2003 Ford Thunderbird Engine Problems

I'VE OWNED MY 2003 THUNDERBIRD SINCE IT WAS NEW. IT NOW HAS 65000 MILES AND IS DRIVEN ONLY 2000 MILES A YEAR, OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS. DURING THIS PERIOD, I HAVE HAD ALL 8 COILS REPLACED, ONE AT A TIME. THE FIRST TIME WAS WITHIN THE FIRST 1000 MILES. GENERALLY IT OCCURS WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC, BEING ON THE FREEWAY OR ON LOCAL STREETS. THE ENGINE STARTS TO MISFIRE AND NOT FUNCTION. AFTER THE 3RD OR SO INCIDENT, I WAS INFORMED THAT FORD RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM AND WOULD HONOR THE REPAIR. THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THIS, KNOWING OF THE PROBLEM, THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE ALL AT THE SAME TIME. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WOULD ONLY REPLACE WHEN THE COIL MALFUNCTIONED, THIS NOW HAS OCCURRED 8 TIMES. NOW MY MOTOR HAS FAILED AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WHEN THE COIL MALFUNCTIONS THE CORRESPONDING CYLINDER ALSO IS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. AGAIN, THE CAR ONLY HAS 65000 MILES AND HAS NEVER BEEN MISTREATED. THE COST TO REPLACE THE ENGINE IS ALMOST $10,000. THIS MOTOR IS A JAGUAR PRODUCTION 3.9 MODEL. DONE WHEN FORD HAD A BRIEF RELATION WITH JAGUAR. TO SAY THE LEAST, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH FORD AND THEIR LACK OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY. BY THE WAY, WHEN THEY REPLACE THE MOTOR, THE OLD COILS WILL BE REINSTALLED ON THE REBUILT ENGINE.

NHTSA ID

10787251

Incident

Oct 1, 2015

Mileage

65,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SERVICE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE DRASTICALLY REDUCED SPEED AND HESITATED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO REPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN TWO MANUFACTURER RECALLS THAT EXPIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10672401

Incident

Oct 15, 2011

CAR SPUTTERED AND MISFIRED CAUSING PARTIAL POWER LOSS AND SPEED LOSS. PROBLEM IS IGNITION COILS. HAVE NOW HAD TO REPLACE A TOTAL OF THREE DURING TWO SIMILAR EVENTS. TWO DEALERS FAILED TO INFORM ME OF EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10650991

Incident

Jun 11, 2013

Mileage

34,958 mi

I WAS ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY AT FULL THROTTLE AND THE ENGINE SHUT ITSELF OFF. I PULLED OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND TURNED THE IGNITION OFF AND RESTARTED IT AND CONTINUED TO MY DESTINATION. THIS HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND IT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE AND MORE FREQUENT. SOMETIMES THE LIMP HOME LIGHT (WRENCH) COMES ON. I MUST TURN THE IGNITION OFF AND BACK ON TO MAKE THE CAR WORK. I HAVE HAD ALL 8 COILS REPLACED AND THIS DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND IT STILL OCCURS TODAY. I CHECKED THE CODES AND IT DID SAY IT WAS A FORCED SHUT DOWN. I UNFORTUNATELY DO NOT REMEMBER THE CODE NUMBER. *JS

NHTSA ID

10598417

Incident

Jul 10, 2012

Mileage

48,200 mi

WHILE MAKING A U-TURN IN A CULD-E-SAC AT 5 MPH, THE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON. I CAN ONLY REACH A SPEED OF 40 MPH NOW. I AM AFRAID TO TURN THE CAR OFF UNTIL I GET HOME. *TR

NHTSA ID

10575444

Incident

Mar 28, 2014

Mileage

37,000 mi

THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED ON 6/12/12 WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED SPUTTERING AND MISSING AND THEN WENT INTO A "LIMP MODE" AND WOULD ONLY ACCELERATE NO MORE THAN 15 MPH. AFTER TAKING IT TO THE SHOP THEY DETERMINED THAT THE IGNITION COIL ON CYLINDER #8 WAS BAD AND REPLACED IT FOR $270. THE SECOND INCIDENT HAPPENED 9/7/13 AND LEFT MY WIFE STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER DOING RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I FOUND OUT THAT FORD HAD ISSUED A 10 YEAR/100,000 MILE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR ALL 2003, 2004, AND 2005 THUNDERBIRDS TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE IGNITION COILS. FORD HAS RECOGNIZED THAT THIS PART IS DEFECTIVE AND IS A SAFETY PROBLEM, BUT SINCE IT HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED, AND I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, THEY ARE CHARGING ME $1,200 DOLLARS TO REPLACE 7 IGNITION COILS. LOOKING AT THE FORD THUNDERBIRD FORUMS ON THE INTERNET REVEALS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE RECALLED SO OWNERS CAN HAVE THEM REPLACED, SINCE FORD HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE IS A DEFECT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10543072

Incident

Jun 12, 2012

Mileage

17,738 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SPUTTERED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THREE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP AFTER EACH FAILURE TO HAVE THE COILS AND SPARK PLUGS REPLACED. THE REPAIRS WERE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND OFFERED NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 44,850.

