general problems of the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria

Steering wheel hard to turn.

Power steering went out when I was driving and barely avoided a collision. Light went out another time when I was driving.

While driving home today power steering suddenly went out almost impossible to steer car when I stopped there appeared to be smoke coming from vehicle.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. While driving 35 mph, the steering wheel became inoperable and the vehicle lost steering ability. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle needed to be repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 14v704000 (steering). The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

Today I was driving my 2005 Ford Crown Victoria on a city street. I made a left hand 90 degree turn at a relatively slow speed. Upon turning the wheel back, the steering locked. To avoid hitting a parked car to the left, I forced the steering over forcefully. It felt as if the steering shaft was blocked by something. I pulled the car immediately over to a parking spot on my right. In the process of turning the wheel, the steering was suddenly normal, then very difficult, normal, then difficult, as if it were being intermittently hit. I opened the hood and found the left header heat shield, opposite of the steering shaft, separated from its normal position and was lodged between the steering shaft and the header. The heat shield was heavily corroded. I took a photo of it in its lodged position. I then removed the heat shield and attempted to move the steering wheel. It turned freely and normally. Due to my location, I had to drive the vehicle (which appeared drive-able) for another hour to my house. The vehicle has already been fixed by the recall involving the steering shaft replacement, and has been driven for many months since then. The steering shaft impacted the heat shield multiple times, collapsing part of the heat shield and leaving surface marks on the steering shaft. This may have caused damage to the steering system and/or shaft, apart from the fact that the heat shield is now absent, potentially further damaging other components. Thank you.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, when making a ninety degree turn, the steering wheel becomes hard to turn. The contact stated that he had two previous recall repairs on his vehicle dealing with the steering. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and diagnosed that the upper intermittent shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000. Ed.

Tl-the contact owns 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the steering wheel became loose. As a result, the contact had to shut off and restarted the vehicle in order to temporarily correct problem. The failure recurred on multiple occasions and no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. Pam.

Turning corner and steering all of a sudden binds up. Told its a ujoint problem that Ford should get on top of before somebody gets hurt. Mines not the only one with this problem that I've met.

I was responding as a volunteer ambulance emt from my residence to the fire station for an emergency call when the steering locked up. I tried to turn the steering wheel back and forth while applying the brakes and it began to steer again. I continued to the station about 3/4 mile away, made the ambulance call. Upon completion of the call I lifted the hood and observed the lower joints of the steering shaft were rusty and corroded. I sprayed the joint with wd-40 and turned the steering back and forth. In preparation for a trip two days later I was checking the vehicle and found the "exhaust heat shield" lying on the frame between the engine and frame. It was then I figured the part had come off and jammed between the steering shaft and the frame causing a momentary loss of steering control. I have not replaced the heat shield. After a factory recall replacement of the lower shaft resulted in the car steering like new with very little effort for a month or so. I then noticed the steering seemed to bind again at times. I looked and the upper steering shaft is corroded so I sprayed the u joint contained in the upper shaft with lubricant. I contacted the dealer who said the upper shaft was not part of the recall so I called Ford and was told the same thing. The upper shaft joint is experiencing the same failure as the lower shaft. Corrosion in the u joint is causing the needle bearings to not operate properly resulting in more difficult turning of the steering. I lubricate the joint at times. I believe the "upper steering shaft" should be included in a recall due to corrosion effecting the parts due to design not sufficient to prevent contaminates from entering the steering u joints. The "exhaust heat shield" was deteriorated due to corrosion of the mounting holes used to secure the shield to the exhaust manifold mounting bolts.

On multiple drives steering became difficult and not responsive. The problem was more pronounced at slower speeds. The steering linkage assy. Had to be replaced at considerable expense.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and after completing a left turn, the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred numerous times. The VIN was unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 36,000. Kmj.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and after completing a left turn, the steering wheel seized without warning. In addition, the contact stated that low beam headlights intermittently failed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the exhaust manifold heat shield and the light control module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 60,000.

I was pulling into my driveway, the steering whell would not turn. If I would not have been able to stop, I would have ran down my mailbox and drove into the yard. After opening the hood on my 2008 crown vic, I noticed the heat shield from the exhaust manifold was jammed between the steering knuckle and the exhaust manifold. It had rusted off the bolts and fell in between while I was in motion. The 2005 I know own and purchased in sept, after driving it all the way from hudon, I opened the hood when I got home and noticed half of the heat sheild in the same spot. The other half was gone. I would say if this were to have gotten lodged in a vehicle that has the steering knuckle rust and failure, it could easily break the knuckle while you are trying to steer the vehicle seeing the shield is concave in shape and does not collapse. I would consider this a priority item to check on all 2005-2008 police interceptor crown vics because it is the most used police vehicle during this time period. Just a suggestion. Knowing the issue happened to me, I would not want to see anyone get seriously injured or killed from something I knew was wrong with these vehicles and didn't tell anyone.

Inspection found dislocated bushing.