1997 Ford Crown Victoria LX 4.6 Liter

Summary:

A lot of car for the money, top notch reliability!

Faults:

At 65,000 Miles, a front-end alignment was needed. Alignments do need to be done from time to time anyways, so this was not a real pain to deal with anyways. And the dealer payed for the alignment, so I cannot complain.

Other than that nothing else has gone wrong so far, and I got the car when it was 6 years old, so I feel that is good!

General Comments:

The car rides extremely smooth. The 4.6 liter V8 gives you plenty of power, though it could have more during takeoffs. This car is sort of slow "off the line", but that is the only downfall in the power department. At highway speeds, wind-noise is very minimal, and once you get up to speed, the engine is very quiet. During takeoffs, the engine produces the V8's signature throaty growl. And this being a rear-wheel drive car, there is no torque steer whatsoever no matter how hard you stomp on it, this is one reason why I will never drive a front-wheel drive car. Front-wheel drive cars have torque steer problems, where as rear-wheel drive cars do not. Passing is no problem in this car, and you can easily go 75 without the pedal being any more than a quarter of the way down. The seats are very comfortable, though not a perfect 10, so I gave them a 9. My other complaint is rear leg room is not as roomy as you would expect from such a large car. It is still roomier in the rear of the Crown Vic than in any other sedan I have been in however. Gas mileage is pretty good for a large V8 powered car, I average 20 miles per gallon. The trunk is definitely made for the mob, as you could fit six people in there easily (he hee). In reality I went to pick up a 6,000 BTU air conditioner and this only took up a quarter of the trunk, so in one word, it is a cavern. This is a great car for the money, reliability is great, power is awesome, insurance is cheap, and the gas mileage is pretty darn good for such a large car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st July, 2003

7th Sep 2007, 13:35

I agree. I own a 1997 LC Crown Victoria. Not only is it reliable, but it's fast as hell. I raced my buddy's 1994 Thunderbird off the line and his 2 door couldn't keep up with me.

11th Mar 2008, 12:17

I also have a 1997 Interceptor. It has 175000 miles on it and I know that's a lot. I do not know a lot about cars. My car also starts off slow then I'm happy once it shifts. But what worries me is this, is the car supposed to make the vroom sound as it's increasing in speed? My car goes vroom sort of loudly from 0 - 35MPH. It tends to make me think it's not going to make it to the 35MPH. Then once it hits 35MPH, the car jerks and the sound sort of tapers off and it's quiet. I'm worried because I don't know if that's a transmission problem or if the car really just sounds like that in the beginning. It also jerks a few times as I slow down. It's been doing that for many months, but I haven't had any problems with it mechanically. I've had a tune up done and oil change thinking that the jerk would stop. Just wanted to know if maybe the jerking and vrooming is associated with that year car. Has anyone else experiences the jerk and the vroom? Please let me know.

27th Oct 2010, 07:23

That jerking may be that you need to have the transmision filter and fluid changed. That's what kills Fords, their transmissions if you don't change the fluid in time.

1997 Ford Crown Victoria 4.6

Summary:

Let's just say that my Crown Vic isn't the Crown Vic that my Grandfather drove.

Faults:

This car was ordered from the factory by a man born in 1917. Allow me to say that he didn't drive like an old man.

This car has EVERY item that goes into a Police Interceptor (except for the exclusive police package items.)

The car was meticulously maintained by the dealer he purchased it from. I have a buddy who is a "wrench," and I have him do all my service work.

Other than regular preventative maintenance, I had the brake pads changed on all four wheels. I did this only because I had a brake squeal, and figured it wouldn't hurt to change the pads.

The only other item that I have had serviced, by the local Ford dealer, was to have a complete transmission service. I did this for two reasons... one being that the maintenance book in the glove box suggested it at 50,000. However, I also had a "rumble strip" chatter occasionally and they oil change place showed me that my transmission fluid was "a bit weak."

Since the transmission service, I have no further chatter.

General Comments:

There are only two other items that I have on my "list" to take care of.

First, the factory has the car set up to have the PCV valve changed, at Ford's expense, at 60,000.

And second, I plan on replacing the P225-60R16 high performance Michelin tires that came stock on the car with identical rated and size Yokohama tires. I am not a fan of Michelin tires, and have been told by several people that the Yoko tire will be the closest match to the performance/handling specs of the Michelins... if not be an improvement.

It is important to me that the car's handling performance not be altered, seeing as it is an "unofficial" police interceptor.

Oh...and the running cost number above, being a 7/10 is simply because of the performance of the car and MY RIGHT FOOT.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th June, 2003

14th Jun 2009, 20:39

My 1997 Crown Vic was a beautiful car, but a hunk of junk, always costing me money. I had to buy a new car because when I took it in for service, the shop would not let me drive it home. The support piece for the lower A arm broke off from the frame and they could not fix it! I had the car towed home and my husband disassembled the front end and we had a race car welder repair the damage. "Bad factory welding work, the part should never have broken off like it did" he told us. It was reassembled with new shocks and I decided to keep it for my grandson. I came home one night 3 weeks after the car was back on the road, parked it in the driveway and ten minutes later the car was in flames! The next day I received a recall letter from Ford Motors and they said don't park it in a garage as there was a risk of an under hood fire! Ford treated us like crap and wouldn't even acknowledge the bad welding work on the frame even though I sent them photos, and the fire was summarily dismissed. We own other Ford products and was satisfied with every car but this one. I bought a Dodge Magnum to replace this car, and I'll probably not buy a new Ford product again.

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