2003 Ford Mustang problems
Owners have filed 181 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Ford Mustang. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 25% of complaints. Next are cruise control (9%) and seat belts (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 181 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 11,000 miles 123 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 75 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 123 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 10,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 5,000 miles (35 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 24th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Mustang with enough data (123 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The vehicle was involved in a frontal collision and the air bags failed to deploy. The consumer had no where to go on the four lane highway when the other vehicle hit the consumer head on. The entire front end was smashed and neither air bag deployed on impact. *scc
Consumer stated that when hit at 35MPH in the front driver side of the vehicle the air bags did not deploy. Dealer notified.
While driving 45 MPH the vehicle was hit by another vehicle on the front passenger side. The consumer stated that neither frontal air bag deployed upon impact. The driver sustained minor injuries as a result. Please provide any additional information. *nlm
Tl* 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 mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford mustang. The contact stated the windshield wiper malfunctioned and intermittently would not operate. The contact was informed by the dealer that the part needed to repair the defect (part number yr3714b205da, generic electronic module) was no longer available from the manufacturer. The manufacturer was not contacted in reference to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,000.