Most common 1996 Ford Crown Victoria problems
Share of the 276 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Crown Victoria complaints by model year
Best Crown Victoria years: 2010, 2011, 2006. Years to avoid: 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 1999. Compare all years →
1996 Ford Crown Victoria recalls (9)
Vehicle speed control › Cruise control
Ford is recalling 225,000 my 1992-2003 econoline, my 1993-1995 taurus sho, my 1992-1998 crown victoria, my 1993 bronco, f-series, my 1995-1997 f-series super duty stripped chassis, my 1992-1998 Mercury grand marquis, and my 1992-1995 Lincoln town car vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new wiring harness, or replace the mating electrical component. The recall began on February 18, 2008. Owners May contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Vehicle speed control
On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch May, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected…
Fuel system, other › Storage › Tank assembly
On certain natural gas vehicles, if a flame from a vehicle interior fire becomes locally directed at the natural gas fuel tank located immediately behind the rear seat, the flame could damage the fiberglass wrap on the tank weakening the tank.
Remedy: Dealers will install an insulator behind the current seat back. Owner notification began on January 7, 2004. Owners should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket driver's seat belt assemblies that were sold by Ford parts departments from January 1, through June 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from January 1 through June 13, 2000.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket front passenger side seat belt assemblies that were sold by Ford parts departments from January 1, through June 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from January 1 through June 13, 2000.
Suspension › Front › Control arm › Lower ball joint
Vehicle description: certain 1996-1999 Ford crown victoria police, fleet, natural gas, and 1996-1999 Lincoln town car limousine vehicles that were produced with a lower control arm ball joint containing a one piece bearing; and 1990-1996 Ford crown victoria police, fleet, and ngv vehicles and 1990-1996 Lincoln town car…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the lower control arm ball joints (2).
Show 3 more recalls
Latches/locks/linkages › Hood › Latch
Vehicle description: police and taxi vehicles. The hood latch striker can wear or become detached from the hood.
Remedy: Dealers will install an improved hood latch striker (vehicles with 1992 model hoods) or revised striker plate attaching fasteners (vehicles with 1993-1997 model hoods).
Steering › Linkages
The pitman arms were not fully lubricated at the assembly plant. The "ball joint" at the outer end of the pitman arm can become contaminated and corrode.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the vehicles and if the joint is found to have significant wear, the arm will be replaced. Those pitman arms not replaced will have the "ball joint" fully greased.
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
When in the secondary latched position, the driver door latches May open when subjected to transverse loads less than that specified in FMVSS no. 206, "door locks and door retention components."
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the driver door latch.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 10 possible defects involving the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria:
Post rear end collision fires
There is no summary currently available
Rear brake line failure
Odi has received 40 complaints alleging rear brake line failure in the subject vehicles, including 8 that have been received this year.an additional 192 reports and 478 warranty claims have been received from Ford.a leak in the rear brake line can cause extended stopping distance.a search of odi's complaint database for peer vehicle complaints, using the same brake line failure criteria as for the subject vehicles…
Ball joint separation
See attached report.
Ball joint failure
There is no summary currently available
Front seat anchor bolt failure
The driver's seat, of the subject split-seat configuration, is secured to the vehicle floor pan with four bolts.a single bolt is located at both the front and rear of each of the two seat tracks.these tracks are located on each side of the seat.if the outboard-forward bolt fails, the seat is retained by 3 remaining bolts.when retained by 3 bolts, the rearward movement of the left side of the seat back is limited to…
Cng tank exploding in a fire
An explosion of a compressed natural gas (cng) tank should not be able to occur, as the tank is fitted with a pressure relief device (prd). This prd should release the cng in the tank, prior to the pressure reaching the tank burst pressure.the prd did not release in the subject wisconsin police cruiser explosion.NHTSA has recovered the prd valve from the tank that exploded and testing will be necessary to establish…
Rear brake line failure
In a letter dated February 25, 2005, Ford motor company (Ford) notified odi that it would be conducting a customer satisfaction program (Ford no. 04b26) to correct a rear brake line chafing concern in approximately 44,000 model year (my) 1997 Ford crown victoria and grand marquis non-fleet vehicles equipped with electronic traction control that werebuilt after March 19, 1997.these vehicles have an additional rear…
Cng tank explosion
In September 2002, a fuel cylinder in a natural gas powered vehicle (ngv) exploded during a fire.Ford and vrtc test engineers jointly examined the incident vehicle and reviewed testing to determine whether the performance of the pressure relief valve (prd) was proper.the purpose of a prd is to protect a compressed natural gas tank from overpressure by allowing the cng to vent when the temperature reaches a specific…
Speed control deactivation switch fires
Based on the low rate of fire incidents (2.5 incidents per 100,000 vehicles sold) where failure of the scds is involved and the age of the vehicles ? 7 to 11 years ? A safety-related defect trend has not been identified and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves…
Fuel-fed fires
The fars data shows that the risk of fire from impact in all directions in the subject vehicles is the same as all other sedans.the subject vehicles are not over represented with respect to the risk of fire in real-world high-energy crashes.a further discussion of issues related to post crash fires in the subject vehicles is set out in the closing report for sq 01-014 and that report is in the docket for this…
What 1996 Ford Crown Victoria owners say
Engine & cooling all 84 →
Tl contact owns a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria which was purchased in 2004. She noticed an orange flame under the vehicle and smoke under the hood. The fire department was notified and the fire quickly engulfed the entire vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileages were 196,000. Updated 03/17/09. Updated 03/17/09.
