Your vehicle report
2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 362
- Received Oct 2002 to May 2026
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Headlights dim or fail at night158 complaints · 44% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Unintended acceleration despite braking17 complaints · 4.7% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly13 complaints · 3.6% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #15V861000Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured October 3, 2001, to August 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (LCM) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 22 crashes, 2 fires, 14 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 20 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2003 | 28 |
| 2004 | 13 |
| 2005 | 9 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2007 | 9 |
| 2008 | 9 |
| 2009 | 20 |
| 2010 | 39 |
| 2011 | 20 |
| 2012 | 20 |
| 2013 | 20 |
| 2014 | 42 |
| 2015 | 25 |
| 2016 | 28 |
| 2017 | 21 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 7 |
| 2023 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 |
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 1 |
| Total | 362 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 158 | 44% | 59.9× | NHTSA recall #15V861000 |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 17 | 4.7% | – | |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 13 | 3.6% | – | |
| Wheel bearings fail prematurely | 7 | 1.9% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 7 | 1.9% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 6 | 1.7% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 6 | 1.7% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 5 | 1.4% | – | |
| Windshield wipers work intermittently or fail | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Paint peels off roof and hood | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Brake lights fail or stay on | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Vehicle rolls backward out of park | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Airbag warning light stays on | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Steering wheel shakes violently at highway speed | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps | 3 | 0.8% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #15V861000December 22, 2015296,004 vehicles affected
exterior lighting: headlights
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured October 3, 2001, to August 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (LCM) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights.
A loss of headlights can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the LCM, free of charge. The recall began April 14, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S39.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN