There are 9 stored owner reports matching the fuel system leading-label group for the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 9 of 9 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TAKATA RECALL .. THE SMELL OF FUEL INSIDE THE CAB AND OUTSIDE IS REALLY BAD. IT'S MAKING ME SICK AND GIVING ME HEADACHES. THE TRUCK DOESN'T RUN RIGHT AND THE MILEAGE IS AWFUL.
I HAVE A BAD PROBLEM ( 2 ) TIMES WITH THE FUEL PUMP THE FIRST ONE WAS SPRAYING GAS OUT TOP EXTERIOR OF FUEL PUMP .MY HUSBAND WENT TO A WRECKING YARD AND PURCHASED A USED FUEL PUMP THAN 5 TO 6 MONTHS LATER DONE THE SAME THING SPRAYING OUT TOP EXTERIOR ELBOW OF FUEL PUMP. I USE MY TRUCK TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER BACK AND FORTH TO SCHOOL AND IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS CAUSE THE FUMES WERE REALLY BAD INSIDE OF CAB AND PLUS IF SOME ONE WAS TO THROW A CIGARETTE OR ANYTHING THAT COULD IGNITE THE LEAKING GAS . I THINK THAT THIS MATTER SHOULD BE FIXED CAUSE I KNOW THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD OR HAS THIS PROBLEM AND NOT TO SAY ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE WRONG LIKE MY HIGH BEAMS NOT WORKING THE FRONT DOOR WINDOW IS VERY SLOW GOING UP AND DOWN AND THE BACK DOOR ( PASSENGER RIGHT SIDE ) BLOW MOTOR AND ECT. THE BIG ONE IS THE FUEL PUMP I FELL THAT THIS IS THE WORST AND IT SHOULD BE FIX BEFORE SOMEONE GETS BADLY HURT OR KILLED. *JB
I HAVE HAD FUEL TANK ISSUES FOR A YEAR NOW AND THEY ARE GETTING WORSE. MY GAUGE STOPPED WORKING ABOUT 13 MONTHS AGO WHICH WAS NO BIG DEAL. NOW I AM UNABLE TO PUT MORE THEN 4-5 GALLONS OF GAS IN AT A TIME. THE SAFETY SENSOR STOPS THE PUMP FROM FILLING UP MY TANK AND IF I TRY TO DO IT A LITTLE AT A TIME IT JUST SHOOTS GAS OUT OF MY FILL AREA AND GETS EVERYWHERE. I HAVE BEEN DOUSED IN GAS AND I HAVE RUN OUT OF GAS IN VERY BAD AREAS. THE SENSOR REPLACEMENT WAS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX, NOW IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT GAS IN MY TANK AND IT'S STARTING TO RUN POORLY. I HAVE TO STOP EVERYDAY FOR GAS. THIS IS A MALFUNCTIONING FORD PART THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED AND REPLACED. I HAVE RUN OUT OF GAS AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS EVERY THING SHUTS DOWN INCLUDING THE POWER STEERING. IT WAS DANGEROUS AND DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER MY TRUCK, I WAS GETTING ON THE FREEWAY AND THE ON RAMP WAS A SEMI-CIRCLE. *JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT SHE ATTEMPTED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS TO START THE VEHICLE WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, BUT IT WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED A TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES WITHIN THE PAST SIX MONTHS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 82,600.
