Problems with 2004 Ford Crown Victoria EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Headlight failure of both low and high beam at all speeds. intermittent failures beginning at end of march 2011 at approximately 92,000 miles and finally total failure in june 2011. very dangerous if not in safe location to pull over or in middle of critical driving maneuvers such as passing, sharp turns, etc. contacted local ford dealer parts department and they confirmed no tech bulletins issued by ford or other recalls, and cost of replacement light control module, or lcm, to be $511. contacted ford customer relations via their web site, and it was confirmed there is no warranty or other formal actions-considerations. have owned previous versions of this ford model, all for a longer period of time than the subject 2004 crown victoria model, 1982 mercury grand marquis, 1987 crown victoria, 1991 crown victoria, and 1995 crown victoria, and none of them have exhibited this problem. given that, this is a fundamental degradation in safety, in addition to a decline in durability and reliability. understand nhtsa opened a case or investigation file pe08-066 in late 2008 which was closed in early 2009, so that would have or is not taking into account failures or related incidents that occurred afterwards. have replaced lcm with new unit which has corrected the problem for now.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. the contact stated while driving 40 mph both headlights suddenly shut off. the contact had to either activate the high beams or pull over and shut the vehicle off and restart it in order for the headlights to work. the contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the contact stated the vehicle was very unsafe to drive at night. the failure mileage was 125,000. updated 11/03/11*lj

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights would shut off sporadically and without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure nor was the vehicle repaired. the current mileage was 52,000. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was unavailable.

I was coming home from work, and i pulled into a local subway shop, received my food, as i went to turn on my car, the automatic lights did not come on, the park lights did, but not the automatic lights, i flicked the lever to high beam but to my surprise no lights. i pulled the lever back and held it, until i got home, this is a very dangerous situation... *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights would shut on and off intermittingly and sometimes, would not illuminate. the vehicle was neither inspected by a dealer nor repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

2004 ford crown victoria - head lights turns off while driving - spoke to ford agency and said problem is in the headlight control module and module must be replaced - $511 part - said a common problem. lights turn back on after 1-2 minutes. very dangerous situation. *ln

Sporadically the headlights go off for no reason. sometimes turning light switch off and then on again will turn them back on, sometimes not. sometimes waiting a few minutes and turning them back on works, sometimes not. sometimes lights just come back on their own. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. the contact stated that the headlights failed at night and when he attempted to use the high beams, he had to hold and pull the switch for them to activate. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the headlight control module failed. the vehicle was being repaired. the current and failure mileages were 49,000.

When driving at night, the headlights will shut off abruptly causing a serious driving hazard via greatly reduced visibility. parking lights will function, and bright flash will work, but no hi beam is available unless the flash lever is held. lights may go back on at any time, or not turn on until the next time car is started at night. *tr

Driving on expressway and all of a sudden headlights fail! out on a dark, dark road in the middle of nowhere (i-57) and a single 55 year old woman, how dangerous is this?!? i went to ford dealer who acted like he had never heard of the problem before (river oaks ford in calumet city, il ~ the top rated ford repair dealer in the country according to their recorded phone message and a huge banner on the wall as you enter the dealership), but was clueless as to this problem, really? the car sat there all day until they called me at 3:30 in the afternoon to tell me the headlights turn on and off, what was the problem? oh, we can install a new light box module ($500)...that might take care of the problem...no guarantee, again...really? i came home (problem unrepaired), looked up 2004 crown victoria headlights on google and to my astonishment found website/article after article stating how common this problem is on crown victorias, grand marquis and maurader 2003-2005!!! i think that ford is trying to shuck their responsibility in taking care of this potentiality hazardous malfunction (car can start on fire and many cabs in los angeles have article date 3/25/10)! they should step up to the plate and send out a nationwide recall for this to be fixed, instead i have to come up with the money for the part, the labor to get this fixed. this doesn't include the downtime having the car in the shop for the day! pathetic is all i can say about this situation. i am just glad i was able to pull the brights lever back toward the steering wheel so that i would have some kind of lights...not easy driving a long distance holding this lever all the way but it was the only way i could get any kind of lights to work! pushing the bright light lever forward to keep the brights on didn't work either! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. while parked, the contact attempted to activate the headlights on, but they would not activate. after approximately six minutes, the headlights turned on. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed a module that controlled the headlights failed. the vehicle was repaired. the current and failure mileages were unknown.

