RoadVitals

1988 Ford Ford Truck Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
7
Latest Dec 10, 2001
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
4
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since May 17, 1995

What this page shows

Our database holds 7 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1988 Ford Ford Truck. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–7 of 7

Electrical
Filed Dec 10, 2001
Fire reported

IGNITION SWITCH SHORTED CAUSING A FIRE UNDER THE DASH, RESULTED IN DAMAGE WIRING, SAME PROBLEM IS EXISTING AGAIN.

NHTSA ID
9003635
Incident
Nov 1, 1993
Brakes
Filed Apr 8, 2000

SUMMARY: ZERO BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS, BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE OKAY, SUDDEN SUSTAINED ABSOLUTE LOSS OF STOPPING ABILITY. YOUR RECALL CAMPAIGN 96V071000 MAY BE MISSING A MECHANISM FOR CATASTROPHIC BRAKE FAILURE ON THE FORD TRUCK. MY 1988 F250HD SUPERCAB 4X4 HAS EXHIBITED THREE DIFFERENT MECHANISMS FOR BRAKE LOSS. WHEN <1 YEAR OLD WITH <10K MILES ON IT, WE DROVE A DIRT ROAD WHICH AFTER LEVEL TRAVEL (I.E. ABSOLUTELY NOT OVERHEATED FROM MOUNTAIN DRIVING) WINDS DOWN A CLIFF. THE HAIRPIN SWITCH-BACKS REQUIRED ME TO JOCKEY THE LONG SUPERCAB AROUND THE CORNERS WITH REPEATED BRAKE APPLICATION, BUT ALL AT NEAR 0 MPH AND OVER ABOUT 15 MINUTES TIME. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIFF @<10MPH TOWARD A CREEK I ATTEMPTED TO SLOW DOWN. THE BRAKE PEDAL STOPPED AT THE NORMAL POINT BUT THERE WAS NO BRAKING FORCE. THERE WAS A DOWNWARD SLOPE (LESS THAN 10 DEGREES PITCH). PUMPING THE BRAKES DID NOT HELP. I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH MAXIMUM FORCE WITH BOTH LEGS! AND COULD NOT EVEN SLOW THE VEHICLE! (THE VEHICLE HAD A FIBERGLASS TOPPER INSTALLED SO PAYLOAD EST. ~1,500 LBS). SUBSTANTIAL FORCE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL! IF WE HAD BEEN KILLED, THE BRAKES WOULD HAVE CHECKED OUT FINE AFTER THE FACT. I BELIEVE THERE PROBABLY HAVE BEEN OTHER INSTANCES THAT HAVE GONE UNREPORTED OR WHICH HAVE RESULTED IN ACCIDENTS AND/OR DEATHS IN WHICH THIS BRAKING PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED. BELTS AND BRAKE FLUID WERE NOMINAL. THE FRONT DISKS AND REAR AXLES WERE NOT HOT TO THE TOUCH. MY WIFE APPLIED THE BRAKES WHILE I INSPECTED THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND NO ABNORMAL SOUNDS OR OTHER CUES TO THE CAUSE COULD BE OBSERVED. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF ANDRESTARTED A COUPLE OF TIMES WITH NO EFFECT. THIS PERSISTED >45 MINUTES WHILE WE TRIED TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ON THE UPPER SIDE OF THE BRAKE BOOST CANISTER THERE IS A GROMMET/FITTING FOR THE VACUUM HOSE ATTACHMENT. I ROTATED THIS FITTING TO TENSION THE HOSE FLEXURE IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION AND THE BRAKES STARTED OPERATING. I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A REPEAT OF THE SYMPTOMS.

NHTSA ID
721171
Incident
Jun 15, 1988
Electrical
Filed Apr 3, 2000
Fire reported

AT 3:56 AM MY BROTHER CALLED FROM NEXT DOOR TO TELL ME A VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE. I WENT OUT SIDE WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO PUT THE FIRE OUT. MY MOM CALLED THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT THEY ARRIVED AT 4:06 AM. *AK

NHTSA ID
720934
Incident
Apr 3, 2000
Steering
Filed Feb 9, 1999

TILT STEERING WHEEL WILL NOT LOCK IN PLACE, MAKING STEERING DIFFICULT.

NHTSA ID
703103
Incident
Feb 8, 1999
Electrical
Filed Jul 26, 1996
Fire reported

IGNITION SWITCH FIRE PRIOR TO RECALL.

NHTSA ID
506749
Incident
Jul 15, 1996
Fuel system
Filed Jan 22, 1996
Fire reported

FUEL LINE FIRE. *SD

NHTSA ID
501101
Incident
Jan 22, 1996
Brakes
Filed May 17, 1995

BRAKES OVERHEATED, CAUSING DIFFICULTY PULLING TRAILER. (OTHER VEHICLE ON 479631) *AW

NHTSA ID
486028
Incident
May 17, 1995

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .