Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||||
| BC3281970206 | 02/06/1997 | 51877 | Vehicles exhibit a pull while braking - check for kinked brake lines , replace if necessary - replace lower arm and strut bushings on the side the vehicle pull to. *tw | 07/17/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 11/02/2006 | 96000 | 4 | 03/10/1997 |
| My mechanic has informed me of a dangerous situation with my automobile that could lead to an accident. all the ball joints in the front end are worn excessively. he says the excessive wear is a result of the dust seals disintegrating allowing dirt and water to enter the ball joints. he indicated that this is probably a result of the use of inappropriate or defective materials for the seals. i am going to have the ball joints replaced. i will ask the mechanic to keep the old parts for me. *nm | |||
| 07/22/2005 | 33573 | 1 | 07/15/1997 |
| To whom it may concern! my 1997 ford thunderbird is not listed why? i have a lot of problems with the smog stuff every year i pay a lot of money. when temperatures are hot outside over 90 the engine light comes on and says service engine, or when i go up a long hill and my car overheats the engine light comes on and says service engine and it is always about an oxygen sensor or other smog related items that always cost $300 to $650 i am going b broke being on a fixed income. ford can't fix my front end vibration i had all alignments done wheel balancing 4 times nothing helps. my steering wheel vibrates also. please help! manfred gauer . *jb | |||
| 11/08/2000 | 2 | 07/25/1997 | |
| Front ball joint popped out of socket while driving. dealer has replaced control arm and ball joint twice, and problem reoccurred.*ak the front suspension collapsed completly and the rear lower ball joint broke. tension arm bushing and lower control arm on right side failed causing the vehicle to pull when applying brakes. the left front swaybar failed. the left front wheel bearing failed. *yh | |||
| 10/01/1999 | 10/01/1999 | ||
| Unsafe unintended acceleration on more than one occasion/steering shakes consistantly. *ak | |||
| 10/10/1999 | 11 | 09/01/1997 | |
| Steering shudders, dealer and ford engineer can't fix after 7 attempts. ford should be slapped for this. they have stopped trying to fix it and will not refund my money for this piece of ignorantly designed junk. *ak | |||
| 02/01/1997 | |||
| This tbird is a rare bird that was ordered and delivered without a limited slip differential. tbirds have 4 wheel independent suspension and when driven on sloped streets will easily lift one drive wheel high enough to lose traction when the car is turned into another street or driveway that has a slightly different plane. this happened to me twice. the first time i was making a u turn on a sloped street and didn't have enough room to complete the turn. i stopped, put the car in reverse, stepped on the gas and promptly ran into a large bush abou 3' in front of me. i thought the transmission had failed so i called aaa. the tow driver moved the car a few feet and everything worked fine. i called the san diego dealer that does my service and the experienced service writer was surprised - neither of us had ever seen a tbird without limited slip so we assumed limited slip didn't work in reverse. the next time i was turning into a driveway to back up and turn around on a hillly street and i lost traction and started rolling backwards. both times i heard a whining noise that turned out to be the drive wheel that was barely touching the street surface. so i took the car in and the dealership determined it did not have a limited slip differential. they couldn't get off their premises fast enough even though they had not sold me the car. friendly ford has simply stonewalled me. ford motors repeatedly has stated it is not a defect and the dealer ordered the car without the limited slip differential and i should look to him for satisfaction. the factory person did indicate that a tbird without the limited slip differential was very rare. apparently this problem has been widely known at ford since this platform was used for so many years. both times the car moved several feet after losing traction and did not regain traction until the surface planes changed. | |||
| 12/12/1998 | |||
| While driving at any speed the vehicle vibrates. also, upon applying the brakes and coming to a stop, the vehicle vibrates real badly and jerks/loss of power without prior warning. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 05/10/2003 | 71568 | 0 | 04/12/2003 |
| I bought my 1997 thunderbird 4-15-2003 w/70000 miles, after reading all the complaints on this page i can only relate to 2 of them, the viberation in the transmission on upshift,and the front end shaking above 50 mph.but i'm so glad. *ak i bought a 2 yr.extented warrenty,because it looks like i'm in for some problens. i can be contacted at tbird97@intergate.com | |||
| 06/05/2000 | |||
| Pe00 020;vehicle began to wobble,and pulled to left/ right intermittently. tookvehicle to the the dealership. mechanic told her that tires were separated. she had all four tires replaced at her expense. tires were firestone 205/70r15 fr710. *ak | |||
