There are 5 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2005 Ford Five Hundredin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
REPLACED LOW BEAM HEADLAMP ON DRIVER SIDE, NOTED ELECTRICAL BURN MARKS ON ONE TERMINAL. REPLACEMENT BULB DID NOT WORK, HAD TO WIGGLE TO GET IT TO WORK. QUIT WORKING DAILY WITHOUT WIGGLING WHOLE LIGHTING SOCKET , TOOK APART NOTICED THAT THE SOCKET HOUSING WAS BRITTLE AND CRACKED WITH BURN MARK ON METAL FEMALE LEAD. TWO TO THREE WEEKS LATER PASSENGER LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WOULD NOT WORK, WIGGLED PASSENGER SIDE LIGHT, CAME BACK ON. SOMETIMES BOTH LIGHT WOULD GO OUT AT SAME TIME. PROBLEM KEPT OCCURRING THROUGH AUGUST. FOUND THIS HAS OCCURRED ON OTHER FORD FIVE HUNDREDS DUE TO SOCKETS OVERHEATING. CHECKED PASSENGER SOCKET AND COMPARED TO DRIVER SIDE AND BOTH SOCKETS AND LIGHT BULBS LOOK IDENTICAL IN DAMAGE. BURNED/MELTED PLASTIC ON BULB BASE AND CRACKED BURNED SOCKETS. REPLACED BOTH SIDE BULBS AND SOCKETS LAST WEEKEND, BOTH LIGHTS WORKED FOR THREE DAYS BEFORE APPARENTLY FUSED THE SOCKET WITH THE BULB ON THE DRIVER SIDE. GUESSING THE PASSENGER SIDE WILL DO THE SAME WITHIN NEXT MONTH LIKE IT DID BEFORE.
05 FORD FIVE HUNDRED, AWD MALFUNCTION LIGHTS STAYED ON, SPEED FLUCTUATION UPWARD RAPIDLY WHEN TAKE OFF CAUSING VERY UNSAFE DRIVING. *TR
MY 2005 FORD 500 BOUGHT USED SEPTEMBER 2009 (AROUND 53,000 MILES CURRENT MILES 55,432) HAS HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVER'S LOW BEAM BURNING OUT. ON THE 3RD BULB REPLACEMENT IN LESS THAN A YEAR THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT SOCKET CRUMBLED IN MY HANDS. I HAD TO REPLACE THE SOCKET AND REWIRE IT TO THE WIRING HARNESS. *TR
LOW BEAM BULBS AND PLUGS ARE NOT SAFE. THEY HAVE MELTED AND MALFUNCTIONED ON BOTH SIDES. THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED. I HAVE PHOTOS OF THE DRIVER SIDE. I WORKED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE PLUG/BULB CONNECTION SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. NOW THE PLUG ON THE DRIVER SIDE HAS BURNED UP AS WELL. I HAVE SOMEWHAT DRAMATIC PHOTOS THAT I CAN SEND YOU. *TR STEVE
THE CONSUMER'S 2005 FORD 500 PROVIDED INSUFFICIENT LIGHTING IN THE DASH. *NM THIS PROBLEM AFFECTED THE CONSUMERS VIEW OF THE SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, FUEL GAUGE AND THE OIL UNIT(S). *JB
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026