Problems · by component

2003 Ford Crown Victoria exterior lighting problems

96 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria cite exterior lighting, 33% of all 289 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.

Complaints
96
33% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the exterior lighting

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I'm having problems with the lighting control module my high beam lights stop working. I see this year (2003) Ford crown Victoria has a recall for the lighting control module but mines isn't listed when I put in my VIN number and I wanted to see if mines can be listed. Also I would like to know why wasn't it listed on the recall list because this is a safety issue and very dangerous.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 27, 2026Exterior lightingODI 11727583
“The contact's father owns a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that the headlamps would flash and failed to turn on or to turn off as intended. The contact stated that the failure initially occurred intermittently, but the headlights had become completely inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V861000 (Exterior Lighting), which described the failure; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 28, 2025Exterior lightingODI 11701850
“I brought this vehicle into the dealership for safety recall 15s39. There were no problems with the vehicle prior to taking it in. When I received the vehicle back from the dealer they had admitted to not completing all the steps in the safety recall. Now that I have the vehicle the dealer returned it to me with the following issues: all of the interior and exterior lighting including the headlights do not work and the air bag light is illuminated. A supervisor at Ford customer service said they refuse to do anything about the new problems they caused. She stated that "well, it's a pretty old car." I don't think the age of the car should give Ford a pass to not fix a safety recall. The fix for their safety recall only created safety problems with this car - namely the air bags may not work.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 7, 2025Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Air bagsODI 11659563
“The contact owns a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that both headlights were inoperable. The contact stated that the headlights failed to function properly and had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the lighting control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 29, 2025Exterior lightingODI 11657552
“When driving at night and early mornings my head lights and tail lights will randomly go out when my light switch is set to automatic. I can turn it on manually and then I have head lights and brakes but no running tail lights. Which is a major problem and safety hazard.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 20, 2024Exterior lightingODI 11595415
“A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHILE ON VACATION 200 MILES FROM HOME WITH MY FAMILY THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY WENT OUT. AFTER A LITTLE INSPECTION I FOUND WE STILL HAD FLASH TO PASS HIGH BEAMS. THE NEXT DAY (JULY 3RD) I WENT TO THE LOCAL DEALER AND THE PARTS HOUSES AND NO ONE HAD A REPLACEMENT. AS A FORMER USAF JET ENGINE MECHANIC I WENT BACK TO THE CAMPER AND FOUND A WIRING DIAGRAM. I FIGURED OUT IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE. I TOOK IT APART AND REPLACED THE DEFECTIVE RELAY. WE FINISHED OUR VACATION AND I SOON FORGOT THE ISSUE. I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE MODULE AND TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPLACEMENT. I WAS INFORMED BY THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT SINCE I HAD REPAIRED THE PART FORD WOULD NOT TAKE IT BACK SO THEY COULD NOT HELP ME. I HAD THE SNEAKING FEELING I WAS BEING LIED TO. I WENT HOME AND RESEARCHED THE RECALL. I FOUND THE REPAIR DOES NOT EVEN INVOLVE REPLACING THE PART BUT TAPS INTO THE WIRING BEFORE THE MODULE. I CALLED FORD CORP AND WAS TOLD THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT AS THEY WEREN'T A TECHNICIAN BUT THEY STOOD BY THEIR DEALERS DECISION. I DON'T FEEL THAT I SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR DOING WHAT IT TOOK TO GET MY…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 31, 2020Exterior lightingODI 11342607

Showing 6 of 96 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Related recalls

1 recall on this component

Exterior lighting: headlights

Free remedy

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured October 3, 2001, to August 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (LCM) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights.

Exterior lightingReported Dec 22, 2015NHTSA 15V861000
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 10, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.