CrownVic Optional Equipment Retrofit TidBits:

The question often arises, "my crown victoria does not have the xyz feature, how would i go about adding it?" Is also sometimes asked, "i'd like to add some extra comfort and convience features to my crown victoria, what do you suggest?" Below is a list of some optional equipment, and some notes on adding them to your current vehicle.

Are four distinct trim levels of crown victorias. There's
Civilian Base Model (P73)
Civilian LX Model (P74)
Police Model (P71)
Taxicab package (P72)

Note: Ford Crown Victorias are avaliable only as "fleet" vehicles in Canada, and dealers may not sell "new" Ford Crown Victorias to the general public. If you're in canada, there is an ample supply of "used" crown vics though that were formerly used by large corporations, rental car companies, and public safety agencies (police, fire, etc). Unlike the ford crown victoria, the Mercury Grand Marquis is avaliable for purchase to the general public in canada.


Cruise Control: All 1995+ vics appear to be factory wired by ford for cruise control. To add it, one just needs to change out the steering wheel for one that has the cruise control switches and install the servo/throttle actuator cable under the hood. See cruise control retrofit page for more details.

Radio: All 1995+ civilian vics come factory equipped with an am/fm radio with a cassette deck or cd player. Police models come standard with an am/fm radio without cassette or cd. Some departments opt for the "radio delete" option which removes the radio from the dashboard but leaves the speakers and wiring in place. See radio related page for more details on upgrade options.

Power Windows: Standard Equipment since 1992

Express Up/Down Power Windows: All recent civilian crown vics have an express down drivers window, just quickly tap the power window switch and release and the window will roll fully down without having to hold your finger on the switch. Police models did not get this feature until the 2000 model year. With an aftermarket window module, one can add express up and express down to both front windows. Convient feature for tollbooths and drive-thrus. See also: dei window module page

Power Locks: Standard equipment since 1998. On 1992-1997 crown vics, power locks were optional equipment. Appears as though ford prewired and installed door lock actuators in most  92'-97' crown vics regardless of whether they were factory equipped with power locks or not. On such vehicles, getting the power locks functional involves replacing the trim panel around the window & lock switches with one that has cutouts for the power lock switches, and then installing the power lock switches themselves. Note that power door lock switches are wired in series so both the passenger side and driver side switches must be installed for the door locks to be functional.

Rear window defroster: Standard equipment since 1995 when the radio antenna was integrated into the defroster grid. On 1992-1994 crown vics, the rear window defroster was optional equipment. Ford does not sell replacement defroster grids, but universal glue-on ones are avaliable aftermarket. Can also replace the rear window with a used salvage yard one, but professional installation is highly recommended.

Air Conditioning: standard equipment on all 1992 and later crown vics.

Tilt Steering Column: standard equipment on all 1992 and later crown vics.

Electrochromic rearview mirror with compass: Standard on recent LX models. Is nice feature not to be blinded by bright headlight glare in the rearview mirror. To add, one needs the mirror assembly and wiring. Note: This option appears to be incompatible with aftermarket window tinting. See also: Gentex Mirror Page.

Power exterior mirrors (electric): Standard equipment on 1998 and later crown vics. Optional equipment on 1992-1997 crown vics. See also: http://www.kwmuth.com

Heated Exterior Mirrors: Standard equipment on 2002 and later crown victorias. To add, one would need to replace the mirror glass with glass that had a heater built in and run wiring to power the heating element whenever the rear window defogger was engaged.

Tachometer: Unavaliable during any model year. 1992-1997 crown victorias have a tachometer output from the pcm on pin 47. 1998 and later crown victorias use a coil on plug ignition system, on such vehicles an adapter is required to install an aftermarket tachometer. See also http://www.uni-tech.com

Cloth Seating Surfaces: Standard on 1995 and later crown victoria civilian models. All 1995+ police models will have cloth seating surfaces on the front seats, but may have a vinyl or cloth rear seat depending on how they were ordered from ford. 1992-1994 police models and all taxi models regardless of year may have vinyl seating surfaces on the front seats, as well as the rear seats. Note that all 1992-2003 crown vic/grand marquis/towncar seats will swap between vehicles and bolt in place.

