C
- Reaction score
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I know a lot of these Thunderbirds are not daily drivers and so do not accumulate many miles. I bought my 2005 new and have used it as a daily driver as long as the weather here in Wisconsin permits (I have used it in the Winter a few times, but can say it really would require real snow tires to make the Thunderbird good in the snow). I am now up to 215,000 miles and thought a lot of you might want to know how the car has done with this kind of use. First, I will describe my maintenance approach. Because rust is a major fear, I had "Rustcheck", a Canadian rust prevention system applied the first year and most years since (it was formerly available in Duluth, MN, but I will have to go to Canada to find a dealer at this point). Rustcheck protects the wiring as well as sheet metal, so I have favored it. I also had "Counteract," an electronic rust prevention system, installed a couple of years ago. This applies a continuous electric current to the car that helps prevent the oxidation process from occurring. So far, so good - I had more strangers walk up to me and remark how good the car looks this year than ever before. I have done oil changes about every 5000 miles, using mostly Motorcraft full synthetic, but sometimes Motorcraft semi-synthetic. I have done transmission fluid changes about every 30,000 miles and will also have the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and rear differential lubricant changed at the same visit. I have done almost all of this at Ford dealers, as they have good access to Ford parts, when needed. The car has been very reliable and still seems as peppy as ever and still gets 23 to 25 mpg on mostly highway driving. I have had to have a few repairs performed and these were:
heater control valve and wiring harness connector replacement at 71,100 miles
ignition coils replaced, two at 86,791 and the remaining six at 89,452
evaporation canisters replaced 106,598 (the car was stalling - no, I was not topping off the fuel)
brake pads and rotors replaced all four wheels 132,047
cooling fan replaced 138,198
serpentine belt replaced 155,012
mufflers and catalytic convertors replaced 166,000
upper radiator hose replaced 187,821
I also had the left front inner and outer tie rods replaced, but the originals were fine until the car was towed once (had slid off of an icy road) - these cars should only be towed with a flat bed trailer, as I learned the hard way.
The engine and transmission have been fine. I had a period when the car would seem to have slipped out of gear when I stopped at intersections (the harder the braking the more likely this was to happen) and then pause before going back into gear, but this just quit occurring (I did have some Ford transmission update done and maybe that helped). The car still moves and handles like new and the interior has very little apparent wear on it, with the dash and seats still in great condition. People are always surprised when I tell them how many miles the car has. I intend to keep driving it for the forseeable future and expect to put a few hundred thousand miles more on it. I was inspired at a classic car show in California a few years ago. There was a beautiful 1957 Corvette on display that looked almost new. The man showing it told me he was actually the original owner and had used the car all along and just kept it up, had never restored it per se.
I know Ford Crown Victorias will routinely go over 400,000 miles without drivetrain issues (I know this from talking with many cab drivers about their high mileage vehicles) and so expect my car will make it, too.
heater control valve and wiring harness connector replacement at 71,100 miles
ignition coils replaced, two at 86,791 and the remaining six at 89,452
evaporation canisters replaced 106,598 (the car was stalling - no, I was not topping off the fuel)
brake pads and rotors replaced all four wheels 132,047
cooling fan replaced 138,198
serpentine belt replaced 155,012
mufflers and catalytic convertors replaced 166,000
upper radiator hose replaced 187,821
I also had the left front inner and outer tie rods replaced, but the originals were fine until the car was towed once (had slid off of an icy road) - these cars should only be towed with a flat bed trailer, as I learned the hard way.
The engine and transmission have been fine. I had a period when the car would seem to have slipped out of gear when I stopped at intersections (the harder the braking the more likely this was to happen) and then pause before going back into gear, but this just quit occurring (I did have some Ford transmission update done and maybe that helped). The car still moves and handles like new and the interior has very little apparent wear on it, with the dash and seats still in great condition. People are always surprised when I tell them how many miles the car has. I intend to keep driving it for the forseeable future and expect to put a few hundred thousand miles more on it. I was inspired at a classic car show in California a few years ago. There was a beautiful 1957 Corvette on display that looked almost new. The man showing it told me he was actually the original owner and had used the car all along and just kept it up, had never restored it per se.
I know Ford Crown Victorias will routinely go over 400,000 miles without drivetrain issues (I know this from talking with many cab drivers about their high mileage vehicles) and so expect my car will make it, too.
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