Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||||
| 17881 | 06/01/2004 | 10008267 | Ride height issues on automobiles with air suspension. *tt | 07/23/2004 | |
| 17639 | 03/01/2004 | 10007411 | Ride height issues. *tt | 06/22/2004 | |
| 03127 | 06/23/2003 | 10002688 | Steering wheel nibble at highway speeds. vehicles produced before 6/12/2003 only. *tt | 09/10/2003 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||||
| 061510 | 10021072 | Air suspension performance - height sensor linkage arm disengaging. *kb | 02/27/2007 | ||
| 18400 | 02/01/2005 | 10012963 | Four corner load leveling air suspension may exhibit leveling concerns, such as one front corner dropping. individual air springs available for service. *tt | 04/05/2005 | |
| 03132 | 07/07/2003 | 10003727 | This article addresses the proper procedure to clear diagnostic trouble codes c1990 or c1991 from the vehicle dynamics module/4-wheel air suspension module. *tt | 10/29/2003 | |
| 16705 | 03/01/2003 | 10001947 | Air suspension diagnosis. *tt *jb | 07/28/2003 | |
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||||
| 050618 | 01/01/2005 | 05126 | 10016789 | Rear axle noise repair. *sc | 10/07/2005 |
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||||
| 0454 | 03/22/2004 | 10008539 | Air suspension compressor noise. *tt | 08/04/2004 | |
| 16762 | 04/01/2003 | 10002654 | Ride height anomalies on vehicles equipped with air suspension, i.e. front suspension lowering while rear rises, due to leaking solenoids. | 09/09/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 03/10/2008 | 80000 | 1 | |
| My air suspension went out the first time in march of 2008, it just quit working. i then paid $500 to get it replaced. then again in 2011 it went out 2 different time, in which this time i had the compressor rebuilt. and again it went out of may of 2012. this time i have not had it replaced, i only drive the suv when i have to. there are so many problems with the air suspensions on the 2003 lincoln navigator that ford should make the part good. *tr | |||
| 03/10/2008 | 80000 | ||
| My air suspension went out the first time in march of 2008, it just quit working. i then paid $500 to get it replaced. then again in 2011 it went out 2 different time, in which this time i had the compressor rebuilt. and again it went out of may of 2012. this time i have not had it replaced, i only drive the suv when i have to. there are so many problems with the air suspensions on the 2003 lincoln navigator that ford should make the part good. | |||
| 10/06/2012 | 189000 | 1 | |
| The right side front airbag ride suspension bag exploded while driving. *tr | |||
| 10/06/2012 | 189000 | ||
| The right side front airbag ride suspension bag exploded while driving | |||
| 03/09/2009 | 50000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated the air suspension system disengaged and the vehicle began to shake violently whenever he drove over a bump in the road. the failure occurred while driving at various speeds. the contact noticed that the suspension system was disengaged while the vehicle was parked. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer at least ten times to be repaired. the failure continued to occur. the contact also stated that the failure occurred more frequently during cold weather. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. | |||
| 03/09/2009 | 50000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated the air suspension system disengaged and the vehicle began to shake violently whenever he drove over a bump in the road. the failure occurred while driving at various speeds. the contact noticed that the suspension system was disengaged while the vehicle was parked. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer at least ten times to be repaired. the failure continued to occur. the contact also stated that the failure occurred more frequently during cold weather. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. rvk | |||
| 03/09/2009 | 50000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated that the air suspension system would disengage and the vehicle would shake violently whenever he drove over bumps in the road. the failure occurred while driving at various speeds, but the contact would notice that the suspension system was disengaged while parked. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on at least ten occasions to be repaired. the failure continued. the contact also stated that the failure occurred more frequently during cold weather. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. sm. | |||
| 10/10/2011 | |||
| This is a common problem that needs to be fixed it's all over the internet. the suspension system on these are always messed up please fix this | |||
| 02/03/2008 | 76000 | ||
| While driving in a parking lot a car pulled out in front of my 2003 navigator as i hit the brakes i felt my suv drop from the front. the tire skidded and i hit the car that was pulling out. after the accident my truck was never the same .it was taken to the dealership but they said the warranty would not cover it.i have a 40000 dollar truck just parked in the driveway for the past 6 months i know mechanics that can convert it to to springs suspension for about 400 dollars but that's not the point i paid top dollar for a piece of you know what.i drive a 2000 nissan with 170000 miles on it and haven't spend a dime on it besides tires | |||
