Most common 1998 Ford Crown Victoria problems
Share of the 119 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 →
1998 Ford Crown Victoria recalls (7)
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.
Equipment › Mechanical › Integrated jack/leveler/stabilizer
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. These vehicles have jacking instructions which, if followed, could cause the vehicle operator to place the jack on a frame weld when attempting to raise a rear wheel.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with a revised jack instruction and stowage card and jack warning label, as well as a supplement to the owner guide.
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.
Show 1 more recall
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).
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 9 possible defects involving the 1998 Ford Crown Victoria:
Post rear end collision fires
There is no summary currently available
Blow back during refueling
There is no summary currently available
Inertia fuel shut off switch
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 axle trailing arm frame mounting
There is no summary currently available
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…
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
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 1998 Ford Crown Victoria owners say
Engine & cooling all 30 →
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the contact noticed smoke under the hood of the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and notice flames underneath the vehicle. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
My intake manifold for my thermostat is completely broken when I looked up online to see how much the part would cost me to have fixed it said there was a recall on the part because in between the years 1997-2006 Ford used generic plastic to make the part I just purchased the car off a guy like 6 months ago so if there were any recalls on the vehicle I had no idea till it broke on me and I looked it up I called a few Ford dealerships and also the main Ford headquarters in detroit and everyone's giving me the run around and telling me there were never any recalls on my car and that I have to pay to have it fixed meanwhile its there fault for putting the wrong part in the car in the first place I need your help getting these people to fix my car please contact me at [redacted] or if I can't be reached on that number [redacted] thank you.
Suspension
Had my car since 2014 I worked hard to buy it. It drove pretty decide untill electric problems started to occur. Then my passanger side wheel folded in while operating with my kids life or death situation im just a hard working father trying to provide a safe transportation for my family
I was a professional mechanic and went to school for it also with over ten years experience in the field ! This is the story I decided to replace upper and lower ball joints and outer tie rod ends with upper control arm bushings and wheel bearing hub assembly's all at the same time to avoid a vehicle breakdown like what just happened ! The car had about 54000 miles on it when I did this with me knowing these parts were about to go out due to wear before 75000 miles at the latest from experience on average ! But this is the complaint and concern ! My lower passenger front ball joint separated at about 84000 miles on the car which is only thirty thousand miles of life on this ball joint ! Not reassuring at the least ! Even under extreme driving I have found ball joints to last at least 50000 miles before going bad ! …
Fuel & propulsion system
Consumer concerned with the safety of 1998 Crown Victoria gas tank. The manufacturer only covered the cost of replacing retrofit fuel tanks on police cars and limousines. The consumer would like to be reimbursed for the cost of the parts. He got a Ford dealer to install the parts free.
A fuel or brake line drops out of a clip under gas tank. This is not an isolated situation. I've seen this line dragging about 4" above the highway on other Crown Victoria's and Mercury grand marquis that I pass on my way to and from work. It could rupture if the undercarriage makes contact with the pavement, such as elevated driveways, parking lot entrances, or pot holes. It could also be torn by road debris. My neighbor put my line back in the clip for me. He thought it was probably a fuel line, but he was not sure. If it is a fuel line and it ruptures when the undercarriage makes contact with the pavement, a spark could it ignite the gasoline causing a life threatening situation. If it is a brake line, it could be potentially life threatening if it becomes ruptured or torn. …
1998 Ford Crown Victoria engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 15 / 22 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Large car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1998 Ford Crown Victoria a good car?
Based on 119 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1998 Crown Victoria rates use caution: 1.7× 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 1998 Ford Crown Victoria?
The engine & cooling — 30 complaints, 25% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine › gasoline. Next are the suspension (18) and fuel & propulsion system (17).
How many recalls does the 1998 Ford Crown Victoria have?
There are 7 recalls for the 1998 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 1998 Ford Crown Victoria problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 89,000 miles; 17% 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.