1986 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 1986 Ford Mustang. The campaign is 87V139000. NHTSA received the report on 4 Sep 1987. The NHTSA record gives the component Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings. NHTSA has 30 complaints on file for this model year. 5 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

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

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

Remedy of campaign 87V139000, in the NHTSA record

Install retainer clips over the couplings to prevent coupling separation and fuel leakage.

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

1 campaign. 3,600,000 units in total.

87V139000Received 4 Sep 1987. 3,600,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Spring lock fuel line coupling may not be properly engaged.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Coupling could disengage due to fuel pressure,vibration, and engine movements; this would cause loss of fuel which, inpresence of an ignition source, creates a fire risk.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Install retainer clips over the couplings to prevent coupling separation and fuel leakage.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Oct 1987.

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

30 complaints, 32 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.

1986 Ford Mustang: component mentions in complaints
Component		Mentions
Electrical System		11
Seat Belts		6
Engine and Engine Cooling		5
Tires		3
Power Train		1
Latches/Locks/Linkages		1
Exterior Lighting		1
Parking Brake		1
Visibility		1
Structure		1

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 11.

Complaints that report a crash: 3
Complaints that report a fire: 4
Injuries in the complaints: 6
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 26 Sep 2022

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 1986 Ford Mustang, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 7 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1986 Ford Mustang
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
PE93011	Preliminary evaluation	CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTION	Equipment	3 Mar 1993	19 Jul 1993
PE90052	Preliminary evaluation	FR SEAT FLOOR MOUNT FAILS	Seats	7 Mar 1990	20 Jun 1990
PE89118	Preliminary evaluation	SPEED CONTROL MALFUNCTION	Equipment	19 Apr 1989	6 Sep 1989
PE87028	Preliminary evaluation	STALLING	Electrical System	1 May 1987	21 Jan 1988
EA86010	Engineering analysis	SEATBACK FAILURE	Seats	26 Mar 1986	28 Jul 1989	86V082000

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 1986 Ford MustangThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1986 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/mustang/1986/. 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 1986 Ford Mustang?: 3,600,000 units in 1 campaign. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Mustang have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 105 recall campaigns for the Ford Mustang, model years 1965 to 2026. 1 of them names the 1986 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1986 Ford Mustang name most often?: Electrical System: 11 of 32 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1986 Ford Mustang open?: No. Each of the 5 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.