Comments: 1-15, 16-19
Intake manifold on 1996 model is made of plastic.
Without previous problems or warning and with 107,853 miles, vehicle suddenly oveheated while driving on highway.
Had it towed to garage and was informed that 1996 models have plastic intake manifolds. I was advised by mechanic this is a common and ongoing problem with the 1996 Crown Victoria. Ford is aware of problem and indeed has issued a recall of the 1996 models for police and taxi cabs, for this specific problem, but will not issue a recall of the same vehicle for consumers. Ford continues to ignore consumer complaints and refuses to assist with repairs.
There is no other intake manifold for another model that is interchangeable, nor is there a metal one made. Ford dealers sell a "kit" that is required at the price of $656.25 (per my invoice). This kit is only available at dealerships, and obviously you cannot find a "used" one because they are cracked. My repair invoice was for $1204.57: Intake Manifold $656.26
5 quarts oil $14.85
1 oil filter $5.96
8 plugs $53.64
1 coolant $8.95
2 cleaners $6.00
1 thermostat $8.95
Labor $375.00
Parts $763.61
EPA Charge $2.00
Local Tax $63.96
TOTAL REPAIR BILL: $1204.57.
You can expect the same thing to happen approximately every 100,000 miles per the dealership service department.
Other than that the car will never let you down give it a chance.
My 1997 Crown Vic just had the same problem and I have had a world class run around from the service department at the local dealership. It is such an obvious factory defect. After 30 + years of Ford products I am afraid that a $1500 bill for something that should have been recalled years ago means that this will sadly be my last Ford.
Incidentally, the lower drivers side ball joint in this car also failed resulting in a complete loss of steering. Had that happened on the highway instead of a parking lot someone could have been killed.
That's not even mentioning the fact that they fixed the police and taxi cars so there gas tanks wouldn't rupture in a rear impact, but they wouldn't for the general public.
I replaced my manifold for 250.00. O'Reileys sell them and they are better than OEM.
I had the exact same intake manifold problem with mine, leaving my wife & young daughter stranded while I was out of town. $1200 repair bill. I had never heard of an intake manifold failing- ever. The Crown Vic was given to us for free by Ford when they were forced to take back our Taurus SHO under California's "lemon law", but that's another story. We decided to sell the Crown Vic after hearing about the high death rate from fire in rear-end collisions with this car. It was replaced by a very nice 1982 Mercedes 300SD diesel that does not have a plastic intake manifold.
I bought a new 1996 grand marque. it was fine until 60,000 miles were driven. That's when the intake manifold cracked. It cost me 1,500.00 at a dealer to have it replaced. The dealer told me there was no recall, but failed to tell me about the fleet owners recall.I'm real sorry to all you good people that this happened to. obviously ford cannot give a hoot. I wish some of you attorneys get a hold of this one. Remember the Microsoft settlement!
I've got a 97 N.C. supervisors CVPI, and it also had the plastic intake manifold (what was Ford thinking?). I caught mine when it started dribbling and avoided the stranding, but it was still 1400.00 to fix. My car also smokes on warm days when I am stuck in DC traffic, and I am hearing that this is normal for a 4.6 with over 100,000. I've got a lifelong friend who is a Ford mechanic and he is telling me that it is like 2500.00 in labor to get it replaced by Ford, and 2400.00 for the Ford rebuilt motor. More than the car is worth so unfortunately this car will remain like Cheech and Chong... still smoking.
Other than that it is a great car to drive. When this one finally gives up the ghost I plan on getting another. Can't beat them for the price.
Ah, Too many stinkin people have one or 2 problems with their car and then they make a huge stink over it. Ford didn't make this one of there little hidden recalls. It's obvious that they didn't do enough to fix it, but honestly if you know that there is a recall on the intakes aren't you going to get it fixed before something goes terribly wrong?? And don't even start on the fires in them. Not that many people even got killed in them, and ford proved that they are safe cars in rear end collisions. They even did a test and the Chevy Caprice Classic crumpled more in it's rear end than the Ford did. Guys you know dang well that Ford has been getting the short end of the stick for all these years. Chevy could have a car where 9 out of 10 of them blew up the instant you started them and the media wouldn't even say a word about it. Give Ford a break, any car that isn't properly maintained will break down. Period.
Most definitly not. You buy a car because you want to drive from point a to point b. Not with expensive problems in the way. If Ford knew about this problem then they should have recalled it. Cars are for driving.. not fixing.
I have had the same problem. I just paid a $1,260 repair bill to have Fords little mistake fixed. I plan on complaining to my state attorney generals office.
Lets keep in mind that GM's 3800 series V6 has the same intake problem. Nearly every 3.8L GM will eventually go sour due to the defective intake. Again with the Ford bashing, lets keep in mind that the CVPI meets all requirements for safety, and the extra precautions were taken for police vehicles only because of the higher risk of rear impact.
The intake manifold on our 1996 Crown Victoria also suddenly failed leaving us with a whopping bill. Ford apparently saw the need to reimburse fleet owners for the defect and then “select” individual owners through the recent class action settlement. If the part is defective (and there seems to be no question about that fact) all owners of the class vehicles should be reimbursed regardless of when their manifolds failed. The seven year extended warranty period settled on in the recent class action suit unfairly excludes many car owners. This situation is not a matter of owners not properly maintaining their vehicles. The plastic intake manifolds are defective. It is unfair that certain owners should have to replace the part at their own expense while other customers are being reimbursed for replacing the same part.
I just traded a 95 VW passat to a friend in a pinch in exchange for his 96 Crown Vic (old police car) and some boot. I knew that it needed either an intake, or just an intake gasket. I'm doing the repairs myself, and have only experienced one problem that may prevent any shade tree mechanic from fixing it, and that is on the drivers side of the intake, against the firewall, there's one intake bolt hidden, beneath two wire looms, and almost underneath the firewall. F.Y.I., if you decide to fix it yourself, use a 10mm combination wrench to prevent stripping the head of the bolt as I did.
For the people who have experienced a failure of the plastic intake manifold on your Ford or Mercury 4.8L there is now recourse. Ford agreed to a settlement that became final on December 16, 2005. You have 90 days (until March 16, 2006) to file a claim with your local Ford dealer. Do an Internet search for details and don't miss the deadline. Ford is hoping this time will run out without many people filing a claim. File your claim.
Even though it is likely that most cars that experienced this failure had to be towed to a repair shop, Ford will not cover the towing portion of the repair bill.
If you purchased your car new and it is over seven years old (warranty start date or 1998 and older) then Ford will not cover the repair unless you have a receipt. This comes straight from my local Ford dealer to me.
"For the people who have experienced a failure of the plastic intake manifold on your Ford or Mercury 4.8L there is now recourse. Ford agreed to a settlement that became final on December 16, 2005"
AS soon as the settlement passed, I ran down to the dealer and gave them my receipt for the manifold repair. That was in late December. I have called the dealer every week since. He stated that Ford was swamped with claims and my claim would be processed "soon". The 90 day window is getting ready to close. How can I tell if the dealer actually entered my claim, or just threw it into the wastebasket?