The NHTSA, still fresh from a public dressing-down by a Federal auditor earlier this year, has now turned their focus to Ford and an issue that has been investigated before: 2003-05 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis models that lose low-beam headlights without warning. Working together with Ford, 3,609 cases of headlight failure were found out of the 517,945 vehicles on the road. In most cases, the low-beams ceased to function completely, with the only immediate remedy available found in pulling the turn signal stalk into the “flash to pass” setting and holding it as long as needed. There have been minor incidents involving headlight loss, but no major injuries or deaths have been reported.
This is the second time that late-model Panther platform headlight issues have been investigated. In 2008-09, the NHTSA looked into the issue and found that a recall was not necessary at the time. Ford voluntarily offered an extended warranty on the Lighting Control Module (LCM), the component found to be at fault. Currently, the NHTSA is only looking at Ford and Mercury models, with no mention of Lincoln Town Cars in the press release.
I’ve gotten two extended warranty notices on my Crown Vic’s lcm already. I wish they had done something about the spark plugs blowing out of the head which I think is a much bigger problem.
It’s not the headlight switch that fails. 9 times out of 10 its the lighting modual that craps the bucket. Replacing the switch is just waisting time and parts