RoadVitals

1978 Ford Pinto 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.
1
Latest Jul 30, 2003
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.
0
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 Jul 30, 2003

What this page shows

Our database holds 1 NHTSA owner-reported complaint for the 1978 Ford Pinto. 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 1–1 of 1

Interior & seats
Filed Jul 30, 2003

I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE PLASTIC PANELS ON THE BACK OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS DETERIORATING AND CRUMBLING WITH HEAT AND AGE ON 3 CARS. THESE WERE A 1976 FORD PINTO WAGON, A 1976 FORD E250 CLUB WAGON VAN, AND A 1972 AMC MATADOR (APPEARENTLY THE SAME FORD DESIGN OF THIS PART). THIS PART HOLDS THE CONNECTORS AND COMPONENTS ONTO THE PLASTIC RIBBON THAT CARRIES THE WIRING. I FOUND THAT THIS CAUSES LOOSE CONNECTIONS AND I BELIEVE THAT IT COULD START A FIRE, IN ADDITION TO THE INSTRUMENTION NOT WORKING. I HAVE ALSO HEARD OF THIS SAME PROBLEM FROM SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE IN FORD VEHICLES. IT SEEMS TO BECOME APPEARANT WHEN THEY ARE OVER ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD.*AK

NHTSA ID
10030389
Incident
Jul 29, 2003

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 .