- Vehicles
- 500
- Built between
- Jan 1984 – Apr 1985
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 30 January 1986
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 1984 and April 1985. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1984-1985 Automatic Equipment Automatic EquipmentBuilt January 1984 to April 1985
What could happen
These cracks eventually increase and fatigue the tongue mount to the point where the trailer could break away from the car and roll uncontrollably on the highway and possibly cause an accident.
What gets fixed
REINFORCEMENT ANGLE PLATES WILL BE WELDED TO THE UNDER SIDE OF THE TONGUE MOUNT AND ANY OF THE POTENTIAL CRACK AREAS WHICH HAVE CRACKS WILL BE REWELDED.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 1984 to April 1985
- Recall reported to NHTSA26 December 1985
- Owners notified30 January 1986
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 26 December 1985.
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
- AUTOMATIC EQUIP. MFG. CO.
- 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
System: frame/structure.vehicle description: car trailer. Descriptionof defect: the tongue mount welds at the main point of attachmentto the trailer cracks due to unexpected stresses.
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.