Factory build sheet

2003 Ford Escape XLS

Build 1FMCU921-3 · 3L 6cyl · Four-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)

VIN positions 1 through 8 read 1FMCU921 and position 10 reads 3. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.

Every Escape whose VIN starts 1FMCU921 and carries 3 in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 59 of them.

  • Decoded Jul 7, 2026
  • 59 known VINs

This configuration is identical to 2003 Ford Escape XLS 3L 6cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) (582 vehicles). That page carries the full record.

Factory specification

As filed by Ford with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.

Engine

Displacement
3 L
Cylinders
6
Configuration
V-Shaped
Engine manufacturer
Ford
Valve train
Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC)
Horsepower
201 hp
Fuel type
Gasoline

Drivetrain

Drive type
Four-wheel drive
Brake system
Hydraulic

Body & chassis

Body class
Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
NHTSA body type
MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
Doors
4
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY

Weight rating

GVWR class
Class 1C
GVWR
4,001–5,000 lb

Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.

The same build, other model years

Ford used the VIN pattern 1FMCU921 for 2 model years. Nothing but the year changes between these pages, so the price gap between them is depreciation on an identical car.

How this VIN pattern is read

A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.

Positions Characters What they encode
1–3 1FM FORD MOTOR COMPANY · World manufacturer identifier
4–8 CU921 Model, body style, engine and restraint system
9 × Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build
10 3 Model year — 2003
11 × Assembly plant
12–17 ×××××× Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle

NHTSA safety ratings

Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2003 Ford Escape as a whole rather than this build alone.

Rollover

★★★ ★★ 3 / 5

9 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2003 Escape. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.

59 vehicles carry this build

Every VIN we have decoded to 1FMCU921-3 shares the specification above.

  • 59 Known VINs

Neighboring configurations

Other factory configurations of the Escape, each with its own build sheet. The set is fixed by the VIN patterns themselves, so it does not shuffle as prices or inventory move.

Keep going

Where this data comes from

Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.

Vehicle counts come from the 59 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.