1987 Ford F150
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Have the VIN?
These records cover every 1987 Ford F150. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
3 recalls name the 1987 Ford F150. Newest first.
Spring lock fuel line coupling may not be properly engaged.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Coupling could disengage due to fuel pressure,vibration, and engine movements; this would cause loss of fuel which, inpresence of an ignition source, creates a fire risk.
Remedy
Install retainer clips over the couplings to prevent coupling separation and fuel leakage.
Wheel lug nut cone angles do not match lug nut seating angles.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Nuts could loosen in service creating potential forwheels to separate from truck.
Remedy
Repair to prevent loosening of lug nuts.
Front inner wheel bearings may not have been lubricated adequately at time of assembly.
Risk and remedy
Risk
If this condition were to occur, friction will causepremature deterioration of the wheel bearings and steering control could beaffected adversely.
Remedy
Inspect and replace any bearing or race showing signs of galling or heat spots.
Owner complaints
91 complaints3 involved a crash43 involved a fire4 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Fuel/propulsion system
Problem with the duel fuel tanks, after filling the rear fuel tank I started smelling gas fumes while driving on city streets. I pulled over to check and gas was leaking from beneath the truck . When I opened the front tank gas cap , fuel spewed out as if it was under pressure. At that time I was…
Problem with the duel fuel tanks, after filling the rear fuel tank I started smelling gas fumes while driving on city streets. I pulled over to check and gas was leaking from beneath the truck . When I opened the front tank gas cap , fuel spewed out as if it was under pressure. At that time I was operating on the rear tank. I opened the rear gas tank cap and nothing happened. I understand that this issue has happened before and an extended safety " recall " was issued by the manufacturer. It seems the problem has resurfaced and needs to be dealt with again by " ford " as , once again the IS a safety issue. I bought this truck for my grandsons first vehicle and it only has 114,450 miles on it. I only drive ford products. *tr
- Fuel/propulsion system
Driving home, engine started sputtering, strong smell of gasoline. Gas spilling from front gas cap. I have had this in for repairs and no one seems to know what IS wrong with the vehicle. Vehicle starts at times but seems to be flooding itself out and gas continues to spill from front tank. I…
Driving home, engine started sputtering, strong smell of gasoline. Gas spilling from front gas cap. I have had this in for repairs and no one seems to know what IS wrong with the vehicle. Vehicle starts at times but seems to be flooding itself out and gas continues to spill from front tank. I believe this to be a rather significant safety issue but ford wants $900 to fix. Note: they have already charges me $200 for a repair that the vehicle did not require. *tr
- Tires › Tread/belt
Dt*: the contact stated that the tread on the front driver side tire separated while driving 55 mph, causing slight loss of vehicle control. the vehicle was taken to a private repair shop,where the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the separation.
