Ford / Thunderbird / 1996
1996 Ford Thunderbird problems
Owners have filed 295 complaints about the 1996 Ford Thunderbird with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 23.1% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of service brakes, hydraulic at 18.6%.
Complaints295
Crashes18
Fires4
Injuries29
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 23.1% · 68
Service brakes, hydraulic 18.6% · 55
Power train 7.5% · 22
Visibility 7.1% · 21
Exterior lighting 5.1% · 15
Fuel system, gasoline 4.7% · 14
Tires 4.4% · 13
Steering 3.7% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 18 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire, 29 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 9 model years of the Ford Thunderbird in this data, 1996 sits 4th by complaint volume. 1993 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 4 in the last three years against 14 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 84,518 miles.
In owners' own words
- The contact wanted to have repair done to 1996 Ford Thunderbird, however service bulletin #97m91, dated jan 19, 1998 (nhtsa item number: 605621) expired and Ford charged for the repairs. The mileage at the time of the failure was 80000. The contact said that the service bulletin was for the intake manifold. The contact wrote to Ford. The refused to honor the service bulletin. *Ak updated 2/6/2007 - Engine and engine cooling · reported at 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 1996 Ford Thunderbird. The contact was driving 30 mph when he noticed an abnormally strong coolant odor. The contact then inspected the vehicle and found that the antifreeze intake manifold had failed. The intact manifold was cracked and causing antifreeze to spill. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 60,000. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 60,000 miles
Intake manifold cracked. This part was made out of nylon and is a known defective part installed at the factory. Ford motor company refused to reimburse stating that there was a customer satisfaction action in 1996. Since the problem was due to a known defectivepart I think it should be covered for life of the vehicle. Later Ford redisigned the part using aluminum instead of nylon. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 78,652 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Ford Thunderbird years
1991 130 complaints · 14.6% service brakes, hydraulic 1992 234 complaints · 19.2% exterior lighting 1993 559 complaints · 34.7% engine and engine cooling 1994 426 complaints · 23.9% power train 1995 353 complaints · 33.4% service brakes, hydraulic 1997 228 complaints · 25.0% engine and engine cooling