1990 Ford Probe: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 1990 Ford Probe. The newest campaign is 96V172002. NHTSA received the report on 6 Sep 1996. The NHTSA record gives the component Seat Belts / Front / Webbing. NHTSA has 323 complaints on file for this model year. 6 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, 96V172002, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace driver side and inoperative passenger side shoulder belt track assemblies.

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

3 campaigns, newest first. 450,900 units in total.

96V172002Received 6 Sep 1996. 224,000 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Webbing
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Note: passenger side (right) seat belt assembly. The rail of the automatic shoulder belt can wear sufficiently such that the cable which retracts the buckle assembly will become jammed in the rail rendering the shoulder belt inoperative.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace driver side and inoperative passenger side shoulder belt track assemblies.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 11 Oct 1996.
96V172001Received 6 Sep 1996. 224,000 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Webbing
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Note: driver's side (left) passive seat belt assembly. The rail of the automatic shoulder belt can wear sufficiently such that the cable which retracts the buckle assembly will become jammed in the rail rendering the shoulder belt inoperative.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace driver side and inoperative passenger side shoulder belt track assemblies.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 11 Oct 1996.
89V159000Received 25 Sep 1989. 2,900 units.
Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Throttle levers may have been bent during assembly.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Throttle may stick and not return fully to idleposition.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Place affected vehicles on delivery hold until repaired.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Oct 1989.

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

323 complaints, 378 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.

1990 Ford Probe
All 1990 vehicles

1990 Ford Probe: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1990 Probe	All 1990 vehicles	Probe, all years	Mentions
Seat Belts	769.8	105.2	372.9	291
Electrical System	37	99	86.3	14
Engine and Engine Cooling	31.7	104.4	97.1	12
Visibility	26.5	32.8	33	10
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	23.8	159.4	81.6	9
Exterior Lighting	21.2	17.7	10.8	8
Power Train	13.2	85.1	79.6	5
Vehicle Speed Control	10.6	43.8	20.2	4
Structure	10.6	65	24.9	4
Steering	7.9	39.9	33.7	3

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 20.

Complaints that report a crash: 7
Complaints that report a fire: 5
Injuries in the complaints: 18
Deaths in the complaints: 1
Date of the newest complaint: 14 Aug 2007

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 1990 Ford Probe, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1997, with 104 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1990 Ford Probe
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
DP07001	Defect petition	SEATBACK RECLINE MECHANISM FAILURE	Seats / Front Assembly / Recliner	30 Jul 2007	5 Dec 2007
RQ98011	Recall query	AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT	Seat Belts / Front / Webbing	31 Jul 1998	16 Feb 1999
PE96027	Preliminary evaluation	MAZDA RX7 AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT FAILURE	Seat Belts	16 Apr 1996	30 Sep 1996	96V173000
EA94032	Engineering analysis	PASSIVE RESTRAINT FAILURES	Seat Belts	8 Sep 1994	30 Sep 1996	96V172001
PE94039	Preliminary evaluation	PASS.RESTRAINT MALFUNCTION	Seat Belts	4 May 1994	8 Sep 1994
PE91124	Preliminary evaluation	ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES	Engine and Engine Cooling	9 Sep 1991	23 Dec 1991

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 1990 Ford ProbeThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1990 Ford Probe: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/probe/1990/. 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 1990 Ford Probe?: 450,900 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Probe have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for the Ford Probe, model years 1984 to 1999. 3 of them name the 1990 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1990 Ford Probe name most often?: Seat Belts: 291 of 378 component mentions, or 769.8 per 1,000. For all 1990 vehicles the figure is 105.2 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1990 Ford Probe open?: No. Each of the 6 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.