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Auxillary tank › Selector devices
My 1987' ford F150 has dual fuel tanks, with the tank selector switch on the dashboard to the left of the steering column. I was driving home on 01/25/06 and noticed a strong fuel smell when I pulling into driveway before shutting it off. I left it running with the transmission in neutral…
My 1987' ford F150 has dual fuel tanks, with the tank selector switch on the dashboard to the left of the steering column. I was driving home on 01/25/06 and noticed a strong fuel smell when I pulling into driveway before shutting it off. I left it running with the transmission in neutral, stepped out of the truck, and gas was spilling out of the filler hole for the front tank. I only ran off the rear tank. evidently, the fuel switching valve was putting the unused fuel in the front tank instead of the rear tan, , causing the front tank to overflow. It was a possible fire risk. ! I contacted the local ford dealer & the svc/parts manager who was well aware of this existing problem. he said it would be $400 to fix it. ford changed the design of the dual fuel tank system in 1990 , but didn't issue a recall to correct the trucks prior to the change. *ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Dt: the contact states there IS nhtsa recall 87v139000 concerning the fuel system, gasoline: delivery: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings. this vehicle IS experiencing the same problems as indicated in the recall, but it IS not included in the recall due to vin. The contact has not repaired the vehicle at this time. *Ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
Shut vehicle off, then, on restart and ignition switch failed followed by smoke under hood. Fusible link caught fire by solenoid. if I had not been near the vehicle at the time of the fire it could have caused damage to property around me. If I had been driving down the interstate when this…
Shut vehicle off, then, on restart and ignition switch failed followed by smoke under hood. Fusible link caught fire by solenoid. if I had not been near the vehicle at the time of the fire it could have caused damage to property around me. If I had been driving down the interstate when this happened and was not noticed immediately, it could have endangered my life or others. my vehicle was not manufactured until august of 1987 well after the switch redesign that from what I can collect information on was redesigned in may of 1987 so the switch design on my vehicle appears to have been the same part being recalled. Five years ago I owned a 1990 F150 that had the same exact ignition switch and they sent me a recall for that vehicle. I checked for recall on this one and they do not offer it. I am outraged considering that this vehicle has the same exact ignition switch design and did fail as the recall mentioned some vehicles would and yet I am left having to pay for the damage. Not only that, here IS a portion of information taken from "theautochannel.com" ford motor company IS defending their stance on the recall. Here are some facts compiled by the associated press in relation to the issue: * there have been more than 900 reports of fires from the switches in this country. In some cases, fires occurred even when the vehicles were parked and shut off. * ford has long said the fire reports ford disclosed to nhtsa included all those they knew of that could have started near the steering column _ meaning unverified reports as well as fires that could have been caused by something other than the ignition switch. * ford did not recall any vehicles prior to 1988 because the automakers tied the switch fires to a faulty design change made by a manufacturer in may 1987. That change reduced the space between a battery and ground terminal, creating the potential for a short circuit and fire, ford officials said. *nm
- Wheels › Lugs/nuts/bolts/studs
Dt: wed. June 29, 2005 caller had new tires put on after market wheels and wal-mart over torqued lugs:nuts. Should have been torqued at 84 foot pounds, instead there were torques at 100 foot pound. Asa result, lugs:nuts were stripped on driver?s side front and back. Caller was concerned about…
Dt: wed. June 29, 2005 caller had new tires put on after market wheels and wal-mart over torqued lugs:nuts. Should have been torqued at 84 foot pounds, instead there were torques at 100 foot pound. Asa result, lugs:nuts were stripped on driver?s side front and back. Caller was concerned about the other wheels as well. Wall mart advised caller to get new ones, they will pot them on, and pay him back. caller was concerned about driving vehicle without lugs:nuts. *ak
- Vehicle speed control › Cruise control
1987 ford F150 caught on fire underneath the hood while parked.*mr *nm
- Electrical system
Sudden and spontaneous fire completely destroyed consumer 1987 f 150 ford truck. *bf this was found to be an electrical problem. the consumer requested information about other same make/model vehicles with cruise control that may have experienced the same problem. *sc
- Electrical system
While being parked the vehicle inadvertently caught on fire. The cause of this was undetermined.*ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
While the vehicle was parked with a passenger sitting in the vehicle, a fire started near the front fuel tank. the fire marshall could not determine the origin of the fire. *Jb
- Tires
While driving at highway speed rear passenger dual tire separated. the tire shredded and damaged the wheel weld and tail pipe. *Ak
- Unknown or other
