Ford Thunderbird 1996 - Exterior lighting - car safety information, failing parts, recalls, bulletins, complaints

Ford Thunderbird 1996

Recalls
Technical Service Bulletins
Consumer Complaints

Recalls

Campaign	Manufacturer	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
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
06E065000	AJ MOTORSPORT	E (Equipment)	3593	07/31/2006	OVSC	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	07/17/2006	07/17/2006	571	108
Defect Summary	Certain aj motorsport combination lamps sold as replacement lamps for use on the above listed passenger vehicles. combination lamps not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Consequence Summary	Lack of amber side reflectors in the lamps will decrease lighting visibility to other drivers and may possibly result in a vehicle crash.
Corrective Summary	Aj motorsport will notify owners and offer reimbursement for the lamps. the recall began on july 31, 2006. owners may contact aj motorsport at 626-618-2026.
Notes	This recall only pertains to aj motorsport aftermarket lamps and has no relation to any original equipment installed on the listed passenger vehicles.for more information on the lamp model numbers, click on document search and view document titled
09E012000	SABERSPORT	E (Equipment)	16270	05/11/2009	OVSC	FORD MOTOR COMPANY	04/07/2009	04/07/2009	571	108
Defect Summary	Sabersport is recalling 16,270 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. these headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. these lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
Consequence Summary	Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
Corrective Summary	Sabersport will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. the safety recall began on may 11, 2009. owners may contact sabersport at 1-909-598-7589.
Notes	This recall only pertains to aftermarket replacement equipment and has no relation to any original equipment installed on vehicles produced by the vehicle manufacturer.in order to determine if your aftermarket lamp assembly is affected by this noncompliance, please review the list of model numbers provided to us by sabersport.the list can be found under document search located at the bottom of your screen.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov .

Bulletins

Bulletin	Bulletin date	Item no.	Summary	Added
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS
99139	06/28/1999	606508	Conditions with the brake lamps inadvertently disabling the brake shift interlock. *tt	08/26/1999
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS
BC3274970207	02/07/1997	51872	Replacement headlamp bulbs - several aftermarket companies are offering replacement bulbs with a higher wattage that are not dot approved - sold with disclaimer of for off-road use only - the bulbs draw more current than the oem bulbs a	07/17/1997

Consumer Complaints

Fail date	miles	occurences	Purchase date
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS
07/16/2003		2	05/17/1996
	Third brake light assembly keeps melting. october 2000 26,000 miles first noticed my third brake light had melted the entire assembly including the light sockets, was told then that it was a known problem, after much arguing and writing the bbb ford finally agreed to replace it at no cost to me. now 2003 at 32,800 miles assembly is melted again, again i was informed that ford will not replace it the cost is mine. i said then and i still believe this a product defect on fords part. i do not believe i should have to pay for a defective part, apart which is the same part that is in there now and will melt again in a year or two and i will have to replace it again. the link below shows pictures of a ford thunderbirds third brake light damage after the assembly and wire harrness has melted. this seems to be a fire hazard.w.mn12performance.com/mn12howto/3rd_brake_light/3rd_brakelight.html. *ak
08/17/2000			05/01/1996
	The assembly for the third brake light has melted and now you cannot get the bulbs out. the dealership said the whole assembly has to be replaced (@ $100.00) not coverd under the ex-warrenty, talked with another ford machanic at another dealership, i was told that this is a known problem with that assembly on the thunderbird and ford doesnot intend to do anything about it. customers problem. doesn't seem right to me.
05/20/2000		1	01/01/1997
	While driving 30mph & applying the brakes to avoid hitting a vehicle that stopped. however, vehicle had no brake lights, and it rearended vehicle in front due to no brakes. vehicle towed to dealership & mechanic indicated brakes were gone. pin in the brakes had broken which caused the brakes to be inoperative. *ak
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS
12/01/2004		1	11/04/2002
	There is a whitre cloudy film on the headlights creating poor visability at night.*ak
			02/01/1996
	Headlight lenses cloud up, which reduces light beams. *jb
		1
	The head light lenses on the vehicle are clouding up, the plastic used for the lenses is defective. *mjs

	The connector that the bulbs plug into for the thrid brake light on the back dash is all melted and brown on both sides. dealer has been contacted. ak ml

	A white cloudy film is forming in the headlights. manufacturer has been notified. *ak
03/21/1996		1	03/21/1996
	The design of the head lights is inferior to previous models, there is less visibility with the 1996 model. the driver is having problems with visibility.
11/06/1996		1	10/30/1996
	Head lights are not stable required constant adjustment.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - SWITCH
04/20/2004	69999	20
	96 ford thunderbird headlight switch shortingsmoking headlights out. kevin vanoy, astorg ford parkersburg, wv says this is common. he ordered part said mechanic separated wires and ordered parts. said no more problems drive away. lights still go out melting wires. glen dethy carriage ford clarksville, in orders parkersburg to send parts to in, but will charge $100 extra to install, neither dealer would run a hot wire with a cabin swith to let custonmer safely have lights. both dealers sent customer back on road with dangerous light switch.
12/09/2001		2	11/01/1996
	Without warning, and at speed, high beam headlamps failed leaving no forward visibility. previously replaced the column mounted multi-function switch to correct the same problem. suspect design/engineering flaw with switch. *ak
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS
05/16/2001		1	09/01/1999
	The front springs are defective and break thus collaspsing the struts and making the vehicle hard to handle. the plastic intake manifild coolant channel walls are to thin and tend to blow-out. finally, the backlit rear reflector tends to burnout to ofter for a integrated part. the vehicle will not pass inspection because the reflector is an integrated part of the tail light assembly. the cost of replacement is prohibitive so the reflctor remains burned out on many of the other t-birds i see on the road causing a problem with the vehicle's visibility. the ilumenator in the reflector should be servicable. *ak
		1	05/01/1999
	The passenger side tail lamp located on the trunk has experienced some sort of internal separation that cannot be fixed without replacement. the symptom is that the tailight is dimmer and not as bright as the one on the right side. this condition is specific to the late 90's thunderbirds with neon taillamps, and i have seen it occur on either side. i have contacted ford regarding the matter, and they are not interested in fixing my problem without me shelling out some money for a new assembly. clearly, this is a safety issue and a recall should be issued to remedy the problem.