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 saw similar reports of this failure and decided to add to the # of complaints, as I experienced this, too. Upon acceleration up a hill, air flow through vents (A/C or heat) would stop and go to defrost, then return after car began "cruising" again. Over time, air flow defaulted to always being defrost. (I had heard that this default position upon failure was a safety mandate.) without a recall, the cost was fully mine, so I considered alternatives. A dealer service for this problem (replace the dashboard's electronic automatic temperature control unit or "eatc") would have been megabucks (I heard $800 for the unit, itself) for parts and labor. A rebuilt eatc by mail order (rebuild mine or swap for mine) would have been $250-400 for the part alone. The problem is failed original O-rings on the vacuum actuators within the eatc; not a dealer-offered repair. I repaired it myself. I ordered 5/52" id X 9/32" od silicone O-rings (4 needed, 1 for each actuator) and replaced them on the nozzle of each vacuum actuator, reassembled and remounted the actuators, reconnected the vacuum hoses and reinstalled the eatc unit into the dashboard. After more than 3 years, the eatc now continues to operate properly. Cost of parts (O-rings, silicone spray and dielectric grease) was about $30 and 1 1/2 hours of my time. It appears to be an extremely common problem with a simple, albeit very expensive, correction, if done by the dealer.
1993 Ford Crown Victoria with speed control recall. Consumer states that he received a letter in February saying parts were available. When he called the dealer they had not heard that parts were available.
2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The consumer states on August 29, 2005 the vehicle was going 25 mph when it took off. The consumer's foot was not on the accelerator pedal. He tried to depress the brake, but they would not work. He put the vehicle in neutral and turned the vehicle off to get it to stop. The consumer stated the air conditioner made the vehicle go faster, and he thought this was the cause of the problem. The dealership could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. The consumer stated this has happened once before.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gillette, NJ, USA