There are 10 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquisin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
DRIVER SEATBELT WAS REPLACED (BAD MAYBE) AND AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON IMMEDIATELY AFTER SEAT BELT WAS REPLACED WIPERS TURN ON BY THEMSELVES AND WILL NOT TURN OFF.
A SPRING IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILED, CAUSING THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL TO ILLUMINATE AND DEACTIVATE THE AIR BAG SYSTEM IN THE EVENT OF A FRONT IMPACT REQUIRING AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. THE SEAT BELT AND BUCKLE WAS REQUIRED TO BE REPLACED. THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED EVERY TIME THE DRIVER FASTENS THE SEAT BELT. THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON AND WOULD NOT GO OFF WHEN THE DRIVER FASTENS THE SEAT BELT. THE DEALER TRACED THIS TO A FAULTY SEAT BELT LATCH. FROM READING ON OWNERS' BLOGS OF THIS MODEL, OVER SEVERAL YEARS INCLUDING MY MODEL YEAR, MY PROBLEM DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A UNIQUE OR RARE OCCURRENCE. THE MOST COMMON CAUSES ARE WORN OR BROKEN SPRINGS ON THE SWITCH IN THE SEAT BELT LATCH. THE SWITCH IN THE SEAT BELT LATCH NOT RECOGNIZING THE DRIVER IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT WITH THE SEAT BELT FASTENED CAUSES THE LIGHT TO GO ON AND DEACTIVATE THE AIRBAG RESTRAINT SYSTEM FOR THE DRIVER. THIS SAFETY ITEM SHOULD BE A MODEL RECALL.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR CRASH IN WHICH THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND THE DRIVER WAS THROWN FROM THE SEATBELT INTO THE REAR PASSENGER SEAT. THE POLICE APPEARED ON THE SCENE AND THE DRIVER WAS REPORTED INJURED. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED MAJOR INJURIES AND WAS TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE TO A HOSPITAL. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO A SALVAGE YARD. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT EXAMINED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 85,000. UPDATED 02/07/11 *BF UPDATED 04/21/11
WHILE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE TRAFFIC WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP AND A COLLISION OCCURRED, CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS HIT FROM BEHIND, AND PUSHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURIES. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE HEAD RESTS WERE TO FAR FROM THE HEAD TO BE EFFECTIVE. THE CONSUMER SUFFERED INJURIES. *TC
WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND IT CRASHED INTO A UTILITY POLE. UPON IMPACT, BOTH AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DRIVER AND PASSENGER SUSTAINED INJURIES, AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL. *AK
MY WIFE HIT A SUBURBAN ON ITS DRIVER SIDE. OUR CAR HAD $6000.00 DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END OF OUR 2003 MERCURY MARQUIS WITH ONLY 3000 MILES ON IT. MY COMPLAINT IS THAT THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY ON IMPACT, THERE BY CAUSING FACIAL INJURY AND A BROKEN NOSE. *LA
WHEN DRIVING 60 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY, CAUSING A DISTRACTION TO THE DRIVER. THE DEALER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK *SCC *JB
WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED BACK, RIGHT SHOULDER, NECK AND ARM INJURIES FROM THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG . *AK *NLM *NLM *JB
VEHICLE AIR BAG SENOR LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON. THE DEALERSHIP HAS SERVICED VEHICLE 5 TIMES, BUT IS UNABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. PH
WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED. AS A RESULT PASSENGER'A ARM/BACK, AND SHOULDER WERE INJURED. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026