The contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the residence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the rocker arms, and that the engine lacked adequate compression in cylinders #2 and #3, resulting in engine damage. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 75,000.
2003 Lincoln Navigator engine problems
14 complaints (11% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 84,000.
- owner complaints
- 14
- of this car's complaints
- 11%
- typical mileage
- 84,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine4
- Exhaust system1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Lincoln Navigator engine problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related 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
What 2003 Lincoln Navigator owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Coming home from a trip engine started to misfire. Come to find out the # 3 spark plus exploded destroying the coil and and threads holding the spark plug in. Causing the need to re tap the threads.
Just driving in a 45 MPH, when heard loud banging coming from engine. Pulled over and had car towed in for repair. Engine blew out a spark plug.
We were driving down the highway at approximately 70mph, when I heard a loud pop and clanking noise on the driver's side front engine area. I was driving with my whole family in the SUV. We were able to still drive it to a mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed it as a "blown-out spark plug". He said the spark plug had come out of the engine block. He said it is a common problem on that engine and there was a spark plug kit for it. He used the kit, and it only held for about 2 months. It now has lost power, shakes, and poor gas mileage. The repair kit obviously is not ample for this problem.
Loss of brake fluid, leaked through to cruise deactivation switch into cruise systems and electrical components causing corrosion which caused a short. Had trouble with cruise control working over time lead to higher flow of current that overheated and caused fire at switch under hood. Ford speed control deactivation switch fire. The fire originated in the area where the speed control deactivation switch is located (left rear corner of the engine compartment at the master cylinder. There was evidence of speed control deactivation switch failure prior to the fire including inoperable speed control, repeated difficulty shifting out of park.
I own a 2003 lincoln navigator with the 5.4 liter engine and I have an oil leak coming from both back corners on each of the cylinder head gaskets. My mechanic shop did research and found that during this year of 2003 the gaskets could of been damaged during installation at the manufacturing plant. I feel like this issue needs to be addressed and for ford motor company to issue a recall on this matter.
My 2003 lincoln navigator has shut down completely three times in the last 6 weeks. Two of the occasions happened on the interstate while driving about 55 MPH, the third instance happened in my subdivision driving less than 30 MPH. After pulling the truck over to the side for safety the truck will not start immediately but will start after resting about 7 minutes. When the truck shuts down several lights on the dashboard light up. I explained the issue as well as I could to my local ford / lincoln dealership in madison, tn but they could not find any issues with it saying that no codes were showing. I also took the truck to a goodyear service repair in brentwood, tn but they also could not diagnose the problem. After searching for this type of issue on the internet I found numerous customers that have had a similar experience, some saying that the issue is related to the "fail safe" security option kicking in while a person is driving. The issue of having my truck shut down completely on the interstate is dangerous and I would appreciate help on getting the issue resolved as soon as possible.
2003 navigator, 99,000miles - spark plug blew out - engine lost power, gas spilling out of engine, during the transport of 1 adult and 4 children. 1. One week prior to the incident, the truck was given a full service for 100k miles, less then 1000 miles later, the car is rendered inoperable, and the dealer offered to give $2500 on trade (the amount of the 100k service) or repair the engine for $5500. 2. Car does not run 3. Nothing is fixed yet, ford will not admit a problem and will not assist the dealer.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. While driving at 35 MPH, the check engine light illuminated. When the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not move forward but then after a few seconds, suddenly take off. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the failure was caused by a vacuum leak. The coils and spark plugs were replaced but the failure occurred a day later. The failure reoccurred twice but had not occurred since. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. The current mileage was approximately 118,000.
I bought a used 2003 lincoln navigator with a big 5.4-liter v-8 engine from wittmeier ford in chico, ca. In 2004. The navigator looked like a great deal. The price was $43,000. The navigator had only 23,000 miles on the odometer. But the great deal blew up in my face when the used lincoln navigator spit a spark plug at 81,000 miles. The check engine light came on as the truck began to lose power. As we drove the car it continued to back fire. The ignition pack for that plug was shredded. I called wittmeier service and they said they knew nothing of the problem. The threads in the number 3 spark plug hole in the navigator were stripped. We needed to re-thread the number 3 spark plug hole and replace the ignition pack. I read on the internet where this is a common problem and it will likely happen again. I believe ford should take care of this problem.
Questions about the 2003 Lincoln Navigator engine
Does the 2003 Lincoln Navigator have engine problems?
Owners have filed 14 complaints about the engine of the 2003 Lincoln Navigator, 11% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2003 Lincoln Navigator engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 84,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Lincoln Navigator engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Lincoln Navigator have bad engine?
The Lincoln Navigator model years with the most engine complaints are 1999 (24 complaints), 2006 (22 complaints) and 1998 (19 complaints).
Other 2003 Lincoln Navigator problems
Suspension 38Electrical 22Body 18Airbags 14Transmission 13Visibility 13Acceleration 7Brakes 7Lights 3Steering 3Tires 3Driver assistance 2Locks 2Seats 2Wheels 2Seat belts 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Lincoln Navigator?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history