| 06/15/2009 | 76000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated while driving 35 mph the vehicle shuts off without warning. the contact has taken the vehicle to the dealer regarding the electrical system and the dealer stated the entire fuse box needs to be replaced. the contact stated the suspension is defective as well. the contact stated the air bags are deflating. the dealer stated the air bag for the suspension needs to be replaced. the failure mileage was 76,000. jo | |||
| 12/19/2003 | |||
| Suspension system rises and falls while driving or parked. the first incident the front right side would not raise up and made driving hazardous. this last incident the rear went up and will not come down. the vehicle can hardly be held in the road when this happens. several complaints of this problem have been listed on the internet. | |||
| 11/28/2009 | 112000 | ||
| Suspension relay fails then compressor fails now it still will not fill and hold as it should right front dips dangerously low no real fix or relief in sight | |||
| 09/27/2010 | 98000 | ||
| Suspension problems in my 2003 lincoln navigator. | |||
| 03/11/2010 | 102000 | ||
| Air supension motor had to be replaced at around 100,0000 miles. also air bags leak and are slow to air up in cold weather. mechanic said need to replaced. | |||
| 07/06/2010 | 150000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated that the air rise system on the vehicle has failed and it causes the vehicle to bounce up and down when you hit any kind of bump. the contact has had system worked on twice, but the failure still occurs. the dealer as stated that the entire system needs to be replaced. the failure mileage was 150000 and the current mileage was 157000.rl | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 93000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 lincoln navigator, over the past two years my truck has primarily sat in the garage, the suspension went out two years ago, we were told the compressor needed to be replaced, we did this to the tune of $599.00, after the compressor was replaced my truck ran okay, it never seemed quite the same, after almost 5 months the compressor went out again, this time we were told it needed a new compressor and air bags and would cost aprox. $1,300.00 and could cost more if other suspension issues were discovered, we cannot afford to have repairs done due to several reasons financially, this is my only vehicle and it cannot be driven, the body of the truck sits so low, we've been told it looks like we may have axel damage from the improper distribution of body weight on the vehicle due to the suspension being out. our local lincoln dealer (aprox. 20 miles away) said we need to bring the vehicle to them to have it looked at?, our truck is not drivable, i attempted to drive it to the dealership and got about 2.5 blocks from our home and had to turn around and go back home, the violent bouncing and rocking gives a whipping movement that caused my head to continuously hit the head rest very hard, this causing great back and neck pain, not to mention cause for alarm on what this unsafe driving is doing to the vehicle...i am so disappointed, i am making $500.00 a month payments on a vehicle i cannot and have not been able to drive over the past two years. what's even more troubling i cannot find any recalls on the suspension and i have been reading hundreds of complaints due to this problem online, what is ford doing about this? can someone please tell me if they are working on making this right. *tr | |||
| 02/09/2010 | 2 | ||
| A year and ahalf ago, the navigator began to make strange growling noises when it was parked under the garage. some days when i would try to get into the car, it was high off the ground, other days it would be extremely low. the entire suspension went out on our 2003 navigator. it cost me over $700 to have it repaired. this is my only transportation, so i had to borrow a car for a week to get to work. now, it is out again! because of the last experience, i had been doing a system check periodically. the check always said, suspension ok. well, two weeks ago, i began to notice the car seemed to lean to the right or lean forward when parked. finally, last week my husband said, the car was riding like a bouncing buggy - the suspension is gone again! this is the second time and i cannot afford to have it repaired. it is the only transportation we have for getting to work. and i'm still paying on a car that i cannot ride. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2009 | 76000 | 1 | |
| Front air suspension on the passenger side does not work in cold weather, and only works half of the time in warm weather. truck is very well taken care thru the dealership and has only 76,000 miles and been to the dealer several times for the suspension and right running board. see all over the internet numerous complaints about the same thing, this is clearly a common problem with the model (2003 lincoln navigator). the truck has not been driven in 2 months because of the expense at the dealer to repair. *tr | |||
