Ford Recalls 2003-2005 police cars

I just found this on the internet last week. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17501420/

The recall is about the police rims cracking and causing sudden loss of tire pressure. The recall only is for cars in the service of the police. That totally sucks, since mine is an 03 cop car and not in the service of the police.

So now I'm trying to figure out how to go after Ford so that I can get some re-imbursement to replace my rims. This is the third recall affectimg my vehical. First was the rear axle shafts, 2nd was the cat heat shields, and now the rims. Ford covered the first two...but the third...no coverage.

I have already had a problem with one of my rims that cracked at the wield...but I didn't have time to go to Ford with it. From the artical it sounds like Ford don't care anyway.

So now I feel left to fend for myself to replace my rims. With what? 17" police rims? I can't find any. Before I was informed of the recall I was looking at getting a second set of 16" rims for my winter tires...but the dealer wanter about $170/ wheel. How much for a 17" wheel...? How long till they find that the 17"'s are screwed too??

I'm debating about going to my insurance company(State Farm) and seeing if they can do anything to help me since it is a SAFETY issue.

I priced out some aftermarket 17" rims with 235/55/17 tires. Cheapest I'm looking at is about $2100 for the complete package.

Thanks Ford for once again shaking my confidence in your product. I love my 2003 P71...but come on FORD...show that you care about people who drive and enjoy the car.

our ford dealer gave us enough rims to swap out all ours with the stipulation we destroy the old ones. good luck finding any used ones for a while.

I've been looking at rims that fit the marauder. 18X8 with a 50mm backspacing. Hey..if it fits a marauder it should fit a Vic.

I saw a new Nissan Maxima with 18" rims. It had 245/45/18 rubbers on it. Looked it up and it's almost an exact match for the stock tire diameter of my 03 Vic. 245/45/18 would be a better match than the 235/55/17 which is a 27.2 inch diameter

03 Vic = 225/60/16 = 26.6 inch diameter
245/45/18 = 26.8 inch diameter

Now all I need to do is come up with the $$$$$$$$$$$
I'm looking at spending at least $3000 for a set of 4 rims and tires

Any donations...lol?

I wrote a letter to Ford Canada yesterday and asked if they would be willing to replace my wheels, or provide me some fiancial compensation to get aftermarket wheels.

I'll see what happens.

You can go to the NTSB or NHSB one those feds complaints and file a complaint. If enough do it Ford would have to recall.. SAFETY.. Issue..

So I noticed my front right tire going flat again. Both times it was a rim leak; so this time I took the tire off the rim and had a really good look. Holy crap the weld sucks, and it looks cracked.:banghead: I tried to fix it last time. Now I'm leaving it off the car and using my spare tire rim which is just a smidge better than the one that looks cracked.

Part number is 3W73 1007 CF. I'm calling Ford Canada tomorrow and see if there is a remidy. I'm getting really frustrated. At minimum I am going to replace all 5 wheels. With what? Money is tight. Hell I'd love some 18" wheels and tires but that's just a dream. Might go with the 17" C.V. sport aluminum wheels from the wreckers and if I feel rich I will see if I can get them custom painted. I Dunno:banghead: F:screwy: O:banghead: R:shakehead D:disappoin

So I called Ford Canada today. After half an hour on the phone I am told that Ford will not replace my wheels or offer any compensation. :nono:
1. My car is out of warranty (I have 217 000 km/135 000 miles)
2. My car is not part of the recall since it is not in the service of the police.

So I got some prices from a Ford dealership to relace my wheels. These prices are at cost because I work in a shop, and will install and balance myself.

2004 12 slot 16" wheel $103:)
2003 Crown Vic LX Sport 17" wheel $183:rolleyes:

I am waiting for a friend of mine at a bodyshop to call a wheel refurbisher for a quote on the 17" aluminum wheels, as well as having them refinished in gloss black.:iceslolan

My next plan of attach in regards to Ford's lack of help is going to State Farm and seeing if they can provide me some leverage.

As I can only afford to replace 2 wheels at a time I ordered 2 2004 C.V. 12 slot wheels. Part # is 5W7Z 1007 AA.

Ford won't provide me any information regarding what to replace my wheels with so I'm rolling the dice. Hopefully the 5W7Z 1007 AA is not one of the wheels being recalled since it does fit into the 2003-2005 recall.

This has been nothing short of a nightmare experience. Answers are hard to find, and Ford is useless as a source of info.

Click here. (http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,ky/browse/cataucs?catid=21) You can have a lot of wheels extra.

Click here. (http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,ky/browse/cataucs?catid=21) You can have a lot of wheels extra.

If I would be all over that if I had the money right now.

So I had a phone coversation with a representative at State Farm today regarding my wheel concerns. I told the rep that I am looking for leverage in my dispute with Ford Canada. Rep told me that I will be recieving a call tomorrow from the next level up the chain.

I may be getting somewhere with my grievance. Huge insurance company vs Ford motor company. .... I'm probably just dreaming.

BTW. I recieved a hard copy response from Ford about my recall concern. They want me to contact them if I find out anymore information.:screwy: Go figure...I thought Ford would know about it's own recall. Why should I be informing them?

I am gathering evidence for my case. Today I replaced my 2 front wheels with the new 12 slot 16" steelies. When I took the tires off each rim I looked over the welds. The ones I replaced today were not as bad as the first wheel, but one wheel does have 2 cracks.

I found out that the recall is listed as 07S48. Funny that Ford didn't seem to know:shakehead

I'll post updates on the situation.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Got word from my insurance company today. State Farm has no financial interest in persuing the matter with Ford. There was no collision or damage to my car because of the wheels. (They are waiting for me to wreck the car first) So my responce was that I'm dissapointed that State Farm has little interest in my personal safety.

What next? I think approaching the Ministry of Transportation is an option. Not that they care either...but won't hurt to try.

Getting nowhere. I give-up.:banghead: Just waiting to replace 2 more wheels and the spare wheel. I'm not happy...but I can't complain too much. Since I bought the car 3 1/2 years ago I haven't had to do any major repairs. Just tune-up, oil changes, u-joints, oil cooler line o-rings, a couple of tranny services, and had 3 spark plugs blow out of the heads.

Replaced the two rear wheels with the 12 hole steelies. 03 Wheels were cracked in places, but nothing shocks me now. While I was removing the R/R wheel from the car I noticed I have a leaky axleshaft oil seal. The gear oil got all over the rotor and inside brake pad. I'm hoping I can save the rear brakes since I just changed them this winter. So this Saturday I relace axle shaft seals.

Replaced the two rear wheels with the 12 hole steelies. 03 Wheels were cracked in places, but nothing shocks me now. While I was removing the R/R wheel from the car I noticed I have a leaky axleshaft oil seal. The gear oil got all over the rotor and inside brake pad. I'm hoping I can save the rear brakes since I just changed them this winter. So this Saturday I relace axle shaft seals.

be prepared to change the axle and bearing Ford has had a problem with them for years. if you do have to replace the axle goto ford for the replacement. we have had problems with the aftermarket ones ABS tone rings causing false abs codes and activation.:banghead:

You can go to the NTSB or NHSB one those feds complaints and file a complaint. If enough do it Ford would have to recall.. SAFETY.. Issue..
the correct Federal Agency is NHTSA, heres the link

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm