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 | |
| STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE | |||||
| 98241 | 12/07/1998 | 604053 | Diagnostic service tips on passive anti theft system ( pats ). *yc | 03/16/1999 | |
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||||
| 99219 | 10/18/1999 | 6089673 | This bulletin mentions that the workshop manuals do not contain a procedure for inspecting the pitman arm ball joint for wear. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 08/14/2007 | 105000 | 1 | 04/14/2003 |
| During normal driving, heard extremely alarming loud creaking, squeaking noises from front end. steering became sloppy and erratic. took it to r&r automotive in lex. pk. md and had complete front end replaced, due to worn out ball joints, idler arms, pitman arms, tie rods, sway bar ends which could not be lubricated. replaced with those equipped with grease fittings. $1750.00 *jb | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP | |||
| 04/04/2001 | |||
| Power steering reservoir hose separated, causing loss of vehicle control which resulted in a collision. driver sustained minor injuries. dealer has been notified.*ak | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 12/14/1999 | 1 | 12/13/1999 | |
| While traveling could not keep vehicle centered to road while steering. dealer has been contacted. no positive feedback while going straight, vehicle tends to wander, no on-center feeling.. *ak | |||
| 09/05/1998 | 1 | 05/04/1998 | |
| Power steering fails intermittently. | |||
| 09/01/1998 | 4 | ||
| Vehicle loses power steering when driving at any speed, automatically steers easy and 25mph and lower. dealer contacted and worked on vehicle four times, and the problem has not changed and still exists. provide further information. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 06/25/1998 | 1 | 06/20/1998 | |
| The front left steering linkage broke off, losing all steering control which almost resulted in an accident. currently at the dealer. *ak tie rod fel off. | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - ROD - RELAY - CONNECTING | |||
| 08/07/2006 | 50000 | 1 | 12/30/2000 |
| My 1998 mercury grand marquis at slow speed had the passenger side tie rod end fail and fall off causing complete loss of steering. this happened at a slow speed luckily no accident. car towed to ford dealer. replaced all four tie rod ends. cost $400.00. car had 50,000 miles , this was a factory defect. this is a sealed unit requiring no grease or maintenance. i replaced with greased tie rodends.i believe this should be a recalled part. *tr | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 10/22/2006 | 81400 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated while entering a driveway at 5 mph, an unidentified noise was heard. when attempting to reverse out of the driveway, the rear wheels spun. the contact turned off the ignition and exited the vehicle to inspect the problem. the front right wheel was turned to the right and the linkage was laying on the drive way, and the front wheel was still pointed straight and responded to the steering wheel. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was notified. updated 11/30/2006 -the failure was the tie rod end which failed due to lack of grease. the grease fitting could not be greased. *nm | |||
| 02/10/2005 | 51047 | 1 | 11/13/1998 |
| While driving 18 mph the front passenger side tie rod broke. as a result, the steering failed. no impact reported.*ak dealer replaced passenger and driver's side outer tie rod end, and passenger side inner tie rod and sleeve. *tt | |||
| 2 | 03/01/1999 | ||
| Problems with upper and lower ball joints and tie rods.*mr the parts were replaced, some of them twice. ford put ungreased parts on. eventually they dried out again and started squeaking. if not replaced they would possibly break which could cause the driver to lose control, possibly causing injury or death. *ph the front brakes were resurfaced. *jb | |||
| 60000 | 4 | ||
| The inner and outer tie rod ends have been replaced as well as the upper and lower ball joints. *mr *scc *nlm | |||
| 10/15/2002 | |||
| Consumer states while driving down a road tie rod fell down and consumer lost control of vehicle, wheels were loose could not steer. took to dealer, dealer stated tie rod was wore and fell off. please provide any further information. ts | |||
| 02/05/2002 | 1 | 08/06/2001 | |
| While driving 5mph and backing into driveway inner tie rod connection broke on right wheel. dealer contacted.*ak *tt | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 1 | |||
| Steering wheel locks up occasionally. *slc | |||