Ford Power Train: Column Shift

Ford is recalling about 19,000 vehicles over a problem with the power train.

Campaign
77V185000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
25 October 1977
Vehicles
19,000
Built between
Oct 1977 – Oct 1977
Models
14
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
21 November 1977
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between October 1977 and October 1977. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1978 Ford BroncoBuilt October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford Club WagonBuilt October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford E100Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford E150Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford E250Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford E350Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford EconolineBuilt October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford F100Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford F150Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford F250Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford F350Built October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford LTDBuilt October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Ford ThunderbirdBuilt October 1977 to October 1977
  • 1978 Lincoln Mark VBuilt October 1977 to October 1977

What the defect is

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.

What gets fixed

THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PARK ACTUATION CAM SUPPORT PLATES, FREE OF CHARGE, ON ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 1977 to October 1977
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA25 October 1977
  3. Owners notified21 November 1977

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 25 October 1977.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and light trucks equipped with C-6AUTOMATIC transmissions.system: power train; park actuation gear support plates.consequences of defect: if the vehicle is placed in the park mode without theparking brake engaged, the parking pawl may not engage the "park" gear and thevehicle would be allowed to roll free causing property damage and personalinjuries.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand