1997 Ford Thunderbird: problems, recalls and reliability

“The plastic intake manifold on my 1997 ford thunderbird cracked spilling out all my coolant and causing my engine to overheat, this is a design flaw that should be coverd by ford motor company, this happend while driving down gratiot ave. In roseville mi at 40 miles per hour with no previous warning, this failure happend 7/3/2011 saturday over the forth of july weekend, where I couldn't get it to a open ford dealership, now I connot use my vehical for work monday 7/4/2011. Will this repair be coverd by ford motor company? *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Jul 2011

“I have a 1997 ford thunderbird that has a manifold problem. I am being told by ford that it doesn't fall under the recall from 2005 because it wasn't built in the right plant. I have read a lot of information that all of the 1997 t-bird have this problem and need to be fixed. Not only is does my car not run right, but I also am not facing replacing my catalytic converter, as well due to the leakage. We are talking about $1700 in repair. *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · May 2009

“When I bought the car, a year ago, it ran great. One day as I as coming up a hill, my car started shaking. It was a cracked intake manifold, that of which ford was in a class action lawsuit in 2005. Which covered a "select few" of thunderbirds. However now that my manifold cracked, there "not at fault." we had the car fixed, only to learn afterwards that ford had several issues about the faulty intake. *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Feb 2009

“Engine idle racing. Can't stop unless placed in neutral, where car would run over 2000 rpm. Dealer replaced idle air control and power control module. Dealer stated that idle air control burns out the power train control modules on many v-6 ford engines. Car had only 34,518 miles checked other surges that this is a safety issue of racing engines in accidents of v-6 motors and ford refusing any recalls for possible fire of idle air control and the burning out of power train control module. *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Jun 2008

“My wife drove her 1997 ford thunderbird to work today. She parked her car in the company garage and walked into work. The car then began to burn and totaled the car. After having it towed to a local garage, based upon the knowledge of the mechanic, to whom, I have used to service my vehicles for over 10 years, told me that the intensity of the fire was near the steering column, and and power steering switches. Upon researching the above facts, found the recall about the various ford trucks and this similar problem. We have liability insurance on this car, and now we have lost the car to no fault of our own. Are there other ford cars with the same problem?”Owner report · Steering · Sep 2007

“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford thunderbird. While driving 40 mph, in heavy traffic the contact noticed smoke rising from under the hood. The temperature gauge needle shifted to the hot indicator. The vehicle was towed to the repair shop and the mechanic stated that the engine was leaking coolant and the plastic intake manifold was cracked. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 73,500. *updated 12/12/07 *bf updated 12/12/07”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Sep 2007

“Tl*the contact's daughter owns a 1997 ford thunderbird. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle overheated and the contact noticed that antifreeze was leaking. Her daughter noticed a crack on the intake manifold, which she believed may be the cause of failure. As of august 31, 2007, the dealer has not inspected the vehicle. The failure mileage was 57,000 and current mileage was 60,000.”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Jun 2007