1996 Ford Thunderbird exterior lighting problems
14 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the exterior lighting on the 1996 Ford Thunderbird — 6% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“96 ford thunderbird headlight switch shortingsmoking headlights out. Kevin vanoy, astorg ford parkersburg, wv says this is common. He ordered part said mechanic separated wires and ordered parts. Said no more problems drive away. Lights still go out melting wires. Glen dethy carriage ford…”
filed Apr 20, 2004
“Third brake light assembly keeps melting. October 2000 26,000 miles first noticed my third brake light had melted the entire assembly including the light sockets, was told then that it was a known problem, after much arguing and writing the bbb ford finally agreed to replace it at no cost to me…”
filed Jul 28, 2003
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. *mj
02176 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 2, 2002
Exterior Lighting problems in other Thunderbird years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 Thunderbird | 1 | 3% |
| 2002 Thunderbird | 4 | 4% |
| 1997 Thunderbird | 4 | 2% |
| 1995 Thunderbird | 16 | 6% |
| 1994 Thunderbird | 7 | 2% |
| 1993 Thunderbird | 119 | 28% |
| 1992 Thunderbird | 40 | 22% |
| 1991 Thunderbird | 10 | 9% |
| 1990 Thunderbird | 7 | 5% |
| 1989 Thunderbird | 2 | 2% |
| 1988 Thunderbird | 11 | 12% |
| 1987 Thunderbird | 3 | 5% |
Other reported problem areas on the 1996 Ford Thunderbird
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.