Recall Register

1981 Ford LTD: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 1981 Ford LTD. The newest campaign is 82V135000. NHTSA received the report on 28 Dec 1982. The NHTSA record gives the component Suspension / Rear. NHTSA has no 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, 82V135000, in the NHTSA record

The dealer will install new rear suspension lower control arms on both sides of the vehicle without charge.
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

4 campaigns, newest first. 37,115 units in total.

  • 82V135000Suspension / Rear
  • 80V147000Electrical System / Wiring / Interior/Under Dash
  • 80V141000Structure / Body / Bumpers
  • 80V121000Electrical System / Ignition / Switch

  1. 82V135000Received . 4,361 units.

    Suspension / Rear

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The lower control arms may have been manufactured from steel with material thickness below the minimum specifications for police duty. This could lead to cracks developing in the control arms, and eventually, the possibility of fracture of an arm.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    The dealer will install new rear suspension lower control arms on both sides of the vehicle without charge.

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

  2. 80V147000Received . 18,154 units.

    Electrical System / Wiring / Interior/Under Dash

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Some of the involved vehicles have electrical relay systems which may be susceptible to water leakage into the relay case. Water entry may cause a short circuit within the relay.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect vehicles for the type of relay used, reorient wiring harnesses as necessary, and replace suspect relays with new parts.

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

  3. 80V141000Received . 600 units.

    Structure / Body / Bumpers

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The involved vehicles were produced without surlyn-coated foil insulators between the isolator and bracket assemblies and the rear bumper reinforcements. An epoxy coating was also omitted from the bracket assemblies. When exposed to the corrosive action of road salt, the aluminum rear bumper reinforcement could experience galvonic corrosion at the attachment surfaces. This would reduce the strength of the reinforcements and could result in bumper separation.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect rear bumper attachment components and replace them without charge, if necessary.

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

  4. 80V121000Received . 14,000 units.

    Electrical System / Ignition / Switch

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The involved vehicles may start in reverse gear. This does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 102, "transmission shift lever sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking affect". Some of these vehicles may be equipped with a defective neutral start switch that occasionally permits engine starting with the transmission shift lever in the reverse ("r") position.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealer will inspect the involved vehicles and, if necessary, replace the transmission neutral start switch 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

The NHTSA complaint file has no complaint for this model year.

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. 19681
  2. 19700
  3. 19722
  4. 19735
  5. 19745
  6. 19753
  7. 19771
  8. 19783
  9. 19798
  10. 19801
  11. 19814
  12. 19822
  13. 19831
  14. 19842
  15. 19852
  16. 19860
  17. 19870
  18. 19880
  19. 19890
  20. 19900
  21. 19910
  22. 19920
  23. 19930
  24. 19950
  25. 20000

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. 1981 Ford LTD: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/ltd/1981/. 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
15 May 2019
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 1981 Ford LTD?
37,115 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford LTD have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns for the Ford LTD, model years 1968 to 2000. 4 of them name the 1981 model year.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1981 Ford LTD open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.