2003 Ford Mustang Convertible problems & reliability
35 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 7 | 20% |
| Structure | 7 | 20% |
| Suspension | 5 | 14% |
| Seat Belts | 3 | 9% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 9% |
| Air Bags | 2 | 6% |
| Equipment | 2 | 6% |
| Seats | 2 | 6% |
| Steering | 2 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 2 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 17 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 21 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 20,211 miles (middle 50% between 10,000 and 57,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Loud pop noise and vehicle speed very quickly decreased. Engine ran extremely rough. Vehicle towed to ford dealer. *tr”
Engine · filed Jun 30, 2014
“As an overweight 6'9" citizen and phd scientist, I would like to know what safety tests are done for people that deviate from a normal size and weight. I understand that safety tests are done for children, but what about people that are very tall, or as it is an increasing problem in the us, people that are very…”
Seats · filed Aug 20, 2013
“Making a right turn in a residential neighborhood with a speed of aprox. 10 mph the airbags suddenly deployed on the drivers side and the passengers side. There was no collision with any kind of objects (car,pets.varments,road debris etc;;... ) there was no damage whatsoever to the car. But my son was knock-out…”
Air Bags · filed Mar 16, 2013
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD
Defect Petition DP05005 · opened Sep 22, 2005 · closed Jan 4, 2006
- ACCELERATOR PEDAL INTERFERENCE
Preliminary Evaluation PE05038 · opened Jul 7, 2005 · closed Sep 13, 2005
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 20,211 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.