KnownCarProblemsHome › Lincoln › Navigator › 2003
2003 Lincoln Navigator Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 127 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Lincoln Navigator, most often about the suspension (30% of complaints, typically around 76,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Navigator model year since 2000.
Most common 2003 Lincoln Navigator problems
Suspension
38 complaints · 30%Half of these problems showed up before 76,000 miles. Parts named most often: front, rear.
Front air suspension on the passenger side does not work in cold weather, and only works half of the time in warm weather. Truck is very well taken care thru the dealership and has only 76,000 miles and been to the dealer several times for the suspension and right running board. See all over the internet numerous…
The contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH the vehicle shut off without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer regarding the electrical system and they stated the entire fuse box needed to be replaced. The contact stated the suspension was also defective and…
Electrical
22 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 56,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, alternator/generator/regulator, instrument panel.
Bought a 2003 Navigator used in january of 2007. Ever since then, the vehicle has been experiencing electrical problems as in windows go up when you push down, the electronic liftgate doesn't always work, the rear electronic seats don't always work, the odometer reads 0 miles to empty when I have a full tank, front…
Had smoke in passenger area of car. Dealership states it was instrument cluster, but has been unable to find an instrument cluster for vehicle to this date and states they are "backordered:.
Body and structure
18 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
Dealership replaced the motor and the computer of driver's seat that was too loose and moved back and forth while driving, causing a distraction to the consumer. 6 months later, consumer experienced the same problem. The vehicles brakes squeaked, the door panel was loose, the side mirror motor failed. There was a…
The contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. The contact noticed that the hatch back door was rusted . The dealer was aware of the failure, but offered no assistance because the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The manufacturer was also aware of the failure. No repairs were performed. The approximate failure…
Air bags
14 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 119,500 miles. Parts named most often: side/window, frontal.
I was driving my 2003 Lincoln ford Navigator on july 3rd at approximately 3pm down US highway 52 near springfield south dakota on a flat stretch of dry road going approximately 55 miles per hour. For no apparent reason our airbags from the passenger and drivers side roof deployed with an explosion. In addition to…
Tl contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, both the driver and passenger side air bags suddenly deployed. There was no crash when the air bag deployed or warning prior to the failure. There were no injuries. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The contact called…
Engine
14 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system.
My 2003 Lincoln Navigator ultimate @ 84,000 miles blew 2 spark plugs through the aluminum head of the 5.4 liter triton engine. It is my understanding that this aluminum head has been redesigned by ford and that there is also an after-market fix to this increasing problem that re-threads the spark plugs, but that said…
2003 Navigator, 99,000miles - spark plug blew out - engine lost power, gas spilling out of engine, during the transport of 1 adult and 4 children. 1. One week prior to the incident, the truck was given a full service for 100k miles, less then 1000 miles later, the car is rendered inoperable, and the dealer offered to…
Visibility and wipers
13 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 18,500 miles. Parts named most often: rearview mirrors/devices, sun/moon roof assembly, power window devices and controls, rear window wiper/washer.
The sunroof of my 2003 Lincoln Navigator has a defect in that in heavy rain the tracks of the sun roof fill with water and overflow into the headliner (interior) and leak into the car from various locations such as the dvd player. This has happened 2 times since ownership. Was told by the Lincoln dealer that it was a…
Dealership replaced the motor and the computer of driver's seat that was too loose and moved back and forth while driving, causing a distraction to the consumer. 6 months later, consumer experienced the same problem. The vehicles brakes squeaked, the door panel was loose, the side mirror motor failed. There was a…
Transmission
13 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 55,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, driveline, manual transmission.
Gear shift knob came loose. Causing the vehicle to be locked into the drive position. Could not use reverse, neutral or park. I could not shift the vehicle out of the drive. Dealership tells me that the whole assembly needs to be replaced.
: the contact stated while traveling various speeds, the vehicle hesitated. The dealership rebuilt the automatic transmission, but this did not repair the problem. The vehicle was taken back to the dealership and the gear shifter assembly was replaced. Then the automatic transmission control valve was replaced. The…
Brakes
7 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 30,000 miles. Parts named most often: pedals and linkages, foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. Whenever the brake were applied the vehicle would vibrate and shake excessively. There were several electrical failures to include the electronic cluster in the odometer. The manufacturer was contacted and advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer to have the failures…
Dealership replaced the motor and the computer of driver's seat that was too loose and moved back and forth while driving, causing a distraction to the consumer. 6 months later, consumer experienced the same problem. The vehicles brakes squeaked, the door panel was loose, the side mirror motor failed. There was a…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Lincoln Navigator recalls
NHTSA lists no recalls for this model year.
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
Questions about the 2003 Lincoln Navigator
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Lincoln Navigator?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: suspension (38 complaints, typically around 76,000 miles); electrical (22 complaints, typically around 56,000 miles); body and structure (18 complaints, typically around 40,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Lincoln Navigator have?
- NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2003 Lincoln Navigator. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls in case one is issued later.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Lincoln Navigator?
- It is the most complained-about Navigator model year since 2000, with 127 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.