Mercury / Grand Marquis / 2003
2003 Mercury Grand Marquis problems
Owners have filed 449 complaints about the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis with NHTSA. Exterior lighting accounts for 46.5% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of electrical system at 11.6%.
Complaints449
Crashes32
Fires2
Injuries22
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Exterior lighting 46.5% · 209
Electrical system 11.6% · 52
Suspension 6.2% · 28
Steering 6.2% · 28
Vehicle speed control 6.0% · 27
Engine and engine cooling 2.9% · 13
Power train 2.9% · 13
Air bags 2.4% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 32 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire and 22 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 18 model years of the Mercury Grand Marquis in this data, 2003 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2005 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 19 in the last three years against 26 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 86,850 miles.
In owners' own words
Driving down interstate, headlamps went off unexpectedly without any adjusting of auto lamp feature. Only able to get high beams to come on when holding the stalk to the on position. Very dangerous. Next startup lights working fine....Until they don't when you are on the highway and at highway speed...Certainly a hazard especially for night-shift worker. Cant believe ford doesn't think this is a safety issue. Exterior lighting · reported at 79,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. While attempting to start the vehicle and utilize the headlights, the contact noticed that neither the headlights nor the tail lights were operational. In addition, the turn signals failed a few weeks prior to the exterior lighting failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 147,000. Exterior lighting · reported at 147,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving, the headlights suddenly turned off. The lights on the instrument panel stayed lit but the headlights and high beams turned off completely. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where a module located inside a black box near the accelerator pedal was replaced. The current and failure mileages were approximately 45,000. Exterior lighting · reported at 45,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…