1978 Ford F150: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 9 recall campaigns for the 1978 Ford F150. The newest campaign is 78V168000. NHTSA received the report on 7 Aug 1978. The NHTSA record gives the component Seat Belts / Front / Retractor. NHTSA has 4 complaints 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, 78V168000, in the NHTSA record
The dealer will repair the left side shoulder belt retractor mounting bracket on the involved vehicles free of charge.
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
Recall campaigns
9 campaigns, newest first. 204,547 units in total.
- 78V168000Seat Belts / Front / Retractor
- 78V109000Steering / Linkages
- 78V096000Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- 78V035000Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift
- 78V023000Wheels
- 77V198000Fuel System, Gasoline / Carburetor System
- 77V185000Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift
- 77V169000Steering / Linkages
- 77V161000Vehicle Speed Control
78V168000Received . 7 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Retractor
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
The driver"s side shoulder belt retractor mounting bracket assembly contains a weld nut which was improperly attached to the bracket. This fails to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 210, "seat belt assembly anchorages".
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
The dealer will repair the left side shoulder belt retractor mounting bracket on the involved vehicles free of charge.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
78V109000Received . 77 units.
Steering / Linkages
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
These vehicles may be equipped with steering linkages on which cotter pins may not have been installed on castellated nuts to secure the steering drag link and tie-rod connections. Also, these attaching nuts may not have been tightened to specifications. This could allow linkage separation.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
The dealer will perform necessary corrections to the steering linkage attachments.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
78V096000Received . 61,417 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Some of these vehicles may be equipped with automatic transmissions that were assembled with improperly manufactured cast iron extension housings. The housings have mislocated cast cam plate stops. A mislocated stop may prevent the transmission from locking in the park position when the gear shift selector lever is placed in the "p" (park) position. If this occurs a driver may rely upon the reading on the gearshift selector lever indicator and may assume that the transmission parking gear is engaged.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the transmission extension housing without charge to owner.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
78V035000Received . 47,339 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
The shift selector reaction springs may be deformed as a result of improper installation of selector levers during column buildup. Thus the lever may not be able to be moved into the insert detents located in the steering column assembly. This could prevent the "park" gear from being engaged.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the shift selector reaction spring without charge to owner.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
78V023000Received . 17,000 units.
Wheels
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Some of the steel wheels on the involved vehicles may have been improperly manufactured. These wheels, over a period of time, could crack in the wheel rim area through normal operation, without prior warning.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the wheels on the involved vehicles.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
77V198000Received . 30,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Carburetor System
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On the involved vehicles, leakage may occur at the threaded carburetor-to-fuel filter connection on the suspect carburetors. This is due to an improperly machined carburetor fuel inlet connection.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, will replace the carburetor without charge to owner.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
77V185000Received . 19,000 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On the involved vehicles, the park actuation support plates are defective due to their susceptibility to cracking due to improper heat treatment during manufacture. As a result, fragments from a broken plate can become lodged in the transmission parking pawl mechanism. This could prevent the transmission parking pawl from engaging when the selector lever is placed in the "park" position, or prevent the pawl from being disengaged from the park gear.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
The dealer will replace the park actuation cam support plates, free of charge, on all affected vehicles.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
77V169000Received . 13,707 units.
Steering / Linkages
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
The pitman arm to steering gear attachment nuts may not have been properly tightened on the involved vehicles. The nut could come off during vehicle operation.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will tighten the pitman arm attaching nut to the correct specifications without charge to owner.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
77V161000Received . 16,000 units.
Vehicle Speed Control
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Some of the involved vehicles may have defective carburetors in which, under certain circumstances, the secondary throttle plates may stick open.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the carburetor at no 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
4 complaints, 13 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.
| Component | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Steering | 3 |
| Power Train | 2 |
| Electrical System | 2 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 |
| Suspension | 1 |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 |
- Complaints that report a crash
- 1
- Complaints that report a fire
- 0
- Injuries in the complaints
- 0
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 3 Dec 2002
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.
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.
A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.
Follow by RSS:Ford recallsVehicle recalls
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 1978 Ford F150The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 1978 Ford F150: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/f150/1978/. 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
- 30 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 1978 Ford F150?
- 204,547 units in 9 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Ford F150 have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 46 recall campaigns for the Ford F150, model years 1966 to 1990. 9 of them name the 1978 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 1978 Ford F150 name most often?
- Steering: 3 of 13 component mentions.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1978 Ford F150 open?
- The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.