NHTSA Safety Recalls
2003 Ford Ranger Recalls
The 2003 Ford Ranger has 5 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on October 13, 2009.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2003 Ford Ranger. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 5
- Owner complaints
- 243
- Crashes reported
- 37
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★☆
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
11 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2003 Ford Ranger, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
5 recalls on the 2003 Ford Ranger
Vehicle speed control
- Campaign
- 09V399000
- Reported
- October 13, 2009
- Vehicles affected
- up to 4,500,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2001–2002 Ranger, 10 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 06E049000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2001–2002 Ranger, 23 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 06E065000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2001–2002, 2004–2005 Ranger, 9 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 09E012000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002 Ranger, 57 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2002, 2004–2005 Ranger, 46 other models
2003 Ford Ranger complaints by year
NHTSA has received 243 owner complaints about the 2003 Ford Ranger, the newest on July 15, 2025. Of these, 37 describe a crash (15%) and 11 a fire; owners reported 43 injuries and 1 death.
In complaints about the 2003 Ford Ranger, the component group named most often is the structure (18%), followed by the vehicle speed control (16%) and the service brakes, hydraulic (12%).
1 of the 2003 Ford Ranger's 5 recalls also concerns the vehicle speed control.
Where 2003 Ford Ranger owners gave the mileage (185 complaints), the median was 56,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Structure43
- Vehicle Speed Control40
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic29
- Air Bags25
- Suspension23
- Engine And Engine Cooling18
Complaints received, by year
| 2002 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 31 | |
| 2004 | 35 | |
| 2005 | 27 | |
| 2006 | 6 | |
| 2007 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 9 | |
| 2009 | 8 | |
| 2010 | 17 | |
| 2011 | 9 | |
| 2012 | 6 | |
| 2013 | 8 | |
| 2014 | 12 | |
| 2015 | 9 | |
| 2016 | 18 | |
| 2017 | 11 | |
| 2018 | 7 | |
| 2019 | 5 | |
| 2020 | 5 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 1 |
Complaints about the 2003 Ford Ranger peaked in 2004, when NHTSA received 35. 42% arrived between 2002 and 2006, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2003 vehicles, the 2003 Ford Ranger drew 1.9× the complaints of the median Ford Ranger year in the same window: 4th highest of the 16 ranked years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 2/5
The 243 complaints about the 2003 Ford Ranger are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Ford Ranger by model year
Other 2003 Ford models
Newest record on this page: July 15, 2025. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted