Probe Problems and Issues

The problems and issues covered here refer to commonly encountered problems and solutions with the various Probe models.

Whenever possible links are provided to other sites to avoid duplicating content.

Shop Manuals: The number for Helm publications is 800-782-4356 or check out their website at www.helminc.com. Manuals can be ordered on-line.

Second Generation

93+ GT (2.5 liter V6)

Most common points of failure:

• Battery fails in < 2 years
• Spark plug wires fail <50K
• Rear caliper seizes (93-94 only)
• Valve cover gaskets leak oil <40K
• O2 Sensors fail (see the O2 Sensor Page)
• Carbon buildup on head, loud tick on cold start (93-94 only)
• Poor window seal
• Door handle spring breaks and dents door from inside <2 years
• Intermittent distributor failure
• Paint crazing, chipping, swirl marks
• Rear hatch struts fail.
• Creaking sunroof
• Clutch slips prematurely

Julian Bradbury has an excellent site with information on Mazda 626/ MX-6/ Ford Probe maintenance and repair: ErgonITe - Probe/626/MX6 FAQ . The page on Problems and Maintenance Areas is especially useful, with diagrams, and information on replacement parts, workarounds.

Rear Caliper Seizes

If you've had any problems with the rear parking brakes seizing or not releasing properly, you can fill out a complaint form at http://www-nsa.nhtsa.dot.gov/voq_form.shtml, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's) Vehicle Owner's Questionaire.

13 responses

Ford Probe Seized Parking Brake Survey (1996)

Year

• 93: 7
• 94: 6
• 95: 0
• 96: 0

Model

• Base: 0
• SE: 1
• GT: 12

Rear Brake System

• Discs: 13
• Drums: 0

Seized on

• Left: 7
• Right: 3
• Both: 3

Driving Conditions

• Summer only: 3
• Year round: 10

Dealer Repairs

• Replaced left caliper.
• I have not brought it to a shop yet.
• None for Brakes--I unseize them myself.
• Left rear caliper was replaced.
• None - threatened to charge me if they could not reproduce it.
• Dealer repaired for no charge @50,000 miles (but this was as part of resolution I had w/dealer over several other problems, including fraudulent representations by salesman). Invoice (tho' I didn't pay) listed caliper alone as a $315 part.
• Replaced the entire rear left brake (calipers, rotor and pads). Under warranty b/c I was under 36,000.
• They replaced both rear caliper and bled the brakes. No charge, warranty work.

Comments

• Right problem only occured once. The left one had more problems. Replaced under warranty. Have had no problems with left (since repair) or right.
• I would love to have the calipers replaced at the expense of someone other than myself!!
• Dealer replaced caliper at zero cost to me, even though the 3 yr, 30k warrenty was up. I was up around 40k miles at the time. After reading all the comments in the news group I wish they had replaced the right rear as well (they did not), I expect one day to find that one sticking too. FYI, I routinely use my parking brake. So with the exception of vacations (few) and weekends, it's been cycled on/off at least twice a day since I bought the car. I *always* use the parking brake.
• I bought the Probe second hand in April of 1996 from Budget Rent-a-car sales (It was a trade-in). The day after I bought it the rear driver side caliper seized, They came and towed it away, and loosened it up. About 3 weeks later it happened again. I took it to a brake shop and they told me the only way to permanently fix it is to replace the caliper, but they loosened it up for me so I could drive it to the dealer. The dealer replaced the caliper and I have not had any problems since.
• Only happened once after a very hard application.
• They seized up once on 6/20/96 coming home from work. I noticed the hesitation in the car, the smell and then the smoke. After pulling over and inspecting the wheel, I drove home very cautiously. I called a garage (very reliable one) and was told what to look for when I jacked my car up. I found that the cable was sticking so I worked it free with my hand. The next morning I went to the dealership, not my original, and they were too busy to look at it. The car was fine now but I still wasn't satisfied that the problem was fixed. I called a service station who recommended that I have the brakes checked for binding cables. I decided I'd leave the car at the dealership while I was away on business and have it checked out next week. Then, on 6/22/96, I was driving home and experienced the same sluggishness and resistance from the brake. It seized up again but this time there was no smoke that would have warned me earlier than when I noticed. By the time I stopped (1/4 mile or so), the rear disc was glowing orange. Just like molten metal. The kind of orange glow you see when the brakes on a Formula 1 car are heavily used. I feel as though my car could have caught on fire if I had not caught it in time. I knew how to free the cable and then I proceeded home after the disc cooled down. Unknowingly to me, this extreme temperature warped the disc. That is why they had to replace the entire brake unit. I wonder if this is a common problem with all Probes. If so, I think some type of formal letter should be sent to Ford. I plan on writing a letter to Ford anyway. I'm having trouble locating an address to send it to. If you know of one, please respond. Otherwise, let me know how the survey goes and if you have any questions or need any help with a formal complaint, contact me, because I am more than willing to assist.
• The mechanic I talked to was rather candid and told me that this will probably happen again. There's nothing I can do to prevent it according to him. Nice.

Valve cover gaskets leak

29Mar99: Well, I got the Gasket R&R done, it actually wasn't that hard so I'd consider it a DIYable item if you have even minimal knowledge about engine work. As long as you can keep all of the vacuum hoses and lines in the back of the manifold straight it shouldn't be a problem. Count on spending a few hours on it though, it's time consuming. I ended up paying $75.69 for the same job that my friend paid close to $250 for at a shop. You can't beat that, it's worth a few hours of your life. Here's the breakdown on gasket prices from Roebuck Mazda: Valve cover Gaskets, R&L, $18.57 each, Throttle body gasket $6.76 and Intake Manifold gaskets, 2 of them $9.52 each. That makes a grand total of $62.94 and since I was saving so much on labor, I figured what the heck and had em 2nd day air mailed for $12.75.

I've added an install how to on my site: http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/speedway/9159/joel.html Once I get the pics up, it should be pretty helpful for anyone trying replace their gaskets. Oh and the car runs great again, no more oil in the spark plug wells which led to bad acceleration.

Brake warning light comes on

This may happen under braking. The most common cause is the brake fluid level being a little low- the sensor is very sensitive. Topping up the fluid should solve this problem.

Poor Window Seal

Some owners have had terrible problems with this. Because of the frameless door windows, I think they are prone to getting tweaked if you lean on the window, close the door by pushing on the window, etc.. I try be careful with it and my window seal is fine.

Paint crazing, chipping, swirl marks

There were a lot of complaints about how easy the paint chipped, especially the bumper and hood. Mine was repainted under warranty and seems better than before.

A more serious problem is the tendency for the paint to get little lines in it, crazing. It varies from car to car, but seems worse on the front of most of the Probes I've seen.

My car is black, so the swirl marks are a big problem. I've tried a bunch of things, and I've heard Zymol works well. I also have used a product from P&S in San Rafael that works well and is easy to rub off.

Rear hatch struts fail

The part numbers for the rear hatch struts from NAPA are BK819-5608 and BK819-5609. They're $27.82 each. Although there are two different part numbers, there doesn't seem to be any difference between the two. These part numbers are for 93-94, with no part number listed for a 1995 and above. But after calling the factory, the part numbers are the same for later years.

Creaking sunroof

From the TSB: It consists of isolating the frame of the sunroof from the roof of the car with some foam. And it was very effective.

The TSB number is 95-25-1

Clutch slips

Many 2nd gen PGT owners report periodic slipping clutches even at low mileage (<20K). Total failure may _not_ be imminent. Labor for a replacement clutch is 4-4.5 hours at a Mazda dealer.

I've had mine totally give out while doing 1/8 mile drags. Probably partly my fault.

Bad Cat

Car had a terrible accelaration problem. It was slow, I could smell some fuel wafting in, and the catalytic converter was only clearing the ground by a couple of inches. I pulled out the plugs and replaced them. They were all gone,, the front three being almost entirely black. Then I replaced the catalytic converter yesterday. Cost was $140.70 for a new direct-fit cat and installation, (Ford-$540 for cat, Mazda-$580 for cat). The muffler guy said that the cat had heated up and this caused the cat to sink down, since there is not a hangar there for the cat or middle pipe, he says that is how you know when the cat has gone bad. I just know that with the knew one on there it is not hanging down anymore. I had replaced the wires with some extras that I got with the car that my brother said should still have a few thousand miles on them. Apparently he was wrong. This was a major cause of my poor acceleration as after I replaced them with some brand new ones tonight I could tell a major difference, it goes about twice as fast. Oct98