2003 Ford Expedition

The following is a review of a 2003 Ford Expedition purchased new from the dealer in 2003.

Overview: The Ford Expedition is a big SUV. If you're used to a normal size car, it will likely take you a few weeks to get used to a truck of this size. It's a wide SUV and feels like it fills every inch of the driving lane. Visibility is quite good to the front and sides. The seat has a good range of height adjustment for drivers of varying sizes. There is the usual super-sized blind spot across the entire rear of the vehicle. You have to be very careful backing up with this SUV, especially if there's any chance of there being small children around. You simply will not be able to see them.

I'm over 6 feet and my wife is around 5 feet tall. Both of us drive this SUV regularly and fairly comfortably. Believe it or not, even with a truck of this size, I would prefer that the seat go back another 2 inches or so. On longer trips, I feel a bit cramped, especially if we have the DVD player sitting on the center console for the kids to see in back. My elbows are constantly banging into it.

Engine: The 260HP, 5.4 liter Triton V8 is a smooth running and, so far, a reliable engine.  It is, however, a bit under-powered in my opinion. While it has enough power to get you where you want to go, it feels that it's being stressed - although there's no indication of that on the tachometer. Our engine has been only dealer serviced and again, has been very reliable.

Transmission: The transmission on the 2003 Ford Expedition has been solid and performs well. No problems have been detected. In hilly areas, we often manually drop down to 2nd gear to save brake wear.

Brakes: Front brakes were replaced at around 45,000 miles. The truck still stops, which is good!

Electrical: Alternator failed at around 40,000 miles. There was no warning, it just stopped starting. Other than that, there have been no other electrical problems. That was more of a problem than was expected though.

Power Equipment: Power window components on the 2003 expedition are crap. We had to replace both front windows, motors and the rest within about 6 months of purchase. Back windows also have problems too - and now front windows are acting funny again. Look out for vibrations when raising or lowering windows, or windows that are up, suddenly dropping down a few inches.

The rear wiper, motor and assembly failed at about 40,000 miles and was replaced at our cost.

Front wiper assembly needed replacement at about 20,000 miles after it no longer made contact with the windsheild for whatever reason.

Fit and Finish: There are areas of poor finish on this SUV. The trailer hitch (which has never been used) is surface rusted. Also, on the back hatch around the handle, there are several areas where the paint is bubbling - as if there is rust underneath. If you look behind the front wheels, there is obvious rust on the frame and on other front-end components.

Tires and Wheels: The 2003 Expedition has big 17 inch wheels. Tire life has been good. We still use the OE Continental Contitrac TR tires. All 4 tires have now been replaced. The first two around 40,000 miles and the other two at 63,000. Road noise is not bad at all. The wheels collect an enormous amount of brake dust. We just gave up on trying to keep the wheels clean - to do so you'd have to set aside 20 minutes every morning!

Exhaust: So far, so good.

Drive: This SUV drives well. It seems to me that I remember it being much smoother when new, which leads me to think that the suspension needs some attention now, as it looks a bit droopy in the back end. There has been a nagging issue that for whatever reason, the dealer can't recreate -- although it's as plain as day if you test drive the truck. When truning at low speeds, there's a vibration in the front-end. This started somewhere around 30,000 miles.

Because the truck has a high center of gravity, cornering is anything but nimble. Relatively easy turns need to be taken gingerly as the truck feels like it could flip fairly easily. I'm fairly sure it won't.., but ut sure does feel that way!

Heating / Air Conditioning: Heat works well. Defrost - both front and rear does the job. Air Conditioning however has been a pain since we got the thing. We've had to recharge the AC two or three times each Summer season. The dealer can't figure out where the leak is.

Gas Mileage: Ha, Ha, Ha..... well, what's there to say? The 2003 Expedition has a 28 gallon tank that takes $70.00 and $90.00 to fill up depending on how crazy gas prices happen to be. Mileage is about what you'd expect for an SUV of this size - bad.

Interior: The interior is gray cloth. It's still in great shape - even with two young kids in car seats. Interior room is good. With the back seats down, there's quite a bit of cargo capacity. With the seats up, there's still plenty of room for luggage, groceries and all the rest.

Overall: We live in a moderately rugged, mountainous area that gets lots of snow in the Winter. This SUV has served us well, although there have been a lot of problems that seem way too numerous for a new, well-maintained truck. The finish problems are disturbing too. For a truck that's supposed to be a rugged, go anywhere 4x4, it doesn't seem to be built that way. The 2003 Expedition has good grip in the snow with 4WD active. We haven't gotten stuck yet - even with the piles of snow we get around here.

The liklihood of our purchasing another Ford product is about 50/50. There were a lot of things about this SUV that failed too soon in my view. Overall quality is an issue for many car makers these days,  even long-time high ranking cars like Mercedes and Volkswagen have their issues. I can say that with gas prices the way they are, we definitely would not buy another large SUV unless it was a proven hybrid model.

IMPORTANT: All reviews are exclusive to BBI and under copyright. They may not be copied or distributed by any individual or corporation for any purpose. Violations will not be tolerated and will be reported to the appropriate authorities, or recommended for legal action.

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