| 10/10/2009 | 116000 | 1 | |
| The suspension in my 2003 lincoln navigator has gone completely out. the estimate to get it fixed is over $1000, but cannot repair because i have been laid off for over a year. being as how this defect is so widely affects this make and model vehicle, it should be investigated as a possible recall. a typical car driver should not have to be expected to pay for an obvious engineering defect. we're talking about the entire suspension system failing with one component going out. *tr | |||
| 02/05/2008 | 146500 | 1 | |
| 2003 lincoln navigator air suspension sensor failure at highway speed. caused vehicle to lose all suspension and drop as low as it would go, providing no suspension. truck bounced dangerously over the road while attempting to decrease speed and remain within lane. *tr | |||
| 10/03/2009 | 40000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 lincoln navigator .i bought it in staten island ny dana motors 2 years ago i have had it in there shop for suspension censors and bags over 10 times my warranty expired 30 days ago and guess what my rear suspension went out .i contacted ford over 10 times and i want to say that this has to be the worst truck and company i have ever had to deal with ford found on road dead go gm. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2009 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Can you check out 03 lincoln navigator air suspension because my keeps failing compressor and height sensor causing rough rides checked online seems like alot of people have same problem like me too. *tr | |||
| 02/28/2008 | 34000 | 2 | 08/01/2003 |
| Several electrical problems with the vehicle since purchase. took back to dealer who explained there was not a problem. recently, air suspension system failed. i changed fuses with no relief. had searched for mechanic other than dealer to look at vehicle but no mechanic will look at or service because they say that there is always a problem with the air suspension on navigators and i would not find any mechanic who would touch it. today my vehicle is sitting in front of the house because of the air suspension problem. i don't trust the dealer as they are always trying to get me to purchase a new car from them and when i don't they overcharge me for repairs. *tr | |||
| 04/28/2004 | 35000 | 1 | 03/18/2003 |
| Dt: while making a right turn off on an exit, the vehicle went out of control, the front driver's tire rolled off, then the tie rod snapped and the consumer was trapped. the consumer hit a guard rail. no other vehicles or people were involved. the consumer stated that tire or tie rod was so hot that as it rolled into the grass it caught on fire. tire was retrieved. problems with rear differential prior to the accident. the vehicle was regularly serviced. the consumer was slightly injured in the accident. police report filed. | |||
| 07/29/2003 | 100 | 4 | 07/25/2003 |
| July 22, 2003 i purchased a new 2003 lincoln navigator, vin# 5lmfu28r93lj39987. fter two days, i noticed excessive wind noise coming from sun roof. on the third day, the suspension malfunctioned warning indicator began buzzing. since that time, the body of the navigator began hitting all four tires while driving and bottoming out even when driving over small bumps. i almost had an accident, due to the sudden rocking of the body of the navigator. i brought the truck back 3 times for the same problem september 2nd. mr. downing stated, i will not try to fix the truck again until, ford engineer brain grozier looks at the problem.the engineer will only be available on september 11th and my truck will just have to sit on his lot until then. no other solution was given to me. no loaner car,no alternatives. i did speak to the ford representative, after a month of complaining to customer relations and asking for mediation about the lemon law and suspension of my truck payments until the problem is resolved. i have been referred from one person to the next starting with the ford finance department, to ford customer relations, to the selling dealer general manager, mike lister of damico lincoln mercury, to michael norton service manager of sentry south lincoln mercury, and ending with kipp downing service manager of owen motors. the truck is a lemon as the law states, it has had three repair attempts, twenty-five days at repair shop, new vehicle, (thirty days old). technical service bulletins for 2003 lincoln navigator air suspension- repeat compressor drier failures has been issued since may/03 to lincoln service departments. these remaining defects substantially impair the use, market value or safety of my vehicle. i am hereby allowing you one final repair opportunity. i am entitled to a replacement vehicle acceptable to me or a refund calculated in accordance with the lemon law.*ak | |||
| 09/03/2003 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states is having trouble with front and back suspension. when coming out of driveway vehicle bottoms' out. also, while driving can feel every bump. vehicle is suppose to be designed to absorb bumps. he has taken vehicle to the dealer/mechanic 4 times, and each time they have done minor repairs. finally consumer was told that they knew the problem, but could not fix it. dealer had called the engineers from the lincoln manufacturer to take a look at vehicle and see if they could repair it. *ak | |||