The vehicle experienced a problem. (no other info was given) *jb the firewall gave away from the force of the clutch pedal and took away so much free travel that the clutch did not release and pulled against the brakes when the clutch was pressed to the floor. this caused the vehicle to be involved in an accident which caused considerable damage to the vehicle. *tt
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Consumer stated while driving, he noticed smoke coming from under the hood, consumer then pulled over and the vehicle became engulfed in flames.( ohio traffic crash report #10-89-278)
- Steering › Linkages
No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
Driver's side seat belt buckle doesn't stay secure into the securing mechanism, all other seat belts work except this one!*ak
- Electrical system › 12v/24v/48v battery › Cables · Electrical system › Starter assembly · Electrical system › Wiring › Front underhood
I have had many problems with running my truck and once the engine IS hot, when you try to start it up without letting it set for about 20 minutes it ruins the starter and battery cables. it has smoked 4 times and I had to use my fire extinquisher once. I have had 8 starters in less than 1 year…
I have had many problems with running my truck and once the engine IS hot, when you try to start it up without letting it set for about 20 minutes it ruins the starter and battery cables. it has smoked 4 times and I had to use my fire extinquisher once. I have had 8 starters in less than 1 year, 1 new battery, and three sets of battery cables. I have spent a fortune trying to find out what the problem IS and not even ford's master mechanics have had an answer. *Ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
I do believe thay have a problem with there gas tank's on ford pick up trucks I own 1 my dad own's 1MY brother own's 1 my son n law owned 1 and my nephew own's1 and thay all have the same prblem gas tank's on all of them leak truck's range from 1987through1996 I do think ford motor should be held responsible for this problem.*ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Auxillary tank › Selector devices
The vehicle has duel gas tanks. the fule return flow always goes to the front tank. this causes gas to spill out from the front tank when it IS full and you are running off the rear tank, causing an extreme fire hazard.*ak
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Auxillary tank › Selector devices
Vehicles has dualtanks. when back tank IS filled and switches to front tank gas flows to front and spills out. consumer spun out from a red light thinking it was oil. got to work and noticed gas was spilling from gas tank. Consumer received a recall notice for 1990, F150. *ak the gas was spilling due to manufacturer defect of the gas tank. *Yh
- Fuel system, gasoline
The vehicles engine caught fire while driving and with other vehicles in tow, the fire apparently started when fuel escaped under pressure from breach in the fuel system which caused the truck, the trailer and contents to catch on fire, the consumer believes the vehicle may have been affected by recall 87v-139. nlm
- Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
Fuel IS coming from front tank because of pressure.*ak
- Electrical system › Wiring › Front underhood · Fuel system, gasoline › Fuel injection system
Drove vehicle home. next day hood had burned from inside due to a defective fuel injector wiring which melted and burned. ford not willing to assist consumer. please provide further information.*ak
- Tires › Tread/belt
Firestone radial baja widetrack p235/75r15, dot vdhlf0x115, right rear tire experienced tread separation, causing damage to the quarter panel and muffler system, tire failure caused vehicle to swerve and jerk to the side of the road. *slc
- Electrical system › Alternator/generator/regulator
Connector on alternator overheated and caught fire, causing damage to vehicle. *slc
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- F-series fuel tank fires
F-series fuel tank fires
- Fires
There is no summary currently available
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 6090087Information on identifying non-approved / alternate refrigerants which could cause safety, and performance concerns if installed in ford a/c systems.
- 6089681Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses.
- 623988Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *Slc
- 623944Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. *Slc
- 612203Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip. *Mjs
- 604059Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( F8AZ - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals.
- 601312Information on a buzzing or rattle noise from the exhaust system.
- 601290Information on tire company telephone numbers for customer assistance.
- 601238Information on a new transmission fluid usage chart.
- 51945Fluid- transmission fluid usage charts.
- 51691Accessory drive belts- fead belt comes off- vehicles with 4.9L engine.
- 51689Frame- rivet replacement with bolts- service tips.
- 51669Noise- "popping/creaking"- front frame or suspension brackets- frame- "popping/creaking"- fastener replacement.
- 50997Transaxle - torque converter replacement guidelines and torque converter/transaxle cooling system cleaning procedures - service tip.
- 50940Windshield and interior glass - fog/film.
- 50908Torque converter - leak test procedure - service tip.
- 50905Wiring - electrical diode identification and service replacements.
- 42080Unknown
- 41029Knocking noise on initial start-up.
Every Ford F150 model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.