STALLING
Opened May 1, 1987
Closed Jan 21, 1988
NO SAFETY DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN DETECTED.===
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1985 Ford Exp Recalls
Safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA that cover this model year
Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.
Check a VIN on NHTSA.govRecall campaignsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
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Carrying an NHTSA advisoryCampaigns where NHTSA told owners not to drive the vehicle, or to park it outside, until the repair is done.
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Open investigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
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4 investigations on file
Recall campaigns
No recall campaigns in our database for this model year
This does not guarantee that a specific vehicle is unaffected. Recalls are issued against ranges of VINs rather than against a whole model year, new campaigns are announced regularly, and a manufacturer may have opened one since our last refresh. The authoritative answer for one vehicle is NHTSA’s own lookup — check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
What a recall is
- Safety recall
- A safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
- Safety investigation
- NHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
- Manufacturer communication
- Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Safety investigations
NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect, and it is not a recall.
FIRES
Opened Dec 1, 1986
Closed Oct 31, 1989
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:THE ALLEGED FIRES RESULT FROMA VARIETY OF CAUSES.FIRE RATE REMAINS ABOUT THE SAME DESPITE MAJORCHANGES WITH 85-1/2 MODELS.IT BELIEVES THAT THE FIRE RATE IS LESS THANINDUSTRY AVERAGE.MFGR REQUEST COPIES OF SPECIFIC FIRE REPORTS FOR TRENDANALYSIS.ANALYSIS:SEVERAL AREAS OF FIRE ORIGIN ARE MENTIONED.ENGINE FIRESALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY LEAKAGE OF FLAMMABLE FLUIDS (OIL, GAS, TRANS FLUID).CATALYTIC CONVERTERS FREQUENTLY CITED AS OVERHEATING.CERTAIN MODELSARE REPORTED AT A GREATER FREQUENCY.EXP TURBO REPORTED MOST OFTEN ON APER UNIT BASIS.STATUS: IR SENT 2/19/88. AWAITING RESPONSE.===
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGLed to recall 89V095000
FIRES
Opened Apr 23, 1986
Closed Dec 1, 1986
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:THE ALLEGED FIRES RESULT FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF CAUSES, WITH THE REPORTEDRATES OF FIRES FOR 1984-85 MODELS VERSUS THE 85 1/2 MODELS REMAININGAPPROXIMATELY THE SAME.THESE RATES ARE SIGNIFIGANTLY LESS THAN THEINDUSTRY AVERAGE FOR NON-COLLISION VEHICLE FIRES AS REPORTED IN THE SAEPAPER MOTOR VEHICLE NON-CRASH FIRES BY PETER COOLEY OF THE HSRI.THE HEAD GASKET WAS REVISED ON THE 1.9L 2V OR EFI ENGINES TO SERVICE OILLEAKS ON THE INTAKE MANIFOLD SIDE OF THE ENGINE.ANALYSIS:A REVIEW OF THE REPORTED INCIDENTS SHOWED 8 GROUPS OF PROBABLE CAUSATION:A)APPEARS TO BE CATALYTIC CONVERTER RELATED:~30%B)WIRING BENEATH REAR SEAT:~5%C)OIL LEAKS FROM CRACKED CYLINDER HEADS OR BLOCKS}:~5-10%D)OIL LEAKS FROM POORLY FITTED VALVE COVERS: ~5%E)ELECTRICAL FIRES IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT: ~5%F)ELECTRICAL FIRES IN INTERIOR OR UNDER DASH: ~5%G)FUEL RELATED FIRES: ~9%IN COMPARISON TO THE OTHER CLASSIFIED PROBABLE CAUSES, THE EXHAUST SYSTEMRELATED FIRES APPEAR TO BE OVERLY REPRESENTED.A CATALYTIC CONVERTERMALFUNCTION OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL UNSUITABILITY OF ADJACENT MATERIALS AREPOTENTIAL CAUSES.HOWEVER, BOTH THIS AND OTHER HYPOTHESES REQUIREFURTHER STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER A SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS. ALL APPEARTO NEED LAB OR FIELD TESTING.PROPOSED ACTION:UPGRADE THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS.===
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
SEATBACK FAILURE
Opened Mar 26, 1986
Closed Jul 28, 1989
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:FORD BELIEVES THAT THE AL-LEGED DEFECT ONLY OCCURS IN A SMALL NUMBER OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ANDRECALLED ABOUT 195,732 1984 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES IN JUNE 1986.ANALYSIS: VEHICLES POTENTIALLY INVOLVED INCLUDE TEMPO/TOPAZ, ESCORT/LYNX/EXP, MUSTANG/CAPRI, LTD/MARQUIS, AND THUNDERBIRD/COUGAR.FORD SOLD ABOUT 110,000 REPLACEMENT MIO BOLTS, MAINLY FOR 1983 AND 1984MODELS. LOW CLAMPING FORCE APPEARS TO BE A LARGE PART OF THE PROBLEM.FORD INCREASED THE TORQUE REQUIREMENTS AND REQUIRED THE USE OF A MANUALTORQUE TOOL IN MARCH AND SEPTEMBER 1985 PRODUCTION CHANGES. 1987 MODELSWILL BE PRODUCED WITH A LONGER M10 BOLT AND A NUT TO INCREASE AND MAIN-TAIN CLAMPING FORCE. BOLTS WERE FORMERLY SELF TAPPING. REPORTS LISTEDABOVE SPECIFICALLY STATE THAT THE BOLT BROKE. NONE REFER SIMPLY TOSEAT BACK COLLAPSE ALONE.STATUS:FORD REPLY TO ODI IR DATED 2/2/87.FORD RECALLED 195,7321984 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES IN JUNE 1986 (86V-082). ANALYZING REPONSE,MONITORING CANADIAN PROGRESS. RESPONSE TO 4/6/87 LETTER TO FORDRECEIVED 7/15/87. WILL PROBABLY CLOSE AFTER CANADA COMPLETES THEIRACTIONS.===
SEATSLed to recall 86V082000
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — recall campaigns and safety investigations