NHTSA Complaint #10428109 — 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD

I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH ON IT. MY 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD BEGAN HAVING THIS PROBLEM AT 43,700 MILES. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE WAS AND IT WAS INTERMITTENT. WITHIN THE PAST MONTH (SEPTEMBER, 2011), I HAVE PERSONALLY REPLACED ALL EIGHT PLUGS, BOOTS AND COILS. WHILE DOING THIS I FOUND THREE PLUGS THAT WERE OIL FOULED. AFTER COMPLETING THIS REPAIR THE CAR CONTINUES TO DRIVE ROUGH. THE TACH WILL RACE, THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE SMOOTHLY OR AT ALL WHILE TRYING TO ENTER A HIGHWAY AND BEHAVES POORLY ON BOTH NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS AND THE HIGHWAY. I COULD NOT AFFORD TO HAVE THE DEALER MAKE THE REPAIRS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, JUST A WEEK BEFORE I REPLACED THE PLUGS, BOOTS AND COILS, I HAD THE OIL CHANGED AT THE DEALER. THEY CHANGED THE OIL, ROTATED THE TIRES, REPLACED THE OIL FILTER AND AIR FILTER AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS. THEY CHARGED ME $151 FOR THIS. I THINK THAT IS ROBBERY!! WHEN I CHECKED OUT, THE MECHANIC SAID THAT IT APPEARS I HAVE A "COIL" PROBLEM. HMMM. I RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE AND KNOW THAT FORD WILL NOT ADMIT NOR INCLUDE THE 2002 IN THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAM. THIS IS SHAMEFUL! THIS COIL ON BOOT PROBLEM IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND MANY FOLKS CAN BE HURT OR KILLED BECAUSE OF HOW THE CAR BEHAVES WHEN THIS PROBLEM ARISES. I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AT FORD CORPORATE TO ATTEMPT TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON SAID "WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT WITH THIS MODEL". WELL, THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN ADMISSION OF GUILT TO ME. I AM HOPING THAT PERHAPS YOU CAN ASSIST ALL OF US WHO OWN 2002 T-BIRDS GET JUSTICE FROM FORD AND HAVE THEM ADMIT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM AND FIX IT! EXTEND OUR WARRANTIES BEFORE ANOTHER OWNER HAS AN ACCIDENT OR DIES AS A RESULT OF THIS PROBLEM. THERE ARE 1000S OF US! I'VE OWNED SEVEN FORDS AND NEVER HAVE I HAD AN ISSUE OR TREATMENT LIKE THIS BEFORE. *TR