1994 Ford Thunderbird: engine overheating

Filed May 1, 2003 · Engine · CA

The head gasket failed which caused the vehicle to overheat and stall out.

Filed Aug 2, 2001 · Engine · CA

I took the car in for aaa diagnosic and found out the head gasket was blown and that there was a recall. I contacted the ford dealer who said I was not covered since the car has 103,000 miles. The car has been well maintained as per factory specifications. It has had regular oil changes and has never overheated. I have all maintanence records showing diligant maintenence practices. The headgasket blew from defect, yet ford refuses to cover it, first stating the mileage limit and then further stating that, since I was not the orginial owner and since prior repair work had not been done at a ford dealership I would not be covered anyway. Furthermore they stated that if I had received the recall notice and brought the car in to replace the gaskets, they would not have fixed gaskets that were not yet blown. I have not been able to speak with anyone above phone representative or service manager. The regional manager (tara olsen) was supposed to explain the company's reasoning behind their refusal and discuss my concerns with me yet she has yet to return my calls and her direct number is "not accessable to the public." the representative I spoke to at ford headquarters (duncan alderson) refused to discuss the issue beyond a blanket refusal, and instead of being transfered to higher-ups, I was transfered to security. I would have been willing to split the cost with ford if they would have dealt with me reasonably, but they refused to discuss or negotiate a flaw that they have admitted is their fault. Instead they insist on setting arbitrary cut-off times that they cannot or will not justify and that will most likely not be met by most of the fords in question. They will not supply statistics on the projected life expectancy of non-defective headgaskets or transmissions (another serious problem) nor will they document in writting any of their phone refusals to honor the recall. I have paid for repairs and now look for reimbursement.

Filed Jun 28, 2000 · Engine · TN

Comin home from work big cloud of smoke then the car lost power ,jerking ,started overheating , smoke began comining fro the hood had it towed to cartwright auto , mechanic told me it was blown gasket ,two hours later mechanic called and said the motor was blowed due to blown gasket and would need a new motor .

Filed Jun 8, 2000 · Engine · FL

Vehicle overheated and stopped running. Vehicle towed to repair shop. Shop manger said there was coolant in the oil and the head gasket was blown. After the engine was repaired there was still a problem with coolant in the oil. They removed the valve timing chain cover to find that one of the freeze plugs has rusted thru causing the coolant to become mixed with the oil. The mechanic replaced the rusted thru freeze plug and three others in the area. After all these repairs the car still does not run correctly and emitts a loud rattling sound from the right side of the engine.we have had other problems with this car namely the transmission and the air conditioning.

Filed May 24, 2000 · Engine · TN

I, as well as my family have dealt with ford motor company for as long as I can remember, however I must say this occurence is an outrage! I have had multiple problems with my car recently. I have a 94 ford t bird that I bought last year and have just been contacted by letter that there is a recall on the 94 t bird for the heads. This throughly explains to me why the car has been in the shop three times over a short period of time. My mechanic has checked for a radiator leak because the coolent light is on and I'm continuously leaking coolent. I have had a transmission specialist look at my car for possible transmission failure because of the way the car is driving the transmission was serviced to try a fix this most inconvenient problem. The car was in the shop another time for the exact same problem. Three bills have been paid specificallhy because of leaking coolant. Since I don't religiously keep receipts I only have one, which only puts me out about 650.00 because of a recall from ford motor co that says the coolent is leaking out through the heads basically destroying my car engine. This does not account for the number of times I have had to pull off the road and let my car cool down because of overheating. I have been given two options by the company. The will repair the heads with manufactured heads and give me a 12 month warranty or if I wait more than 5 days for the services they will give me a 3000.00 dollar gift certificate to but a new car that I can't afford and possibly the book value of my car. The lovely 3000.00 gift certificate to the car I can't afford or the repairs are the only realistic options I see here. What this means is my car is only good tor 12 more months under warranty after repairs to an error on their end. I thought fords were supossed to last longer than that, besides I won't even have the car paid for in 12 months. I have no options here but to reject their proposal and they have lost a very valuable family of customers

Filed May 18, 2000 · Engine · CA

Vehicle started overheating, and radiator coolant started leaking & eventually vehicle just shut down. Dealer stated if the engine had to be replaced, they would pay for it. But, if the radiator needed to be flushed, they wouldn't cover it.

Filed Mar 13, 2000 · Engine · MI

While traveling on the street at 40-45 MPH, vehicle overheated. Drove vehicle to an independent repair shop, and informed consumer of a blown head gasket. Manufacturer notified, and told consumer that vehicle was not covered under the class action lawsuit.

Filed Mar 2, 2000 · Engine · TX

While driving on the highway engine check light came on the dashboard. Vehicle started to overheat. Technician said it blew a head gasket. Other ford models are covered for this problem, but the thunderbird is not. *ak

Filed Sep 22, 1999 · Electrical, Engine · SC

When stopped at a red light A/C went warm, and temperature gauge started climbing. Took vehicle to the dealer. Dealer stated that engine coolant fan went bad, causing the vehicle to overheat. Also, fuses melted into the disribution box. Vehicle could have caught on fire.

Filed Aug 12, 1996 · Brakes, Transmission · MO

Brake rotors warp from overheating, causing front end to vibrate when brakes are applied.

Filed Sep 26, 1995 · Brakes · MD

Brakes overheats, warps rotors; vibration and squealing noise when applying brakes; brakes replaced four times within 45,000 miles. Tt