The 2003 Ford Crown Victoria is a full-size car that came with a 4.6L 8-cyl engine. At 23 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Large Cars |
|---|---|
| Engines | 4.6L 8-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic 4-spd |
| Drive | Rear-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Regular Gasoline, Natural Gas |
| Fuel economy | 12–16 city / 17–23 highway / 14–18 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $3,300–$4,200 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 494–555 grams per mile |
| Versions tested by EPA | 3 configurations: Crown Victoria, Crown Victoria CNG, Crown Victoria Police |
| Age | 23 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 5 safety recalls covering the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
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.
Risk: A loss of headlights can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
On certain police interceptors (cvpi) and commercial heavy duty (taxi) vehicles, at extremely high operating temperatures, the sound insulating panel, located under the vehicle positioned between the exhaust system and the underbody, could sag and possibly contact the surface of the catalytic converter.
Risk: If this occurs, the insulator might experience charring of the outer layer, burning odor, or smoke which may ultimately result in a fire.
Certain police, commercial, and passenger vehicles sold to fleets typically input higher loads into the vehicle chassis overloading the wheel bearings and axles.
Risk: This could lead to early bearing failure and ultimately to axle shaft fracture. In the event of axle shaft fracture, the vehicle would lose drive function and would coast to a stop. Loss of drive function could lead to a crash.
On certain natural gas vehicles, if a flame from a vehicle interior fire becomes locally directed at the natural gas fuel tank located immediately behind the rear seat, the flame could damage the fiberglass wrap on the tank weakening the tank.
Risk: If the strength of the tank is significantly compromised, it could rupture, increasing the risk of a fire.
On certain police and taxi vehicles equipped with steel wheels, some of the wheels may develop cracks in the rim near the weld line that connects the rim to the disk.
Risk: The cracks can ultimately result in rapid air loss from the tire and could affect vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Owners have filed 249 complaints about the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria with NHTSA. 16 reports involved a crash and 4 reports involved a fire. Owners reported 6 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
Manufacturers have filed 118 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
This article supersedes TSB 19-2026 to update the vehicle model years affected. Some 2000 and newer Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may e
Some 2000 and newer Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or
Some 2000 and newer Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or
Summary to be provided on a future date.
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 9 defect investigations covering the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria.
Loss of headlights
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation concerning the loss of headlights in model year (MY) 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles. The subject vehicles share the same architecture and major components.ODI has received 636 unique reports (for all submission dates) re
Loss of headlamp/exterior lighting
In a letter dated October 2, 2014 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) was initially petitioned by the North Carolina Consumers Council, Inc. requesting a defect investigation of an alleged defect condition resulting in headlight and/or exterior lighting failure on 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand M
Loss of headlight function
The agency has closed this investigation based on its review of complaint reports, field and technical data provided by Ford and complainant interviews. Ford found that some lighting control modules (lcm) in the subject vehicles contained defective solder joints on the printed circuit board.this condition can lead to p
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 t
Fracture of the steel wheel rim
During a september 23, 2004 meeting and in subsequent discussions in november, Ford advised the office of defects investigation (odi) of their plans to introduce an improved steel wheel for manufacturing and service component use on the subject vehicles, indicating this would occur in december 2004.the new wheel design
Rear axle fracture
This pe was opened after odi became aware of two allegations concerning rear axle fracture and partial wheel separation involving my 2003 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptors (cvpi).initially, the pe's scope involved all my 2003 grand marquis, Crown Victoria, and lincoln town cars (i.e., panther platform) produced t
Fracture of the steel wheel rim
The subject wheel (new for my 2003) is used on Crown Victoria (cv) and grand marquis.complaint data indicates that wheel failure affects primarily the commercial specification cv model (police and taxi) which has unique design characteristics and is generally subjected to higher usage demands.during Ford's analysis, it
Cng tank explosion
In september 2002, a fuel cylinder in a natural gas powered vehicle (ngv) exploded during a fire.Ford and vrtc test engineers jointly examined the incident vehicle and reviewed testing to determine whether the performance of the pressure relief valve (prd) was proper.the purpose of a prd is to protect a compressed natu
Cng tank exploding in a fire
An explosion of a compressed natural gas (cng) tank should not be able to occur, as the tank is fitted with a pressure relief device (prd). This prd should release the cng in the tank, prior to the pressure reaching the tank burst pressure.the prd did not release in the subject wisconsin police cruiser explosion.NHTSA
‹ Sell a 2002 Crown Victoria · Sell a 2004 Crown Victoria › · All Ford Crown Victoria years
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. Its parts make up much of its value. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2003 Crown Victorias that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 5 recalls for the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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