| 07/19/2003 | 0 | 1 | 08/02/2002 |
| 2003 lincoln navigator ultra high speed wheel shimmy. original wheels replaced by dealer due to out of round defect. wheels rebalancedw.heel shimmy reduced but not eliminated.*ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 09/03/2008 | 140000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph the front and rear suspension failed and caused the vehicle to bounce abnormally. while turning the vehicle he could feel the body of the truck touch the tire. the abs lights illuminated on the instrumental panel prior to the failure. the vehicle was inspected and repaired in april 2008 and has not been inspected for the current failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 140,000. tb | |||
| 08/14/2009 | 85000 | 1 | |
| Air suspension sensor will not stay attached and car height adjustment randomly goes up too high or down too low. if this occurs while in motion it could be very dangerous as the tire can come in contact with the wheel well. car was taken to dealer and we were told that it would be $2000 to repair. for now the sensor was clipped back on and everything was working fine. a week later sensor came off again and we have figured out how to put it back on ourselves. after doing some research it seems that this is a common problems with this make and model and year of vehicle. though lincoln did correct the issue with the newer models no attempt has been made on the older models to make a more lasting repair. on line there are tons of reports of people that have had the parts replaced to only find that this did not remedy the issue at hand and more money needed to be spent to attempt to correct it. there are companies that have come up with systems to replace the air suspension with traditional suspension so that multiple repairs can be avoided in the future. this is evidence to me that a defect is known industry wide. *tr | |||
| 08/31/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving at any speed consumer heard a noise coming from inside of the engine. vehicle was inspected several times, and could not duplicate or correct the problem. *ak | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| While driving vehicle lowers without warning, causing inadequate suspension. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION - SPRINGS/BAGS | |||
| 10/29/2005 | 47000 | 3 | 09/27/2003 |
| Dt: the contact stated vehicle has front air suspension. while driving the front end dropped down too low. this was causing the front tires to rupture. the dealer attempted to repair the vehicle on three different occasions. the dealer replaced the valves, seals, and suspension air bags. he did not know if the last repair has taken care of the problem. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 09/03/2008 | 140000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 lincoln navigator. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph the front and rear suspension failed and caused the vehicle to bounce abnormally. while turning the vehicle he could feel the body of the truck touch the tire. the abs lights illuminated on the instrumental panel prior to the failure. the vehicle was inspected and repaired in april 2008 and has not been inspected for the current failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 140,000. tb | |||
| 12/13/2009 | 60000 | 1 | |
| 2003 lincoln navigator traveling 65 miles an hour and suspension went out rear one this time truck bounced so hard hit my head and truck was uncontrollable we need to sue lincoln. bought mine in staten island dana motors was in shop 21 times for the suspension they fixed and 3 months later out again last time october cost me 1100 dollars . very bad truck stuck with payment of a death trap! *tr | |||
| 11/11/2003 | 700 | 1 | 09/27/2003 |
| Within two weeks, a squeak and a clunk developed in the rear-end of my new vehicle. the dealer told me that the rear differential was missing two of the four bolts that should have been there and that the two bolts that were installed were loose. they said that they had seen a lot of that, because the plants had to manufacture a lot of navigators in a hurry. *la | |||
| 07/02/2003 | 3500 | 1 | 05/10/2003 |
| 2003 lincoln navigator--- within the first 60 days (5000 miles) of ownership the rear end was termed to be defective and a complete new assembly had to be installed. at 12,000 miles the rear end again has started making the same sounds as before. i took the vehicle to the dealership where it was purchased and i was told that ford was aware of the problem and nothing was done to repair it. *la | |||
| 08/15/2003 | 14500 | 3 | |
| While driving at 30-40 mph consumer felt that vehicle rose in the rear and tilted on driver's side. vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the cause could not be determined. on another occasion the same thing occurred, but the tilt was on the passenger's side, and again the dealer could not find the cause. the consumer felt that the suspension was defective.*ak | |||