousand and demand a recall for electrical issues for this vehicle. The internet is pasted with similar issues and Ford is taking people's money to try and fix all the issues and never completely fixing the issue. I need an answer to my problem and I want Ford to buy back my vehicle.