We were driving on the freeway at night and headlights turned off. since then, the lights intermittently work. therefore we have had to continually hold the flash beams up in order to continue driving safely at night. *tr

The headlamps turn off while driving or don't turn on at all [very intermittent][very scary][very dangerous!!] i live in the country and there are no streetlights,just imagine losing your only source of light ! a new lighting control module is needed at a cost of 500.00 p&l . research has shown that 2002 - 2005 crown vic police and passenger vehicles have this safety problem that need to be addressed before some one dies ! *tr

My son has had a couple of incidents where the headlights on his 2004 crown victoria have suddenly gone out. this could be a very dangerous situation. brought it to mechanic which said it was the light module. expensive fix at @ 500.00. seems to be a very common thing in these cars and i can't believe there has not been a recall on this part. *tr

My 2004 ford crown victoria, a former chp vehicle turned into a taxi at 102,000 miles, began to experience headlight problems when i would stop and turn off the engine briefly, return, restart, and within a short time the headlights would fail. after a couple minutes the headlights would come back on. this problem progressed to less predictable failure of the headlights when running. failure of the light control module was diagnosed at !50,000 miles and i found a taxi driver who had overcome the same problem and rewired from the green/black wire behind the lights control switch thru the firewall to a built-up powered relay and then to the headlights. it has worked fine, now 197,000 miles, except that the hi-beams have failed in the set position but still work in the temporarily position. cost $60. good luck. i know personally or anecdotally of 6 other 2004 crown vic"s in sacramento that have experienced the same problem. when will big brother recognize that this problem requires a recall? *tr

Head lights on 2004 ford crown victoria will go off while driving at night and sometimes will come back on then at times they will not come on at all. i am a single woman and on a fixed income this part is very expensive so i really think ford needs to do something about it , i have replaced my switch on it thinking this was the problem but it wasn't. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford crown victoria. while driving approximately 45 mph at night the headlights failed without warning. the driver was able to pull over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle with limited visibility. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection. the failure was contributed to the headlight control module. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was 47,000. the current mileage was 48,000.

Lighting control module in 2004 crown vic. headlights very weak and lcm needs replaced. close to $500 to repair. poor quality control by ford for a very expensive part. *tr

I am the owner of a 2004 ford crown victoria, while driving during dark hours down the freeway my headlights suddenly went out with a click. the parking lights and dash lights remained, but i was unable to see and had to make a blind panic stop to the shoulder. since, this has been a regular occurrence in which i can only quickly pull the flash to pass switch and try to hold it as well as the steering wheel until i can safely get pulled over. even after then, it is an unknown wait time on when they will come back on or how long they will stay on once they do. the other safety issue is that it startles other drivers in front of you, i have had two instances in which one vehicle suddenly hit the brakes nearly causing a collision as well surprising a driver traveling beside me, making him swerve. i have researched several places and it appears that it is a faulty relay in the light control module. i also found that in ford's infinite wisdom that you cannot just replace this $4 relay inside the module, you have to replace the entire $500 module. i think that is a huge safety issue and that it is the responsibility of ford to make right. this problem occurs often and without warning and has proven to be a dangerous event. this problem began around august of 2009, the vehicle is a 2004 with approximately 80k miles. *tr

Headlamps randomly go out on my 2004 ford crown victoria. no symptoms until it happens. click sound comes from what i have found to be the lcm (lighting control module) under the dash and the headlamps go out. this has now happened 4 or 5 times, maybe more because i have only noticed it at night (of course). when the lights go out it can be 30 seconds or 30 minutes before i can get them to come back on. *tr

My headlight will not come on intermittently. when i turn the switch to the right to parking lights position ,i hear the slightly delayed "click" and parking lights come on. when i next turn to the headlight position there is no delayed "click" and the headlight do not come on. in the auto lamp mode only the parking lights come on. you can pull back on the turn signal lever to flash the lights. i have not have it happen while driving, only upon starting the vehicle. *tr

I have had a loss of headlights while driving. there is a clicking sound from a sealed computer type box from under the dash when it occurs. the lights will go out a period of time and come back on. it has lasted seconds to minutes or more. i almost ran off the road several times when it occurs and i have taken it to a shop and they have not found the problem. i have researched it on line and it seems to be a huge problem but no recall from ford. *tr

I have a 2004 ford crown victoria the headlights go out while driving intermittently. so i went online for help with troubleshooting the problem. there are so many of these cars doing this. it was not hard to see there is a very big problem with how ford is making these cars. it has to do with the (lcm) light control module and the way it is installed. this part is also not cheap at 399.00 seams like this is a big safety issue that needs a lot more attention. rather than let this problem fall on the backs of unsuspecting buyers who will have a hard time being stranded with no lights and having to come up with 399.00. on top of a tow truck bill and a fine from the police. for a problem that is already well documented. i have seen it in years from 2000 to 2006. that seems like a lot of cars. other car makers do not have this problem. *tr

Headlights will go off after 5 minutes of driving... *tr

My 2004 ford crown victoria low beam headlights will not stay on..i use lowbeams for day light driving...the lights will go off after 5-15 minutes of driving..during the day they will go off and on....cannot drive at night...i am told the repair is4-5 hundred dollars...this situation could result in a deadly accident it occurs at night with a first time driver...what is bulletin # pe08-066 ? *tr

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at night in normal conditions at no particular speed, the headlights intermittently flashed on and off. as a result of this happening, the dimmer switch was adjusted from dim to bright, allowing the lights to operate momentarily. the local dealership performed diagnostic testing on the vehicle. the problem could not be duplicated, although dealership personnel test drove the vehicle.