NHTSA lists 78 complaints for the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 5 of them mention a crash and 6 mention a fire. 3 complaints mention an injury, with 5 injuries and 1 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-09.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC.
At a glance
Complaints
78
With crash
5
With fire
6
With injury (complaints)
3
Injuries
5
Deaths
1
Recalls
0
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
Unavailable
Investigations
2
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
62
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
11
14.1%
STRUCTURE
10
12.8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
9
11.5%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
8
10.3%
POWER TRAIN
8
10.3%
SUSPENSION
7
9.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
6.4%
AIR BAGS
4
5.1%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
4
5.1%
STEERING
4
5.1%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
STRUCTURE
BODY
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE
6
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
DELIVERY
3
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
STORAGE
3
POWER TRAIN
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
3
STRUCTURE
FRAME AND MEMBERS
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
2
SUSPENSION
FRONT
2
TIRES
SIDEWALL
2
AIR BAGS
SIDE/WINDOW
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.
IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST (IR) LETTER SENT BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI), FORD STATED CONSUMER REPORTS OF HIGHER THAN EXPECTED EFFORTS WHEN SHIFTING INTO AND OUT OF PARK COULD BE A RESULT OF A GROOVE BEING WORN INTO THE SWING ARM RAMP OF THE STEERING COLUMN. THE SWING ARM IS A COMPONENT BOLTED TO THE STEERING COLUMN THAT ASSISTS IN SHIFTING THROUGH THE TRANSMISSION GEARS
Systems: STEERING.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
DP05005
Opened: 2005-09-22. Closed: 2006-01-04.
SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD
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 CY
Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
62 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
14
POWER TRAIN
11
SUSPENSION
6
STRUCTURE
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
4
STEERING
4
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
3
10016814
Date: 2005-10-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: TIRES.
IRREGULAR TIRE WEAR. *SC
10018061
Date: 2005-10-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.
STEERING SHUDDER DURING LOW SPEED MANEUVERS - 4.0L ENGINE. *TT
10017860
Date: 2005-07-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER.
MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP COMING ON WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0171, P0172, P0174 AND/OR P0175 (FUEL SYSTEM TOO RICH OR LEAN). *TT
10014138
Date: 2005-06-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SEAT BELTS.
SAFETY BELT RETRACTION SPEED. *TT
10017891
Date: 2005-04-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
FRONT AXLE LEAKS FLUID FROM VENT TUBE - VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4X4 OR AWD. *TT
10012954
Date: 2005-02-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SEAT BELTS.
SAFETY BELT WEB STOP BUTTON SERVICE. *EH
10014263
Date: 2004-12-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
MOAN/VIBRATION DURING AIR CONDITIONING OPERATION. *TT
10014086
Date: 2004-12-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
GENERAL (PCM) POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES. *TT
10014096
Date: 2004-12-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.
REVISED PROCEDURE FOR ADJUSTING ALIGNMENT ON ALL SUSPENSIONS - NEW RIGHT HAND UPPER CONTROL ARM DESIGN FOR TORSION BAR FRONT SUSPENSIONS. *TT
10013369
Date: 2004-11-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
GENERAL POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES. *TT
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.