Owner-reported complaints naming the transmission system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1994 Ford Thunderbird submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 87 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 87, in the owner's own words
TRANSMISSION WOULD SHIFT IN AND OUT OF OVERDRIVE FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THIS WAS CORRECTED BY REPLACING TWO SPEED SENSING SWITCHES. THIS IS NORMALLY DONE WHEN EVER THE TRANSMISSION IS WORKED ON BY FORD. *TR
I OWN A 1994 FORD T-BIRD WITH A 5.0 V8 AND AS I AM DRIVING(NOT ACCELERATING, ETC.) THE CAR IT UNEXPECTLY DOWN SHIFTS FOR NO REASON. IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN MORE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS WHEN IT IS HOTTER. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO LAKE CITY FORD IN COEUR D'ALENE AT LEAST 4 OR 5 TIMES OVER THE LAST 4 OR 5 YEARS AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME THAT SOME PART "JUST NEEDS CLEANING" THE PROBLEM KEEPS COMING BACK. I FEEL THAT IT IS A DANGER AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
TRANSMISSION BEGINS SHIFTING FROM OD TO LOWER GEARS FOR NO APPARENT REASON. A TRANSMISSION FLUSH SEEMS TO CLEAR UP THE ISSUE FOR APPROX. 6,000 MILES AND THEN THE PROBLEM IS BACK. THE PAST WEEK HAS BEEN VERY BAD. THIS MORNING ON MY DRIVE TO WORK (3 MILES) THE ISSUE OCCURED 6 TIMES.*AK
I NOTICED IMMEDIATLY AFTER BUYING THIS CAR THAT THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED THAT WAS 11/98 IT TOOK SEVERAL CALLS TO THE DEALER AND A COARSE OF A YEAR FOR THEM TO FINALLY FIX IT. SECOND TIME I BROUGHT IN TO SHOP REPLACED WHOLE TRANSMISSION THAT WAS 12/99. NOW IN 6/03 THE TRANSMISSION IS STARTING TO SLIP AGAIN. ALSO HAD RECALL LETTER ABOUT HEAD GASKETS, FORD REFUSED TO WORK WITH ME ON REPLACEMENTS, HAD TO BE REPLACED OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. PRIVATE DEALER LIED ABOUT CONDITION OF VEHICLE, IT HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. FORD MADE NO ATTEMPS TO HELP RESOLVE PROBLEMS. *AK
AUTO. TRANS. SHIFTS FROM DRIVE TO 2ND GEAR. HAS ONLY DONE THIS 5 SEPERATE TIMES OVER A 2 - 3 YEAR PERIOD. I FIND THAT IF I SHIFT THE GEAR SELECTOR TO 1ST GEAR AND PUSH IT INTO DRIVE THE PROBLEM DOES NOT OCCUR. THE FIVE TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED WAS WHEN I SHIFTED FROM PARK STRAIGHT TO DRIVE. I FIND I CAN PUSH THE GEAR LEVER FORWARD FROM DRIVE UNTIL THE INDICATOR SHOWS IN THE NEUTRAL SLOT BEFORE THE TRANS. SHIFTS TO NEUTRAL. I BELIEVE THE DOWNSHIFTING IS CAUSED BY THE MISALIGNMENT OF THE GEAR SELECTOR. NLM
THE TRANSMISSION WILL MAKE UNCOMMANDED AND UNEXPECTED DOWNSHIFTS FROM OVERDRIVE TO 3RD AND SOMTIMES TO 2ND GEAR ANY NEARLY ANY SPEED ABOVE 35 MPH. THIS OFTEN OCCURS AT FREEWAYS SPEEDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH AND CREATES A HAZARDOUS, AND UNEXPECTED SLOWING. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION MAY EITHER UPSHIFT AND DOWNSHIFT REPEATEDLY OR GO INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN BACK INTO GEAR. THIS RESULTS IN THE RPM CHANGING WILDLY AND, AT TIMES, GOING HIGH ENOUGH TO POTENTIALLY CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE.*AK
TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND FIXED TWICE DUE TO SHIFTING LATE AND SHAKING WHILE DRIVING. DEALER HAS ALSO REPLACED SEVERAL PARTS IN VEHICLE, BUT SOLUTION DID NOT WORK. CONTACTED DEALER. *AK
TRANSMISSION SLIPS OUT OF GEAR AND JERKS THE CAR AROUND AND THE STEERING HAS A LOT OF SLACK IN IT ABOUT AN INCH. *AK
I THINK MY ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION WAS STOLEN BY MY DEALERSHIP. LATER, I THINK ANOTHER DEALER FRAUDUANTLY CHARGED MY EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACT TO REMOVED AND REPLACED MY TRANSMISSION WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. *AK
CONSUMER EXPERIENCED TORQUE CONVERTER FAILURE AND 3RD GEAR CLUTCH FAILURE. *JG
CONSUMER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL GOING TO THE FLOOR WHILE SITTING, SINCE THE DATE OF PURCHASE OF VEHICLE.*JB
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
TRANSMISSION WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY AND NEIGHBORHOOD SPEEDS. SPEEDOMETER WILL RACE, BUT WILL GET IN GEAR. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
