Ford Structure: Hood

Ford is recalling about 769,000 vehicles over a problem with the structure. This condition can result in total separation of the outer hood panel.

Campaign
97V180000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
20 October 1997
Vehicles
769,000
Built between
Oct 1993 – Dec 1995
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
10 November 1997
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between October 1993 and December 1995. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1994-1996 Ford MustangBuilt October 1993 to December 1995
  • 1995-1996 Ford WindstarBuilt January 1994 to December 1995

What the defect is

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and mini vans. Tearing of the bond between the inner and outer hood panels during minor front end collisions can result in a gap at the leading edge of the hood. Air forced between the inner and outer panels can produce enough pressure to force the outer panel upward.

What could happen

This condition can result in total separation of the outer hood panel.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE HOOD AREA FOR ANY DAMAGE ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HOOD. IF THERE IS ANY EVIDENCE OF BOND SEPARATION, THE HOOD WILL BE REPLACED. IF THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF BOND SEPARATION, ADDITIONAL ADHESIVE WILL BE APPLIED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER HOOD PANELS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 1993 to December 1995
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA20 October 1997
  3. Owners notified10 November 1997

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 20 October 1997.

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
ODI

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

Owner notification began november 10, 1997. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

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