2004 Ford Thunderbird problems
Owners have filed 40 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Ford Thunderbird. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 30% of complaints. Next are cruise control (22%) and drivetrain & axles (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 40 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 30% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 33,000 miles 37 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 | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 37 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 33,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 34,000 miles (11 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 6 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Ford Thunderbird with enough data (21 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 was driving in very heavy traffic in downtown beverly hills. I was stopped at a traffic light and when the light turned green my car jerked and rapidly acelerated. My car started to go faster and faster and the brakes would not work they were frozen. The car was going so fast and it would not stop. My passenger and myself were screaming and to avoid running over pedestrians I ran up a curb. This accident was so sevre that my car hit a traffic light and it fell onto my car.
2004 ford thunderbird was left running parked in the driveway. Vehicle started to roll backwards. We thought the vehicle was just rolling. Did not realize during that split second that the car had engaged in reverse on its own. Vehicle door hit a person standing behind the open door knocking him to the ground. Vehicle continued in reverse with driver's door open, struck another vehicle in the driveway before driving into a retaining wall.
While driving rear passenger 's side air bag went off inadvertently passenger sustained burns on both hands. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that a rock from the highway caused the air bag prematurely to deploy. Consumer informed the mechanic that this answer was unacceptable and other action would be taken.
Tl* - the contact called regarding the 2004 ford thunderbird. The contact was traveling 55-60 MPH on a highway with dry road conditions and the passenger's side airbag, which was located in the seat, deployed. The driver sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was towed to the ford dealer, and after examining the vehicle ,the ford dealer concluded that there was collision damage to the under carriage of the vehicle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford thunderbird. While driving 55 MPH, the contact heard a screeching noise and the vehicle began to vibrate without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the engine mount failed and needed to be replaced. The part is unavailable. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 48,000.