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 - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE | |||||
| 98-4739 | 09/01/1998 | 607154 | Intermittent/false anti-theft activation. *ak | 11/03/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 08/09/2010 | 90000 | ||
| Son was operating the vehicle. as he made a left turn, he heard a loud clunking sound and the right side of the vehicle crashed to the ground. had the car towed home and subsequently towed to the repair shop the next day. was told that the lower right ball joint had failed, subsequently snapping the stabilizer link. this happened in august 2010. november 15, 2011, i was driving home. stopped to air up my right rear tire. upon re-entering the vehicle and backing out, the right front side fell to the ground. again, the right front lower ball joint failed. this time, i had to also replace the right front lower control arm, right front stabilizer link, right front shock and right front ball joint. there is a serious problem with the 1997 lincoln towncar's front end. when the mechanic went to install the right lower ball joint (which is a pressed fit) the ball joint went right in by hand, which indicated that the right front lower control arm was faulty. i now have a rattling sound coming from the left front side. i'm really scared to drive this car. | |||
| 11/15/2003 | 82500 | ||
| Excessive wear on the upper and lower control arm ball joints led to vague steering and a wandering car path. the control arm ball joints that were replaced were rubber on metal without zerk lube fittings. they were designed to fail. the replacement control arm ball joints are metal-on-metal with zerk lube fittings. in 1999 there was a recall on lincoln town cars for replacement of the lower control arm ball joints. the recall numbers are nhtsa recall no. 98v322/ford recall no. 98s37. however, we had to pay the full amount of the repair. developed a crack in the intake manifold coolant crossover pipe and lost all engine coolant. we had to have it towed 80 miles for repair. several ford recalls were issued on the 4.6l v8 engine for replacement of this defective part; but they were for police cars, limo fleets, etc. i was told i am not covered. the little guy is left paying a thousand dollars for ford's engineering defect. within a time period of 4 months, we have had to spend almost two thousand dollars to correct ford's design defects. | |||
| 05/28/1999 | 18 | 11/29/1997 | |
| An extremely strong mildew odor is coming from the air conditioning unit, causing passengers to become ill. dealer states odor is due to coil which is too tight around air conditioner, preventing water to escape, and causing mildew odor. *ak emergency brake shoes were replaced. brakes squeal, dealer has replaced front brake pads, resurfaced rotors, lubed caliper slides, replaced rear brake pads, machined rear rotors, however brakes still squeal. both rear wheels were covered with gear lube. drivers shoulder belt would not retract at times, dealer replaced seat belt. noise and thimping felt in steering when making turns, dealer lubed stops. left front window inoperable, dealer replaced window regulater. front roof welt loose and broken, dealer replaced. front door pull trim missing. blend doors inoperable, will not blow air through defrost vent. ash tray will not close. ac/heater emits a musty/moldy odor, the odor not only permeates the passenger, but is also in the trunk,there is no condensation being released by the ac, many things along with the moisture purge module have been replaced and problem still persists, system has been sanitized several times, ac max button does not work. motor goes on 45 minutes after vehicle is turned off, this blows through the front defroster and steams up the front windshield. door handle is inoperable. vinyl trim at top of console is loose. engine stalled at stops when cold, dealer replaced maf and fuel pump. *slc | |||
| Would be driving & the steering wheel would have too much play. feels like losing control of vehicle. took vehicle to dealer. steering pressure sensor has been rplaced or changed & affects the steering of the vehicle. rocker arm was cracked & needed replacing. had an accident due to lack of control of steering wheel. hit a telephone pole & the air bags deployed. suffered injuries.*ak | |||
| 07/01/1999 | |||
| While driving at interstate speed and over bumps vehicle moved to right and left which could cause loss of control and crash. been to dealer several times. a new steering design for 1997. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 03/31/1998 | 1 | 03/31/1998 | |
| Steering is poor, vibration and loss of control. | |||
| 07/11/1997 | 4 | 07/07/1997 | |
| When driving at highway speed at about 60mph, the vehicle began to wonder all over the road, it also does this in windy conditions. on two occasions lost control of vehicle, vehicle went into other lane. *ak | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 11/11/2001 | 47000 | 1 | 09/19/1997 |
| While driving 45 mph the vehicle swerved to the left without warning . the consumer could not control the vehicle and the vehicle went through a guard rail. the vehicle flipped over three times down an embankment. the consumer suffered injuries to the spine and several limbs. the insurance company claims that the steering column malfunctioned. the vehicle was totaled. *nm *la | |||
| 2 | 07/29/1997 | ||
| Consumer was unable to start the vehicle because the steering wheel was locked, the steering wheel was difficult for the consumer to unlock. *tt *jb | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE | |||
| 11/01/2002 | 13500 | 2 | 07/29/1997 |
| The consumer was not able to restart the parked vehicle due to the locked steering column. the steering column had been excessively difficult to unlock. the consumer was concerned about being stranded when the situation occurs. mr the incident happened in the summer of 1998 as well-possibly the first incident. scc | |||
| 07/29/1999 | 2 | 04/01/1999 | |
| Anti theft - system would go off on its own; locked garage, etc. after 3 tries, dealer replaced sterring column tamper switch. (3/15/00). no problem since then. soon roof rocker switch has broken twice. you still must be extremely careful when opening and closing the sun roof.*ak | |||
| 04/04/1999 | 100 | ||
| Ant-theft device goes off for no apparent reason, causing horn to blow and lights to flash. consumer has expeireinced this problem over 100 times since april of 1998. the dealer is not able to find out what causes this problem. *ak | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS | |||
| 1 | 08/16/1997 | ||
| Vehicle shakes and shimmies. dealer replaced all four shock absorbers and control arms/power steering hoses and front brake rotors. | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 07/22/2001 | 3 | 09/01/1997 | |
| Total loss of steering and brakes. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 05/06/2002 | 1 | 06/01/2000 | |
| Center linkage (drag link) metalurgical failure of break. *ak | |||
| 03/22/1999 | 1 | 09/01/1997 | |
| No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - ARM - IDLER AND ATTACHMENT | |||
| While driving vehicle stalled out at least 3-4 times a week. has taken vehicle to dealership & mechanic placed vehicle on diagnostic machine. no code came up. mechanic did replace fuel filter/ idler/ neck in fuel tank & a canister. but, problem still exists. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Front end shimmied, making it difficult to steer and handle vehicle when driving at highway speeds, and on rough roads. dealer has replaced idler arm . also, consumer replaced tires and shocks, but defect still occurs. cause is still unknown. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 10/18/2002 | 77000 | 1 | 11/28/2000 |
| The consumer states that while pulling out the garage the outer tie rod fell off, unable to steer vehicle. which could have caused a serious accident if vehicle was on the highway. ts the front end was aligned. the consumer feels that there is an error with the type of tie rods being used on this vehicle. scc | |||
| 07/01/1997 | 10 | 07/01/1997 | |
| Vehicle stalled after leaving home driveway, and on freeway for no apparent reason. ford could not find a solution. *ak | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 06/01/2001 | |||
| Steering wheel became very loose. steering wheel was free to turn in both directions with out stopping. consumer took vehicle to dealer, and they stated that steering column rod came out. dealer replaced steering parts. please provide any further information.*ak | |||