Leather Seating Surfaces: Avaliable as optional equipment on LX models. Aftermarket seat cover sets are avaliable for under $1000. Will also need a supply of "hog rings" and hog ring pliers. See also: http://www.leatherseats.com and http://www.eastwoodco.com

Heated Seats: Unavaliable from ford on crown vics. Aftermarket kits are avaliable to add heating pads to both the upper and lower seat cushions. See also: http://www.rostra.com

Lumbar Support: Avaliable as optional equipment on recent crown vics, standard equipment on 2002+ police models. To add, one would need an air bladder, hoses and pump. See also http://www.rostra.com

Power Seats: P71 and P73 models have a 6-way power adjustable drivers avaliable as optional equipment. Adjustment options include front seat height up/down, rear seat height up/down, and seat position forward/backwards. Controls for the seat are mounted on the seat itself. P74 models are avaliable with 8-way power seats, in addition to the 6-way power features there is also a motor to control the recline position of the seatback. Seat controls are mounted on the door. To add power seats to a car not currently equipped, one needs the seat tracks, wiring and switches.

Extra legroom for front passengers: In 1995, the seat tracks were revised to allow the front seats to travel back further than the previous 1994 vehicles. Can change the seat tracks in an older vehicle to the newer revision ones if desired.

Electronic automatic climate control (EATC): On 1995 and later crown victorias, EATC is standard equipment on LX models, but unavaliable on any other trim levels. With EATC, just key in the temperature you want and the system will automatically choose whether to heat or cool the air. To add EATC to a vehicle, one would need the climate control head, complete electrical harness for the climate control system, new blend door actuator (have to remove the dashboard from the car to access), and a bunch of sensors and misc other support components. Heater box is the same regardless of whether the car has EATC or not. For the swap, it would probably be best to find a wrecked donor vehicle to get all the required parts from. Is a lot of work and probably not worth the effort.

Remote Keyless Entry (RKE): Standard equipment on recent crown vic LX's, optional on p73's, and unavaliable on p71's. Is very convienent to have a remote control which will lock or unlock the doors when you are close to the car. RKE also helps in avoiding locking your keys in the car. Just get in the habit of pressing the lock button on the remote whenever you get out of the car. No remote in your hand, keys are probably still in the car.  If you have a keyless entry keypad on the drivers door, you've probably got a factory remote keyless entry receiver installed in the car too. Are numerous aftermarket remote keyless entry systems avaliable. Is common for pre-owned vehicles not to come with the RKE remotes, even though the receiver is installed in the car. 1997 and prior crown victorias can have new transmitters added to the system by a procedure listed in the owners manual. 1998 and later crown victorias will require an appointment with the ford dealer to add additional remotes to the RKE system since special dealer-only tools are needed. See also: http://www.ownerconnection.com (registered users with a recent model vehicle may view an online version of their cars owners manual)

Audible Alarm System: Unavaliable from the factory. If you've got an alarm installed in your crown vic, it isn't factory equipment. Ford does offer ford branded addon alarm systems and numerous systems are avaliable aftermarket.

Immobilizer System: 1998 and later civilian crown victorias have an very effective passive antitheft system that uses a transponder embedded in the plastic head of the ignition key. System is similar to the mobil speedpass and tollbooth quicklane systems and does not require any batteries in the transponder itself. Basically if the correct electronic code is not present, the pcm will not output fuel and spark signals. System is largely transparent to the cars driver, many don't even know their car is equipped with the system until they find out that the ignition key costs $25 to be duplicated (if you currently have two working ignition keys), and around $100 (if you only have one working ignition key).

Remote Start: Unavaliable. Is a very convienent feature, just push a button on the remote control and the engine will start along with any accessories you've left on such as the window defroster. Ford does now offer a ford branded remote starter addon, are numerous systems avaliable aftermarket as well. See also: Remote start page.

Power Trunk Release: standard equipment on recent models. On older models, a latch release solenoid, control button, and wiring may need to be installed.

Lighted Power Window and Power Lock Switches:  Civilian models have had backlighted power window and lock switches since the 1995 model year. Police models regardless of model year do not have any backlighting on the switches. If backlighting is desired, the power window and lock switches from a civilian model crown vic can be retrofitted into a police vehicle.

