2001 Ford Grand Marquis

DURING THE INITIAL RECALL CAMPAIGN IN 2001, THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WERE INSPECTED BY FORD DEALERSHIPS USING A TEST TOOL THAT WOULD DETECT A DEFECTIVE FRONT SEAT OUTBOARD SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY.APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION VEHICLES PASSED THE INSPECTION TEST FOR ONE OR BOTH FRONT BUCKLES.SUBSEQUENT TO THE RECALL SERVICE ACTION, ODI RECEIVED 15 CONSUMER REPORTS ALLEGING THAT A PASSED INSPECTION BUCKLE SUBSEQUENTLY FAILED TO LATCH OR INADVERTENTLY UNLATCHED DURING USE.IN ADDITION, FORD HAS IDENTIFIED 543 OWNER AND FIELD REPORTS ALLEGING BUCKLE FAILURE SUBSEQUENT TO PASSING THE INSPECTION TEST.FORD TESTED AND EXAMINED OVER 100 WARRANTY-RETURNED BUCKLES AND FOUND THAT 44% OF THE BUCKLES HAD NO PROBLEM OR A CONDITION NOT RELATED TO THE RECALL INSPECTION (NON-LATCH RELATED BUCKLE DAMAGE OR FOREIGN CONTAMINATION).WARRANTY CLAIMS WERE HIGHEST DURING THE 18-MONTH PERIOD AFTER THE START OF THE RECALL (JULY 2001) AND HAVE BEEN DECLINING DURING THE PAST 24 MONTHS.OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, FORD HAS RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 12 WARRANTY CLAIMS PER MONTH OUT OF A VEHICLE POPULATION OF ABOUT ONE MILLION.COMPLAINTS COUNTS ARE ALSO DECREASING.DURING THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS, ODI HAS RECEIVED ONLY TWO COMPLAINTS. A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

UNDER RECALL CAMPAIGN (01V227), FORD RECALLED APPROXIMATELY 1.3 MILLION VEHICLES TO INSPECT AND IF NECESSARY REPLACE THE FRONT DRIVER AND/OR PASSENGER SEAT BELT BUCKLE.APPROXIMATELY 1.1 MILLION OWNERS RESPONDED BY TAKING THEIR VEHICLES TO A DEALER FOR INSPECTION OF THE BUCKLE USING A SPECIALIZED BUCKLE TEST TOOL.FORD REPORTED THAT 829,927 VEHICLES HAD BOTH BUCKLES PASS THE TOOL TEST AND ANOTHER 167,336 VEHICLES HAD ONE BUCKLE PASS.ODI AND FORD RECEIVED COMPLAINTS ALLEGING SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILURE SHORTLY AFTER PASSING THE ORIGINAL RECALL INSPECTION SERVICE.COMPLAINANTS ALLEGED THAT THE BUCKLE FAILED BY EITHER NOT LATCHING OR FALSE-LATCHING (PARTIAL ENGAGEMENT OF THE LATCH TO THE LATCH PLATE).A FALSE-LATCHED BUCKLE MAY RELEASE WITH MINOR MOVEMENT OR IMPACT AGAINST THE BUCKLE HOUSING INCLUDING INADVERTENT RELEASE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION.ODI IS UPGRADING THIS RECALL QUERY TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA05-004) TO FURTHER ANALYZE THE FIELD PERFORMANCE OF THOSE VEHICLES THAT FORD DEALERS PASSED (ONE OR BOTH BUCKLES) USING FORD'S INSPECTION TEST (997,263 VEHICLES).

WHILE STOPPED IN TRAFFIC THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT WARNING. NO IMPACT REPORTED. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB

NHTSA ID

10097007

Incident

Oct 11, 2004

Mileage

2,800 mi

WHILE DRIVING, THE CONSUMER HEARD A NOISE AS IF THE WINDOWS WERE OPEN. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE CONSUMER'S CONCERN. *JB COULD HEAR A VERY CLEAR WIND ROAD NOISE COULD BE HEARD AROUND 40 MPH. *SCC *JB

NHTSA ID

10032481

Incident

Aug 8, 2003

THE CONSUMER STATED THAT AFTER SLIGHTLY TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IT HAD GONE INTO FULL THROTTLE AND RESULTED IN THE DRIVER BACKING INTO A BUILDING. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. *AK THE SEAT BELT FAILED. *SCC

NHTSA ID

10029917

Mileage

11,000 mi

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CONTINUED TO STAY ON, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STALL. *JB

NHTSA ID

10011114

Incident

Dec 30, 2002

Mileage

17,800 mi

THE REAR WINDSHIELD GLASS WAS INSTALLED CROOKED TO THE POINT THAT THE RIGHT TOP SIDE OF THE GLASS WAS DOWN ABOUT 3/4" FROM THE BODY OF THE CAR, THIS IN TURN CAUSED THE BOTTOM TRUNK LINE TO SINK INTO THE TRUNK BY THE SAME DISTANCE. NLM

NHTSA ID

558663

WHEN MY SON CAME TO UNFASTEN HIS SEATBELT, IT CAME OUT OF THE SEAT, NUT AND BRACKET AND ALL; NEEDLESS TO SAY, IN AN ACCIDENT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN USELESS. *AK

NHTSA ID

738564

Incident

Dec 31, 2000

MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON WITH OR WITHOUT ROUGH RUNNING, LACK OF POWER, SURGE OR POOR FUEL ECONOMY WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0401, P0402, P1400, P1401. *TT *JB

SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A HIGH PITCHED WHISTLE NOISE FROM THE A/C PLENUM AREA. *SLC

SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A FASCIA BLEMISH OR PAINT PEELING CONDITION ON EITHER THE FRONT OR REAR BUMPER. *SLC

INFORMATION PERTAINING TO TRAC CONTROL SWITCH - EVTM UPDATE. *JB