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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,914 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

1996 Ford Thunderbird exhaust system problems

exhaust system problem

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1996 Ford Thunderbird Owner Comments

problem #15

Jun 182007

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 95,700 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Defective intake manifold. Ford replaced once, free of charge @ 48,523 miles. Cracked again @ appx. 95,700 miles. Ford refused to replace free of charge. Replaced one defective manifold with one that was just as defective. There was a class action suit on this manifold, it was so bad.

- Mountain View, CA, USA

problem #14

Oct 302006

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles
- the contact wanted to have repair done to 1996 Ford Thunderbird, however service bulletin #97M91, dated Jan 19, 1998 (NHTSA item number: 605621) expired and Ford charged for the repairs. The mileage at the time of the failure was 80000. The contact said that the service bulletin was for the intake manifold. The contact wrote to Ford. The refused to honor the service bulletin. Updated 2/6/2007 -

- Passaic, NJ, USA

problem #13

Jul 082005

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 78,652 miles
Intake manifold cracked. This part was made out of nylon and is a known defective part installed at the factory. Ford Motor Company refused to reimburse stating that there was a customer satisfaction action in 1996. Since the problem was due to a known defectivepart I think it should be covered for life of the vehicle. Later Ford redisigned the part using aluminum instead of nylon.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #12

Apr 102005

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 81,335 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Plastic intake manifold failure on a 1996 Ford Thunderbird V8. Part failure was preceded by a "check engine light" and "low coolant" light. Turns out that Ford had put out "service bulletin" in 1999 and followed up on it in 2001 on this issue (97M91) yet they never notified any owners. Cost of repairs for this part will be around $1,000 yet Ford will not do anything willingly to rectify the situation. Failure of part could lead to catastrophic engine failure if not corrected.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #11

Aug 012004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • miles
1996 Ford Thunderbird 4.6L V8 motor failure of plastic intake manifold. Driving home under normal conditions and check coolant light came on. Duaghter said she had thought she smelled burning coolant for several days prior. Took to mechanic and he pointed out the crack in the intake manifold. Said this was a very common problem with this motor. Paid over $900 to have repaired with upgraded part. Told by mechanic that recall issued but expired about 6 months prior to repair.

- Summerfield, NC, USA

problem #10

Apr 102004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 170,000 miles
Coolant fumes/odor was coming inside the vehicle while driving at any speed. Consumer inspected the vehicle and found a crack in the intake manifold. Consumer notified the dealer, who informed the consumer that this vehicle was not covered under a present recall.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #9

Aug 182004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving consumer noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to a body shop. Mechanic determined that the intake manifold was cracked and needed to be replaced.

- Fayetteville, PA, USA

problem #8

Jun 022004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,000 miles
In febrruary 2003, my 1996 Ford Thunderbird 4.6L started spewing what I thought was smoke from the engine compartment. I was just at my driveway and pulled in. After opening the hood I realized it was not smoke but coolant that was being sprayed all over the hot engine. I had the car towed to friendly Ford in las vegas, Nevada, where I had bought the vehicle, and after some discussion, they replaced the intake manifold under a tsb. On 6-2-04, some 16 months later, the intake is again leaking. After doing some research, I found that the part they put on the car is not the recommended part as stated in a letter from Ford Motor Company in flint, Michigan, dated December 2001. The part which Ford states is the replacement part is F6az9424aa. The part listed on the repair invoice is F8az8424aaa. The part actually installed on the car has a part number of ae9424ca. I talked to the service manager, dennis eich, at friendly Ford on 6-22-04, who stated that the part number doesn't matter, they don't need to install the part recommended by Ford in the letter, and because the part is out of warranty now they won't fix it correctly. I unfortunately am not alone in this problem. My research, via the internet, shows numerous complaints of the same problem. This is a manufacturers defect which should be subject to a full blown recall and Ford should be required to repair the vehicles with the recommended parts.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #7

Jan 092004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 145,000 miles
Cracked plastic intake manifold that caused a major coolant leak.

- Chesterfield, MI, USA

problem #6

Sep 012003

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
My complaint is about the cracked intake manifold currently sitting in my 1996 Thunderbird 4.6L although I can find only a little bit of information on this matter regarding recalls; class action suits; and free of charge replacements; I am very interested in finding out if there is actually anything like that happening and to file my complaint and/or join any other consumer who is having the same problem on any class action suit.

- Fenton, MO, USA

problem #5

Oct 201998

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 46,582 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In October of 1998 vehicle was repaired under a recall for the intake manifold. Currently, the vehicle overheated due to a crack in the intake manifold. When the intake manifold is replaced, the old style is used which is why the consumer believes it fails again. Consumer feels Ford should reimburse him the cost of repairs.

- Fair Oaks, CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 082003

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 68,423 miles
Defective plastic intake manifold. Never notified of any recall concerning defective intake manifold. Ford says it's not covered. I paid to have it fixed and they replaced it with another plastic intake manifold -- the link below shows over 250 other consumers complaining about the same thing. www.public.fotki.com/trsi/ford_intake_recall/

- Hanover, PA, USA

problem #3

May 232002

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 64,018 miles
Ford recall not honored - intake manifold www.bigclassaction.com/class_action/ford_manifold.html upon acceleration, smoke came out of under hood & I believe engine light came on. It all happened so quickly. Made it to the nearest lot, where I could pull off the road. All coolant leaked out. Had to call for tow. Mechanic did coolant pressure test, and showed only leak was at back of engine. Had to pull transmission to get to it. Water pouting out back of engine but no freeze plug blown, traced backward to intake manifold crack that never showed up on intial pressure testing. I was charged over $750. For repairs. Called dealer to check on warranty (expired 1200 miles earlier) and recalls. Said there were none. Just recently discovered the recall at an autozone website, and contacted dealer about it. He said to send in original receipt & Ford would reimburse. They gave me the runaround, and finally said the claim was denied because I should've taken it to a Ford dealer/service. Since the warranty was expired, & I knew of no recall, I saw no reason to spend the extra money Ford mechanics charge, so I went with the other private mechanic. Ford's argument is that I should've gone to Ford mechanic, and mine is that Ford should have notified me of the recall, especially when I asked them. At least they should reimburse me for something they should have taken care of. I bought the car in 2000, recall was in 1999. Dealer or someone should've notified me of the recall.

- Elkhart, IN, USA

problem #2

Mar 132001

Thunderbird

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving consumer noticed smoke coming from under hood, took vehicle dealer who found manifold had cracked.

- Glen Burin, MD, USA

problem #1

Apr 241999

Thunderbird

  • miles
Leaked coolant due to crack in manifold, ,did not signify overheating.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

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