Factory build sheet
2003 Ford Explorer XLT
Build 1FMZU73W-3 · 4.6L 8cyl · Four-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read 1FMZU73W and position 10 reads 3. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Explorer whose VIN starts 1FMZU73W and carries 3 in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 582 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 582 known VINs
- 2 listed for sale now
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
- 4.6 L
- Cylinders
- 8
- Configuration
- V-Shaped
- Engine manufacturer
- Ford
- Valve train
- Single Overhead Cam (SOHC)
- Horsepower
- 239 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 1D
- GVWR
- 5,001–6,000 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 1FMZU73W for 3 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 | ZU73W | 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 Explorer as a whole rather than this build alone.
Rollover
★★★ ★★ 3 / 5
7 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2003 Explorer. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
582 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to 1FMZU73W-3 shares the specification above.
- 582 Known VINs
- 2 Listed for sale now
Cars are filed by a fixed rule based on the VIN, so a car never moves between groups.
Neighboring configurations
Other factory configurations of the Explorer, 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.
- 2003 Eddie Bauer 4L 6-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · 4WD 191 vehicles
- 2003 Eddie Bauer 4.6L 8-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · 4WD 236 vehicles
- 2003 Limited 4L 6-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · 4WD 102 vehicles
- 2003 XLT 4L 6-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 48 vehicles
- 2003 Limited 4.6L 8-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 36 vehicles
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 582 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.