Ford Thunderbird Years to Avoid, Problems & Recalls

Which Ford Thunderbird years should you avoid?

Going by 2,014 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Ford Thunderbird years to avoid are 1993 and 1990.

1993423 complaints, 2.7× a typical Thunderbird year, most often about the engine.
19902.7× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (19 fires, 8 crashes, 2 deaths).

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Year	Complaints	Recalls	Fires	Crashes	Most reported	Status
2005	27	1	—	—	Electrical System	Routine
2004	34	1	—	5	Vehicle Speed Control	Routine
2003	33	0	—	2	Engine	Routine
2002	93	2	—	4	Electrical System	Fatalities reported
1999	2	0	—	—	Power Train › Driveline › Driveshaft	Routine
1998	3	0	—	—	Vehicle Speed Control	Routine
1997	169	2	3	11	Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe	Routine
1996	233	4	4	12	Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine	Fatalities reported
1995	261	1	11	25	Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › Rotor	Fatalities reported
1994	300	1	10	22	Power Train › Automatic Transmission	Fatalities reported
1993Avoid	423	4	7	10	Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine	Fatalities reported
1992	184	4	11	6	Exterior Lighting › Headlights	Fatalities reported
1991	112	4	13	7	Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine	Routine
1990Avoid	140	4	19	8	Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	Fatalities reported

Year

Complaints

Relative volume

Recalls

Fires

Crashes

Most reported

Status

2005

—

Electrical System

Routine