| When driving at highway speed consumer noticed vibration in the steering which caused poor steering control. consumer has contacted the dealer. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| Front end of vehicle shakes, has been looked over by dealer and has been unable to correct it. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 09/02/2001 | |||
| Vehicle was going 20mph and the consumer lost control. front passenger wheel bent, and ball joint came apart, dealer and manufacturer will be contacted. *ak | |||
| 01/22/2000 | 2 | 07/01/1997 | |
| Both incidents could have caused serious injury or death. this is now the second time this part has been replaced. on the first occasion i was in a parking lot and the whole front end of the car collapsed. from what the dealer say ford engineers looked at it and couldn't believe the ball jouint popped out of the socket. again this is the second time they had to replace it within 10 months. feel free to contact me for further information and let me know if i can take further action with regards to the safety of this car. thanks , tom. *ak | |||
| 11/08/2000 | 2 | 07/25/1997 | |
| Front ball joint popped out of socket while driving. dealer has replaced control arm and ball joint twice, and problem reoccurred.*ak the front suspension collapsed completly and the rear lower ball joint broke. tension arm bushing and lower control arm on right side failed causing the vehicle to pull when applying brakes. the left front swaybar failed. the left front wheel bearing failed. *yh | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||
| 01/22/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1997 | |
| This occurred while driving in the parking lot of a shopping plaza. i was only going about 10 - 15 mph and never even hit a bump or pot hole. the front end made a load poping noise and i thought the tires went flat. but the lower control arm snapped and the car frame rested on the tires. west herr claims they had people from ford come in and look at it. the ball joint popped out of the socket . if i was driving on the thruway i wouldn't be writing this letter today, i would be dead. they replaced both sides at my request. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 10/13/2006 | 58000 | 1 | 04/01/1998 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while performing general maintenance on the vehicle, it was determined the plastic seals on all four upper and lower ball joints as well as the seals on the stabilizer bar were fractured and deteriorating. the manufacturer was alerted. | |||
| 09/10/2003 | 79000 | 1 | 09/01/2002 |
| While driving 40 mph, the front lower ball joint snapped, causing the consumer to lose steering control. the consumer managed to pull over. *ak the incident occurred without warning while in motion. the repair department suggested that the consumer should expect this at 70k miles. ford had not responded to the consumer. *sc *jb | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER BALL JOINT | |||
| 10/13/2006 | 58000 | 1 | 04/01/1998 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while performing general maintenance on the vehicle, it was determined the plastic seals on all four upper and lower ball joints as well as the seals on the stabilizer bar were fractured and deteriorating. the manufacturer was alerted. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - STABILIZER BAR | |||
| 10/13/2006 | 58000 | 1 | 04/01/1998 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while performing general maintenance on the vehicle, it was determined the plastic seals on all four upper and lower ball joints as well as the seals on the stabilizer bar were fractured and deteriorating. the manufacturer was alerted. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - WHEEL BEARING | |||
| 11/08/2000 | 2 | 07/25/1997 | |
| Front ball joint popped out of socket while driving. dealer has replaced control arm and ball joint twice, and problem reoccurred.*ak the front suspension collapsed completly and the rear lower ball joint broke. tension arm bushing and lower control arm on right side failed causing the vehicle to pull when applying brakes. the left front swaybar failed. the left front wheel bearing failed. *yh | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 11/08/2000 | 2 | 07/25/1997 | |
| Front ball joint popped out of socket while driving. dealer has replaced control arm and ball joint twice, and problem reoccurred.*ak the front suspension collapsed completly and the rear lower ball joint broke. tension arm bushing and lower control arm on right side failed causing the vehicle to pull when applying brakes. the left front swaybar failed. the left front wheel bearing failed. *yh | |||
| 08/25/1997 | 08/25/1997 | ||
| Rear tire loses contact with road surface when parking car in certain areas, also will accelerate uncontrollably if wheel is off road and makes contact w/curb. | |||
| 04/01/1997 | |||
| Driver has no control of the vehicle in rain, the rear end fishtails unless weight is placed into the rear of vehicle. | |||