NHTSA recall 13V385000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 13V385000 |
| Manufacturer's number | 13S08 |
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Reported | 2013-08-29 |
| Owners notified | 2013-10-23 |
| Component | STEERING |
| Units potentially affected | 355000 |
| Report | Quarterly report 6, for 2015 quarter 1 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2015-04-30 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 355000 |
| Reported remedied | 215967 (60%) |
| Reported unreachable | 15119 |
| Reported removed | 113 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2015 quarter 1, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
Ford is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria (including Crown Victoria Police Interceptors), Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car vehicles. The affected vehicles are currently registered or were originally sold in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Severe corrosion can seize the lower intermediate shaft which may cause the upper intermediate shaft to collapse and the steering column lower bearing to separate.
What can happen
If the lower bearing separates, the vehicle may experience a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners and dealers will replace the lower intermediate shaft, free of charge. The upper intermediate shaft and steering column lower bearing will be inspected to identify any damage that may have occurred as a result of lower intermediate shaft corrosion, and repaired or replaced as necessary. If the steering column lower bearing has separated, a retainer clip will be installed. The recall began on October 23, 2013. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall number is 13S08.
Notes
A separate service campaign applies to vehicles in non-corrosion states not addressed by this safety recall. Owners of these vehicles should contact Ford directly about these vehicles.For the safety recall, owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA13004
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA13004 | Engineering analysis, opened 2013-04-26, closed 2013-11-15. Loss of Steering Control. STEERING:COLUMN; STEERING. |
|---|
From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| TSB160072 | 2021-12-20. Service bulletin. Inpected or repaired under 13R01 - Requests for recall service action under 13S08 |
|---|---|
| 16-0072 | 2020-12-07. Service bulletin. For 2005-2012 Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Grand Marquis and Town Car vehicles, Regional Program 13R01 applies to vehicles not registered in corrosion states and not included in Safety Recall 13S08, where operation in high corrosion areas for an extended period may lead to corrosion in the lower intermediate steering shaft swing link. This may result in a compressed upper intermediate steering shaft and separation from the steering column, which can result in a loss of steering control. Vehicles covered under 13R01 that were inspected or repaired without replacement of the lower intermediate shaft, and have relocated to high corrosion areas, may experience subsequent corrosion of the lower intermediate steering shaft swing link. |
| RP-13R01 | 2014-03-12. Service bulletin. FORD: THE LOWER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, HAS CORROSION OF SWING LINK JOINTS, COMBINED WITH COLLAPSED UPPER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, RESULTING IN STEERING COLUMN SEPARATION AND LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. MODEL 2005-2011 CROWN VICTORIA, GRAND MARQUIS, TOWN CAR. *PE UPDATED 04/23/14 *LJ UPDATED 07/10/15 *TA UPDATED 7/15/15 *TA |
| RP-13-R-01 | 2013-12-11. Service bulletin. FORD: SWING LINK JOINTS ON LOWER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, HAS CORROSION, AND COMBINED WITH COLLAPSED UPPER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, ON SOME VEHICLES, CAUSES STEERING COLUMN TO SEPARATE, LEADING TO STEERING CONTROL LOSS. MODEL 2005-2011 CROWN VICTORIA, GRAND MARQUIS, TOWN CAR. *PE |
| 052613 | 2006-01-25. Service bulletin. LIGHT STEERING EFFORTS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TT |
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.