The brakes been wearing down and this is the second time fixing them.
The worst 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine8
- Body7
- Suspension5
- Acceleration3
- Seat belts3
- Airbags2
- Brakes2
- Seats2
- Steering2
- Fuel system1
- Tires1
- Transmission1
- Wheels1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
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 cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
Accelerator pedal interference
Pe05-038 was opened on july 7, 2005, with 11 consumer complaints to odi alleging incidents of throttle sticking due to accelerator pedal interference with the carpet.odi has received an additional 24 complaints since the pe was opened.during pe05-038, ford supplied complaint and warranty information regarding 86 additional incidents of accelerator pedal interference in model year 2003 to 2004 mustang cobra vehicles.eighty-five of these had concerns of accelerator pedal sticking, 70 of which were analyzed as being related to carpet interference.odi is continuing its analysis of the causal factors in the remaining 15 incidents.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis.
PE05038
What 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Loud pop noise and vehicle speed very quickly decreased. Engine ran extremely rough. Vehicle towed to ford dealer.
As an overweight 6'9" citizen and phd scientist, I would like to know what safety tests are done for people that deviate from a normal size and weight. I understand that safety tests are done for children, but what about people that are very tall, or as it is an increasing problem in the us, people that are very obese? My seat belt touches my neck rather than going over my shoulder, potentially exposing me to neck injuries. The passenger airbags will impact my knees rather than my body, and there is no neck support from my headrest. I am quite concerned that I could be severely injured in an accident since vehicles are not properly tested to support tall and/or overweight individuals. Presumably the federal safety agency and ntsb could be held liable for a lack of such testing were someone injured in an accident. Even neglecting safety information, someone who is 6'9" such as myself will not fit into most vehicles, and only some vehicles with ample leg/head room are safe for me to drive comfortably.
Making a right turn in a residential neighborhood with a speed of aprox. 10 MPH the airbags suddenly deployed on the drivers side and the passengers side. There was no collision with any kind of objects (car,pets.varments,road debris etc;;... ) there was no damage whatsoever to the car. But my son was knock-out briefly and had injuries to his face, chin, and arms. Thankfully no other cars are people were in the path while he was turning.
While driving on the turnpike the cruise control system got stuck causing the car to continue accelerated. I had to hit the gas pedal several times before the system desengaged, avoiding rear ending the vehicle in front of me by just a few feet. I got off the highway in the next exit to get a coffee, put the car in "park" and the transmission got stuck in "parking" cruise control has not operated since.
Puddle of water is formed in the "well" behind the back seat where the convertible top sits when lowered. I also notice moisture in the other areas such as rear floor mats and trunk. This happens after rain or after car wash. I've noticed hundreds of same issues all over the internet and forums and I have absolutely no idea why nothing is being done about this. This distracts the driver and causes safety issues.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford mustang convertible. The contact was driving approximately 30 MPH when he felt as though something had fallen on his leg. The contact then noticed that the wheels had disengaged from the tires and the steering became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the steering column would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but advised that they could offer no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was approximately 102,000. Updated 12/7/11
I have owned a 2001 and 2003 ford mustang and a 2001 ford explorer all of which had a factory in dash 6 disc changer. Each one of these vehicles have had cd's get stuck while it was being ejected and would just pop up cd error and not work. Once it starts it happens at least once a week. I have replaced one and had the same problem with it. Just like anyone else I attempted to get the cd player to work as I was going down the road. If you the dash in the right spot it will work usually. As you can tell this is very distracting from driving. I cannot say that it has caused me an accident but I'm sure there are people out there that it has. There are numerous forums on the internet about this problem. When I contacted ford I was told to take it to try to take it to the shop. That they work with ya'll on recalls. I know this may not seem like something that would be a huge safety issue directly, but when you look at how many lives are lost by distracted drivers everyday it turns into a huge problem.
For 2 years I have owned a 2003 mustang cobra convertible. Whenever I reach 60-65 miles an hour my car start to vibrate like a wheel is off balance. I've gotten new tires several balance but nothing and alignments and nothing seem to help the problem.
I parked the car along the curb at ucla and spent the night at the dorms. The car was running perfectly fine, I didn't notice anything different and there were no problems. When I awoke the following morning a friend and I were hungry so we decided to go to mcdonald's. It was approx. 1.5 - 2 miles away. While we were sitting in the drive through, I started to hear a loud noise, kind of like a belt squeaking inside the hood. I couldn't tell if it was from my car or the car to the side of me, so I turned the car off. The noise stopped. When I turned the car back on however, the noise got unbearably loud and sounded like metal on metal, and we noticed the aroma of something burning. I exited the drive through and stopped at the red light. I looked at the gauges, and the oil, battery and temperature gauges were all where they normally should be, bout in the middle to slightly above the halfway mark...well...the car suddenly stalled and I assumed then that it had something to do with the transmission. I knew there was a gas station up ahead, so I tried to start the car again, it had some problems starting up, but then finally started and I was going to drive the block remaining to the gas station. All of a sudden, there was a loud pop under the hood, and all the gauges dropped and I turned the car off and let it coast to the sidewalk, when I exited the car, there was oil all over the ground, leaking from somewhere and I noticed that under the hood, the plastic cap that was covering the pistons (I assume) was cracked...there was smoke everywhere. When the tow truck driver came, he said that somehow something came unloose from the engine and shot up through the pistons and that's what broke the plastic cap. He said he's never seen anything like this before in his 30 yrs of service.
Compare the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible
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Questions about the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible
Is the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible reliable?
Owners have filed 35 complaints about the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible, close to a typical Mustang Convertible model year.
What is the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible year score?
The 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible scores 75 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Ford Mustang Convertible: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible?
Engine and cooling, with 8 complaints, typically around 5,000 miles. Next is body (7).
How many recalls does the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible have?
No recalls on record.
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