Model year record
The 2004 Ford Thunderbird has 1 safety recall and 34 owner complaints on file with NHTSA. The most-reported problem area is vehicle speed control (9 complaints).
Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. A recall listed here may already have been fixed on a particular car: enter its 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see open recalls.
| Frontal crash | Not Rated |
|---|---|
| Side crash | Not Rated |
| Rollover | Not Rated |
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (New Car Assessment Program). Ratings are comparable only between vehicles of similar size and weight, and ratings from 2011 on use tougher tests than earlier years. Photos: NHTSA.
| City / highway | 15 / 21 mpg |
|---|---|
| Fuel | Premium Gasoline |
3.9 L · 8 cyl · Automatic 5-spd · Rear-Wheel Drive · about $4,550/year to fuel
| City / highway | 15 / 23 mpg |
|---|---|
| Fuel | Premium Gasoline |
3.9 L · 8 cyl · Automatic (S5) · Rear-Wheel Drive · about $4,550/year to fuel
EPA estimates from fueleconomy.gov for each engine and transmission sold. Annual cost is the EPA's estimate for 15,000 miles a year at its current fuel and electricity price assumptions. Your results will vary.
| Problem area | Complaints | Typical mileage* |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle speed control | 9 | 15,000 mi |
| Power trainAutomatic transmission | 7 | 45,000 mi |
| Engine | 7 | 37,363 mi |
| Engine and engine coolingEngine; Engine › Gasoline | 5 | 18,500 mi |
| Electrical systemInstrument cluster/panel | 4 | 57,500 mi |
| Air bagsSide/window | 3 | — |
| Service brakes, hydraulic | 2 | — |
| Wheels | 1 | — |
| Suspension | 1 | — |
| Fuel system, gasoline | 1 | — |
*Median odometer reading when the problem happened, where owners gave one. One complaint can name several problem areas.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Thunderbird. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact approached a stop sign and the vehicle stopped as needed; however, after the contact depressed on the accelerator pedal, the vehicle began to misfire and shuddered for several minutes. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that the failure was related to TSB 05-16-2 (moisture build up on the plugs and on the cylinder) that caused the vehicle to misfire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,526.
HAVE REPLACED VIA FORD DEALER THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR TWICE. FIRST REPAIR 2007. SECOND REPAIR 2014, AND NOW IN 2020. I AM FACING SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. OBVIOUSLY THE CONTROL SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. THE PROBLEM TRIGGERS VEHICLE LIMP MODE WHILE DRIVING AND IN PARK.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE INSIDE THE VEHICLE, AN ABNORMAL ODOR APPEARED AS THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO CHANGED THE OIL AND NOTICED FUEL LEAKING FROM THE FUEL TANK. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CURRENTLY STILL BEING EXPERIENCED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V113000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) AS A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE HOWEVER NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 89,000.
2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DEFECTIVE IGNITION COILS CAUSES ENGINE TO MIS-FIRE, DEALERSHIP REPLACED DEFECTIVE COILS UNDER EXTENDED ONE-TIME WARRANTY REPAIR. CONSUMER STATES ENGINE MIS-FIRE STILL EXISTS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE MISFIRED DUE TO DEFECTIVE IGNITION COILS. TWO COILS WERE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THE DEALER WOULD NOT REPLACE ANY OTHER COILS THAT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN. UPDATED 05/4/2017 *JS
VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY LOST POWER UPON MILD ACCELERATION ON A CITY STREET AND DEVELOPED A ROUGH, SKIPPING AND HESITANT IDLE UPON WARM UP. WE IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR EVALUATION AT THE SARAT FORD DEALERSHIP IN AGAWAM, MA. THEY DIAGNOSED THE DREADED THUNDERBIRD COIL ON PLUG FAILURE IN THIS VEHICLE AT ONLY 33,165 TOTAL MILES. BEING THAT THIS CAR IS NOW OVER TEN YEARS OLD, I WAS TOLD THAT THE FOMOCO EXTENDED WARRANTY (10 YEARS AND 100,000 MILES) ON THIS VEHICLE, FOR THIS VERY SAME PROBLEM, DOES NOT APPLY. WHAT IS EXTREMELY AGGRAVATING AND REALLY MADDENING WITH THIS IS THAT THEY GROSSLY OVER CHARGED ME FOR THE PARTS. MUCH MORE THAN WHAT FORD CHARGES ON THEIR OWN PARTS WEBSITE FOR BOTH…
ON THREE OCCASIONS AUTO ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. TRIED TO BREAK TO NO AVAIL. KEPT GOING FASTER. SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL, ENGINE KEPT RACING. WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP VEHICLE. WENT TO DEALER. THEY COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE. .ONE EVENT IN A PARKING LOT, ONE ON THE INTERSTATE AND THE OTHER WHEN APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION ON A CITY STREET AUTO HAS ONLY 10,000 MILES ON IT. INCIDENTS OCCURRED 2005 20014 2016.
DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT 50MPH COMING TO A TOWN AND A RED LIGHT I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE GAS PEDAL AND APPLIED THE BRAKES THE CAR DID NOT SLOW I APPLIED MORE PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES THE CAR SLOWED SOME BUT THE ENGINE KEPT REVING THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT DOWN SHIFTING THE CAR WAS NOT STOPPING I GRABBED THE SHIFT LEVER AND SWITCHED GEARS BUT TO LATE AND WE HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF US STOPPED AT THE LIGHT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN OVER TO START THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE STALLED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY REPLACED THE FILTER, THE REAR MODULE, THE VAPOR MANAGEMENT VALVE, THE VENT SOLENOID AND THE THROTTLE BODY BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
Owner complaints are submitted to NHTSA by the public and are not verified. Shown as filed (NHTSA removes personal details); long reports are shortened.