Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
We had several close calls where the car would not stop,and slide on dry pavement,and wet conditions . The car had new brakes, rotors, tires, but still would have trouble stopping, unfortunately my daughter was driving the car today,and hit another car. I just replaced the tires again a few months go, thinking the tires were the problem. I had several close calls myself, and I think there is a big problem with this car stopping. Thank god nobody was hurt, but this could have been much worse. My daughter was going approximately 30 miles an hour, and she was on a city street, conditions were wet , but she had plenty of time to stop.
On October 23 2019, I retained mavis discount tire to inspect my new york state registered 2003 Ford Taurus. Mavis discount tire passed the vehicle, determining the vehicles condition complied with ny state safety standard of roadworthiness. 12/12/2019, after repairing the transmission at gorilla auto works, I was informed of a serious structural situation, control arm assembly "severely deteriorated". On January 20th 2020, I again referred the vehicle to caskinete Ford carthage new york for further evaluation, at Ford motor company standards, as was informed, that the control arm assembly was not repairable, at the present condition, did not meet new york state or federal safety standards, contrary to the original status, and inspection , issued 10/23/2019 mavis discount tire arsenal st. Watertown new york. …
An on coming car lost control and swerved into my daughters lane of traffic. My daughter was unable to stop in time and t-boned the other car. Upon impact, the other car was split in 2. My daughters airbags never deployed. All I want to know is why her airbags never deployed. When I call the Ford motor company they told me because "no one was seriously injured or killed they would not look into the matter." thankfully everyone walked away. My daughter has a concussion and bruised ribs from the accident. Ford motor company told me the only way they would consider looking at the vehicle is if I bought the vehicle from our insurance company (our insurance totaled the vehicle because of the excessive damage) and then had the vehicle towed to an authorized Ford dealer.
Today a cold front moved in. I received the vehicle from my grandparents and it has spent its whole life in the garage.now it is always outside. Multiple times this year the door latches have gotten stuck in the open position. This causes the doors not to shut, and me having to hold them closed as I drive. They eventually start working ( usually after 20-30 mins of driving). I have tried de-icer and grease but nothing works. My moms 2005 Ford freestyle has the same issue, except it was recalled because of it. I find it extremely dangerous that I have to hold my doors closed or they fly open when I drive.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. The contact noticed a leak underneath the dashboard on the passenger side floorboard. She also detected smoke and then the air conditioner failed. The mechanic stated that blower motor was leaking and it was replaced. The purchase date was unknown. The current mileage was 91,000 and failure mileage was approximately 80,000. Updated 3/5/08 the consumer stated the mechanic replaced the blower motor but the blower resistor was not repaired but the mechanic stated both were rusted from water damage. Updated 03/05/08
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Taurus. While driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to remain in position. The contact had to continuously maneuver the steering wheel in order to keep the vehicle in position. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the front cradle was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000.
As with thousands of other 2003 Taurus owners, I also have water leaking into the passenger side compartment from a design/manufacturing flaw. I also replaced the heater fan which I found to be full of water. I am also very, very unhappy with the idea that this is obviously a design flaw and Ford won't make it right because they're not having their feet held to the fire by a government agency. But wait, there's more. The automatic transmission on this car has occasionally done what is called a "neutral drop". While starting out from a stop in "drive", the transmission has (on three occasions) not engaged until the engine has reached about 2000 RPM. The resultant effect from this surprise engagement can only be described as the feeling of having someone run into the back of the car. …
Our 2003 Ford Taurus started to leak from somewhere. The floors became wet when it rained. We took the car to the Ford dealership and they fixed"the problem. This happened 3 more times each time they claimed to have fixed the problem. We were left without a car for a week the last time ,and still we have problems with the car. The water damage has left my car with a foul smell and has shorted out our blower for the second time. Ford in waterbury ct has given up on the car and claimed that they cannot find where the water is coming from. This happened over the course of about 1 1/2 years. Since this time our warranty has ran out and the problem is not fixed. We are aware of recall # 03V087000, but we are not sure if this is part of it. I have researched the internet to find many descriptions of Ford models 2001-2003 with this same problem. …
We had a small hail storm pea size hail and called geico to look at the roof, trunk and hood of the car. The roof had large area's of paint missing and bubbled with large area's of rust under it. The adjuster told us this was a defect that Ford was have with cars and trucks between 2000 - 2006 and denied the claim. After several months of research and body shops telling me this is a Ford defect, calling Ford and them telling me it's not there problem, looking at web-sites with 100's of complaints, lemon laws, facebook pages against Ford, frustration because people were loosing their cars due to rust, and Ford telling us oh well even after the tsa report Ford posted stating they knew they had a problem with the paint adhering to the aluminum to make the car weigh less and a good possible fix would be to replace the panels with steal and good primer and painted, the Ford 800 number stated …
I have a 2003 Ford Taurus and every time it's setting out in a moderate to heavy rain the right front floorboard gets saturated with water. I've had to replace the blower resistor twice and the blower motor once and the motor in it now is going out. Why isn't Ford being held responsible for the repairs and costs affiliated with this manufacturing defect and the costs incurred on those of us unfortunate enough to have purchased one of them? Due to this issue I nearly had an accident on 03/08/10 when my windshield fogged during a rainstorm and I lost almost all visibility. If I hadn't known the area very well plus 25 years of law enforcement driving I very well could have been seriously injured or killed. NHTSA needs to act on this asap before someone is killed. My name is [redacted] and I can be contacted at [redacted], in mesa, arizona. …
Body complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2003 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 111 complaints about the body & structure of the 2003 Ford Taurus, 9% of the model year's 1,223 complaints. The component named most often is body (17 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Ford Taurus body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2003 Ford Taurus, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Ford Taurus body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 57,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 2 fires and 1 injury to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.