- Vehicles
- 6,500
- Built between
- Jul 1981 – Aug 1981
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 18 September 1981
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between July 1981 and August 1981. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1981 Ford MustangBuilt July 1981 to August 1981
- 1981 Mercury CapriBuilt July 1981 to August 1981
What the defect is
The housing plates on the driver seat back latch recliner assemblies were manufactured with substandard material products. This tainted steel was used to produce seatback latches for both the right and left side seat assemblies. Under certain conditions, the defective housing plates may distort, allowing the locking teeth to disengage and tear off. This permits the seatback to pivot backwards.
What gets fixed
UPON INSPECTION, BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT LATCH/RECLINER ASSEMBLIES, ON VEHICLES EXHIBITING THE SUSPECT DATE CODES, WILL BE REPLACED.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJuly 1981 to August 1981
- Recall reported to NHTSA8 September 1981
- Owners notified18 September 1981
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 8 September 1981.
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.system: interior; seat back latch/recliner assembly housing plate.consequences of defect: a backward pivoting of the driver"s seatback withoutprior warning may cause a loss of vehicle control and, possibly, an accident.
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.