Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 12 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
THE CONSUMER WAS SEEKING RECALL ON THE TFI MODULE WHICH WAS DEFECTIVE. THE TFI MODULE FAILURE COULD RESULT IN ACCIDENT AND DEATH. CONSUMER STATED THAT THE CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT DOES NOT FORCE A RECALL BUT ONLY COVERS REPLACEMENT COST AFTER FAILURE. *YH
CONSUMER STATES DURING HIGHWAY DRIVING VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THICK FILM IGNITION MOUDLE HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TT
I WAS PROCEEDING HOME IN EVENING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WHEN THE CAR ENGINE QUIT INSTANTANEOUSLY. I WAS FORCED TO STOP IN THE RIGHT LANE OF TRAFFIC. ALTHOUGH IN THE RIGHT LANE I COULD NOT PULL OFF OF THE ROAD BECAUSE THERE WAS A BARRIER WITH NO SHOULDER FOR ME TO PULL ONTO. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT HIT BY ANOTHER CAR ALTHOUGH I WAS SITTING WHERE TRAFFIC HAD TO STOP ABRUPTLY AND SWERVE TO AVOID HITTING ME. THE CAR WAS SITTING IN TRAFFIC UNTIL A TOW TRUCK ARRIVED APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR LATER. THE VEHICLE TRAFFIC WHERE I WAS STALLED ROUTINELY MOVES AT OVER 50 MILES PER HOUR WHICH LUCKILY FOR ME DID NOT RESULT IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT. *AK
VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE AND PARKED. UPON EXITING THE VEHICLE, THE OPERATOR NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. AFTER OPENING THE HOOD, THE OPERATOR IDENTIFIED THE SOURCE OF THE SMOKE AS THE ALTERNATOR. OPERATOR CONTINUED TO OBSERVE THE VEHICLE AND NOTED THAT THE VOLUME OF SMOKE WAS INCREASING. AFTER APPROXIMATELY TWO MINUTES, THE ALTERNATOR BURST INTO FLAMES. ARCING WAS SEEN AND HEARD WITHIN THE ALTERNATOR. THE ALTERNATOR HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY REPLACED BY FETTE FORD IN WAYNE, NJ IN SEPT 1999 AND, UPON SUBSEQUENT FAILURE, AGAIN IN APPROXIMATELY JAN 2000. FETTE FORD STATED THAT REBUILT FORD ALTERNATORS WERE USED IN BOTH CASES. *AK
WIRING HARNESS SHORTED OUT, CAUSING ALL LIGHTS INSIDE VEHICLE, AS WELL AS TAIL LIGHTS AND PARK LIGHTS TO STAY ON. IN ADDITION, FUSE BURNED AND MELTED. REPAIRS MADE AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. *AK
WHEN TRAVELING THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE ALTERNATOR. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. *AK
WIRING HARNESS FAILURE CAUSED FIRE.
OWNER UNABLE TO DETECT HORN BUTTONS ON STEERING WHEEL. *AK
THE VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING ELECTRCAL PROBLEMS DUE TO THE IGNITION SWITCH. COULD START A FIRE. *AK
IGNITION SWITCH OVERHEATS. *SD
FIRE ERUPTED UNDER HOOD WHILE DRIVING; DETECTED EXTREME AMOUNT OF FUMES; STOPPED VEHICLE, SHUT OFF IGNITION; FLAMES BURST OUT WITH LOUD NOISE; TOTALED. TT
HORN BUTTON DIFFICULT TO LOCATE IF WHEEL IS TURNED AND DIFFICULT ACCESS. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. TT
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
Data on this page last refreshed .