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 | from 03/15/1996 to 12/18/1998 | 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). | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||||
| 97090297182 | 09/02/1997 | 54068 | Some vehicles may experience a lean right condition. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| BC0706961022 | 10/22/1996 | 50376 | Light to moderate axle noise (axle whine) at 50 to 65 mph (80 to 105 kph) during accels, decels or cruise. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||||
| BC0311970201 | 01/02/1997 | 51110 | Whine/noise from rear axle between 50-65 mph. driveshaft and #4 crossmember frame dracket kit. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | ||||||
| RQ03002 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 01/03/2003 | 06/03/2003 | BALL JOINT SEPARATION | ||
| See attached report. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| 1996 lincoln town car developed problems with the suspension.***no answer required***. *mr while driving the vehicle moves from side to side which makes it difficult to control the vehicle. the vehicle's suspension had been adjusted but the problem still exist. the vehicle also has a steering problem. *nm | |||
| 03/03/2005 | 1 | ||
| 1996 lincoln town car steering went out causing consumer to run into a fence.*mr the steering wheel would turn left and right but the wheel did not respond. rear air spring were replaced due to excessive cracking. the vehicle steering a suspension performed poorly. the dealer replaced the upper and lower ball joints and the inner and outer tie rods. the right front window regulator broke. the interior light on the left side of the vehicle did not work. *nm | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 12/23/2010 | 92000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1996 lincoln town car with 92000 miles. the contact stated that when turning the steering wheel he would hear a clanking noise. the contact found that recall 98v322000 steering lower ball joint was the cause of the problem. the manufacturer was called but they could not find any record of the vehicle being repaired or included in the recall. bl | |||
| 12/20/2009 | 72000 | 1 | |
| I own a 1996 lincoln town car with approximately 73,000 miles on the odometer. recently, i have been experiencing problems with the front end wobbling. i took the car to sears automotive and discovered that the lower ball joint are defective and control arms. the problem matches exactly your recall below: nhtsa campaign id number: 98v322000 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: if this occurs while the vehicle is moving, reduced steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash. remedy: 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). we never receive notice of any recall. however, when i attempted to call ford customer service they could not find this recall or my vin. therefore, i am respectfully requesting that you add our vehicle vin to this recall for repair. *tr | |||
| 01/21/2009 | 164183 | 1 | |
| Lower ball joint on the rt. side & lt. side fail while driving down the road, dropping car to the ground . towed to fords repair shop and had both replaced. last fall the rt. one broke and was replaced. know the lt. one. *tr | |||
| 02/01/2001 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle drifts to the right when driving 65 mph or faster. wheel alignment was done and tires were replaced, did not remedy the problem. *ak *yh | |||
| 11/27/1996 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle veered out of control. | |||
| After 66 mph the car vibrates, took to dealer, couldn't find problem . *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 01/18/2001 | 1 | 12/23/1996 | |
| Upper balljoint on left side failed at 57,000 miles and 57,790. right side failed, causing terrible noises. *ak *slc | |||
| 1 | 04/14/1997 | ||
| Arms that hold main frame broke while driving. nlm | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||
| 09/15/2002 | |||
| While backing up out of a parking space there was loud noise coming from the left side ball joint. please provide additional information. dealer is aware of the problem. ts | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 12/20/2009 | 72000 | 1 | |
| I own a 1996 lincoln town car with approximately 73,000 miles on the odometer. recently, i have been experiencing problems with the front end wobbling. i took the car to sears automotive and discovered that the lower ball joint are defective and control arms. the problem matches exactly your recall below: nhtsa campaign id number: 98v322000 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: if this occurs while the vehicle is moving, reduced steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash. remedy: 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). we never receive notice of any recall. however, when i attempted to call ford customer service they could not find this recall or my vin. therefore, i am respectfully requesting that you add our vehicle vin to this recall for repair. *tr | |||
| 01/21/2009 | 164183 | 1 | |
| Lower ball joint on the rt. side & lt. side fail while driving down the road, dropping car to the ground . towed to fords repair shop and had both replaced. last fall the rt. one broke and was replaced. know the lt. one. *tr | |||
| 04/07/2006 | 135000 | 1 | 03/01/2006 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the right lower ball joint fell out while driving 10 mph causing the steering to fail. the vehicle was towed to a dealership. the contact reports having no problems with the steering prior to the incident. there is an nhtsa recall, # 98v322000, regarding the suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint. the vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the vin. | |||
| 08/28/2001 | 5 | ||
| The tie rod failed again after two previous replacements. also, the ball joints were replaced twice. while going over a speed bump, one could hear the tie rod touching the ground. *ak | |||
| 09/23/2004 | 105000 | 2 | |
| Ball joints corroded, resulting in abnormal wear. because of the defect described in the steering linkage:arm:pitman recall 96v135000, but this vehicle was not covered due to vin. the ballm joints were replaced by the dealership.*ak | |||
| 05/06/2004 | 72784 | 1 | |
| The consumer brought the vehicle to a mechanic to have an oil change, and it was discovered that the lower ball joints were defective. the manufacturer stated that his vehicle is not included in the recall, number 98v322000. *la | |||
| 06/14/2004 | 1 | ||
| While pulling inside of a parking lot passenger side wheel collapsed . consumer was unable to move the vehicle. had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the both upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 06/06/2002 | 1 | ||
| While consumer was backing into a parking space at low speed, the lower ball joint on the right front wheel suddenly failed. consumer had all four(4) ball joints replaced (left and right). *jg | |||
| 01/22/2002 | 1 | 10/04/1999 | |
| The lower control arm disengaged from the lower ball joint, and dropped to the ground, tearing a large hole in the front tire, this caused complete loss of control of vehicle. *yd. also the inner and outer tie rod ends were replaced.*jb | |||
| 04/09/2002 | 1 | 01/01/2000 | |
| The lower control arm/ball joint experienced the same problem as stated in recall 98v322000. the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the vehicle identification number. *ak *scc *jb | |||
| 08/24/2001 | |||
| After pulling into a parking lot and shutting vehicle off front left ball joint for lower control arm broke. dealership has informed consumer that vehicle was not affected by recall 98v322000. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak | |||
| 12/01/2000 | 1 | 09/01/1996 | |
| While pulling into a parking lot heard a loud noise. consumet thought that drove over a hole, got out of vehicle, and found out that ball joints had fallen off vehicle without prior warning. *ak the dealer replaced broken lower ball joints and inner tie rod ends. *yh | |||
| 08/09/2000 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle was manufactured with no grease fittings on ball joints , it was sealed and could not be maintained. therefore, when there was a lack of lubrication on ball joints, it would freeze up, causing steering wheel to lock up, resulting in consumer running off road. *ak replace pitman arm and lower ball joints. *yh | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - UPPER BALL JOINT | |||
| 08/28/2001 | 5 | ||
| The tie rod failed again after two previous replacements. also, the ball joints were replaced twice. while going over a speed bump, one could hear the tie rod touching the ground. *ak | |||
| 09/23/2004 | 105000 | 2 | |
| Ball joints corroded, resulting in abnormal wear. because of the defect described in the steering linkage:arm:pitman recall 96v135000, but this vehicle was not covered due to vin. the ballm joints were replaced by the dealership.*ak | |||
| 06/14/2004 | 1 | ||
| While pulling inside of a parking lot passenger side wheel collapsed . consumer was unable to move the vehicle. had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the both upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||
| 52000 | 1 | ||
| Rear of vehicle is lowered to the ground. dealer determined that two rubber pieces within the rear air suspension system caused the air to leak.*ak | |||