Two problems related to emission control have been reported for the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
On 10/26/2000, the mass air flow sensor was replaced due to the check engine light coming up and difficulty in starting the vehicle. After the replacement, these problems were solved. However, a new problem appeared. The vehicle stalled without any warning. It happened twice within a 24-hour period. In both incidents, it happened on a slow left turn after exiting an interstate highway. At the same time, the power steering was disabled. This created a major safety hazard since I had minimal control of the vehicle. In fact, I almost hit a lamppost. I contacted the dealer, but they could not identify the cause yet. In fact, they could not even reproduce the problem. I have a feeling that this is due to a defective mass air flow sensor, but the dealer does not agree. The dealer said that they are going to install a flight recorder on the vehicle to further investigate the cause of the problem.
The first time we experienced that anything was wrong was when the yellow engine light on the dashboard show up. We immediately went to nearst Ford dealar service dept. (purvis Ford in fredericksburg, va. They place the automobile under a diagnosis test and told us they had to replace a mass airflow sensor assy. They told us it was safe to drive the Ford car the incident happen to us again and we called the purvis service dept. They had the car tow back to their service shop. They again put the car under the diagnosis computer an after 2 days of having it at their shop told us they could not find any wrong with our car. It now happen to us again on a route 3 going 55 miles an hr. ,on heavily traveled road. Now here is the scary part, route 3 is a curvy and winding road. No accident has occurred, as yet. But when it does we could be wrapped around a tree going at 55 miles per. So please help us. We have been dealing a Ford dealer by the name of "purvis Ford and have had no solution to our problem every time we have left our car with them. We had to pay for a rental every time we leave the car there. "the problem is when are driving the steering wheel locks up and the engine quits". We have had this car serviced every 3000 miles since the day we bought it and we have the records to prove it.