469 of the
3,978 complaints filed about the Ford Crown Victoria
are about the engine —
12% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 1997.
My 2007 Crown Victoria has had a worsening unintended acceleration issue over the past year. When hitting hard bumps the car will suddenly begin revving my itself (normal RPM is 600 idling in drive and 800 idling in neutral) when this issue occurs it will sit around 1k rpm in drive (pushing against the brakes so I must hold them down very hard) and will shoot up to 2k rpm in neutral. when the issue is occurring it drives the car forward with no user input. this issue has been becoming more and more frequent with it happening up to 5 times in a 15 minute drive. It is very unsafe and has caused me to hit a parking pole before as I could not slow the car down fully.
NHTSA complaint #11686056 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the contact smelled an abnormal coolant odor. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed there was corrosion and a crack near the intake and radiator hose. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
NHTSA complaint #11518286 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving down the roadway at 55 mph a spark plug in cylinder 2 blow out. The car started making a popping noise and started to lose power. After a while the car shut off. The car was able to restart and be driven home. Upon inspection by a mechanic they found the spark plug had came dislodged and shot out of the cylinder and caused damage to the cylinder head the ignition coil and fuel rail. A new Heli coil was installed. A year later while in Texas driving down the road around 35 mph car made a pop noise and shot a spark plug out of cylinder 5 cause the car to lose power and start smoking with a heavy smell of fuel. Car was stopped and inspected. Found a spark plug was blown out of cylinder 5 with damage to the ignition cylinder and fuel rail. repaired the heli coil and placed with new spark plug ignition coil and fuel rail. 2019 while driving down road at 75 mph vehicle makes a loud pop and starts to lose power. Upon inspection by mechanic find spark plug blown out of cylinder 1 with damaged ignition coil. Having mechanic is now replacing both cylinder heads on the engine.
NHTSA complaint #11448585 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE CAR DEALERSHIP DIDN'T TELL US THAT THIS CAR HAVE NO AIR BAG AND ALSO NOTHING WAS CHECKING OR CHANGE ON THE CAR. WE PAID FOR THE CAR AT 2700 AND THE ELECTRIC AND THE RADIATOR ARE BAD AND ALSO THE AC UNIT IS BAD THEY DON'T HAVE NO ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM AND MUCH MORE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO FIX IT NO MORE YOU ALREADY PUT 5,000 PLUS $2,700
NHTSA complaint #11377044 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE ENGINE JUST EJECTED THE #7 SPARK PLUG WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT ON CITY, PUBLIC ROADS AND CAUSED THE CAR TO DANGEROUSLY AND SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN. THE CAR JUST BEHIND ME HAD TO MANEUVER TO AVOID ME.
NHTSA complaint #11099324 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2004 FORD CROWN VIC POLICE INTERCEPTOR. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SEVERAL PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED WITH VEHICLE. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED SHIFTING OUT OF PARK WAS DIFFICULT, THE BRAKES SEEMED SQUISHY, THE RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER WINDOW, THE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD/SPEEDOMETER WERE INOPERABLE, AND THE WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TURN SIGNALS, TAIL LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS WERE INOPERABLE. EXHAUST FUMES ENTERED THE VEHICLE.
NHTSA complaint #11029821 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD CROWN VICTORIA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NOTICE FLAMES UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOWING LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.
NHTSA complaint #11075422 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AFTER DRIVING 30 MILES, I PARKED THE CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY AT MY HOME. APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES LATER, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE CAR WAS ON FIRE UNDER THE ENGINE HOOD. I ATTEMPTED TO UNLATCH THE HOOD BUT WAS UNABLE TO DUE TO THE UNLATCH CABLE BEING DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. THE FIRE HAD MELTED A BIG HOLE IN THE HOOD AT THE LEFT REAR CORNER AND HAD DESTROYED THE WINDSHIELD IN THE SAME AREA. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE BY USING A WATER HOSE AND SQUIRTING THE WATER THROUGH THE MELTED HOLE IN THE HOOD HOLE. I BELIEVE THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL HAD LEAKED FLUID ON THE ENGINE IN THE AREA OF THE LEFT REAR SPARK PLUG AND HAD STARTED THE FIRE WHICH HAD MELTED ALL THE COMPONENTS IN THE AREA ON THE FIREWALL AREA. THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS INOPERABLE DURING MY PREVIOUS DRIVE.
NHTSA complaint #11061024 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LOSS OF ACCELERATION AT WIDE OPEN THROTTLE, TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO "SLIP" WHEN TRYING TO PASS OR ACCELERATE HARD AT HIGHWAY SPEED HAS HAPPENED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS
NHTSA complaint #11000031 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE CAR LEAKS ANTI-FREEZE THROUGHT THE PLASTIC MANIFOLD. WHO EVER HEARD OF A PLASTIC MANIFOLD. THE ORIGINAL PART IS A DEFECTIVE PART-MADE OF THE WRONG MATERIAL.FORD NEEDS TO RECALL THIS PART, IT CAUSES HAVIC CONSTANTLY NEEDS TO ADD COOLANT. THE THERMOSTAT CANNOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE THE PLASTIC HOUSING IS ONE PIECE WITH THE MANIFOLD.
