1996 Ford Probe problems
NHTSA has received 77 complaints about the 1996 Ford Probe, and 22% of them involve transmission. After that come engine (21%) and exhaust system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 77 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 10 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 10 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 90,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Ford Probe with enough data (51 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
I am having a repeated problem of the trunk hood falling and smashing your head. Usually I try to have someone hold it open for me, but when in a hurry I forget and end up with a concussion.
Vehicle involved in a frontal/passenger's side collision at 40 MPH, and both air bags failed to depoly. Dealer notified.
When placing the vehicle from 2nd to 3th gear and the rpms are at 2900, the vehicle stalls without no warning, resulting in loss of power. Consumer has contacted the dealer, dealer replaced the sensor and the computer module.
Intermittently vehicle failed to start. Engine cranked but wouldn't turn over. Also while driving vehicle stalled. Mechanic replaced the ground wire and distributor, but the problems still exists.
Replaced right lower control arm assembly with a new part from o'reilly autoparts store on 8/31/10 and on 11/05/10 the ball joint came completely out of the new control arm making an extremely unsafe driving condition. Defective new part, replaced it again on 11/09/10 with another new replacement part from o'reilly autoparts store.