Recall Register

1979 Ford Econoline: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 1979 Ford Econoline. The newest campaign is 79V185000. NHTSA received the report on 7 Aug 1979. The NHTSA record gives the component Wheels. NHTSA has 1 complaint on file for 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, 79V185000, in the NHTSA record

Dealer will inspect and replace any defective wheels without charge to owner.
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 . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

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

7 campaigns, newest first. 240,500 units in total.

  • 79V185000Wheels
  • 79V152000Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
  • 79V153000Structure / Frame and Members / Underbody Shields
  • 79V117000Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Pedals and Linkages
  • 78V269000Steering / Gear Box / Shaft Sector
  • 78V256000Power Train / Automatic Transmission
  • 78V201000Power Train / Automatic Transmission

  1. 79V185000Received . 22,500 units.

    Wheels

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The wheel assembly may contain substandard welds in the area where the disc is attached to the rim. As a result, cracks can form in the wheel assembly, causing air loss and an underinflated tire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect and replace any defective wheels without charge to owner.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 79V152000Received . 75,000 units.

    Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The incorrectly installed left front brake hoses may allow for contact between the front brake hoses and the front tires when the front wheels are in full right or left turn positions. If contact is made, the hose could wear and allow brake fluid to leak out.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The dealer will inspect front brake hoses and replace those lacking the proper clearance with current production hoses, without charge to owner.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

  3. 79V153000Received . 12,000 units.

    Structure / Frame and Members / Underbody Shields

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Certain vehicles may not contain the specified body mounted heat shields. This could cause high floor pan temperatures when the engine is idled for extended periods of time. Fouled spark plugs or other engine conditions could further increase exhaust temperatures.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The dealer will install the necessary frame mounted heat shield, if missing.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 79V117000Received . 82,000 units.

    Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Pedals and Linkages

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The involved vehicles were produced with brake push-rod to brake pedal retaining pins which were not heat-treated as specified. This could allow the brake pedal to become disengaged from the push-rod.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will replace the suspect brake retaining pin.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  5. 78V269000Received . 20,000 units.

    Steering / Gear Box / Shaft Sector

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The steering gears on the involved vehicles may have been built with improperly manufactured sector shafts from which the threaded portions of the shafts may fracture and separate. Should the sector shaft fracture, the pitman arm may disengage from the splined portion of the sector shaft.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the steering gear assembly or install a new sector shaft in the steering gear assembly.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

  6. 78V256000Received . 7,000 units.

    Power Train / Automatic Transmission

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The involved vehicles were equipped with automatic transmissions in which the parking pawl was not heat-treated. During normal vehicle operation, a parking pawl that has not been heat-treated could become deformed or worn to the point that the transmission will not lock in "park". As a result, the vehicle could roll free if the driver does not set the parking brake when parking or leaving vehicle unattended.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the parking pawl with one that has been heat-treated.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

  7. 78V201000Received . 22,000 units.

    Power Train / Automatic Transmission

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    These transmissions may contain improperly manufactured parking pawl actuating rods. Consequently, the unhardened cam surface of these rods can allow the rod to deform during use with resultant increase in shift efforts and difficulty in releasing the parking pawl and engaging the parking gear.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will replace the transmission parking pawl actuating rod without charge to owner.

    Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

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

1 complaint, 1 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1979 Ford Econoline: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Electrical System1
Complaints that report a crash
0
Complaints that report a fire
1
Injuries in the complaints
1
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
22 Jul 2005

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 1979 Ford Econoline, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2005, with 1 complaint.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

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.

  1. 19671
  2. 19693
  3. 19711
  4. 19721
  5. 19751
  6. 19761
  7. 19772
  8. 19781
  9. 19797
  10. 19803
  11. 19811
  12. 19822
  13. 19835
  14. 19846
  15. 19855
  16. 19865
  17. 19874
  18. 19880
  19. 19892
  20. 19904
  21. 19913
  22. 19923
  23. 19933
  24. 19944
  25. 19954
  26. 19963
  27. 19972
  28. 19982
  29. 19995
  30. 20003
  31. 20013
  32. 20022
  33. 20032
  34. 20052
  35. 20062
  36. 20072
  37. 20091
  38. 20101
  39. 20111
  40. 20121
  41. 20131
  42. 20141
  43. 20151
  44. 20161
  45. 20171
  46. 20182
  47. 20192
  48. 20261

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

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1979 Ford Econoline: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/econoline/1979/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
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 1979 Ford Econoline?
240,500 units in 7 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Econoline have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 58 recall campaigns for the Ford Econoline, model years 1967 to 2026. 7 of them name the 1979 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1979 Ford Econoline name most often?
Electrical System: 1 of 1 component mention.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1979 Ford Econoline open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.