This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I was driving home from work and thought a coolant hose had ruptured but after having the vehicle towed to my mechanic's place of business was told that the intake manifold had cracked and required replacement. After researching I found that Ford had issued a recall for only a few models even though most of their 8 cylinder 4.6 engines utilized the same defective "composite" intake manifold. My Crown Victoria is a 1997 with 60,000 original miles!
The contact's son owns a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria. The vehicle caught on fire under the hood while parked. The owner of the vehicle noticed smoke filling up inside of the vehicle, then lifted the hood and flames began to rise. The wires to the master cylinder and brakes were damaged. The contact notified Ford and they stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle and that it was out of warranty. However, there were recalls for trucks of that line. The vehicle is currently at the Ford dealer. The power train and mileage information were unknown.
The class action suit that was won regarding 1997 Ford crown vic (and other makes) defective manifold part was handled incorrectly. Mine just went and is well past the March 16th, 2006 deadline and over 7 years old which makes recourse exempt. My car is currently in the shop getting a $1300 + engine repair. And I am not the only one that this has happened to. Definitely not fair!!!
I bought a used 1997 crown vic in 2005 and I noticed coolant leakage on Jan 16, 2005. The leakage might have happened before I bought the car, but it was not obvious enough for people to notice the problem.
The following is a well known and well documented design Crown Victoria 4.6 engine failure, which Ford has ignored and claimed it is "investigating" for the ordinary consumer, while providing extended warranties for police cars and taxis. Obviously, they don't want to lose this fleet market. There have even been news stories on this via nbc. The failure relates to a plastic intake manifold cracking prematurely, causing complete loss of coolant fluids, extreme consequent engine overheating, and resultant catastrophic engine failure. They sell the replacement and re-engineered part for nearly 600 dollars and charge almost 500 dollars additional to install it. This is a non-moving part which should not fail under normal use! there is even an entire aftermarket business making these parts as a replacement for less money...although I suspect most folks just pay Ford to do the repair. Queries to dealers meet with a reiteration of the above information and a kind "sorry, it's not covered" reply. I believe this is a case of fraud and misrepresentation of fitness, as opposed to the normal risks of wear and tear...their policy regarding lucrative fleet extended repairs speaks to this, in my opinion. This is a safety hazard defect due to engine stalling and power assist loss.
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
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While driving, the plastic intake manifold cracked. This caused coolant to leak from the intake manifold. The factory intake manifold included the thermostat housing as one piece. The crack developed at the thermostat housing which required the entire manifold to be replaced.
My 1997 Ford Crown Victoria blewout a kit intake manifold on the interstate and I had to have it towed to coastal Ford for repairs in mobile Alabama after looking on the internet I find that this was not a uncommon fault of the automobile. Also a friend of mine had a 1997 Ford thunderbird that had the same type problem and it was covered under a recall. After emailing Ford I was informed by dereck #2132 at Ford customer relations that my car was not covered but to keep the receipt in case of a recall.
This is a complaint about my 4.6 V-8 crown vic. The intake manifold cracked resulting in a loss of coolant and a $750 repair bill. The manifold is made of a composite not metal.so this could happen again. Sounds like a design flaw. Also, why is Ford replacing the police and municipal cars manifolds and not private citizens?? this information came straight from the mechanic at the Ford dealership.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Port Jervis, NY, USA