THE TRANSMISSION OF THIS VEHICLE HAS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND MANY MILES WILL WITHOUT WARNING EITHER DOWNSHIFT FROM OD WITHOUT ANY ALTERATION IN ACCELERATOR PRESSURE OR WILL JUMP INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE RPM WILL RAPIDLY INCREASE AND THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL PULLING POWER. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS WHEN CLIMING A HILL ON AN INTERSTATE OR IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AS THE VEHICLE DECELERATES WITHOUT ANY WARNING TO TRAFFIC TO THE REAR. REPAIR ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN FILTER AND FLUID CHANGE, FLUID LEVEL CHECKS ON A REGULAR BASIS, LINKAGE LUBRICATION, AND ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF THE VEHICLE IN GENERAL. I AM WONDERING IF THERE ARE INHERENT ISSUES WITH THIS STYLE OD TRANSMISSION. THE OTHER MAJOR FAILURES WERE LEFT SIDE HEAD GASKET AND SEVERE FRONT BRAKE PULSATION. THE DEALER FINALLY REPLACED THE BRAKE ROTORS WITH WHAT SEEMED A BETTER UNIT, AND I CONDUCTED THE REPAIRS ON BOTH SIDE HEAD GASKET REPLACEMENT. PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY KNOWN ISSUES REGARDING THIS TRANSMISSION AND WHAT, IF ANY, RECOURSE FOR REPAIR I MIGHT EMPLOY. I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. GKW. *AK
ENGINE BLOWN DUE TO HEAD GASKET FAILURE, HAD TO REPLACE THE PULLEY THAT BROKE OFF RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER. *JB
TRANSMISSION LURCHES, ENGINE SOUNDS LIKE IT WILL STALL, RPMS GO UP, BUT VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCELERATE. *AK
AT 56000M HAD TO HAVE TRANSMISSION OVERHAULED, AT 91000 HEAD GASKET OR INTAKE GASKET BLEW HAD TO BE REPLACED, UNDERSTAND THAT OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES HAVE HAD RECALL ON HEAD GASKETS BUT WAS TOLD BY FORD THAT MY MODEL NOT INCLUDED IN THESE RECALLS.*AK
TRANSMISSION IN THESE THUNDERBIRD IS TERRIBLE THE PERSON I BOUGHT IT FROM HAS ALREADY HAD IT FIXED AND I HAVE TOO. IT IS STARTING TO ACT UP AGAIN FOR EXAMPLE I WILL BE DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND MY CAR WILL SLIP GEAR AND WILL CAUSE ME TOO TEMPORY LOSE CONTROL. I FEEL AS THOUGH THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER DRIVERS. *AK
AUTOMATIC BUTTONS THAT LOCK & UNLOCK GEARS TO SHIFT BROKE OFF WHILE IN USE. BUTTONS FAIL TO STAY IN PLACE. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, WHERE MECHANIC REPAIRED BUTTONS WITH 1995 VEHICLE DUE TO BREAKAGE OF PLASTIC BUTTONS. ALSO, VEHICLE WOULD SHIMMY WHEN ACCELERATING. *AK
AUTO TRANS SHUDDERS SHIFTING 3-4 AND 4-3. SPEED CONTROL FAILED AT 15,000 MILES, FRONT DISC BRAKES PULSATE AND STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES.
I RECEIVED A LETTER OF RECALL FOR THE HEADGASKETS ON MY CAR WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN REPAIRED AND, FORD REFUSED TO HONOR THEIR RECALL. APPARENTLY THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO PREVENT THIS PROPLEM CONSIDERING THEIR HAVE SEVERAL MAKE AND YEARS THAT HAVE BEEN RECALLED. ALSO I THINK IT IS ODD TO HAVE A TRANSMISSION COMPLETLY REBUILT 2 TIMES. FIRST TIME WAS 93000 MILES NEXT WAS 106000 MILES. SO FAR I HAVE SPENT MORE MONEY ON THIS CAR THAN ANY OF THE REST OF THE CARS I HAVE EVER HAD. GOING BACK TO THE HEADGASKETS, I TRIED TO TRADE MY T-BIRD FOR ANOTHER T_BIRD AND THE DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT DEAL WITH ME PERIOD. THANK YOU TINA TROUT. *AK
THERE ARE ACTULLY TO MANY OTHER THINGS TO LIST BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAIL COPIES OF ALL MAJOR SAFETY RELATED PROBLEMS THAT IVE HAD WITH THIS CAR.IM STILL HAVEING ENGINE ,TRANSMISSION,AND OTHER PROBLEMS NOT TO MENTION THE GAS SMELL THAT THE FORD DEALER SWEARS ISNT THERE. *AK
CONSUMER IS GETTING A SHUTTER OR VIBRATION WHEN SHIFTING TO 3RD GEAR, CONSUMER HAS NOTICED THIS FOR ABOUT 9 MONTHS. CONTACTED DEALER AND HAD FLUID CHANGED. PROBLEM HAS NOT REOCCURRED SINCE. *AK *ML
WHEN VEHICLE WARMS UP IT GOES INTO NEUTRAL SPONTANEOUSLY AND WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED AT ALL. ALSO, VEHICLE LURCHES TO 1000RPMS, AND THEN GOES BACK TO NORMAL*AK.
TRANSMISSION SLIPS OUT OF GEAR, RPMS RUN HIGH, AND THEN IT GOES BACK INTO GEAR, AND JUMPS FORWARD. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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