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2003 Mercury Grand Marquis Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 362 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis, most often about the lights (57% of complaints, typically around 95,000 miles). It is the 2nd most complained-about Grand Marquis model year since 2000 and has 1 recall.
Most common 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis problems
Lights
207 complaints · 57%Half of these problems showed up before 95,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, brake lights.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the headlights would not operate while driving at night. The vehicle was taken to both an independent mechanic and the dealer. Both stated that the failures were due to the electronic control module. The contact was concerned that he could not…
Headlight go off and will not come back on. This happened once before a few months back but started working again, this time would not work, took to a ford dealer, problem was the light control module (lcm) . Dealer replaced for $556.16.
Electrical
51 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 95,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery, alternator/generator/regulator.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that the headlights would not operate while driving at night. The vehicle was taken to both an independent mechanic and the dealer. Both stated that the failures were due to the electronic control module. The contact was concerned that he could not…
While driving at dusk on my way home (with my 5 year old little girl!), my headlights shut off without warning! We were fortunate that several drivers in the oncoming lane were concerned and conscientious and flashed their high beams to signal that something was wrong. Deductively, I ruled out my lights being off…
Suspension
28 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 56,500 miles. Parts named most often: rear, front.
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he heard a loud noise in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic. After diagnosis, they advised him that the rear axle shaft, bearings and, seals prematurely failed and needed…
I own a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. My steering shaft is corroded and it is no longer safe to drive. I contacted my local ford dealer about the issue after realizing there was a recall on the same part but only to find out that the recall was for 2005-2011 . But when I go to buy the part. Its listed for years…
Steering
28 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 97,500 miles. Parts named most often: steering wheel/handle bar.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH the steering wheel would not return to the normal position after making a right or left turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated the steering shaft was corroded. The…
Vehicle has become increasing difficult to steer and requires manual strength to turn the wheel. At this time we are not able to drive the vehicle, the steering is too hard and would be too dangerous to drive. Doing research on this vehicle I have found that it is the same problem that other marquis' have experience…
Speed control
27 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. While approaching a stop light the vehicle accelerated without intention through an intersection. After repeated brake application the vehicle would not stop. She was able to decelerate by driving onto the side of the road. She was in the process of towing the vehicle to…
: the contact stated while parked with the ignition on; the vehicle suddenly lurched forward without warning. The brakes were depressed and the ignition was turned off, which stopped the vehicle after it traveled 60 ft. This had occurred on numerous occasions. Also, while traveling 60 MPH with the cruise control…
Engine
18 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 36,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
- the contact stated that while driving his 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis (36200 failure mileage) and attempting to stop at a red light, with his foot on the brake, the vehicle accelerated and got away from the contact for about one yard. The contact had to forcefully apply the brake again, but nothing happened. While…
Tl contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. While driving 10 MPH, the engine began to rev and the brakes failed. The contact stated that it sounded as if the transmission snapped. The dealer stated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle, however recalls were issued for that model of vehicle. The vehicle has been at…
Transmission
12 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 45,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, axle assembly, driveline.
Rear axle bearing failure on 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. Pe4010. The axles are improperly heat treated and fail due to normal loads. This car is not a police vehicle. There is a clear defect in the axles of all similar body styles.
Premature failure of rear axle shaft bearing. Original NHTSA recall # 04v328000 in july of 2004. My car was not in the original recall, but I have just had this very problem with my car. If I hadn't taken the car in, I could have had a major safety problem if the bearing had gone out totally. Please force ford motor…
Air bags
11 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 8,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
When driving 60 MPH, the front passenger side air bag deployed inadvertently, causing a distraction to the driver. The dealer had been notified.
While driving 65 MPH the passenger side air bag deployed without warning. As a result the passenger sustained back, right shoulder, neck and arm injuries from the deployment of the air bag .
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Mercury Grand Marquis recalls
Lights: headlights
Risk: A loss of headlights can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the lcm, free of charge. The recall began april 14, 2017. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15s39.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 ford crown victoria and mercury grand marquis vehicles manufactured october 3, 2001, to august 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (lcm) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights.
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
Loss of headlights
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened an investigation concerning the loss of headlights in model year (my) 2003-2005 ford crown victoria and mercury grand marquis vehicles. The subject vehicles share the same architecture and major components.odi has received 636 unique reports (for all submission dates) related to the alleged defect, with owners describing a loss of both low and/or high beam headlights occurring while driving.odi identified 4 vehicle owner questionnaire ( voq) reports alleging minor crash or loss of control incidents due to headlight failures.drivers alleged running off of the road due to a lack of headlights and one driver reportedly struck a deer.no injuries w
Loss of headlamp/exterior lighting
Summary
In a letter dated october 2, 2014 the office of defects investigation (odi) was initially petitioned by the north carolina consumers council, inc. Requesting a defect investigation of an alleged defect condition resulting in headlight and/or exterior lighting failure on 2003-2005 ford crown victoria and mercury grand marquis vehicles.odi analyzed vehicle owner questionnaire (voq) complaints received from consumers and identified a total of 605 reports (for all submission dates) alleging headlight failure.the complaints indicate failures of both low beam headlights typically while driving, a defect condition that was evaluated under a prior odi investigation (pe08066).most consumer voqs indic
Loss of headlight function
Summary
The agency has closed this investigation based on its review of complaint reports, field and technical data provided by ford and complainant interviews. Ford found that some lighting control modules (lcm) in the subject vehicles contained defective solder joints on the printed circuit board.this condition can lead to poor headlight performance ranging from intermittent outage and dimming to eventual headlights failure.the failure does not affect other lighting functions (park, emergency flasher, brake and flash to pass lights).the agency is aware of a total of 306 consumers complaints and no report of crash, injury or fatality.ford reports 2,074 warranty claims related to headlight failure l
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
Rear axle fracture
Summary
This pe was opened after odi became aware of two allegations concerning rear axle fracture and partial wheel separation involving my 2003 ford crown victoria police interceptors (cvpi).initially, the pe's scope involved all my 2003 grand marquis, crown victoria, and lincoln town cars (I.e., panther platform) produced through january 2003.while gathering information about this issue, it became evident that the failures were confined to long-wheelbase lincoln town cars and the cvpi's due to their unique weight distribution and usage profiles.ford's recall addresses these vehicles.both the company and odi are continuing to monitor the field performance of the axles and will take appropriate act
Fracture of the steel wheel rim
Summary
The subject wheel (new for my 2003) is used on crown victoria (cv) and grand marquis.complaint data indicates that wheel failure affects primarily the commercial specification cv model (police and taxi) which has unique design characteristics and is generally subjected to higher usage demands.during ford's analysis, it was determined that cyclic bending moment fatigue could cause rim cracks to occur in the heat affected zone adjacent to the circumferential weld.ford implemented changes in wheel manufacture in september 2002 and introduced a new wheel design with a thicker rim in april 2003.odi found evidence that indicated rapid crack propogation might have occurred in seven wheel failure in
Questions about the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: lights (207 complaints, typically around 95,000 miles); electrical (51 complaints, typically around 95,000 miles); suspension (28 complaints, typically around 56,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from December 22, 2015 (lights). 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 Mercury Grand Marquis?
- It is the 2nd most complained-about Grand Marquis model year since 2000, with 362 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.