THE REINFORCEMENT FOR THE IN-BOX SPARE TIRE CARRIER MAY HAVE BEEN ATTACHED USING INCORRECT HEX HEAD BOLTS. IF THE CARRIER AND REINFORCEMENT ATTACHING BOLTS ARE INCORRECT, THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR THE TIRE SIDEWALL TO BE DAMAGED OR WEAKENED BY EXTENDED CONTACT WITH THE SHARP EDGES OF THE BOLT HEADS.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALER WILL REPLACE BOLTS AND ANY DAMAGED SPARE TIRES AT NO COST TO OWNER.
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: mounting
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Vehicles affected
24,400
Reported to NHTSA
1980-08-06
Owners notified
1980-09-17
Defect description
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITHOUT THE MIDSHIP FUEL TANK PROTECTIVE SHIELDS. AS A RESULT, THEY DO NOT CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 301, "FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY", DUE TO EXCESSIVE FUEL SPILLAGE UPON FRONTAL IMPACT.
Manufacturer remedy
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WILL BE INSPECTED AND, IF NECESSARY, A FUEL TANK SHIELD WILL BE INSTALLED AT NO CHARGE TO OWNER.
Power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Vehicles affected
80,000
Reported to NHTSA
1979-12-18
Owners notified
1980-02-28
Defect description
THE PARKING PAWL ACTUATING ROD IN THE TRANSMISSION MAY HAVE AN INSUFFICIENT OR CRACKED WELD. THIS CAN CAUSE THE PARK CAM END TO SEPARATE FROM THE ROD ITSELF, PREVENTING THE PARKING PAWL FROM ENGAGING THE PARKING GEAR WHEN THE SELECTOR IS PLACED IN THE PARK POSITION.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALER WILL REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PARKING PAWL ACTUATING ROD FREE OF CHARGE.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Suspension
1
182,000 mi
The 1979 model has about half as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.