Lighted Sunvisor Vanity Mirrors: On some models, the back of the sunvisors have a mirror with lights on the side. To add, find a donor vehicle and acquire the lighted visor assemblies. Will be one wire which is tied to the "demand lighting" output of the lighting control module.

Homelink Garage Door Opener: Optional Equipment on 1998 and later crown victorias. Homelink is a universal transmitter located on the drivers sun visor that can control up to 3 devices including RF garage door openers, security gates and home alarm systems. Transmitter is self contained in the visor and it's only connection to the rest of the vehicle is for power (ground and +12 volts). For security reasons, it may be desirable to power the sunvisor transmitter only when the ignition key is in the "run" or "accessory" positions. See also: http://www.homelink.com and http://www.jci.com

Map lights: Police and base civilian models have a domelight assembly that does not have any map lights on it. To add, install a domelight assembly that is maplight equipped and run a wire to the "demand lighting" output of the lighting control module.

Power Adjustable Gas and Brake Pedals: Optional equipment on 2000 and later crown victorias. To add, one needs the power adjustable gas/brake pedal assembly out of a wrecked donor vehicle. Haven't finished the retrofit project yet, but it looks like it should be a straight bolt-in swap. Wiring is simple, are just two wires that run to the motor, reversing polarity also reverses the travel direction of the motor.

Interval Windhshield Wipers: Standard equipment on recent crown vics

Brake/Shifter interlock: On 1995 and later crown vics, the vehicle may not be shifted out of park unless the brake pedal is depressed. This feature significantly reduced the number of unintended acceleration complaints against ford and associated bodily injuries. Also is a useful safety feature for public safety personel that leave their vehicles idling unattended while working.

Antilock brakes: optional some years, standard others but delete option avaliable

Retrofit notes: Many parts required including master cylinder, abs pump, controller, wiring harness (may already be factory installed), wheel speed sensors, brake line, new front hub assemblies with abs exciter rings. Cost of parts is a couple thousand dollars from the ford dealer, not including installation.

Suggestion: If you want a car equipped with ABS, make sure the vehicle has antilock brakes installed before purchasing. Attempting to retrofit ABS to a non-abs equipped car is very expensive and labor intensive.

Can determine whether vehicle has ABS by lifting hood and looking at routing of brake line, if all the metal lines run from the master cylinder to the large hydraulic control unit towards the front of the engine bay, the vehicle has abs. If metal brake lines run directly from master cylinder to under frame rails, vehicle does not have ABS. Additionally if car is permitted to be driven, take vehicle to an open area and attempt to lock up brakes. If ABS equipped, vehicle should not leave skid marks and characteristic ABS pulses should be felt in brake pedal.

Electronic Traction Assist optional: unavaliable in police and base civilian vehicles during certain years

Retrofit notes: Different master cylinder and abs hydraulic control module & control board assembly required. Wheel speed sensors, electrical harness, brake booster have same part number whether car is traction control equipped or not. Prior to the 1998 model year, if vehicle was equipped with traction control, it is active any time the car is running. In 98' and later vehicles, an on/off switch was added to traction control system.

Some pre-1998 vehicle owners have added an electronic traction assist on/off switch by putting a switch inline with the antilock brake controller power leads. Unfortunatetly, with this method when traction control is turned off, so is the rest of the antilock brake system. Vehicle will still stop without power to the antilock brake module, but a 1995 crown victoria will brake much like an older 1980 crown victoria would.

see also: http://www.racelogic.co.uk and http://www.omextechnology.co.uk

Limited Slip/Traction lok/Positraction - Are a few different names for a device that accomplishes the same task. In an open differential, power is transmitted to the wheel with the least resistance. In a limited slip system, clutches transmit power to both wheels. Helpful on slick surfaces such as rain, ice, snow. Some vehicle owners prefer mechanical traction loc over electronic traction control because it allows wheels to "dig in" to snow and other soft surfaces . This option was unavaliable with ABS from the factory during certain model years, but a few crown vic owners have been happy after adding a posi carrier on ABS equipped vics. Note: adding traction-lok is not a job for a backyard mechanic, is best left to a professional that has the proper tools and has done the job before.