1981 Vehicles: Recalls, Complaints & Safety Data
Every 1981 model-year vehicle in our database with enough NHTSA data to publish, ranked by the number of complaints owners have filed. Because all of these vehicles are the same model year, they have had the same amount of time in which reports could accumulate.
Complaints 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.
1981 vehicles by owner-reported complaint volume
60 vehicles of 320, most-reported first
| # | Vehicle | 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. | 90 days | Recalls | Investigations | Issue IndexThe Vehicle Issue Index is our own informational metric, not an official safety rating and not a reliability prediction. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda Accord | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Pirelli Pirelli | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Chevrolet Corvette | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Chevrolet Chevette | 5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | — |
| 5 | Chevrolet C10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 6 | Ford Fairmont | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Toyota Pickup | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Toyota Corolla | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Chevrolet Malibu | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 10 | Oldsmobile Cutlass | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 11 | Chevrolet Citation | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — |
| 12 | Nissan 280Z | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Mercury Grand Marquis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Chrysler New Yorker | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Ford F-150 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Datsun 280Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 17 | Ford Crown Victoria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 18 | Volvo Volvo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 19 | Ford Taurus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 20 | Chevrolet Chevrolet Truck | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 21 | Oldsmobile Omega | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 22 | Dodge Aries | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — |
| 23 | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 24 | Volkswagen Vanagon | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 25 | Subaru Gl | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 26 | Ford Bronco | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 27 | Ford F-350 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — |
| 28 | Plymouth Reliant | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce Silver Spur | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 30 | Honda Prelude | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 31 | Chevrolet Impala | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 32 | Dodge Ramcharger | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 33 | Porsche 928 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 34 | Ford F-250 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — |
| 35 | Toyota Corona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 36 | Toyota Sr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 37 | Lincoln Continental | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 38 | Nissan Nissan Truck | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 39 | Mercedes-Benz Mercedes Benz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 40 | Chevrolet K10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 41 | Nissan Datsun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 42 | Nissan 210 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 43 | Lincoln Town Car | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 44 | Honda Civic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 45 | Dodge D150 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 46 | Arrowcraft Arrowcraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 47 | Chevrolet C20 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 48 | Chevrolet K30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — |
| 49 | Mercury Capri | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — |
| 50 | Volvo Dl | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 51 | Ford Escort | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | — |
| 52 | Volkswagen Rabbit | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — |
| 53 | Buick Skylark | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — |
| 54 | Chevrolet Camaro | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 55 | Ford E-150 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 56 | Buick Century | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 57 | Freightliner Freightliner | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — |
| 58 | Jeep Cherokee | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 59 | Audi 5000 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 60 | Ward C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
Showing the 60 most-reported of 320 1981 vehicles. The rest are reachable through their make and model pages.
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.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
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.