Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||||
| 03193 | 09/29/2003 | 10004033 | Excessive moisture in the headlamp assembly. *tt | 11/14/2003 | |
| 16698 | 03/01/2003 | 10001944 | Erratic headlamp operation in autolamp mode. *tt *jb | 07/28/2003 | |
| 16697 | 03/01/2003 | 10001943 | Exhaust air rush noise and lower power. *tt *jb | 07/28/2003 | |
| 15802 | 04/01/2002 | 637524 | On some vehicles the headlamps remain illuminated when wipers are activated and then deactivated. *tt | 12/02/2002 | |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL | |||||
| 17757 | 04/01/2004 | 10008247 | Intermittent rapid flashing of the turn signals. *tt | 07/23/2004 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | ||||||
| PE08066 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11/26/2008 | 03/24/2009 | 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 poor headlight performance ranging from intermittent outage and dimming to eventual headlights failure.the failure does not affect other lighting functions (park, emergency flasher, brake and flash to pass lights).the agency is aware of a total of 306 consumers complaints and no report of crash, injury or fatality.ford reports 2,074 warranty claims related to headlight failure linked to the lcm during the first three years of operation.about 12% (247) of these claims are specific to headlight failure while driving.the average warranty rate for headlight failing while driving is low (0.05%).ford reports a slightly higher warranty rate experienced for the crown victoria police interceptor vehicles and this is attributed to the higher duty cycle of these vehicles (headlights on for longer periods).a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 02/12/2013 | 140000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds during night hours, the headlights intermittently failed. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were approximately 140,000. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 02/12/2013 | 140000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds during night hours, the headlights intermittently failed. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were approximately 140,000. the vin was unavailable. mah | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 115000 | 2 | |
| Headlights failed for the second time on this vehicle!!! ran off road in pitch dark. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 115000 | ||
| Headlights failed for the second time on this vehicle!!! ran off road in pitch dark. | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 95343 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the headlights failed and would not re-illuminate. the contact had to leave the vehicle sitting overnight and the following day, the lights still would not illuminate. the vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were approximately 95,343. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 95343 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the headlights failed and would not re-illuminate. the contact had to leave the vehicle sitting overnight and the following day, the lights still would not illuminate. the vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were approximately 95,343. the vin was unavailable. kmj | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 95343 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that his wife was driving approximately 40 mph on a dark road. the contact stated that the headlights flickered off and never cut on. the contact stated that he had to drive down and pick up his wife and leave the vehicle. when the contact returned to the vehicle later on in the day the headlights still did not operate. the vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were approximately 95,343. the vin was unavailable. tb | |||
| 07/02/2012 | 138500 | 1 | |
| While driving after dark the headlights turned themselves off. the dash switch was set on auto so i changed it manual but no effect. i drove with the headlight flash switch pulled in order to get home. the lights will cycle back on and then off again without any input from me. when the lights are off it doesn't matter what position the dash switch is set on. this is a definite safety item and should be a recall by ford motor company. for me to have a shop fix this item will cost around $500.00. i feel this should be covered by ford. *tr | |||
| 07/02/2012 | 138500 | ||
| While driving after dark the headlights turned themselves off. the dash switch was set on auto so i changed it manual but no effect. i drove with the headlight flash switch pulled in order to get home. the lights will cycle back on and then off again without any input from me. when the lights are off it doesnt matter what position the dash switch is set on. this is a definite safety item and should be a recall by ford motor company. for me to have a shop fix this item will cost around $500.00. i feel this should be covered by ford. | |||
| 12/25/2011 | 110000 | ||
| Headlights shut off while driving at night, no way to illuminate the roadway. hour later they came back on. failure continues intermitently for a month now lights do not work at all. major safety issue. had mechanic review and told lcm needed replaced, this part failure also causes the digital climate control to not operate (meaning no defroster, no heat, no a/c), the dome lights, and vanity lights not to work. only way to drive at night is to hold the flash to pass on constantly which again is a hazard with both hands unable to be on the steering wheel. | |||
| 03/01/2012 | 73200 | ||
| Lost both headlights with for turning them on, no other way to turn them try all means. would stay off for 3 to 5 to never return. | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 153000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the headlights suddenly stopped illuminated. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 153,000. sm. | |||
| 03/01/2012 | 73200 | ||
| Lost both headlights with for turning them on, no other way to turn them try all means. would stay off for 3 to 5 to never return. | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 153000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the headlights suddenly stopped illuminated. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 153,000. sm. | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 153000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. while driving at approximately 50 mph the headlights suddenly stopped functioning. the failure occurs intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 153,000. ds | |||
| 10/05/2011 | |||
| I recently began having headlight and parklight/ taillight trouble when my headlights started to shut off while i was driving. i own a 2003 ford crown victoria i still had my dash lights and tail lights working. apparently it is some sort of design flaw in the lcm and it only applies to the low beams and constant on high beam function. the flash to pass function will still work though when it was malfunctioning. it seems to be on the lcm or lighting control module. or the bcm | |||
| 11/01/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights would fail sporadically and without warning. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 140,000. | |||
| 10/05/2011 | |||
| I recently began having headlight and parklight/ taillight trouble when my headlights started to shut off while i was driving. i own a 2003 ford crown victoria i still had my dash lights and tail lights working. apparently it is some sort of design flaw in the lcm and it only applies to the low beams and constant on high beam function. the flash to pass function will still work though when it was malfunctioning. it seems to be on the lcm or lighting control module. or the bcm | |||
| 11/01/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights would fail sporadically and without warning. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 140,000. | |||
| 11/01/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights would fail sporadically and without warning. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 140,000. kmj | |||
| 11/01/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving the headlight would go off with out any warnings. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included on any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 140,000. pm | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 210655 | ||
| The contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, both of the headlights failed without warning. the failure would occur intermittently, the lights would occasionally illuminate but would fail again within a few minutes. the lighting control module was replaced once and at a later date it failed again.the manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle and would not provide any assistance. search of the internet indicated that this problem has been reported numerous times in the model year that the contact drives in addition to ohter model years. the failure mileage was approx. 210,655. | |||
| 03/02/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact was driving 65 mph when both headlights failed. the dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the light control module would need to be replaced. there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 80,000. | |||
| 03/02/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated while driving 65 mph both head lights stop working. the dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the light control module needed to be replaced and it will cost him $800. there are no recalls or warranty for this vehicle. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 80,000...mw | |||
| 06/01/2010 | 70000 | ||
| The headlights in my 2003 ford crown victoria randomly turn off and back on without warning. they can stay off for hours at a time. sometimes they are off, sometimes they are on and using the headlight switch does nothing to correct issue. i took the vehicle to a ford dealership and was told it is the lighting control modular which is going to be $700 just for the part. also, i purchased an additional warranty on the vehicle which is valid for another 7 months and the warranty company is trying to deny the claim. i cannot find a recall from ford for this defect. the vehicle has approximately 70,000 miles. i have seen numerous postings for the same issue. the consumer should not have to pay for this defective part since clearly it is a widespread issue and is a safety hazard when driving at night. | |||
| 11/01/2010 | 210303 | ||
| I own a 2003 ford crown victoria police intercptor, over the last several months the headlights will shut off randomly. from researching online it seems this is a very widespread/well known problem. why hasn't there been a recall on the defective part? | |||
| 06/04/2010 | 46000 | ||
| Lighting control module (lcm) failure exactly as described by others reporting the same problem. the lcm had to be replaced and the second one failed as well and is currently being replaced. this is an expensive part and causes a very dangerous situation as it happens intermittently until it completely fails. it should be noted that the a/c fan operation is also tied to the same relay that fails in the lcm. ford claims there's been no recall on this failure. my cv is the sport lx and had under 46000 miles when it happened the first time and less than 48000 the second time. our other cv of the same year is the digital model cv. | |||
| 06/10/2010 | 105000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the head lights fail while driving at 45mph during the night. the head lights turned itself off and then on it takes about three seconds before coming back on each time. the dealer was called and informed him to replace the relay control module at a cost of $500. he call the manufacturer and was told there is no recalls or warranty on this failure and that he would have to pay the cost himself. the repaired was not completed as yet. the failure mileage was 105,000....mw | |||
