Recall Register

1988 Ford Tempo: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1988 Ford Tempo. The newest campaign is 96V071000. NHTSA received the report on 25 Apr 1996. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / Ignition. NHTSA has 126 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 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, 96V071000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace the ignition switch.

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

2 campaigns, newest first. 7,991,000 units in total.

  1. 96V071000Received . 7,900,000 units.

    Electrical System / Ignition

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The ignition switch could experience an internal short circuit.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This condition could cause overheating, smoke, and possibly fire in the steering column area of the vehicle.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the ignition switch.

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

  2. 88V024000Received . 91,000 units.

    Vehicle Speed Control

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Two attachment screws for the throttle position sensors could loosen and back out.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If both screws come out, sensors could disengage fromthe throttle shaft, preventing return of the throttle from mid position.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Replace attachment screws with screws with pre applied adhesive that will be tightened to a higher torque specification.

    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

126 complaints, 176 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.

  • 1988 Ford Tempo
  • All 1988 vehicles
1988 Ford Tempo: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component1988 TempoAll 1988 vehiclesTempo, all yearsMentions
Electrical System335.2158.7223.859
Engine and Engine Cooling187.5118.1197.133
Seat Belts108117.9140.719
Fuel System, Gasoline62.567.150.311
Service Brakes, Hydraulic45.596.187.38
Exterior Lighting45.523.225.58
Power Train34.164.743.76
Vehicle Speed Control28.446.243.15
Tires28.432.115.85
Seats22.722.318.84

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 21.

Complaints that report a crash
3
Complaints that report a fire
36
Injuries in the complaints
9
Deaths in the complaints
2
Date of the newest complaint
21 Aug 2015

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 1988 Ford Tempo, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 44 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1988 Ford Tempo
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
PE96005Preliminary evaluationREAR BRK ADJUSTER FAILUREService Brakes, Hydraulic19 Jan 199628 May 1996
DP96002Defect petitionREAR BRAKE SYSTEM FAILUREService Brakes, Hydraulic11 Jan 199619 Jan 1996
EA91052Engineering analysisSEAT BELT SEPARATIONSeat Belts27 Nov 199124 Nov 1992
EA90042Engineering analysisTHROTTLE STICKINGVehicle Speed Control / Linkages31 Aug 199031 Dec 1991
EA90008Engineering analysisFAILED PASSIVE RESTRAINTSeat Belts27 Dec 198931 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.

  1. 19810
  2. 19846
  3. 19853
  4. 19860
  5. 19871
  6. 19882
  7. 19891
  8. 19901
  9. 19911
  10. 19922
  11. 19932
  12. 19941
  13. 19950
  14. 19960
  15. 19970
  16. 19980
  17. 19990
  18. 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. 1988 Ford Tempo: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/tempo/1988/. 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
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 1988 Ford Tempo?
7,991,000 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Tempo have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns for the Ford Tempo, model years 1981 to 2000. 2 of them name the 1988 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1988 Ford Tempo name most often?
Electrical System: 59 of 176 component mentions, or 335.2 per 1,000. For all 1988 vehicles the figure is 158.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1988 Ford Tempo open?
No. Each of the 5 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.