Total Complaints
7 filings
FORD NAVIGATOR · model year
2003 FORD NAVIGATOR
7 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2003FORDNAVIGATOR carries 7 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2003 NAVIGATOR is engine and engine cooling:engine with 2 filings, followed by air bags:frontal (1) and suspension:front (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 177 investigation files overlapping the 2003 NAVIGATOR, and 8 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
7
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 2 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 1 |
| SUSPENSION:FRONT | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 |
| STEERING:LINKAGES:ARM:IDLER AND ATTACHMENT | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20070923ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
03 NAVIGATOR BEGAN "STUTTERING" WHEN DRIVING, FELT LIKE A TRANSMISSION SLIPPING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THREE OF THE EIGHT CYLINDERS WERE NOT AT FULL COMPRESSION. HE ADVISED NEW HEADS WERE NEEDED. COST: $7000. SEVERAL SERVICE BULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED ON THE PROBLEM, INDEPENDENT (FORMER FORD TECH) MECHANIC LOOKED AT THE PROBLEM. HE ADVISED THIS IS VERY COMMON ON THE TRITAN MOTOR AND THERE IS A CASTING PROBLEM WITH THE HEADS. *TR
Mileage: 64,000
20070126ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR. ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED, AND SHE HAS HAD TO REPLACE THE SPARK PLUGS AND COILS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED THEY SENT SENDS THE FRAGMENTS FROM THE SPARK PLUGS INTO THE ENGINE. EACH TIME THIS HAPPENED THE NUMBER 3 AND NUMBER 4 SPARKS WERETHE ONES THAT EXPLODED. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON JANUARY 11, 2007 IT WAS THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT. SHE HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN WITH THE MECHANIC SINCE 01/11/2007. *AK THE BRAKES SQUEAKED, THE SEAT BELT BUTTON WAS REPLACED, THE IDLER ARM WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALWAYS RUN ROUGH AND LOOSE POWER. UPDATD 02/27/07. *JB
Mileage: 74,000
20070126SEAT BELTS
TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR. ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED, AND SHE HAS HAD TO REPLACE THE SPARK PLUGS AND COILS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED THEY SENT SENDS THE FRAGMENTS FROM THE SPARK PLUGS INTO THE ENGINE. EACH TIME THIS HAPPENED THE NUMBER 3 AND NUMBER 4 SPARKS WERETHE ONES THAT EXPLODED. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON JANUARY 11, 2007 IT WAS THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT. SHE HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN WITH THE MECHANIC SINCE 01/11/2007. *AK THE BRAKES SQUEAKED, THE SEAT BELT BUTTON WAS REPLACED, THE IDLER ARM WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALWAYS RUN ROUGH AND LOOSE POWER. UPDATD 02/27/07. *JB
Mileage: 74,000
20070126STEERING:LINKAGES:ARM:IDLER AND ATTACHMENT
TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR. ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED, AND SHE HAS HAD TO REPLACE THE SPARK PLUGS AND COILS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE SPARK PLUGS EXPLODED THEY SENT SENDS THE FRAGMENTS FROM THE SPARK PLUGS INTO THE ENGINE. EACH TIME THIS HAPPENED THE NUMBER 3 AND NUMBER 4 SPARKS WERETHE ONES THAT EXPLODED. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON JANUARY 11, 2007 IT WAS THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT. SHE HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN WITH THE MECHANIC SINCE 01/11/2007. *AK THE BRAKES SQUEAKED, THE SEAT BELT BUTTON WAS REPLACED, THE IDLER ARM WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALWAYS RUN ROUGH AND LOOSE POWER. UPDATD 02/27/07. *JB
Mileage: 74,000
20061109ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
2003 FORD EXPEDITION XLT WITH 5.4 LITER TRITON V8 ENGINE WITH 59,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE IS WELL MAINTAINED AND NOT ABUSED. THE #3 SPARK PLUG WAS BLOWN OUT OF THE ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD DURING DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH. THIS EVENT WAS PRECEDED BY A TAPPING NOISE WHICH OCCURRED OVER THE PRECEDING TWO WEEKS. THE NOISE WAS SIMILAR TO A NOISY VALVE LIFTER. THE ENGINE HAD THE ORIGINAL FACTORY INSTALLED SPARK PLUGS THAT WERE NEVER REMOVED, REPLACED OR SERVICED. THE FACTORY CHANGE INTERVAL ON THE PLUGS IS 100,000 MILES. SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT RESULTED IN THE THE NEED TO REPLACE THE CYLINDER HEAD AND COIL PACK. INSPECTION OF THE OLD PART REVEALED THAT ONLY 4 TO 5 THREADS WERE PROVIDED TO RETAIN THE SPARK PLUG. INSPECTION OF THE NEW REPLACEMENT HEAD REVEALED THAT 9 THREADS ARE PROVIDED TO RETAIN THE SPARK PLUG. FORD KEPT THE OLD PARTS. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW THAT HAS BEEN CORRECTED BY AN IMPROVED NEW HEAD. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OR POSSIBLY MILLIONS OF VEHICLES ON
Mileage: 59,000
20050328SUSPENSION:FRONT
ON FEBRUARY 25, 2005, I TOOK MY 2003 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR A MAJOR FRONT AIR SUSPENSION PROBLEM; THE FRONT HALF OF MY CAR WAS SO LOW TO THE GROUND WHILE THE BACK HALF WAS SET HIGH. THE RIDE WAS VERY BUMPY, ROUGH,AND UNWIELDY . THE DEALERSHIPS SERVICE PERSONNEL DETERMINED THE VEHICLE'S AIR SUSPENSION COMPRESSOR WAS INOPERABLE AND THAT THERE WAS A FAILURE OF THE CAR'S FRONT PNEUMATIC SYSTEM. DEALER INSTALLED NEW COMPRESSOR AND PERFORMED RECALIBRATING TESTS OF THE PNEUMATIC SYSTEM BUT LESS THAN A MONTH LATER ON MARCH 22ND, THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED AND I HAD TO TAKE THE CAR IN TO THE DEALER FOR ANOTHER REPAIR. THIS TIME THE "RIDE HEIGHT CALIBRATION" WAS INACCURATE AND WAS SUPPOSEDLY RE-MEASURED AND RECALCULATED. THE FOLLOWING DAY I NOTICED THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT OF MY CAR LOW TO THE GROUND. ON MARCH 25TH, I CONTACTED THE SERVICE MANAGER ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. ON MARCH 28TH, THE CAR IS IN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE THIRD TIME FOR THE SAME SUSPENSION
Mileage: 18,475
20030108AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
CONSUMER STATES THAT VEHICLE'S FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAGS SENSOR STAYS ON. DEALER NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TS
Mileage: 5,000
Compare 2003FORDNAVIGATOR to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 8 Open
EA26001Engineering AnalysisOpen
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
PE25020Preliminary EvaluationOpen
Timing Belt Failure
DP25001Defect PetitionOpen
Underbody shields detachment
PE25007Preliminary EvaluationOpen
B-Pillar Trim Detachment
PE25002Preliminary EvaluationClosed
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 2003 FORD NAVIGATOR have?▼
The 2003 FORD NAVIGATOR has 7 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2003 FORD NAVIGATOR?▼
The most-complained component for the 2003 FORD NAVIGATOR is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include AIR BAGS:FRONTAL and SUSPENSION:FRONT.
Is the 2003 FORD NAVIGATOR safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.