The Used Car Index

2003 Ford Thunderbird problems

NHTSA lists 33 complaints for the 2003 Ford Thunderbird, 2 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 2 complaints mention an injury, with 3 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-07.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD THUNDERBIRD.

At a glance

Complaints
33
With crash
2
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
2
Injuries
3
Deaths
0
Recalls
0
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
Unavailable
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
42

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE721.2%
POWER TRAIN618.2%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC515.2%
AIR BAGS412.1%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM412.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL412.1%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING39.1%
SUSPENSION39.1%
EQUIPMENT26.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM26.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICFOUNDATION COMPONENTS2
AIR BAGSSIDE/WINDOW1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE1
EQUIPMENTELECTRICAL1
POWER TRAINDRIVELINE1
STEERINGRACK AND PINION1
STRUCTUREBODY1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLACCELERATOR PEDAL1

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.

Recalls

0 recalls.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

42 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM16
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING6
POWER TRAIN6
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC3
STEERING3
EQUIPMENT2
STRUCTURE2
VISIBILITY2

10048099

Date: 2012-08-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: MAY HAVE SLUDGE BUILDUP IN THROTTLE BODY LEADING TO LESS AIRFLOW OR ENGINE IDLING RPM FLUCTUATION AND HARD STARTS OR BATTERY DISCONNECT OR DEAD BATTERY AFTER KEEP ALIVE MEMORY (KAM) CLEAR. MODELS 2003-05 THUNDERBIRD, 05-06 MUSTANG, 06-08 FUSION, 04-05 EXPLORER, 05-06 EXPEDIT

10026402

Date: 2008-05-20. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

FORD/LINCOLN MERCURY: CERTAIN 2003-2005 MODEL YEAR LINCOLN LS AND FORD THUNDERBIRD VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.9L ENGINE WITH EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE ON IGNITION COIL ASSEMBLIES AND ON 2003 MY VEHICLES ONLY , ENGINE VALVE COVER GASKETS. *PE

10023293

Date: 2007-07-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

CERTAIN 2003 MODEL YEAR LINCOLN LS AND FORD THUNDERBIRD VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.9L ENGINE - EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE ON IGNITION COIL ASSEMBLIES AND ENGINE VALVE COVER GASKETS. ALSO HAVE AN OWNER'S LETTER. *NJ

10022290

Date: 2007-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SOLENOID EMISSIONS WARRANTY EXTENSION. SAMPLE CONSUMER LETTER ATTACHED. *KB

636096

Date: 2005-11-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

EXCESSIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CURRENT DRAW WHICH COULD RESULT IN A DISCHARGED BATTERY AND A NO CRANK CONDITION. *TT SERVICE TIPS. *TT

10013371

Date: 2005-06-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) AND ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) LAMPS ON WITH BOTH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) P2106 AND P2135. *TT

10017925

Date: 2005-06-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

WATER/MOISTURE IN COP WELLS - DTC P0301-P0308 - 3.9L ENGINE - VEHICLES BUILT THROUGH 5/1/2004. *TT

10017917

Date: 2005-05-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

UNUSUAL ENGINE NOISE OR ENGINE KNOCK CONCERNS DUE TO REGULAR FUEL. *TT

10014703

Date: 2005-03-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

MOISTURE IN STORAGE COMPARTMENT. *EH

10014086

Date: 2004-12-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

GENERAL (PCM) POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE 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.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
THUNDERBIRD33

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2003

Sources

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