My wife while traveling to visit her son in a distant city, she pulled into a shopping center to call him, he lived nearby. He came to the shopping center in an effort to lead her to his residence. When leaving she noticed smoke and thought the vehicle caught fire. Further investigation proved it was an ant-ifreeze leak. The failure was the intake manifold produced of an inferior material (nylon) a crack developed at 100614 miles causing the antifreeze to leak out and overheat the engine and cause more damage. Within several day the auto went to the repair shop and the intake manifold was replaced a substantial cost. There was no recall present with this event however Ford motor company had a class action suit with this event as its center piece. Unfortunately the failure on my Ford occurred after the class action suit expired. The suit was limited by a time frame. …
Suspension all 51 →
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while making a left turn off a driveway onto a lot, there was a loud metal braking noise coming from the front driver side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front driver side collapsed to the ground. The contact noticed the lower ball joint detached. The vehicle was towed to a private independent parking lot where the contact was to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000. Consumer stated faulty rubber seal was due to corrosion and May have another one with same problem.
Dt: consumer has a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria. He complained about a lower ball joint problem. He found, on the internet NHTSA recall 98V322000 . He went to Ford web site and entered the VIN the web site showed that this vehicle was not included in recall. The vehicle is now not drivable due to ball join problem. Lower ball failed on 8-3-2005 while driving. There was no accident, he traveling ball joint separated just like mentioned in the recall. Consumer would like to have vehicle included in this recall.
Fuel & propulsion system all 46 →
#1 - I constantly have my engine light on and during 2 inspections I received a safety/emissions recall printout, defect # dr-1209 for mass air flow sensors. Both times I have taken it to the local dealer and they claimed there's no recall for it. I just noticed on the NHTSA site, that recalls only go back as far as 1999. They also said that since it's no longer a "police owned" vehicle, they wouldn't fix it. # 2 - I have been getting a constant severe fuel smell that permeates through the car which is exacerbated with warm weather and or when the car warms up. #3 - there's a constant issue of the car vibrating when being driven at 55 - 60 MPH.
Tl* - the contact has a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor with 108000 miles and the protective shield that covers the fuel tank has not been installed. The contact found that there was a recall (02i003000): and (96V135000) for steering:linkages that had not been fixed on his vehicle. When he took the vehicle to the dealer they told him that his vehicle did not fall under the recall. The contact has not experienced any problems with his vehicle in regards to the recall to date.
1996 Ford Crown Victoria engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 15 / 23 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Large car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria a good car?
Based on 276 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1996 Crown Victoria rates avoid: 4.2× as many complaints as a typical year of the Crown Victoria at the same age. It is one of the Crown Victoria years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria?
The engine & cooling — 84 complaints, 30% of all complaints for this model year, most often about exhaust system › manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe. Next are the suspension (51) and fuel & propulsion system (46).
How many recalls does the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria have?
There are 9 recalls for the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria, the most recent from February 4, 2008 (cruise control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Crown Victoria?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2010, 2011 and 2006. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 1999. See the full Ford Crown Victoria years comparison.
At what mileage do 1996 Ford Crown Victoria problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 104,000 miles; 13% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.