THE INVOLVED VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH SHOULDER HARNESS RETRACTORS THAT MAY NOT LOCK. SHOULD THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN DECELERATION OR IMPACT, THE FRONT SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE RESTRAINED BY THE SHOULDER HARNESS PORTION OF THE THREE-POINT SEAT BELT SYSTEM. FURTHERMORE, THE SHOULDER HARNESS RETRACTORS MAY NOT ALLOW EXTRACTION OF THE SHOULDER BELT WEBBING DUE TO A PRE-LOCKED CONDITION. THIS IS A NON-COMPLIANCE TO THE EMERGENCY LOCKING RETRACTOR PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 209, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES".
Manufacturer remedy
THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES IF NECESSARY, WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNER.
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH CAST ALUMINUM WHEELS WITH INADEQUATE LUG NUT COUNTERBORE DEPTHS. THIS CONDITION MAY NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT LUG NUT THREAD ENGAGEMENT. THE LUG NUTS MAY LOOSEN AND FALL OFF, ALLOWING THE WHEEL TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALER WILL INSPECT AND, IF NEESSARY, WILL REPLACE THE WHEELS WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNER.
Power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Vehicles affected
19,000
Reported to NHTSA
1977-10-25
Owners notified
1977-11-21
Defect description
ON THE INVOLVED VEHICLES, THE PARK ACTUATION SUPPORT PLATES ARE DEFECTIVE DUE TO THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CRACKING DUE TO IMPROPER HEAT TREATMENT DURING MANUFACTURE. AS A RESULT, FRAGMENTS FROM A BROKEN PLATE CAN BECOME LODGED IN THE TRANSMISSION PARKING PAWL MECHANISM. THIS COULD PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION PARKING PAWL FROM ENGAGING WHEN THE SELECTOR LEVER IS PLACED IN THE "PARK" POSITION, OR PREVENT THE PAWL FROM BEING DISENGAGED FROM THE PARK GEAR.
Manufacturer remedy
THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PARK ACTUATION CAM SUPPORT PLATES, FREE OF CHARGE, ON ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Electrical system: ignition: switch
1
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The 1977 model has roughly the same number of complaints as this one. The 1979 model has roughly the same number of 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.