This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Radiator coolant leaked into the passenger compartment and onto the driver's feet. As a result, fumes seeped through, making the occupants light headed. Dealer repaired the heating core five times. However, the problem recurred.
Monday August 12 2002 I took my Mustang to riverside Ford because of a failed heater core valve. When I got to the service dept. I noticed the airbag light had come on. Asked them to fix airbag light and to let me know if it was indeed the heater core valve that had busted.that afternoon I was informed that it was the valve.I told them to repair airbag light only. Picked up car next day, paid the bill and got in car.airbag light was still on.iquestioned service writter and he told me they could not find a code when they hooked up the computer so they replaced a fuse.had a few more words with him and he said they did not know what was wrong. Told him it was not fixed but yet I had to pay bill. I did not have time to argue told him I would return.two weeks later I returned with 2 blown airbags.my wife was driving home from work on August 26. She stopped at a redlight and drivers side airbag exploded, pulled in a parking lot and got out of car when passenger side airbag exploded.she called me crying and scared to death over what had just happened. No wreck, no collision with any object airbgs exploded for no reason.any way dealership wanted me to pay for 2hours of labor so they could determine what caused this to happen. Told them they were crazy if they thought I was going to pay.since they day ihave been waiting for some engineers from Ford to come down and have a look and decide what to do.well they did today and said they were denying claim due to age and miles on vehicle.I have asked for nothing other than my vehicle to be fixed but it seems it is going no where.oh by the way when I asked what caused this to happen I get the same response, we do not know.
First failure of heater coil occurred ca 8/98. Second heater coil failure 8/99. Third failiure 9/26/2000. In all cases passengers became nauseated with headaches as a result of the emmision of glycol inot the passenger compartment. In all cases the failure leaked coolant onto electrical harnasses in the dashboard leading to arcing with a significant hazard to passengers. Ford dealer that perfomed the repair had a standard warranty although the failure falls just outside the warranty. The coil failure is a piin hole which appears to from as a result of corrosion errosion by the coolant.
The heater in my 1995 Ford Mustang would not produce warm air and then the "check engine" light came on. The car was looked at by a mechanic who replaced the thermostat. However, heat was still not produced and the odor of antifreeze became apparent. My mechanic at ocean stree auto repair in South portalnd, me, called yankee Ford dealer in South portland, me and was told the head gasket on this 3.8L V6 engine was defective and recalled. I was informed by my mechanice at ocean St auto as well as the service manager at yankee Ford this part would be replaced at no cost to me under extended warranty. Within a half hour I received a call from the service manager at yankee Ford informing me the recall only applied to the Taurus and Windstar. Although he said it was the same engine and could not see why the recall would not apply to the Mustang, he could not fix it under the Ford issued recall. I called Ford Motor Company customer service on March 2 and spoke with "selvin" who told me Ford was well aware of this defective part and they he "expected" this to be recalled on the Mustang and thunderbird at some time, but for now it was Ford's policy not to recall the head gasket on this model at this time. Selvin informed me I had no recourse of action and there was no one else at Ford Motor Company I could appeal to. I pressed selvin to give me the name of manager I could talk with and he refused, again stating this it was "Ford's position not fix this part as part of the recall even though they knew it was defective. Aside from the car issue, I am a single parent with only that car for transportation. I am now forced to rent a car for an undetermined amount of time while waiting for my Ford Mustang to be fixed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oak View, CA, USA