WHEN FILLING GAS TANK OF FORD SPORT TRAC, GASOLINE SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING SPRAYED OUT OF FILLER PIPE COVERING MY CLOTHS WITH GASOLINE. I TOOK VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER AND TOLD IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED. NEXT TIME I FILLED THE TANK, GASOLINE AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING ERUPTED FROM FILL PIPE AND SPRAYED ON MY SHOES AND PANTS. AGAIN RETURNED THE AUTOMOBILE TO DEALER AND TOLD THAT THE VENT PIPE HAD WATER IN IT. TOLD THAT IT HAD BEEN FIXED. AFTER AUTO RETURNED IT FILLED ONCE WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. HOWEVER, THE SECOND TIME I TRIED TO FILLED IT, GASOLINE SPRAYED OUT OF FILL PIPE. I IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO DEALER. THIS TIME I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A FORD "SERVICE BULLETIN" ON THE VEHICLE INDICATING THAT VENT HOLE WAS TOO LARGE AND WATER AND OTHER MATERIAL COULD THEREFORE INTO VENT PIPE. DEALER REPAIRED AUTOMOBILE BUT WOULD NOT RELEASE AUTOMOBILE UNTIL $500.00 REPAIR BILL PAID, DESPITE FORD ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS WAS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT IN CERTAIN SPORT TRAC MODELS. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT, CAUSING GASOLINE TO SPRAY ALL OVER PEOPLE AND RUN OUT ON THE GROUND. WITH THE ADMISSION THAT IT IS A DEFECT, FORD SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO RECALL ALL SPORT TRAC AND PAY FOR REPAIRS. DOES IT REQUIRE THAT SOMEONE FIRST BE BURNING TO DEATH BEFORE APPROPRIATE ACTION IS TAKEN? *JB
WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY VEHICLE DECELERATED 5 MPH BEFORE REGULATING SPEED. AFTER EXITING FREEWAY, VEHICLE DIED AT STOP LIGHT. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY INFORMED ME THE INERTIA SWITCH, LOCATED UNDER KICK PLATE ON PASSENGER SIDE, WAS DAMAGED AND THUS CUT OFF THE FUEL PUMP. ONCE FIXED, VEHICLE RAN FINE. THIS IS A SAFETY DEVICE IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT, BUT IT IS LOCATED IN A VERY BAD LOCATION.*AK
GASOLINE IS EXPELLED FROM THE FILLER PIPE EVERYTIME I TRY TO REFUEL THE TANK. THE PROBLEM WORSENS WITH EACH ATTEMPT TO REFUEL BECAUSE THE GAS PUMPS CONTINUOUSLY SHUT OFF FOR SAFETY REASONS. DEALER HAS REPLACED A SAFETY VALVE TO THE TANK WHICH TEMPORARILY HELPED BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOW WORSE THAN EVER. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO MANUFACTURER'S RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM.*AK
VEHICLE WILL STALL AFTER SITTING OVERNIGHT AND THE ENGINE HAS NOT REACH NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE, FUEL TANK FULL AND THE VEHICLE IS PROCEEDING UP AN INCLINE. WHEN VEHICLE STALLS YOU CAN START THE VEHICLE AND PROCEED. AFTER REACHING NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE OR THE VEHICLE HAVE TRAVEL FORTY TO EIGHTY MILES ON THE TANK OF GAS IT WILL NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM UNTIL YOU REFILL THE TANK AGAIN. IF THE TANK IS KEPT FULL OR NO MORE THAN ONE OR TWO GALLONS ARE USED UP. IT WILL NOT STALL. I HAVE HAD IT BACK FOR REPAIR FIVE OR SIX TIMES BUT NO LUCK. THE LAST VISIT TO THE DEALER THEY PUT A RECORDER ON THE VEHICLE WHICH I KEPT FOR THREE WEEKS AND IT RECORDED THE STALL. THE DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS BEING OVERFILLED BUT I NEVER OVERFILL THE VEHICLE AND I EXPLAINED THAT TO THEM. I PURCHASE THE VEHICLE NEW ON 7/31/03 AND DROVE IT HOME ON THE TANK OF GAS THE DEALER PUT IN IT. THE VEHICLE SAT FOR TEN DAYS WHILE I WAS ON VACATION AND WHEN I RETURNED I DROVE IT THE NEXT DAY AND IT STALLED AND IT HAD NOT BEEN REFUELED. THE TANK WAS STILL FULL FROM THE DEARLER'S ORIGINAL FILL-UP. I TOOK IT BACK THE FIRST TIME 8/19/03 AND THE DEALER REPLACE A PART(VALVE) THAT THEY INDICATED MAY HAVE BEEN DEFECTIVE BUT IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *LA
WHEN REFUELING GAS SHOOTS BACK UP THROUGH FILLER PIPE ONTO CONSUMER.*AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 29, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.