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2004 Ford Thunderbird

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

31 reports with mileage · 3 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

5 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports

Engine complaints

7 reports
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40,526 miles · Sep 27, 2021
Engine

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 t…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11434577

Mileage unknown · May 4, 2017
Engine

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 R…

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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

NHTSA ODI #10905373

33,130 miles · Jan 20, 2017
Engine

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 MI…

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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 THE 8 SPARK PLUGS AND THE 8 COIL COMPONENTS. RATHER THAN TRYING TO HELP A CUSTOMER GET THROUGH THIS UNEXPECTED AND EXPENSIVE MECHANICAL FAILURE (...WHICH THEY ARE FULLY AWARE OF AND SHOULD HELP COVER) THEY DECIDE TO ALLOW THEIR DEALERS TO PRICE GOUGE. I HAVE ALL PAPERWORK FROM THE REPAIR.

NHTSA ODI #10946735

60,000 miles · Apr 23, 2015
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

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 VAL…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #10712474

34,200 miles · Sep 12, 2014
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNIT…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNITION COILS WERE MISFIRING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,200.

NHTSA ODI #10632883

30,000 miles · Aug 22, 2013
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ENGINE MISFIRED AND LOST THROTTLE RESPONSE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE COIL OVER PLUG ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. T…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ENGINE MISFIRED AND LOST THROTTLE RESPONSE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE COIL OVER PLUG ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 36,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI #10536775

97,512 miles · Jul 5, 2013
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE E DRIVING 20 MPH, THE ENGINE MISFIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED FREQUENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THERE WERE TWO IGNITION COILS THAT FAILED. THE IGNITION COILS WERE REPLACED HOWEVER, THE CONTACT LATER NOTICED OIL ON SEVERAL CYLIN…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE E DRIVING 20 MPH, THE ENGINE MISFIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED FREQUENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THERE WERE TWO IGNITION COILS THAT FAILED. THE IGNITION COILS WERE REPLACED HOWEVER, THE CONTACT LATER NOTICED OIL ON SEVERAL CYLINDERS IN THE ENGINE. THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE FAILURE WAS REPORTED TO THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 97,512.

NHTSA ODI #10523307

Official recalls

1

04V330000 · Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust

Jul 8, 2004

CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH POWER ADJUSTABLE SEATS MAY HAVE BEEN INADEQUATELY WELDED.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THE SEAT MAY NOT PERFORM AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF INJURY.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE UPPER SUPPORT ASSEMBLY ON THE POWER SEATS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 20, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.