1989 Ford Aerostar: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the 1989 Ford Aerostar. The newest campaign is 98V190000. NHTSA received the report on 11 Aug 1998. The NHTSA record gives the component Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly. NHTSA has 260 complaints on file for this model year. 9 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 98V190000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace the fuel tank, regardless of mileage, through march 31, 2002. This coverage will only be for structural cracks at the top of the tank and will not include other damage caused by an accident or road debris.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

5 campaigns, newest first. 8,851,142 units in total.

98V19000011 Aug 1998Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly
96V07100025 Apr 1996Electrical System / Ignition
91V1890004 Nov 1991Power Train / Automatic Transmission
91V16400020 Sep 1991Seat Belts / Front / Anchorage
90V1440006 Aug 1990Seats / Front Assembly / Recliner

98V190000Received 11 Aug 1998. 140,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: mini vans originally sold or currently registered in the following states: alabama, arizona, arkansas, california (10 southern counties of los angeles, orange, san bernadino, san diego, riverside, ventura, santa barbara, san luis obispo, imperial, and kern), florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, nevada (clark county), oklahoma, south carolina, and texas, and in the u.s. Territories covered by the federal statutes. The upper portion of the fuel tank can develop small cracks due to extended exposure to very high ambient temperatures. Fuel vapor or leakage could occur at these cracks.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If an ignition source is present, a fire could result.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the fuel tank, regardless of mileage, through march 31, 2002. This coverage will only be for structural cracks at the top of the tank and will not include other damage caused by an accident or road debris.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 98M03. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 11 Dec 1998.
96V071000Received 25 Apr 1996. 7,900,000 units.
Electrical System / Ignition
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The ignition switch could experience an internal short circuit.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition could cause overheating, smoke, and possibly fire in the steering column area of the vehicle.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the ignition switch.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 7 Jun 1996.
91V189000Received 4 Nov 1991. 792,000 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
Defect, in the NHTSA record
When the automatic transmission shift lever is placed in the park position, the park pawl does not always abut or engage the park gear.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Driver may believe the vehicle is safely engaged in parkwhen the gear is not truly engaged. This can lead to the vehicle jumping out ofgear unintentionally, vehicle rollaway when parked on a sloped surface, andinadvertent motion when the vehicle is started. All of these conditions canresult in a vehicle accident.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Repair the transmission with a new park pawl.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 2 Mar 1992.
91V164000Received 20 Sep 1991. 4,842 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Anchorage
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Seat belt anchorage bar for rear sofa failed to sustain loads required by FMVSS 210.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Vehicles would not comply with FMVSS 210.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Replace noncomplying sofa bar with bar that meets requirements.
Report filed by SHERROD VANS, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 4 Jun 1992.
90V144000Received 6 Aug 1990. 14,300 units.
Seats / Front Assembly / Recliner
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The second row right hand seat assembly has a tilt forward function. A latch retains the seat in the normal ride postion, and this latch may release under severe frontal impact conditions, allowing the seat to pivot forward.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of vehicle accident, the seat could pivotforward, increasing the risk of injury to the occupant.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Replace seat pawl assembly with a revised design assembly.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 19 Sep 1990.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

260 complaints, 328 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1989 Ford Aerostar
All 1989 vehicles

1989 Ford Aerostar: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1989 Aerostar	All 1989 vehicles	Aerostar, all years	Mentions
Electrical System	314	139.7	220.3	103
Fuel System, Gasoline	167.7	65.8	65.9	55
Seat Belts	100.6	121.1	43.7	33
Power Train	100.6	73.8	139.3	33
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	73.2	115.1	105.8	24
Engine and Engine Cooling	73.2	127.3	74.6	24
Vehicle Speed Control	39.6	55.3	44.4	13
Visibility	24.4	30.7	26.7	8
Steering	21.3	42.4	36.7	7
Structure	21.3	53.9	32.5	7

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 17.

Complaints that report a crash: 24
Complaints that report a fire: 80
Injuries in the complaints: 24
Deaths in the complaints: 4
Date of the newest complaint: 3 Oct 2006

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1989 Ford Aerostar, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 74 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1989 Ford Aerostar
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA96030	Engineering analysis	CRACKED FUEL TANKS	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	20 Dec 1996	13 Aug 1998	98V190000
PE96050	Preliminary evaluation	CRACKED FUEL TANKS	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	6 Aug 1996	20 Dec 1996
EA94025	Engineering analysis	SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILURE	Seat Belts / Front / Buckle Assembly	19 Jul 1994	30 Sep 1997
PE94021	Preliminary evaluation	SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILURE	Seat Belts / Front / Buckle Assembly	4 Mar 1994	19 Jul 1994
PE91127	Preliminary evaluation	PARK PAWL BENDING	Power Train / Automatic Transmission	16 Sep 1991	8 Nov 1991	91V189000
EA91015	Engineering analysis	LIFTGATE FAILURE	Structure	1 Feb 1991	20 Sep 1991	91V136000
PE91005	Preliminary evaluation	LIFTGATE FAILURE	Structure	18 Oct 1990	1 Feb 1991
EA90042	Engineering analysis	THROTTLE STICKING	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	31 Aug 1990	31 Dec 1991
PE89092	Preliminary evaluation	POWER STEERING LOCKING	Steering	23 Feb 1989	20 Jul 1989

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1989 Ford AerostarThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1989 Ford Aerostar: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/aerostar/1989/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1989 Ford Aerostar?: 8,851,142 units in 5 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Aerostar have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 23 recall campaigns for the Ford Aerostar, model years 1986 to 2000. 5 of them name the 1989 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1989 Ford Aerostar name most often?: Electrical System: 103 of 328 component mentions, or 314 per 1,000. For all 1989 vehicles the figure is 139.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1989 Ford Aerostar open?: No. Each of the 9 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.