KnownCarProblems2003 Ford Mustang Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 145 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Ford Mustang, most often about the engine (31% of complaints, typically around 5,000 miles). It is 18th of 27 Mustang model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2003 Ford Mustang problems
Engine
45 complaints · 31%Half of these problems showed up before 5,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system.
Vehicle's engine has died several times when decelerating. When this happens, the power steering and brakes are obviously lost as well. The first time it happened I nearly sailed into a busy intersection. The second time it occured I was coming off of an freeway exit and almost rear-ended the person at the light in…
2003 Ford Mustang cobra... Vehicle will stall without warning when clutch is depressed. Often this happens when coming to a stop and shifting gears. When this happens the brakes and steering immediately stop working. When stopping on an incline this can cause a situation where you either roll into the vehicle in front…
Speed control
16 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 14,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
Gas pedal catches on vehicle carpet preventing deceleration. The hinge of the gas pedal lodges underneath the lip of the carpet keeping the vehicle accelerator depressed during driving conditions.
Dt: the consumer stated that the accelerator stuck on 2003, Ford Mustang. Consumer was parked in a parking lot when he put the car into reverse and backed up. The motor started racing , and the accelerator stuck while the driver was backing, and he crashed into a moving car. The police came and wrote the consumer a…
Seat belts
16 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 65,500 miles. Parts named most often: front.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that both front seat belts failed to retract properly. The vehicle was taken the dealer. The dealer confirmed the seat belts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted . The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current…
Passenger side front seat belt continually locks up. Seatbelt is completely inoperative right now and will not retract or come out. Asked Ford about the voluntary recall I had seen elsewhere and was told that there was none and parts were $300 to fix and two hours of labor to install and would carry a 12 month/12,000…
Transmission
15 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 8,000 miles. Parts named most often: manual transmission, automatic transmission, clutch assembly, axle assembly.
Engine stalls with clutch disengaged, coasting at any speed such as when slowing to a stop, slowing for turn, etc. Loss of power, causes instability to turn, brake, or accelerate as expected.
2003 Ford Mustang gt rt axle snaps on freeway car is totalled and the dealership acts like its not there problem the car is 8 months old with 14,000 miles on it .I have been in the automotive buisness for 25 years I raced cars had hot rods and I have never seen a axle do what this did I put 6,000 down my payments are…
Air bags
11 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 48,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
I was turning right in a parking lot at 15+MPH when I hit a parking stall curb in the snow. The wheels stopped by hitting the curb with around a 3 inch clearance between the front bumper and the cement block. Both airbags deployed upon stopping on the curb. No body or mechanical damage was sustained to the vehicle.
Driver side and passenger side airbags deployed while I was driving home. The front windshield was cracked and my right arm was injured because of this unexpected malfunction.
Other or unspecified
10 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 10,500 miles.
The problem is the control arms and bushings on the front end of the car. Whenwe brake all you can hear is a loud crunching noise. We got it fixed once in june at 7003 miles and it broke again at 8484 miles in july. The dealer and Ford refuse to fix the problem even though it is under warranty because they claim it…
My 2003 Mustang has a driver side carpet problem where the carpet comes unattached and folds down at the top. Well it hooked my accelerator pedal and almost caused me to get into an accident. Heading to stop at a red light downshifting into 2nd and then having your gas pedal stuck is scary to say the least. If Ford…
Electrical
10 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, ignition.
2003 svt cobra has a stalling issue. The car will stall while decelerating. While this has caused me no harm, it can be very dangerous. When the car stalls of course the power brakes and steering cut out drastically changing what you expect to feel from the steering wheel and the brake pedal. Why doesnt Ford fix this…
I was driving on the freeway at 65 MPH. All of a sudden the car just stopped running. All dash board lights came on including check engine and theft light was blinking. Luckily traffic was light during the time I was driving. I ended up getting pushed off the freeway by the chp. I had to tow the car to the dealer, and…
Suspension
9 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 2,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear, front.
The steering wheel vibrated. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and they rotated the tires. The problem got worse. Then, consumer took the vehicle back to dealer several times, and the following had been done; the front end, rear end realigned, and wheel balanced. Then, vehicle broke down, and was towed. Rear…
I just purchased my car april 21,2003. I already need the steering wheel replaced due to gapping. There is a loud noise under the passenger side fender that sounds like I hit something. My cigarette lighter doesn't work, and my window is off track.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Ford Mustang recalls
Speed control: accelerator pedal
Risk: This could interfere with the pedal's ability to return to an idle position. Unexpected, continued throttle application and/or increased stopping distances may occur which could result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a shield over the cutout in the carpet behind the accelerator pedal. The recall began on april 26, 2006. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
On certain mustang cobra passenger vehicles, the rear surface of the accelerator pedal may come into contact with floor carpeting during heavy throttle application. The unique surface profile of the accelerator pedal may catch in the cutout on the floor carpeting behind the accelerator pedal.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
Summary
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehi
Accelerator pedal interference
Summary
On april 3, 2006, ford motor company submitted a defect information report to NHTSA concerning a defect condition that could result in interference between the accelerator pedal and floor carpeting in approximately 19,140 model year 2003 and 2004 mustang cobra vehicles (ford recall no. 06s43/NHTSA recall 06v-108, copy attached).ford will recall the vehicles to install a shield beneath the accelerator pedal to prevent the pivot pin on the rear surface of the pedal from coming into contact with the floor carpeting during heavy throttle application.in those vehicles where the floor carpeting does not fit flush with the sheet metal, the unique rear surface profile of the mustang cobra pedal may
Accelerator pedal interference
Summary
Pe05-038 was opened on july 7, 2005, with 11 consumer complaints to odi alleging incidents of throttle sticking due to accelerator pedal interference with the carpet.odi has received an additional 24 complaints since the pe was opened.during pe05-038, ford supplied complaint and warranty information regarding 86 additional incidents of accelerator pedal interference in model year 2003 to 2004 mustang cobra vehicles.eighty-five of these had concerns of accelerator pedal sticking, 70 of which were analyzed as being related to carpet interference.odi is continuing its analysis of the causal factors in the remaining 15 incidents.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering ana
Questions about the 2003 Ford Mustang
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Ford Mustang?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (45 complaints, typically around 5,000 miles); speed control (16 complaints, typically around 14,000 miles); seat belts (16 complaints, typically around 65,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Ford Mustang have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 7, 2006 (speed control). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Ford Mustang?
- It is 18th of 27 Mustang model years by number of complaints, with 145 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.