1997 Ford Crown Victoria problems
NHTSA has received 340 complaints about the 1997 Ford Crown Victoria, and 21% of them involve engine. After that come brakes (18%) and suspension (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 340 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 10 and 20
- Injuries and deaths
- 21 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 86,000 miles 120 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 13 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 34 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 6 |
What the data shows
Among the 120 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 86,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 84,000 miles (50 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 20 complaints mention a fire; 21 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Ford Crown Victoria with enough data (158 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 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.
Vehicle suddenly accelerated after leaving gas station. Unable to stop vehicle in approximately 200 feet. Lost control, resultin gin a crash. 3 passengers were injured. Also, brake failure.
Consumers vehicle front end hit the passengers side of another vehicle at 30 MPH, and neither drivers side or passenger side airbag deployed. Also had previously been rear-ended by a vehicle traveling at 65-70MPH and pushed into a truck, and airbag did not deploy then,dealer has vehicle.
The class action suit that was won regarding 1997 ford crown vic (and other makes) defective manifold part was handled incorrectly. Mine just went and is well past the march 16th, 2006 deadline and over 7 years old which makes recourse exempt. My car is currently in the shop getting a $1300 + engine repair. And I am not the only one that this has happened to. Definitely not fair!!!
Was driving along and the headlights flickered and went out. Over the pass year it has intermittently done the same. It happened again about a month ago and fortunately I had just stopped at a red light. Each time it took about 3 to 5 minutes to come back on. It is very disconcerting since this is a very serious safety issue. So please do not take this lightly, I use the expressway a lot and am driving in very congested traffic most of the time.