RoadVitals

1981 Ford Tempo

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
2
Latest Dec 28, 2001
Safety recallsA 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.
0
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.
0
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

Overview

Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1981 Ford Tempo, most frequently naming the electrical and steering categories.

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

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Electrical150.0%
  • Steering150.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Electrical
Filed Dec 28, 2001

WHEN STARTING VEHICLE IT WILL MAKE A LOUD SQUEALING NOISE. THEN WHEN DRIVING FOR A WHILE VEHICLE WILL AUTOMATICALLY SHUTDOWN. CONTACTED AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, AND THEY NOTED THAT IT COULD BE DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCH. *AK

NHTSA ID
8001163
Incident
Dec 1, 2001
Steering
Filed Aug 30, 1996

INNER AND OUTER TIED ROD ENDS FAILED, SIMILAR FAILURES EXPERIENED IN TOPAZ, ESCORT AND LYNX. *AK

NHTSA ID
508045

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Ford Tempo by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2000100—
1999100—
1998100—
1997200—
1996200—
1995302—
19941611253.2
19932272258.6
19921762261.2
19911101455.6
19901332367.3
19891241457.7
19881262569.2
1987532671.3
19863111066.9
1985304771.6
1984147676.7
1983001—
1981Viewing200—

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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.