Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||||
| 98258 | 12/21/1998 | 603646 | A vibration / noise felt in steering wheel on right turns. | 03/01/1999 | |
| 97090297185 | 09/02/1997 | 54071 | A vibration/buzzing noise may be heard or felt in the steering wheel on right turns. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||||
| BC9679961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50539 | Complaint of a buzz/vibration felt in the steering wheel while turning (usually more noticeable turning right). *tt | 05/27/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 01/03/1998 | 1 | 02/01/1997 | |
| Steering wheel locked while driving. | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT SECTOR | |||
| 07/07/1999 | |||
| Power steering shaft came out of pump with the pulley on it while vehicle was being operated. vehicle was stopped, steering control lost - drive belt shredded. pump had to be replaced. *ak | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 03/22/2005 | 55900 | 2 | 11/29/2003 |
| 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.*ak | |||
| 06/30/2002 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that the steering wheel is overly sensitive in normal driving condition, may cause an accident, since it has so much power assit it makes changing lanes or other steering condition hazardous. nlm the vehicle has a steering box ratio of 14 to 1 which was much faster than the desired ratio of 17 to 1 or 18 to 1. *yh | |||
| 06/15/1999 | 1 | ||
| Power steering failed. mjs | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 11/15/1997 | 100 | 11/01/1997 | |
| All items listed are design flaws and could cause serious if not fatal injuries to occur..turn signals will not stay on if they will hold on at all. twice repaired..steering wheel and column jump and vibrate on bump impact at mid to highway speeds.car swerves. have not yet lost control!! rear shocks cannot stabilise rear end..windshield has ripple distortion. has caused vision problems. both front doors will not stay open..both my wife and i have been injured by these doors..service dept claims doors are within tolerences..not mine!! hope ypu can assist me. thanks,,paul silberman. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 09/12/2002 | 1 | 07/01/2097 | |
| Tie-rod assembly was not properly lubricated and sealed by manufactured leading to premature failure. nlm | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| Consumer was accelerating from a stop and was turning wheel to left, but vehicle kept going straight. a plastic nylon bushing broke from steering wheel, causing loss of steering control. *ak | |||
| 08/31/1999 | 20 | 05/01/1999 | |
| The ignition key can be removed from the steering column ignition switch when the switch is not in the off position: this is the same type defect that was found in the ford taurus (nhtsa campaign id number: 85v172000) | |||