1996 Ford Crown Victoria problems
NHTSA has received 358 complaints about the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria, and 22% of them involve engine. After that come suspension (15%) and fuel system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 358 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 108,000 miles 65 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 9 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 65 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 108,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 114,000 miles (22 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 19 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Ford Crown Victoria with enough data (196 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
There has been 3 deaths and 1 critical injury within the arizona law enforcement, regarding the ford crown victoria police cruiser's, the design and placement of the fuel tank has been known to catch on fire if the vehicle is involved in a rear side impact collision.
The arizona dept public safety & phoenix police dept are reporting high occurences of fires associated with rear-end collision of the crown victoria vehicles, an officer was killed when his vehicle was struck from behind and burst into flames, the officer was stopped at a collision scene and the other vehicle was traveling inexcess of 66 miles MPH at impact, authorities suspect fuel system related(no VIN given)
The arizona dept public safety & phoenix police dept are reporting high occurences of fires associated with rear-end collision of the crown victoria vehicles, as the police officer had just begun to accelerate from a stop light, his vehicle was struck from behind and burst into flames, the officer suffered severe burns, authorities suspect possible fuel system related.
While driving 55 MPH hood latch snapped. Hood flew up and shattered the front windshield. Consumer managed to pull over.
I recently got the vehicle and its already giving me problems. The car drifts to the side and the motor is giving me problems the car has not even reached 1500 miles since I got it and its already causing me problems.