- Vehicles
- 18,154
- Built between
- Aug 1980 – Oct 1980
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 19 November 1980
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1980 and October 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1981 Ford LTDBuilt August 1980 to October 1980
- 1981 Lincoln Mark VIBuilt August 1980 to October 1980
- 1981 Mercury MarquisBuilt August 1980 to October 1980
What the defect is
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.
What gets fixed
DEALER WILL INSPECT VEHICLES FOR THE TYPE OF RELAY USED, REORIENT WIRING HARNESSES AS NECESSARY, AND REPLACE SUSPECT RELAYS WITH NEW PARTS.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1980 to October 1980
- Recall reported to NHTSA13 November 1980
- Owners notified19 November 1980
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 13 November 1980.
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 equipped with 5.0 and 5.8 literengines.system: electrical; wiring harness.consequences of defect: a short circuit within the relay may cause overheatingwhich could result in a vehicle fire and personal injury to passengers.
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.