2002 Problems | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models
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2002 Problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter 2 BIRDS
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Thunderbird Year
1964
Hello, new to the site. I have a 64 Bird, and am looking at a 2002 tonight. Car has 70.000 miles is like new (per owner) I have been reading about coil pack and ignition problems---should I stay away from the 2002 ? Mike in the St. Louis area.
 

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You can get the VIN number and have a Ford dealer run an OASIS report that will show what has been done to the car at authorized Ford dealers, or more importantly what bulletins were out that were not performed.

You can search the forum for COPS or coil to find related topics.
 
I have a 2002, bought it with 7k miles in 2003. It now has 208k and have had no major problems with it until now. The timing chain tensioner gave out on it just last month. Luckily it was parked in idle. Got it fixed and it's back on the road again. Things that have gone wrong are:

Radio possessed. Early on it would change stations by itself and spit out the CDs for no reason. They replaced the radio component and now there is a cd stuck in it. But we don't use the cd anyway. The A/C goes crazy and starts putting out hot air that can cook an egg. That has been a continuing problem and had sensors changes numerous times.

The factory installed coils are useless. Had them all changed with ACCEL coils and have had no more problems with it.

Alternator got replaced three times and of course batteries and tires.

New upper and lower ball joints all around.

That's about it. The car has been great and is still going strong.
 
Hello, new to the site. I have a 64 Bird, and am looking at a 2002 tonight. Car has 70.000 miles is like new (per owner) I have been reading about coil pack and ignition problems---should I stay away from the 2002 ? Mike in the St. Louis area.
My wife drives a 2002,has 110,000 miles, the problems we have had are coils (once replaced no problems) drivers side air bag clock spring (twice) A/C issues (minor) valve cover leak, had a bad issue with a large amount of white smoke from exhaust on starting in the morning and on hard acceleration. That was due to a clogged filter inside the valve covers. An expensive repair. The most recent issue that I have had with this car is the transmission selector cable broke and the part is no longer available. Fortunately my mechanic was able to do a temporary fix until I can find a permanent solution. Engine wise the car has run very well.
 
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