Engine complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3 | 13% | 149,000 miles |
| 2009 | 2 | 5% | 42,000 miles |
| 2008 | 2 | 4% | 63,000 miles |
| 2007 | 8 | 16% | 81,000 miles |
| 2006 | 3 | 6% | 82,000 miles |
| 2005 | 11 | 6% | 104,000 miles |
| 2004 | 10 | 7% | 83,000 miles |
| 2003 | 13 | 5% | 136,000 miles |
| 2002 | 8 | 14% | 81,000 miles |
| 2001 | 11 | 21% | 122,000 miles |
| 2000 | 21 | 25% | 94,000 miles |
| 1999 | 27 | 20% | 91,000 miles |
| 1998 | 30 | 25% | 96,000 miles |
| 1997 | 85 | 30% | 84,000 miles |
| 1996 | 84 | 30% | 114,000 miles |
| 1995 | 12 | 5% | 93,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
My 2007 Crown Victoria has had a worsening unintended acceleration issue over the past year. When hitting hard bumps the car will suddenly begin revving my itself (normal RPM is 600 idling in drive and 800 idling in neutral) when this issue occurs it will sit around 1k rpm in drive (pushing against the brakes so I must hold them down very hard) and will shoot up to 2k rpm in neutral. when the issue is occurring it drives the car forward with no user input. this issue has been becoming more and more frequent with it happening up to 5 times in a 15 minute drive. It is very unsafe and has caused me to hit a parking pole before as I could not slow the car down fully.
This is another of an on going acceleration issue when depressing the foot brake. In this instance I had just backed out of a parking space in a shopping center and drove maybe 200' and had just about rolled to a stop sign for ga highway 212 and very slightly depressed the brake pedal to come to a complete stop. As soon as I started pressing the brake pedal, the engine picked up RPM and I immediately moved foot from brake pedal. End of acceleration. By this time vehicle had already rolled to a complete stop. I did not, as Ford seems to think, have my foot on both the gas and brake. The very light pressure I had applied would have my foot three to four inches away from the top of the gas pedal. Yes, I had my foot on the brake. I had to remove my foot from the gas to get to the brake. This is a vehicle malfunction. Not operator error. I am unable to determine a failed component.....fuel? …
The car dealership didn't tell us that this car have no air bag and also nothing was checking or change on the car. We paid for the car at 2700 and the electric and the radiator are bad and also the ac unit is bad they don't have no anti-theft system and much more we just don't have the money to fix it no more you already put 5,000 plus $2,700
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that the vehicle revved up to 5,000 rpms when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure occurred randomly. In addition, the rear wheels spun while the vehicle was idling at a traffic light. The vehicle was held by the dealer for three months and the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer instructed the dealer to replace the sensor in the throttle body control, but the repair did not remedy the failure. The contact stated that the only thing that stopped the failure was by placing the vehicle in neutral and continuously attempting to turn the ignition off. The failure mileage was 82,000.
The spark plugs have been ejecting themselves from the engine, taking part of the cylinder head with them making repairs dangerous and costly. Sometimes the spark plug stays attached to the coil, causing fuel vapors to ignote, but most of the time they rip the coil pack and boot out with them. This has happened four times with my last Crown Victoria and twice with my current one. It always happens as the vehicle has been driving down the road, causing a dramatic loss of power and sometimes a fire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was restarted. The contact discovered that the serpentine belt failed and was replaced. The failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,000.
Unintended acceleration: I was in heavy city traffic. Without warning, my engine started to race full speed. (in a Crown Victoria, that's very fast). The only way to slow it was to push the brake as hard as I could. Finally got it pulled over and stopped. Even in neutral, the engine raced full speed. Very frightening!!! A man came from tipton Ford in nacogdoches, tx and took it to shop. They installed (1-2w7z*9f715 valve asy - throttle air by-pass). Charged me $278.00!! I have never had any mechanical repairs to this car. I have always trusted this car to be safe. Now that security has been taken away. I understand there is a lawsuit involving this problem. If so, I want my money back !!
The vehicle was parked and turned off. Fifteen minutes later the consumer was informed that the vehicle was on fire. The fire department responded and put the fire out. The vehicle was totaled. Consumer stated the fire started in the engine compartment. The manufacturer was going to send an engineer to investigate the fire. Witnesses said that while the vehicle was burning they could hear the engine trying to start.
NHTSA investigations
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…
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…
Steering Column Shaft Obstruction
On July 7, 2014 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation based on five complaints (VOQs) alleging incidents ofinterference between dislodged exhaust manifold heat shields and the lower steering shaft/knuckle, including one alleging the interference resulted in a crash on a highway entrance ramp.
Frequently asked questions
Which Ford Crown Victoria years have engine problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1997 (85), 1996 (84), 1998 (30), 1999 (27) and 2000 (21) model years. Engine complaints make up 30% of all complaints for the 1997.
Is there a recall for Ford Crown Victoria engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for any Ford Crown Victoria model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Ford Crown Victoria engine problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 96,000 miles; 19% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the exhaust system › manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe (86 mentions), followed by the engine (56).
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.