- Vehicles
- 4,361
- Built between
- May 1981 – Oct 1981
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 18 January 1983
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between May 1981 and October 1981. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1981-1982 Ford LTDBuilt May 1981 to October 1981
- 1981-1982 Mercury MarquisBuilt May 1981 to October 1981
What the defect is
The lower control arms may have been manufactured from steel with material thickness below the minimum specifications for police duty. This could lead to cracks developing in the control arms, and eventually, the possibility of fracture of an arm.
What gets fixed
THE DEALER WILL INSTALL NEW REAR SUSPENSION LOWER CONTROL ARMS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT CHARGE.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtMay 1981 to October 1981
- Recall reported to NHTSA28 December 1982
- Owners notified18 January 1983
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 28 December 1982.
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 for police duty.system: rear suspension; lower control arms.consequences of defect: fracture can occur without prior warning and couldadversely affect vehicle steering control. Under certain circumstances,particularly in high speed pursuit driving, fracture of a control arm maycreate the potential for a vehicle 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.