Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 14 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1985 Ford Thunderbird. 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.
Showing 1–14 of 14
UPON TURNING ON THE IGNITION SWITCH WITH A KEY, I BEGAN TO SMELL A BURNING SMELL. I TURNED OFF IGNITION AND INSPECTED THE SOURCE WHICH SEEM TO COME FROM STEERING COLUMN. AFTER REMOVING THE STEERING WHEEL COVER, I NOTICE THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH UNIT HAD BLACK BURNT LOOKING PLACES ON IT. I DECIDED TO REMOVE THE UNIT AND REPLACE IT. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY IN THE DRIVEWAY OF OUR HOME. *TR
MY FIRST COMPLAINT IS ABOUT THE IGNITION SWITCH IN THE STEERING COLUMN. WHILE ATEMPTING TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC MY VEHICLE COMPLETELY DIED AS IF I HAD TURNED OFF THE KEY. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND JUST BARELY AVOIDED BEING HIT. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART UNLESS I JIGGLED THE KEY. I CALLED A FORD DEALER AND THEY SAID MY CAR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL BUT THE TOLD ME HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I REPLACED THE SWITCH AND THE CAR IS RUNNING FINE NOW. HOWEVER IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO REMOVE THE SWITCH DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT HAD MELTED TO THE WIRING HARNESS. I STILL HAVE THE PART IN MY POSSESSION. MY OTHER COMPLAINT IS REGARDING THE STATOR PICK-UP ASSEMBLY UNDER THE BASE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP. NOT ONCE BUT TWICE I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THIS ASSEMBLY DUE THE FACT THAT IT HAD MELTED AND FELL APART. IN THIS INSTANCE MY FAMILY WAS WITH ME AT A VERY DANGEROUS INTERSECTION WHERE IT TOOK ME ROUGHLY 20 MINUTES TO GET THE CAR TO REFIRE ENOUGH TO MOVE IT OUT OF HARMS WAY. ALL THE CAR WOULD DO IS START UP RUN ENOUGH TO ROLL IT A LITTLE MORE FORWARD. I ATTEMPTED TO PUSH THE CAR BUT BECAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC I GAVE UP RATHER THAN BEING STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. AGAIN I CALLED FORD AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT MY CAR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL FOR THIS PARTICULAR PART. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS IF THERE IS SOME ORGANIZATION THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP ME OR PERHAPS YOU COULD PROVIDE ME WITH INFORMATION AS TO WHAT LEGAL GROUP I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONTACT.*AK
IGNITION MODULE SYSTEM FAILURE CAUSED THE SHUT OFF OF GASOLINE FLOW IMMEDIATELY WITH NO CHANCE OF RESTART. *YH
GAS LINE LEAKS AT THE TOP OF THE GAS TANK. *YC
HAD PARKED VEHICLE & LEFT FOR AWHILE. RETURNED TO VEHICLE & ENTERED. STARTED VEHICLE & WAS MOVING WHEN VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED & TOOK OFF FOR NO REASON. FOOT ON BRAKES AT TIME. VEHICLE HIT 2 PARKED VEHICLES & A FENCE. DRIVER WAS INJURED. *AK
SEATBACK FAILED DUE TO A BOLT DISCONNECTING. *AK
IGNITION SWITCH FIRE.
CAR WAS PARKED AND CAUGHT ON FIRE. *AK
THE IGNITION CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED, ALL THE WIRE HAD TO BE REPLACED. *AK
VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY, UNDER THE HOOD FIRE, ELECTRICAL SHORT. *AK
IGNITION SWITCH FIRE. *SD
WHEN VEHICLE IS FIRST STARTED, SMELLED OF WIRING BURNING FOR A PERIOD OF 10 MINUTES, ELECTRICAL SHORT. *AK
MASTER CYLINDER FAILED TWICE, PRIOR TO RECALL. (85V025000) *DSH
BRAKES DON'T HOLD. *DSH
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .