2003 Ford Explorer Electrical System Problems
- 43
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 43 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- door ajar · 9 records
- ajar light · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 10 |
| 30–60k mi | 9 |
| 100–150k mi | 7 |
| 60–100k mi | 6 |
| 150–400k mi | 6 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and crashed into a ditch. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact and four bystanders pushed the vehicle into a residential driveway. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The…
Crash reported
ODI 11012296
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Power Train
My transmission light has been coming on. I was only at 117k miles when it happened. That's to soon for a transmission to be acting up especially since it's anew one according to carfax this is the second transmission for my explorer. The first one was put in only at 3 years old. It will sometimes jerk into reverse or take a second to go into drive when i switch gears. My overdrive light also flashes which i assume…
ODI 10885760
Electrical System · Power Train
While driving home from work this evening the o/d off light began steadily blinking and the transmission took way too long to shift (rpm almost red line) and wouldn't shift into 5th gear. I was driving on a city street and first noticed the truck not shifting and within 3 minutes of driving the o/d off light began flashing. If you turn the truck off then back on the o/d off light turns off but the truck still won't…
ODI 10852423
Door · Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the door ajar warning light illuminated, which caused the dome light to remain illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 188,000.
ODI 10838068
Electrical System · Visibility/Wiper
Adjusted hvac temperature from cold to hot. Approximately 5 seconds later, a loud and repetitive popping sound came from the defroster vents. I was startled and immediately stopped the car (on a 2 lane highway) to investigate. The blend door actuator is failing. This condition will cause a loss of climate control in the cabin. It can get stuck on hot or cold or anywhere in between. If it gets stuck in the cold…
ODI 10762850
Electrical System · Power Train · Unknown Or Other
I purchased my 03 ford explorer back in 2/15. It looked like i purchased a very very good used vehicle. Everything has been fine with it up until 2 weeks ago. My door ajar light keeps coming on when everything is closed, the od light is blinking non stop and the trunk window opens by itself when i am driving. When im driving it feels like the car is trying to "catch up". Like it knows i'm trying to do a certain…
ODI 10764011
Electrical System · Power Train
I bought my ford explorer xlt back in june of 2015. Since then i replaced my oxygen sensor do to a fault in the system and melting back in aug. 20015. The suv wouldn't start because of it and had to be towed. Since i purchased and had replaced the oxygen sensor by a ford dealer, i noticed the suv having power failure even from a complete stop and now the over drive off light flashes; this started in the beginning of…
ODI 10808552
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the key fob failed to unlock or lock the doors. The vehicle stalled and failed to start. The contact mentioned that a chime sounded after the failures occurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.
ODI 10652041
Electrical System
Driving home from vacation without problems, o/d off light started flashing, tried to turn it back on but wouldn't do anything. Stopped, turn key off, started no light. After about 150 miles after stopping on traffic light o/d off light started flashing again. 10 miles later engine service light came on and stayed on . *tr
ODI 10614822
Electrical System
I was driving on a curve and the engine shut off , i was able to stop ,and turn the car on again, that was the third time that happened , the other two times the car was at low speed , around 30 mph . *tr
ODI 10615191
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
The transmission light, 4'4 and the od light came on. It does shift gear from 1 to 2 until 3000 rpm. *tr
ODI 10614702
Electrical System · Power Train · Suspension
Truck jerks when trying to pick up speed picks up speed very slow sometimes doesn't want to go in drive. *tr
ODI 10595393
Electrical System · Service Brakes · Steering
My 2003 ford explorer has some serious electrical issues. My right front passenger window will not roll down. It gets very hot in my truck out in the heat. It stopped working all of a sudden and the a/c in the car does not blow. (i didn't break any of these things) my door ajar light is always on the dash... My driver's door sensor went out for some reason and now my vehicle thinks that the door is always open,…
1 injury
ODI 10604664
Electrical System
When i started my truck, the interior dome lamp would not go off and door ajar indicator was chiming as if there was a door open. I got out of my vehicle and walked around the car opening and closing all the doors as well as the liftgate and rear hatch glass. I got back in the car and it was still going off. After i started driving and got above 10mph the light and indicator went off. I did a search on the web and…
ODI 10533977
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact was driving approximately 40 mph when the navigational system functions disabled without warning. The contact maneuvered to the side of the road and turned the engine off. Once restarted, the navigation system began to operate normally however, the failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer five times for the same problem. The…
ODI 10505635
Door · Electrical System
Door adjar sensor fails in 2003 ford explorer its all over internet. *tr
ODI 10449601
Electrical System · Power Train
First i must say i love this truck. Its my second one and both had same problems. While driving home from work all of a sudden truch lurched forward then o/d off lite started flashing then check engine lite flashing.took it to my mechanic and it came up with a po775 code, he said its very common and not the first one hes seen do this. Pressure control solenoid b needs replacing for about $400.00 then after removing…
ODI 10400528
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Wheels
93,000 miles and abs light and loud grinding noise (in addition to applique crack in rear). Need to replace both rear hub bearings, brake pad rotors, and parking brake shoes. Search the web on these problems, and over 3 hundred complaints seen on just one site for 2003 explorers alone. *tr
ODI 10356610
Automatic Transmission · Cooling System · Electrical System · Latches/Locks/Linkages · Unknown Or Other
There have been multiple problems with my 2003 ford explorer since i bought it brand new in august of 2003. But ironically they have all appeared after the warranty had expired. In september 2007 the air conditioning unit no longer worked. It cost me $2000 and a week without a car, to get it fixed. In august 2009 the passenger door window would no longer work. In september 2009 my suv started making a clicking sound…
ODI 10357758
Electrical System
I have experienced all of the warnings the nhtsa listed for ford drivers regarding possible imminent fires including getting the vehicle out of park mode. My problem is the recall only includes 1995-2002 explorers and i have a 2003 explorer. The manufacture date is 02/03. Is it possible the plant still had the texas instrument cruise control deactivation switch in stock from 2002 and installed it in my vehicle?…
ODI 10287324
Electrical System
The door ajar light intermittently illuminates as the overhead lights come on. I had this occur once in the past and the dealer replaced a switch / relay but now it is occurring again... Much more frequently ... In fact, it is illuminated more then not now. *tr
ODI 10284007
Electrical System
Door ajar light comes on and turns on interior light which makes driving difficulty. Interior light come on with no warning. Vehicle has no damage and periods of extended wet weather causes sensor to malfunction. *tr
ODI 10252749
Electrical System
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While driving at an unknown speed, the warning indicator for the doors illuminated on the instrument panel and would not dim. The vehicle was driven to the dealer and they stated that there were no defects. The failure persisted over the next few months. The contact allowed the vehicle to remain parked for a couple of days and was unable to restart the vehicle. The battery…
ODI 10247741
Electrical System · Power Train · Unknown Or Other
I payed 18,000 for my 2003 ford explorer xlt with the flex fuel in 2006. Its a very nice looking suv but i only drove it for 2 years before the transmission started to fail. I beleave a transmission should last more than 2 years. My concearn is that its defective all around the transmission and i could still drive it if i wasnt in fear for my life. I have had it to ford dealership and they could not diagnose the…
ODI 10445821
Electrical System
String of electrical failures a the same time - resulted in loss of vehicle for 3-4 days and we had to rent a car to fill in while it was getting repaired - full battery failure, failure of the 4wd component, broken or detached wire in driver's door, resulting in inability to lock/alarm that door with remote. *tr
ODI 10210983