NHTSA complaint #10986187 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE CAR HAS A FIBER GLASS INTAKE AND MY CAR HAS ABOUT 75,000 MILES..A FIBERGLASS INTAKE IS A DEFECTED PRODUCT FOR THIS PART OF A ENGINE,BECAUSE OF THE HEAT.I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW AND EVEN PAID FOR THE EXTENDED WARRENTY..FORD MOTOR CO. SHOULD REPLACE THIS DEFECT PART,,FOR FREE..I HAD TO PARK MY CAR OVER 3 YEARS AGO..
NHTSA complaint #10949188 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD CROWN VICTORIA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE UNKNOWN. UPDATED 04/05/17*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED CAR OVERHEATING DUE TO INTAKE MANIFOLD, HAD TO REPLACE INTAKE MANIFOLD. VIN FAILURE UPDATED 7/3/18*JB
NHTSA complaint #10924141 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, #2 CYLINDER BLEW THE SPARK PLUG OUT. THIS CYLINDER WAS REPAIRED USING A THREAD INSERT. THE CAR HAD APPROX 130,000 MILES ON IT. TODAY, NO WARNING, AGAIN, BLEW OUT ANOTHER SPARK PLUG, THIS TIME #3 CYLINDER. GOING TO ATTEMPT REPAIR USING SAME TYPE OF INSERT. PLUGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ONE TIME, WERE PROPERLY TORQUED PER FORD SPECS, THE PROBLEM, IN MY OPINION IS A DEFECTIVE DESIGN OF THE CYLINDER HEAD WHERE THERE ARE ONLY APPROXIMATELY 3 THREADS IN THE ALUMINUM HEAD THAT ACTUALLY GRIP THE PLUG OR ABOUT 1/16'TH OF AN INCH, WHERE THE PLUG HAS NEARLY 3/4 INCH OF THREAD. NATURALLY, FORD WON;T DO ANYTING TO HELP, BUT THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF CASES LIKE THIS, SOME OF WHICH HAVE RESULTED IN FIRES, AND EVEN THE AFTERMARKET HEADS BY TRICK FLOW ADDRESS THE PROBLEM BY FULLY THREADING THE SPARK PLUG HOLES IN THE HEADS.
NHTSA complaint #10920161 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
MY INTAKE MANIFOLD FOR MY THERMOSTAT IS COMPLETELY BROKEN WHEN I LOOKED UP ONLINE TO SEE HOW MUCH THE PART WOULD COST ME TO HAVE FIXED IT SAID THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE PART BECAUSE IN BETWEEN THE YEARS 1997-2006 FORD USED GENERIC PLASTIC TO MAKE THE PART I JUST PURCHASED THE CAR OFF A GUY LIKE 6 MONTHS AGO SO IF THERE WERE ANY RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE I HAD NO IDEA TILL IT BROKE ON ME AND I LOOKED IT UP I CALLED A FEW FORD DEALERSHIPS AND ALSO THE MAIN FORD HEADQUARTERS IN DETROIT AND EVERYONE'S GIVING ME THE RUN AROUND AND TELLING ME THERE WERE NEVER ANY RECALLS ON MY CAR AND THAT I HAVE TO PAY TO HAVE IT FIXED MEANWHILE ITS THERE FAULT FOR PUTTING THE WRONG PART IN THE CAR IN THE FIRST PLACE I NEED YOUR HELP GETTING THESE PEOPLE TO FIX MY CAR PLEASE CONTACT ME AT [XXX] OR IF I CAN'T BE REACHED ON THAT NUMBER [XXX] THANK YOU. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #10876989 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE SPARK PLUGS HAVE BEEN EJECTING THEMSELVES FROM THE ENGINE, TAKING PART OF THE CYLINDER HEAD WITH THEM MAKING REPAIRS DANGEROUS AND COSTLY. SOMETIMES THE SPARK PLUG STAYS ATTACHED TO THE COIL, CAUSING FUEL VAPORS TO IGNOTE, BUT MOST OF THE TIME THEY RIP THE COIL PACK AND BOOT OUT WITH THEM. THIS HAS HAPPENED FOUR TIMES WITH MY LAST CROWN VICTORIA AND TWICE WITH MY CURRENT ONE. IT ALWAYS HAPPENS AS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, CAUSING A DRAMATIC LOSS OF POWER AND SOMETIMES A FIRE.
NHTSA complaint #10854188 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
UNINTENDED ACCELERATION: I WAS IN HEAVY CITY TRAFFIC. WITHOUT WARNING, MY ENGINE STARTED TO RACE FULL SPEED. (IN A CROWN VICTORIA, THAT'S VERY FAST). THE ONLY WAY TO SLOW IT WAS TO PUSH THE BRAKE AS HARD AS I COULD. FINALLY GOT IT PULLED OVER AND STOPPED. EVEN IN NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE RACED FULL SPEED. VERY FRIGHTENING!!! A MAN CAME FROM TIPTON FORD IN NACOGDOCHES, TX AND TOOK IT TO SHOP. THEY INSTALLED (1-2W7Z*9F715*BA VALVE ASY - THROTTLE AIR BY-PASS). CHARGED ME $278.00!! I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY MECHANICAL REPAIRS TO THIS CAR. I HAVE ALWAYS TRUSTED THIS CAR TO BE SAFE. NOW THAT SECURITY HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A LAWSUIT INVOLVING THIS PROBLEM. IF SO, I WANT MY MONEY BACK !!
NHTSA complaint #10837687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD CROWN VICTORIA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH AND PROCEEDING TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT, THE ENGINE STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESTART AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE MANIFOLD WAS FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 81,218.
NHTSA complaint #10818444 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.