NHTSA ID

10467659

Incident

Jul 1, 2010

Mileage

44,850 mi

DRIVING ON A 1,850 MILE TRIP. CAR ENGINE REPEATEDLY SHUT OFF ON LIGHT ACCELERATION FROM COMPLETE STOP. MOTOR LIGHT AND WRENCH LIGHT ILLUMINATED. PUT CAN IN NEUTRAL AND RE-STARTED. WRENCH LIGHT DE-ILLUMINATED, MOTOR LIGHT STAYED ON. ACCELERATION COULD BARELY BE ATTAINED TO KEEP ENGINE RUNNING UP TO 45 MPH. AFTER THAT SPEED, CAN RAN SOMEWHAT NORMALLY,. ENTERING AN EXPRESSWAY AT VERY LOW SPEED WITH MINIMUM ACCELERATION BECAME THE ONLY WAY TO CONTINUE THE TRIP. VERY DANGEROUS. WENT TO A FORD DEALER ON ROUTE. BECAUSE I WAS FROM OUT OF STATE HE AGREED TO WORK ME IN FOR SERVICE THAT DAY. HOWEVER, AFTER I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM, SERVICE WRITER REFUSED MY REQUEST TO PUT CAR ON THEIR DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE. HE AGREED TO CHANGE THE FUEL FILTER ONLY. DEALER WOULD DO NO OTHER WORK. TOLD ME I WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE IT SEVERAL DAYS. I TRIED TWO TANKS OF FUEL WITH A STODDARD SOLVENT INJECTOR CLEANER. AT HOME. I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM. THE IGNITION COILS AND THROTTLE BODY ARE INDICATED. I HAVE HAD BOTH IGNITION COILS REPLACED.18,000 MILES AGO. REPLACEMENT FOR BOTH WAS NOT FREE. THIS CONDITION IS ABSOLUTELY DANGEROUS AND HAS NO LEAD UP SYMPTOMS TO WARN YOU. I HAVE BARELY AVOIDED BEING REAR-ENDED SEVERAL TIMES AS I TRIED TO MAKE IT OFF THE EXPRESSWAY. LOCAL FORD DEALER IS TRYING TO AVOID SCHEDULING MY THUNDERBIRD FOR REPAIRS. A RECALL OF THE DEFECTIVE COMPONENTS IS NECESSARY. A CHECK OF THE INTERNET WEB SITES INDICATE THIS IS PREDOMINANT WITH ALL THUNDERBIRDS OF THIS VINTAGE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10430381

Incident

Oct 11, 2011

Mileage

54,240 mi

2003 FORD THUNDERBIRD HAD SPARK PLUGS REPLACED FOUR TIMES. VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN TO 5 MPH WITHOUT WARNING AND WOULD NOT PICK UP SPEED, AND NUMEROUS ENGINE PROBLEMS. *KB WATER LEAKED INSIDE THE VEHICLE, THE DEALER FOUND CRACKS AND A TEAR AROUND THE WEATHER STRIP AND SEAL. THE A/C CONTROL HEAD ASSEMBLY WAS REPLACED. THE RADIO HAD TO BE SENT OUT FOR REPAIRS. THE ALARM WOULD SOUND ON ITS OWN. THE LIGHT LOCATED ON THE REAR VIEW MIRROR WOULD NOT GO OUT. THE IGNITION COILS WERE REPLACED. *JB

NHTSA ID

10164742

Incident

Jul 3, 2006

DT: WHILE DRIVING AT 55-60 MPH THE ENGINE STARTED TO BOG DOWN AND SLOWLY DIED. HAD BEEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM AND A TRANSMISSION. VEHICLE HAD BEEN CHECKED DIAGNOSTICIANS, AND WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG. DEALER HAD NEVER INDICATED WHAT WAS WRONG. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE OTHER THAN A REBUILD OF THE TRANSMISSION WHEN FIRST PURCHASED. PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE DYING WAS INTERMITTENT. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK *NM

NHTSA ID

10130105

Incident

Oct 1, 2003

Mileage

6,000 mi