| 05/12/2010 | 84000 | ||
| Lighting control module failed, causing loss of headlights. | |||
| 02/27/2010 | 123000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 crown victoria. while driving the vehicle the headlights will turn off automatically. after several minutes the lights will then come back on. *tr | |||
| 03/03/2010 | 161000 | 1 | |
| Headlights on my 2003 ford crown victoria turned off without warning while driving at night. main light switch does not have affect. all other lights work correctly. unable to turn headlights on. they came on after about 10 min. tapping lcm seems to make the lights to turn on. it appears to be safety hazard.*tr | |||
| 02/18/2010 | 64460 | 1 | |
| Ford crown victoria 2003 light control module thermal-sensitive failure at night. headlights failed to switch back on after car was stopped briefly in cold conditions. unable to restore headlights in automatic or manual modes. had to drive 6 blocks on parking lights only. second failure required that car be driven at night with momentary-closure high beam switch manually engaged to provide some headlights. that evening headlights started working again after car parked in warm garage. all other running lights ok. car taken to ford dealer which replaced lcm module for $722.00. both extended repair warranty carrier and ford customer service refused to refund any portion of the repair. ford customer service stated that if this was a problem, there would have been a recall notice, but there wasn't one. this is both a costly burden to the consumer and a safety issue. there is no way to override a sudden lcm failure to restore headlights, as the dashboard headlight switch operates through the lcm in all modes. i find that the nhtsa just closed a case involving 306 ford lcm failures between 2003 and 2005. this problem continues as both a cost burden and safety problem, strongly calling for a reopening of this case in behalf of the consumer. *tr | |||
| 11/02/2009 | 150000 | 1 | |
| Headlamps turned off while driving at night. they stayed off for about 60 seconds then came back on. this happened about 5 times in 20 mile trip. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2009 | 51000 | 1 | |
| My 2003 ford crown victoria's head lights do not work. every person i have spoken to with similar cars have had headlight failure. the problem is a lcm computer that controls the lights and is $500. *tr | |||
| 02/10/2009 | 114000 | 1 | |
| My name is matthew and i own a 2003 ford crown victoria lx sport. in early january i had a minor front end collision with a deer. my insurance provider replaced a headlamp, park lamp and a header (front panel that connects to the grille. in early february i was driving after dark and the headlamps shutoff, the park lamps stayed on but the two white headlamps shut off and wouldn't come back on. i played with the switch, high beams and finally turned the car off. upon restarting it the car the automatic lights came back on. in the past 6 months the problem has gone from a once a month occurrence to a permanent problem to the effect that the lights stay on for less then 2 minutes after the car is started. after that i must hold the wand back to turn on the headlamps the duration of my drive. the lights do not come back on at all. consequently it is hard to drive and control such a large car with only one hand and i feel that its unsafe to drive a car with the condition of the headlights. originally i thought this may be a headlight switch and am in the process of replacing it but my mechanic said not to bother because it was a light control module that was causing the problem....$480.00 for a safety part that under no circumstances should have problems. i highly doubt that hitting the deer ruined the module because the problem didn't start until a month after i had my accident and the impact was very light. unfortunately i'm not the only crown victoria owner that has had this problem and that makes me wonder why the ford motor company has not yet issued a recall. *tr | |||
| 06/27/2009 | 111000 | 1 | |
| Lighting control module failed....head lights went out in dark on hwy. unable to get lights on safety hazard. had to use flasher to approach pull off area. still unable to get lights on. family member came, followed to get car & passengers to safety. *tr | |||
| 06/04/2009 | 129365 | 1 | |
| 2003 ford crown victoria headlamps shut off while driving on interstate at 70 mph was told by ford motor company no recall exists for (lcm) unit {lighting control module} that is defective and headlamps can go off at anytime & will not work in manual or automatic operation positions, this could lead to a serious accident! *tr | |||
| 01/14/2009 | 112000 | 1 | |
| While driving down the road, with my 10 month old son in back, my headlights turned off randomly as i was going around a sharp corner, i slammed my brakes on in order to not go off road, but still ended up with two tires off road. i cannot drive at night, and after doing research found that there is a lighting control module issue, thinking that this is a safety hazard i figured that ford would have a recall on it, went on their site and they said i do not have any recalls listed for my car, and the repair will cost me 300+. *tr | |||
| 04/21/2009 | 118070 | 1 | |
| I have had the headlights go out while driving on 3 occasions. if i pulled back on the flash to pass bright light lever, the lights would stay on as long as i held the lever back. turning the light switch to auto to the left or always on to the right did not turn the lights back on. stop the car shut it off and turn back on after a minute may start the lights burning again. headlights in these instances did not stay on very long after starting down the road but stayed on to complete the trip after shut off and restart. *tr | |||
| 03/01/2008 | 1 | ||
