Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | ||||||||||||||||
| 98V322000 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | V (Vehicle) | 175000 | 01/18/1999 | ODI | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 12/16/1998 | 12/18/1998 | ||||||||
| Defect Summary | Vehicle description: certain 1996-1999 ford crown victoria police, fleet, natural gas, and 1996-1999 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that were produced with a lower control arm ball joint containing a one piece bearing; and 1990-1996 ford crown victoria police, fleet, and ngv vehicles and 1990-1996 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that have been serviced with either a ball joint containing the one-piece bearing or a front lower control arm containing a ball joint with a one-piece bearing. the one-piece bearing within the lower control arm ball joint can weaken slowly during use and eventually crack. this could result in separation of the ball and cap of the joint, allowing the control arm to drop to the ground. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If this occurs while the vehicle is moving, reduced steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will replace the lower control arm ball joints (2). | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owner notification is expected to begin january 18, 1999.owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236). | |||||||||||||||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER ARM | ||||||||||||||||
| 95V194000 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | from 08/01/1992 to 07/01/1994 | V (Vehicle) | 57000 | 11/22/1995 | MFR | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 10/11/1995 | 10/18/1995 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | The bolts that attach the front upper control arms to the frame mounting brackets can loosen and fracture at one of the bolt holes causing substantial negative camber and steering pull to the affected side. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If the driver's side bracket fractured at both bolt holes, the steering control arm can contact the steering column shaft and result in a loss of steering control increasing the potential for an accident. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will inspect the torque levels of the four upper control arm mounting bolts, and if any are loose, the brackets will be inspected for damage. if damage is present, it will be repaired. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | System: suspension; front control arm; upper.vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with a police package option.note: owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time, should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393. | |||||||||||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 07/14/1997 | 2 | 09/17/1993 | |
| Bearings within the front and rear axles failed causing extensive damage to axles. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 03/09/2007 | 140000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns 1993 ford crown victoria. the contact stated while driving 70 mph the front driver side ball joint broke causing the lower control arm to collapse and the driver side upper control arm was also damage as well causing the contact to lose control of the steering and almost causing a crash. the contact had the vehicle towed home. the contact repaired the front passenger side control arm and notice a recall a recall for the suspension:front:control arm:upper arm (95v194000) but due to the vin number the contacts vehicle does not fall into the recall. the contact stated the manufacturer should honor the recall on this vehicle since this is a manufacturer defect. the failure mileage was 150,000. jo | |||
| 07/23/1999 | 07/01/1993 | ||
| The pulse windshield wiper does not engage at certain settings. at other times, the pulse wiper becomes inoperable when engaging the turn indicator, causing visual problems during rain/snow. installing a new battery helped for a while, but the same problems eventually returned. it appears to be a short-circuit/grounding problem of some type. the independent front-end suspension problem concerns a cracking sound of metal on the front-passenger side when the wheel is turned sharply to the right. this problem occurs infrequently, but has been noticed since early purchase date. *ak | |||
| 11/10/1998 | 1 | 07/01/1997 | |
| No summary provided by consumer | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 07/01/1996 | 3 | 05/10/1996 | |
| Ball joints & tie rod ends would make groaning noises in the front end. its an intermittent problem. took vehicle to dealer & nothing found. took to another garage & mechanic noticed tie rod end was shot, and that ball joints were rusty & pitted. therefore, vehicle was making noises when being driven. *ak | |||
| 05/31/1994 | 1 | ||
| Upper control arm required repair, to include the welding of the bracket with a reinforcement plate. *tw | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||
| 01/28/2008 | 172000 | 60 | 02/28/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1993 ford crown victoria. while driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed that the vehicle sporadically veered to the right. the dealer stated that although he was experiencing the same failure as noted in nhtsa campaign id number 95v194000 (suspension:front:control arm:upper arm), the vin was not included in the recall and they would not repair his vehicle for free. the vehicle is currently being repaired. the failure mileage was 172,000 and current mileage was 173,000. | |||
| 1 | 03/01/1997 | ||
| I purchased this car used 03/97 87,000 miles. when you would turn to the left sharp, it always made a clunk and the car would shift over. the clunk continued, so i took it to my local ford dealer, rudig-jensen in new lisbon, they found that the bolts that attach the upper control arms to the frame were loose. the loose bolts had worn out the bolts and the upper control arm. they found that while replacing the parts, that the bolt holes in the frame mounting bracket had worn and had fractured. they were unable to repair the car, and called gary's autobody of new lisbon to look at the frame mounting bracket . gary's have repaired the bracket by welding it , as the ford dealer told myself, that they could not repair it. i would have to buy a new car. i called the ford motor company, and was told that the car had been in for the recall 95v194000 nhtsa at norris vernier ford in tomah, wi. and that ford motor company would not pay for the repairs, because the vehicle had already been in for the recall. the damage done to my vehicle is from the loose bolts, and i feel that ford's faulty product caused this, and that they should repair the damage, as it is due to their problem with these vehicles. the bolts can loosen even after being checked under the recall. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 06/06/2004 | 170421 | 1 | 08/12/2001 |
| On june 6, 2004 while driving at approximately 35 mph the passenger side front end dropped down and scraped the pavement, the steering wheel jumped around and the right front tire blew. looking under the car revealed that the lower control arm ball joint had separated and pulled free from the control arm. the lower control arm had been forced into the sidewall of the tire and gouged a huge hole in it. had this happened at highway speeds it could have been catastrophic with loss of control of the vehicle. the exposed ball joint end was dry (no lubricant) and i could see galling on the upper top half of the ball. these are sealed ball joints that have no grease fitting and thus no provision for lubrication. the car had to be towed. it is sitting in my driveway at this time available for inspection by anyone. i looked up recalls on the internet and found nhtsa recall history listing 1992-99: bearing within lower ball joint can weaken slowly during use and eventually crack; could result in separation, allowing control arm to drop to the ground and elsewhere recall no. 1998251 refers to crown victoria bearing loads can lead to thinning and eventual cracking of the lower control arm ball joint . i also found nhtsa records of ball joint failures under the odi id numbers of: 835503, 713546, 505865, 700771, 714657, 710815. i also found at alldata.com under automotive recalls a tsb no. 98s37 of dec. '98 recall - front lower control arm ball joint replacement. i called ford on june 8, 2004 and talked to a rep named norman (i.d. no. 2357) and case reference no. 9009837577 and he told me that my car (vin no.2facp73w6px205003) had no recall notices and therefore it's not a problem. i told him that this defective vehicle situation could cause a fatal vehicle accident and asked to talk to his supervisor. he told me that there wasn't a superior i could take the matter up with. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER ARM | |||
| 07/01/1997 | 1 | 12/01/1995 | |
| Consumer states that there was a recall on his vehicle . he took vehicle to dealer for repair . after repair of vehicle by dealer the condition of the vehicle became worse. 95v-194000. *ak after repair the hood have to be slammed down from full up position to get it latched. *yh | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||
| 1 | 08/23/1995 | ||
| Rear suspension air bags leak, causing the vehicle to be unable to raise up and the engine to constantly run. *slc | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 07/14/1997 | 2 | 09/17/1993 | |
| Bearings within the front and rear axles failed causing extensive damage to axles. | |||