I have a 2003 F-150. I have an engine whine that sounds like power steering noise. I took it in to the dealer and they acknowledged the whine and told me it was normal. The whine is only there when I accelerate from a stop and then goes away after I gain speed (shortly after the tranny shifts out of 1st gear).

Does anyone else with an '03 have this same noise? My 2000 F-150 did not, and I noticed this whine as soon as I drove off the lot with the '03.

I might have to go to another dealer and get a second opinion.

Thanks,

 

If your old F-150 didn't do it, I'd say it's not 'normal.' I think in Ford's case 'normal' refers to any condition with your vehicle that is noticeable but that Ford can not diagnose and correct under warranty. In just about every case, what Ford always claims to be 'normal' is almost never normal. I'd either take it back and tell them to try again and tell them you'd like yours 'abnormal' or else take it to a more competent dealer.

 

yes it sounds like the "outta warranty" problem. if your vehicle was out of warranty the dealer would find the noise in a heartbeat.

 

if the noise goes away after it shifts out of 1st gear, its sounds like a tranny noise, if it is not too bad, I would not worry too much about it, but since its a 2003, you probably have a good two years of warranty to replace it if it goes bad, just hope it doesnt leave you stranded.

 

After I posted, I thought the same thing that maybe it was the tranny.

Hard to tell exactly where the noise is, but it does do it in park, while reving the engine, sitting at idle it is quiet.

I am pretty sure I am going to take it to another dealer for a second opinion.

Other than that noise, (and a vibration type rattle in the passenger dash), the truck is great.

 

My 02 has the same whine. I've never given it too much thought or had it checked out. Let me know what you find, maybe I need to take mine in and have it checked...

 

I just purchased a new 2003 F-150 SuperCrew with a 5.4 engine. I have not noticed a whine, but it only has 94 miles on it.

My 1998 5.4 Expedition that I just traded had a power steering whine that sounded just like your problem. Dealer said this is a common problem and said there were no options to fix it.

 

Just for kicks, make sure the whine is not the radio.
Sounds stupid but I had the same prob. until I turn the radio off.

 

cut your wheels right or left while you rev the engine slightly, if the whine increases, its the power steering pump and they just replaced mine under warrenty on a 2002 screw

 

Doug,
I just got my new 2003 Heritage F150 SuperCab a few days ago and it has the same whine. While in neutral, if you rev the engine a little, you can really hear it. It persists until you reach about 40mph and then you can't hear it any more. If you put the truck in park and stand outside the truck and turn the wheel, the whine is really obvious.

Before reading other posts on this, I thought I had a tranny problem; so, in a way, I'm kinda relieved that its just the power steering unit. If push comes to shove and it starts driving me crazy and Ford won't cover it under warranty, then I'll take it to an independant repair place and have them replace it with one that does not whine.

In any case, I'm really impressed with my Heritage; great fit and finish and quality. Too bad Ford quality control let Saginaw Steering slip these units into production.


Ride Safe,
RickM46

PS. Thank God for the F150 forums - what a country!

 

of 03's a couple of weeks ago and one had a powersterring whine to it...of course the sales guy said he could'nt hear it

 

I did end up taking my truck to a second dealer and had their service dept. take a look at it. They said the same thing "it's normal"

I guess I will have to live with it, I have 3 years of warranty, so if something is wrong, hopefully it will go wrong completely within that time. I was just wanting to "catch it", before it stranded me somewhere, (but then, it might be normal like they said and I don't have anything to worry about).

I am also relieved to know that someone else with an '03 has the same noise.

RickM46, if you do find a dealer that will fix it, please let me know exactly what was wrong. I will do the same if mine gets fixed.

Oh, one other thing, we have an '03 F-150 here at work that does not make the noise, but it has a 4.6L in it, so that might make things different.

Doug.

 

This is the reason Ford is losing market share and customers; what a crock! And it's the reason I would never take my trucks to a Ford dealership unless absolutely necessary.

I would print out this thread and take it into the dealer and demand they bring in the district "troubleshooter" (or whatever they call them) and have them compare YOUR truck to others they have on the lot. Then demand they replace the power steering pump.

There is obviously a problem, and they are wrong to blow you off.

"Look Again!" Yeah, right.

 

Glad I saw this thread.

I have a very noticeable whine on my 2003 4.6L SuperCrew that I purchased two weeks ago. I noticed it during the test drive, but the truck I purchased was the only one on the lot that had the color combo / Lariat trim/ etc. that I wanted.

I figured the noise might just work itself out once I started breaking it in or if it didn't I could take it back in under warranty. Before I purchased it, though, I insisted on driving another Super Crew to see if it had the same whine....and it did...albeit not as loud.

When my wife drove it off the other day while I was in the front yard, it sounded louder than it does when you're inside the cab.

I'm gonna follow this thread to see what might be revealed by you other folks, and I'm also gonna start checking mine to see if I can find the problem.

This whine is bugging me and is the only bad thing to what is otherwise an outstanding truck....a much better truck than I thought it would be before I bought it.

 

I wouldn't call it "stupid".....that's a good suggestion....in fact that's almost what the whine actually sounds like when you're DRIVING it at 30mph...the radio conducting engine noise like in the "old days" before you installed resistor plugs! However, from the outside, it sounds a little more "substantial" than radio noise, and of course if you can hear it outside the vehicle when someone else drives it down the street we know the radio has been eliminated as a source.