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6.2

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,322 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.

1997 Ford Thunderbird engine problems

engine problem

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1997 Ford Thunderbird Owner Comments

problem #10

Jul 032011

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • 55,770 miles

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

The plastic intake manifold on my 1997 Ford Thunderbird cracked spilling out all my coolant and causing my engine to overheat, this is a design flaw that should be coverd by Ford Motor Company, this happend while driving down gratiot ave. In roseville mi at 40 miles per hour with no previous warning, this failure happend 7/3/2011 Saturday over the forth of July weekend, where I couldn't get it to a open Ford dealership, now I connot use my vehical for work Monday 7/4/2011. Will this repair be coverd by Ford Motor Company?

- Roseville, MI, USA

problem #9

Dec 082005

(reported on)

Thunderbird

  • miles
1997 Ford Thunderbird motor died while driving. ** in repository.

- Bandon, OR, USA

problem #8

Aug 192004

Thunderbird 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 67,452 miles
Cracked intake on my 97 T bird.

- Addison, PA, USA

problem #7

Jun 052003

Thunderbird

  • miles

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

The plastic intake manifold cracked which caused coolant to leak and the vehicle over heated.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #6

Jan 112002

Thunderbird

  • miles
Head gasket blew. Engine ruined. Vehicle lost power. Smoke poured from engine. There was no fire. I saw no indication of problrm on panel. Notificatio on panel lit up as vehicle slowed down to service engine.

- Cohoes, NY, USA

problem #5

Jan 112002

Thunderbird

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving approximately 65 to 70 mph, engine unexpectedly lost power and white smoke started coming from engine compartment. Independent garage examined vehicle and diagnosed head gasket had failed, and was replaced. Consumer states because of all the other failures the engine was ruined and also needs to be replaced.

- Cohoes, NY, USA

problem #4

Dec 122001

Thunderbird

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

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

Due to the location of cup holders spillage from cups get into gear shift. Dealer has been notified. The consumer stated that due to design and location of the cup holder any spill of liquids gets into the gear shift area causing the gear shift to get hard and also, hard to remove key from ignition when the transmission was in park. Engine leaks oil due to rocker arm cover failure.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #3

Jan 032001

Thunderbird

  • miles
Loss of coolant and white smoke;vehicle taken to an independent shop, and informed consumer of a of a head gasket failure. Notified manufacturer, and informed consumer vehicle was not covered under a recall or extended warranty. Please feel free to provide any further details on this matter.

- Tullahona, TN, USA

problem #2

May 272000

Thunderbird

  • miles
3.8 liter V6 Ford engine head gasket defect 1997.

- Eugene, OR, USA

problem #1

Jul 011998

Thunderbird

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Rivets failed caused oil pan cover dropped.

- Newhall, CA, USA

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