1997 Ford F-350 SD: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 1997 Ford F-350 SD
Only 3 defect reports have been filed with NHTSA about the 1997 Ford F-350 SD, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The reports reported engine bay fire.
When each failure gets reported
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine bay fire | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 150k | — | 0.0 | $4,000–$20,000 | Critical |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 1 | — | 66k | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Engine bay fire
Ford f-350 diesel dually caught on fire under the hood while sitting in a parking lot. The vehicle was just finished being driven. The engine was shut off and the key was removed from the ignition. The fire dept came and extinguished the fire. Vehicle is a total loss. Insurance will not cover the loss. Is ford responsible for covering the loss? *tr
Other wheel or tire problem
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford f-350 superduty. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the front passenger wheel broke in half. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop who stated that the wheel was defective. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 65,850 and the current mileage was 66,070. Updated 03/07/11*lj updated 12/20/11 *cn
Recalls on the 1997 model year
NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns covering the 1997 Ford F-350 SD, affecting an estimated 75,872 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover vehicle speed control and engine and engine cooling:engine:diesel. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
4,500,000 vehicles 2009-10-13- Defect
- Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control deactivation switch (scds). The scds may leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
- Consequence
- A vehicle fire could occur with or without the engine running.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair as necessary. Repairs will be completed free of charge. The safety recall began on october 27, 2009. Owners may contact ford at 1-888-222-2751.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL
1,176,000 vehicles 2007-12-05- Defect
- On certain heavy duty trucks equipped with 7.3l diesel engines, the camshaft position sensor located on the engine of the vehicle may function intermittently, possibly resulting in an engine stall.
- Consequence
- In the event of an engine stall, a crash could result without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the sensor and replace it with an improved camshaft position sensor free of charge. The recall began on december 29, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Ford F-350 SD
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
What the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 1997 Ford F-350 SD are engine bay fire (1 report, around 150k miles), other wheel or tire problem (1 report, around 66k miles) and other speed control problem (1 report). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed