The 2004 Ford Thunderbird has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 24,277 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 40 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the vehicle speed control. Last updated July 5, 2026.
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH POWER ADJUSTABLE SEATS MAY HAVE BEEN INADEQUATELY WELDED.
THE SEAT MAY NOT PERFORM AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF INJURY.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE UPPER SUPPORT ASSEMBLY ON THE POWER SEATS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 20, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“The contact owns a 2004 ford thunderbird. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact approached a stop sign and the vehicle stopped as needed; however, after the contact depressed on the accelerator pedal, the vehicle began to misfire and shuddered for several minutes.…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford thunderbird. The contact stated that while inside the vehicle, an abnormal odor appeared as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who changed the oil and noticed fuel leaking from the fuel tank. The contact…”
“Vehicle unexpectedly lost power upon mild acceleration on a city street and developed a rough, skipping and hesitant idle upon warm up. We immediately brought the car in for evaluation at the sarat ford dealership in agawam, ma. They diagnosed the dreaded thunderbird coil on plug failure in this…”
“On three occasions auto accelerated on its own. Tried to break to no avail. Kept going faster. Shifted to neutral, engine kept racing. Was very difficult to stop vehicle. Went to dealer. They could not find the cause. .one event in a parking lot, one on the interstate and the other when…”
“2004 ford thunderbird. Consumer writes in regards to defective ignition coils causes engine to mis-fire, dealership replaced defective coils under extended one-time warranty repair. Consumer states engine mis-fire still exists. *smd the consumer stated the engine misfired due to defective ignition…”
“Driving on a highway at 50mph coming to a town and a red light I removed my foot from the gas pedal and applied the brakes the car did not slow I applied more pressure on the brakes the car slowed some but the engine kept reving the transmission was not down shifting the car was not stopping I…”
“As I was parking my car, it suddenly accelerated at a very high rate of speed. I was parking by a wooded area, and was propelled about 2 car lengths into the bushes in the woods (barely missing a tree) before I was able to stop the car. Not certain if the car stopped because of my braking, or…”
“As I was parking my car, it suddenly accelerated at a very high rate of speed. I was parking by a wooded area, and was propelled about 2 car lengths into the bushes in the woods (barely missing a tree) before I was able to stop the car. Not certain if the car stopped because of my braking, or…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2004 Ford Thunderbird as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.