Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / THUNDERBIRD / 1997

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 004253311 Incident Date: Jan, 04 2004
Consumer's City: LEWISTON Consumer's State: ID
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: THUNDERBIRD Model Year: 1997
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Unknown or other
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1FALP62W6VH Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jan, 06 2004 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Dec, 13 1997
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: No
Number of Cylinders: 8 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: 1997 ford thunderbird with a 4.6 liter ohc engine that has a cracked intake manifold. the engine has 81,000 miles and the plastic intake manifold cracked and leaked antifreeze all over the engine. the replacement part costs $541.00 from the local ford dealer, and the labor to replace will cost around $550. the replacement part is made out of plastic except for the part that is cracked (thermostat housing) which is made out of aluminum. ford knows there is a problem with the plastic intake manifold, and has had a recall on on certain model 4.6l engines. unfortunately, i was informed by ford today that my 1997 ford thunderbird with a 4.6l engine is not covered because the engineers at ford motor company have not included the serial number (vin) for my thunderbird in their recalls. surprisingly, the part that is defective in my car and will cost over $1000 to repair is not covered under their recall/warranty program. this part is the exact same part that is installed in all of the other vehicles that are allowed a replacement/recall. due to my rotten luck, my car's vin has not been included unfortunately. since the replacement part has replaced the plastic thermostat housing with aluminum, it is clear to me that someone at ford motor company recognizes a design flaw in the original plastic intake manifold. please advise me of anything that you can do to help resolve this problem. thank you for providing a resource to expose these types of problems. wes hardin. *ak