moofish75
Member
:troll:
1st post, but had to get the story out. Sorry so long.
Bought the 2003 XLT 5.4 Premium in October of 2002 w/4500 miles on it (VP of finance at dealership demo). I love the truck for all its versatility and spaciousness. But, here's the issues so far:
1)
Door adjar light came on the first winter. Had to take it in and they said the sensor was dirty. They just sprayed Wd40 in the drivers door latch. That fixed the problem.
2)
Noticed a few bubbles on rear tail gate. Almost like rust, but on an aluminum body???? Took it in, and the body shop people said that someone at the factory must have fingered the piece after it was cleaned. If the aluminum isn't totally cleaned, then the paint will start to pull away. This was my case. They sanded, cleaned and painted the tail gate in the affected areas. Can hardly tell that they were there when you look at it point blank.
3)
The lock on the driver side that pops out the door, fell into the door. The door still locked, but it looked weird. Also, noticed a strange clunking sound when quick shifting into 4W part time. Took the beast in. The sound was something to do with the axle and too much play. They had to install some sort of springs on each side. I guess this is a known problem for some vehicles. The door was also fixed at this time.
4)
This is the most disturbing one. It is now January 2004. I have 30,500 miles on it. Pouring down 35 degree rain in Ohio. Noticed that the headlights were dim. Noticed a whinning sound as well. Noticed interiors were dim a bit also. Got out of car and checked and sure enough the lights were dim. Dash lights for Battery, parking brake and ABS are now on. Shut car off and tried to restart. The damn thing is dead. No cranking. Got a jump. Drove 3 miles, and same symptoms. Got jump again, drove 5 miles and the same, but now I am home. Shut car off, and then tried to restart. Dead. Waited 5 hours, tried to restart, and it somehow started after a weird hesitation. All gauges pinned out for 20-30 seconds, then all was okay. Shut car off, and then restarted. Hmmm..... Woke up next day, tried to start, nothing. Got jump. Took to dealer. The damn alternator crapped out on it. 30k miles????!!!!!!
I can only hope that this is the last of the problems. I love driving the truck, and use it to its fullest for hauling, towing etc.
Any others out there with any of these symptoms?
Thanks from the new guy.
:reddevil: :shootout:
1st post, but had to get the story out. Sorry so long.
Bought the 2003 XLT 5.4 Premium in October of 2002 w/4500 miles on it (VP of finance at dealership demo). I love the truck for all its versatility and spaciousness. But, here's the issues so far:
1)
Door adjar light came on the first winter. Had to take it in and they said the sensor was dirty. They just sprayed Wd40 in the drivers door latch. That fixed the problem.
2)
Noticed a few bubbles on rear tail gate. Almost like rust, but on an aluminum body???? Took it in, and the body shop people said that someone at the factory must have fingered the piece after it was cleaned. If the aluminum isn't totally cleaned, then the paint will start to pull away. This was my case. They sanded, cleaned and painted the tail gate in the affected areas. Can hardly tell that they were there when you look at it point blank.
3)
The lock on the driver side that pops out the door, fell into the door. The door still locked, but it looked weird. Also, noticed a strange clunking sound when quick shifting into 4W part time. Took the beast in. The sound was something to do with the axle and too much play. They had to install some sort of springs on each side. I guess this is a known problem for some vehicles. The door was also fixed at this time.
4)
This is the most disturbing one. It is now January 2004. I have 30,500 miles on it. Pouring down 35 degree rain in Ohio. Noticed that the headlights were dim. Noticed a whinning sound as well. Noticed interiors were dim a bit also. Got out of car and checked and sure enough the lights were dim. Dash lights for Battery, parking brake and ABS are now on. Shut car off and tried to restart. The damn thing is dead. No cranking. Got a jump. Drove 3 miles, and same symptoms. Got jump again, drove 5 miles and the same, but now I am home. Shut car off, and then tried to restart. Dead. Waited 5 hours, tried to restart, and it somehow started after a weird hesitation. All gauges pinned out for 20-30 seconds, then all was okay. Shut car off, and then restarted. Hmmm..... Woke up next day, tried to start, nothing. Got jump. Took to dealer. The damn alternator crapped out on it. 30k miles????!!!!!!
I can only hope that this is the last of the problems. I love driving the truck, and use it to its fullest for hauling, towing etc.
Any others out there with any of these symptoms?
Thanks from the new guy.
:reddevil: :shootout:
Last edited:
