VehicleVerdict

2003 Ford Mustang engine problems

The 2003 Ford Mustang has 45 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 25% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

45

Engine complaints

25%

Share of year

2

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Mustang engine complaints by model year410 complaints1978: 2 complaints1983: 1 complaints1984: 6 complaints1985: 3 complaints1986: 6 complaints1987: 5 complaints1988: 5 complaints1989: 7 complaints1990: 10 complaints1991: 7 complaints1992: 7 complaints1993: 12 complaints1994: 194 complaints1995: 410 complaints1996: 95 complaints1997: 42 complaints1998: 48 complaints1999: 35 complaints2000: 47 complaints2001: 27 complaints2002: 27 complaints2003: 45 complaints2004: 8 complaints2005: 44 complaints2006: 27 complaints2007: 20 complaints2008: 8 complaints2009: 4 complaints2010: 12 complaints2011: 55 complaints2012: 33 complaints2013: 23 complaints2014: 19 complaints2015: 50 complaints2016: 80 complaints2017: 34 complaints2018: 61 complaints2019: 56 complaints2020: 25 complaints2021: 10 complaints2022: 6 complaints2023: 2 complaints2024: 9 complaints2026: 1 complaints
Mustang engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WE HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THIS CAR SINCE IT WAS BOUGHT NEW. ALL ISSUES HAVE BEEN LOOKED AT BY THE DEALER DURING THE FACTORY WARRANTY AND STILL REMAIN UNRESOLVED. I HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER TO FORD HEADQUARTERS BUT THEY SENT A COMPLETE REJECTION LETTER. I WAS TOLD TODAY BY A FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · March 17, 2003 · crash

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2003 Ford Mustang have?

NHTSA has 45 complaints about the 2003 Ford Mustang engine — 25% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.