2004 Ford Crown Victoria LX 4.6L Modular V8 from North America

Summary:

One of the last great American land yachts

Faults:

Two out of the four catalytic converters started rattling because the honeycomb inside was breaking apart. Apparently this is a common thing between 75,000 and 80,000 miles.

Recall on the headlight module was done.

Blower motor speed controller went out because of cheap spotty soldering inside the module.

Paint is starting to chip away in some places, but that's common with these vehicles.

Tape player is going on the fritz.

Just very minor things.

General Comments:

I have owned my Crown Vic for nearly a whole year now and put about 11,000 miles on it since I bought it. The car had hail damage and a cracked windshield from it, cracked right side tail light, and a broken window regulator. This was not because of the car itself, but because the last owner did not properly take care of the car. I fixed her up and got her looking like new again.

Gets about 290 miles of range in the city and 400 miles on the highway. It's not the police interceptor model, but it still gets up and goes decently well. It is also the perfect road trip vehicle with lots of space for passengers and cargo with exceptional comfort.

It does not do too bad in the snow with the right tires, and would probably be even better with snow chains. It has never left me stranded anywhere and starts first time every time.

You see the whole hood when you drive it, which gives you that big car feeling. I will be selling it here soon just because I have to get something a little more Colorado friendly. This was a great first car! I recommend anyone to get a Crown Vic who wants comfort, style, reliability, ease of repair, and low cost of ownership.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd February, 2020

3rd Feb 2020, 20:36

Best thing to do with the catalytic converters is to cut them out and weld straight pipes in place. This also involves installing the O2 sensors that fool the computer. This was a common performance upgrade on Mustangs, and the same sensors will work on the regular 4.6. It's not worth replacing the cats with aftermarkets, they are junk. And OEM are too expensive if you can find them.

Of course you can do this only if you are registered in an area that doesn't require an emissions test.

Also I would keep the car. You've got at least another 100,000 reliable miles. Only other thing is if you are still on the original front end components, they may have to be replaced soon.

2004 Ford Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor 4.6 from North America

Summary:

It's an awesome, extremely reliable car

Faults:

Only thing I've done to the car in entire time I've owned it, and put right at 80,000 miles on it, was the plastic intake manifold cracked. We put around 130k miles on it. Other than that, just basic maintenance like brake pads, spark plugs and plug boots, air filter and fuel filter, always synthetic oil and Motorcraft filter. A lot of that stuff I just changed for peace of mind. I'm an ASE technician, so I keep my car maintained.

General Comments:

It is a great car to own. Fun to drive, extremely reliable, low maintenance, good on gas (between 19-24 MPG depending on where you drive, around town or interstate).

The A/C will freeze you out and the heat will cook you. All the electric windows, locks, seats, mirrors, and even the lumbar in the seat works. I'm sure this was a detective's car, given how clean it is and how well it was taken care of.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th February, 2015

2004 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor 4.6 SOHC from North America

Summary:

Amazing great car

Faults:

Replaced intake manifold and hoses at 150000 km.

General Comments:

Simply put, this is one of the best cars ever made.

Ford spent years and millions refining it since its 1979 debut.

If you have owned one, you will know it gets great gas mileage (24 MPG mixed driving) for a big car, is incredibly reliable, and is probably one of the best highway cars ever made.

The performance is fantastic thanks to heavy duty suspension and sway bars and a nearly 50/50 weight distribution. The engine is so reliable that the only service item is the intake manifold (it will crack after about 150000 km). Fuel pumps go at about 320000km.

Nothing else ever breaks. Taxi companies would put 800000 km on these cars.

I love mine, and 2004 is considered the best year.

Mine had the catalytic converters removed by the Ford dealer for the police, and a corrector chip installed to adjust the fuel mix. According to my local Ford dealer, some had catalytic deletes from the factory, but I have not seen one of those.

I drive mine sedately, and it purrs along. Too bad they stopped making them, as the cops loved them, and the Panther chassis was the mainstay of fleet, limo and commercial use.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th July, 2013