2005 Ford Crown Victoria problems
NHTSA has received 240 complaints about the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria, and 42% of them involve lighting. After that come steering (15%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 240 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 42% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 196 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 | 18 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 24 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 35 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 30 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 19 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 13 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 196 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 80,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (88 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Ford Crown Victoria with enough data (83 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
My wife died in this police car lost control due to engine jerking and seat belts came loose and ejected my daughters havin head injury concussion and broken skull.
Austintown police officer was operating a 2005 ford crown victoria police vehicle when the vehicle was struck from behind, causing the vehicle to explode into flames. Preliminary indications are the police vehicle was moving at the time of impact and the second vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed. Officer involved received severe burns over 40% of his body.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford crown victoria. The contact stated that the vehicle is used as a police vehicle. While the vehicle was parked with the engine running, the contact sat in the driver's seat and the air bags suddenly deployed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but they have not yet diagnosed the cause of the failure. The contact believes that this is a safety hazard and a recall should be issued. The current and failure mileages were approximately 100,000. U[pdated 07/28/09. Updated 07/31/09.
Headlights go out without warning while driving. Must pull & hold dimmer lever to engage "bright" lights to have any illumination of the street.