| While drive the crown victoria i hear a clicking sound, the headlights goes off. it does not comes back on i have to hold the switch on bright lights to see in the night when this happens. i have search on line and i notice it is a constant problem that have occurred with other crown victoria drivers. why do we have to pay for having this malfunction fix when it is a factory fault? *tr | |||
| 03/08/2009 | 160000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights dim without warning. the failure has been occurring for approximately one month. the headlamp control module is the cause of the failure. the contact feels that the manufacturer should be responsible for replacing the module due to multiple complaints for this failure. the vin was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 160,000. | |||
| 01/01/2003 | 1 | ||
| All ford vehicles do not have day time driving lights.as a safety group you, know that vehicles with day time driving lights get in to less accidents. and how many pedestrian are injured or killed each year because they did't see the vechicle. it is the law in canada. what about us here in the usa?*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||
| 12/15/2011 | 70700 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the low-beam headlight failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the control module for the low beam headlights failed and would need replacing. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 70,700. | |||
| 01/15/2010 | 179000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, both of the headlights failed without warning. the failure would occur intermittently. when driving over a pothole or bumpy road surface, the lights would occasionally illuminate but would fail again within a few minutes. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the turn signal switch was replaced; however, the failure persisted. the lighting control module was replaced at a later date and the contact did not experience the failure after the switch was replaced. the manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle and would not provide any assistance. the current mileage was approximately 185,000 and the failure mileage was 179,000. | |||
| 02/24/2010 | 108000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact was driving approximately 45 mph at night. the headlights were activated and suddenly, they became inoperative. there was extreme difficulty with visibility. the high/low beam selector was depressed. the contact replaced the headlights and headlamps less than a month before the repeated failure occurred. an authorized dealer has been notified of the malfunction. the failure mileage was 108,000. the current mileage was 110,000. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 03/03/2010 | 20000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the contact was driving at night approximately between 55-60 mph. the headlights spontaneously turned on and off without assistance. the contact replaced the relay control module. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 120,000. the current mileage was 120,100. | |||
| 12/21/2008 | 120000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria police interceptor. while driving at night the headlights stopped working without warning. the failure also occurred when it was foggy or raining. sometimes the lights would turn back on. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. since he could not leave the vehicle over-night, the vehicle was not inspected. he had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date. the vehicle has not been repaired to-date. the current mileage was approximately 136,435. the failure mileage was approximately 120,000. | |||
| 06/13/2008 | 124455 | 1 | |
| The headlight relay on the lighting control module (lcm) part number nec-eq1-11111s overheats and fails suddenly, shutting off headlights which could lead to a crash. this is an apparent problem on 2003 ford crown victoria passenger and police interceptor models. this happened to me. researching on internet, apparently it is a common failure that gearheads are advised to modify their 2003 as soon as they get it by replacing this relay on the lcm (if they know how to solder.) apparently, it is a 10a relay, with 8+amps going through it and it overheats and fries the relay. don't know if this overheating condition enough to cause further damage or fire. it is apparently an $600-$800 fix at the dealer if you aren't' a gearhead to replace the whole lcm (although if apparently replaced with the same relay - same problem will develop). the fact that the headlights both go out suddenly is dangerous. to drive i had to pull back on the bright lights handle on the steering column to see, and this resulted in a ticket from police, but it was this or nothing to get home. car now in driveway. replaced the switch in steering column first, but this didn't solve problem. found out i have to learn to figure out how to solder or shell out big $$$ to fix. *tr | |||
| 12/14/2007 | 36427 | 3 | 09/20/2003 |
| While driving car home at night the headlights quit. lights came back on after car was stopped for 10 minutes. car was driven again a couple of times and headlights failed again. lights come back on after 5-10 minutes. no longer drive car at night due to concern for safety. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2006 | 4 | 05/16/2003 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford crown victoria. the cruise control would not work. on several occasions, after driving 14 miles, the key would become very hot which was noticed when it was removed from the ignition. the electrical windows would not go up or down properly as they should and activate either very slowly or very quickly. the front driver's seat would not go back and forth as it should and either moves very slowly or not at all. this is the second time that the contact has experienced electrical failure with the windows and the seat. she also stated that the head light switch works intermittently and must be held in order for it to activate. the current mileage was 38,000 and the failure mileage was unavailable. | |||