2005 Ford Crown Victoria problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (83) · Steering (29) · Vehicle Speed Control (10)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Crown Victoria model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
160 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2015-12-22 · campaign 15V861000 · 296,004 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured October 3, 2001, to August 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (LCM) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights.
Risk: A loss of headlights can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the LCM, free of charge. The recall began April 14, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S39.
Steering:rack And Pinion:pinion Shaft 2014-11-05 · campaign 14V704000 · 36,888 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured March 23, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and 2005-2011 Lincoln Town Car vehicles manufactured March 8, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and on which the upper intermediate shaft was serviced during the course of safety recall 13V-385. The prior repairs may not have been correctly performed.
Risk: Improper servicing of the upper intermediate shaft could cause the shaft to separate, which can then result in a loss of steering control, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify the owners of vehicles whose repair records reflect that the upper intermediate steering shaft was repaired during the course of the prior recall 13V-385. Dealers will inspect and replace the upper immediate shaft if necessary free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S25.
Steering 2013-08-29 · campaign 13V385000 · 355,000 vehicles
Defect: Ford is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria (including Crown Victoria Police Interceptors), Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car vehicles. The affected vehicles are currently registered or were originally sold in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and W
Risk: If the lower bearing separates, the vehicle may experience a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners and dealers will replace the lower intermediate shaft, free of charge. The upper intermediate shaft and steering column lower bearing will be inspected to identify any damage that may have occurred as a result of lower intermediate shaft corrosion, and repaired or replaced as necessary. If the steering column lower bearing has separated, a retainer clip will be installed. The recall began on October 23, 2013. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall n
Service bulletins (44)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure 2020-07-13 · TSB 20-2233 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 19-2026 to update the vehicle model years affected. some 2000 and newer ford/lincoln/mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System:manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe 2016-09-21 · SSM 46085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the powertrain control/emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (etbs). the etc_act and etc_dsd pids should not used to diagnose possible etb concerns. the ids has a limited refresh rate when reading these pids and cannot display quickly enough to
Structure 2016-04-21 · TSB160072 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
inpected or repaired under 13r01 - requests for recall service action under 13s08
Steering 2016-04-21 · 16-0072 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for 2005-2012 crown victoria, 2005-2011 grand marquis and town car vehicles, regional program 13r01 applies to vehicles not registered in corrosion states and not included in safety recall 13s08, where operation in high corrosion areas for an extended period may lead to corrosion in the lower interm
Showing the 6 most recent of 44 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-02-25 · Exterior Lighting“the contact owns a 2005 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights had become intermittently inoperable while driving at night. the contact personally replaced the fuses and undisclosed parts, per the information found online; however, the failure persisted. the odometer was inoperable. the dealer was contacted and informed that th…”
2023-09-22 · Seat Belts“in october 2022 a mechanic successfully replaced a dark gray-colored "seat belt retractor assembly and buckle" on the passenger side of my ford crown victoria in response to an air bag dashboard light lamp fault code of "3-4" and a diagnostic trouble code of "b2292" ("restraint system seatbelt pretensioner error"). such an error renders the entire…”
2023-08-15 · Exterior Lighting“safety recall for the lcm was repaired by lameroux ford in brookfield but the bypass was not preformed and the lcm is still acting up. called and they want to charge me to look at the work they failed to do properly. brought it to another mechanic who verified the lcm was not bypassed.…”
2023-05-21 · Steering“power steering went out when i was driving and barely avoided a collision. light went out another time when i was driving. …”
2022-10-10 · Electrical System“safety recall 19s35b processor lighting cont was done on 3/22/2021on my working part. the original module was working fine. now the new light module is faulty. dealership took out part and tested it. determined that is was faulty causing my lights to fail. dealership and ford has denied covering a replacement of the failed part. it would seem that…”
2022-09-19 · Exterior Lighting:headlights“the contact owns a 2005 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the front headlights became inoperable creating a visibility hazard for the driver. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the local dealer was notified of the failure and informed that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. the contact was info…”
2022-01-19 · Wheels“unknown the ride feels unsafe to travel around inn…”
2021-07-28 · Electrical System:adas:control Module · 139,000 mi“the contact owns a 2005 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the exterior lights became inoperable. the air bag warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed that the lighting control module (lcm) needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the vehicl…”
2020-08-27 · Steering · 191,462 mi“despite having subject vehicle serviced by a dealership under recall 13v385, the lower intermediate shaft developed a corrosion defect after four years wherein it became difficult to steer the vehicle at lower speeds and a loud clunking noise was audible from within the cabin every time the top of the steering wheel passed the 6 o'clock position. o…”
2020-05-20 · Steering · 126,021 mi“when your on the highway sometimes it feels like the steering wheel floats away and like you already have lost steering controls but they come back. i have a sheet from when i got the recall for the headlights, that said 13r01 for the steering column shaft. i haven't gotten that fixed or remedied so i'm confused as to why it says the work order isn…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.