1990 Ford Probe
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Ford › Probe › 1990
These records cover every 1990 Ford Probe. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
4 recalls name the 1990 Ford Probe. Newest first.
Note: driver's side (left) passive seat belt assembly. the rail of the automatic shoulder belt can wear sufficiently such that the cable which retracts the buckle assembly will become jammed in the rail rendering the shoulder belt inoperative.
Risk and remedy
Risk
In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace driver side and inoperative passenger side shoulder belt track assemblies.
Note: passenger side (right) seat belt assembly. the rail of the automatic shoulder belt can wear sufficiently such that the cable which retracts the buckle assembly will become jammed in the rail rendering the shoulder belt inoperative.
Risk and remedy
Risk
In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace driver side and inoperative passenger side shoulder belt track assemblies.
The groove for the rear wheel bearing retainer ring was incorrectly machined.
Risk and remedy
Risk
If the retaining ring does not sit correctly in thegroove, the axle lug nuts will break, causing the brake drum, wheel, and tireassembly to separate from the vehicle.
Remedy
Midas shops will replace the brake drums with other brake drums from another supplier.
Throttle levers may have been bent during assembly.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Throttle may stick and not return fully to idleposition.
Remedy
Place affected vehicles on delivery hold until repaired.
Owner complaints
323 complaints7 involved a crash5 involved a fire18 injuries1 deaths
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Tl*the contact owns a 1990 ford probe. the driver and passenger side seat belts retractors would not work. the dealer has not repaired the seat belts. the current mileage was 182,000 and the failure mileage was unavailable.
- Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Tl*the contact owns a 1990 ford probe. approximately six years ago the front driver and passenger side seat belt failed to operate normally. the contact stated that he needed to use the seat belts because there were no air bags in the vehicle. the contact referred to safety recall # 96v172002…
Tl*the contact owns a 1990 ford probe. approximately six years ago the front driver and passenger side seat belt failed to operate normally. the contact stated that he needed to use the seat belts because there were no air bags in the vehicle. the contact referred to safety recall # 96v172002 concerning seat belts:front:webbing. however, ford stated that the recall did not exist. the contact stated that he never received a safety recall notice. the current mileage IS 100,001, and failure mileage was 70,000. *ak updated 06/14/07 *tr
- Seat belts › Front
Driver side motorized seat belt seized in the middle of track. *nm
- Electrical system › Alternator/generator/regulator · Electrical system › Ignition · Electrical system › Wiring · Electrical system › Wiring › Rear compartment/trunk · Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline › Turbo/supercharger · Engine and engine cooling › Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe · Exterior lighting › Fog lights · Exterior lighting › Headlights · Exterior lighting › Headlights › Switch · Exterior lighting › Tail lights · Latches/locks/linkages › Hatchback/liftgate › Lock · Parking brake · Seat belts › Front › Retractor · Structure › Frame and members › Underbody shields · Wheels › Hub
Retractable seat belts jam and get stuck in track, making unsafe condition. Have hit head on seat belt latch causing pain and have also been stuck in seat with seat belt not releasing. Also wearing out car battery & shorting electrical system, severe moisture in tail lamps, failure of tail lamps causing unsafe condition, failure of driving lights. Many problems with vehicle from date of ownership in 1993. *jb
- Equipment · Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Driver's side seat restraint (sholder harness) doesn't function. 1990 ford probe LX. Was issue of a recall in 1996. Subject restraint has failed three times since purchase of car. First repair was under vehicle warranty. Second repair took place prior to recal and was paid for by owner. Third failure has occured withing the last year and local dealer does not take responsibility.
- Seat belts › Front
The recall (nhtsa campaign ID #96v172001) IS not being honored by the manufacturer because, although the make, model, and year of the car IS the same, the vin number does not appear in the manufacturer database associating it with the recall. The manufacturer should be required to honor the recall since it totally matches the vehicle and the problem stated in the recall.
- Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Shoulder belt on driver's side IS defective. It does not secure the passenger in the seat. a recall was issued in 1996. Shoulder belt was repaired, but problem recurred. manufacturer will not repair shoulder belt unless consumer pays for it. *ak
- Seat belts
Power shoulder restraint has jammed on driver side and will not retract to secure the driver. I found a ford safety recall # 96v-172 to inspect or repair this safety problem. I printed a copy and handed it to the local ford dealer who said there were no safety recalls found on my son's ford…
Power shoulder restraint has jammed on driver side and will not retract to secure the driver. I found a ford safety recall # 96v-172 to inspect or repair this safety problem. I printed a copy and handed it to the local ford dealer who said there were no safety recalls found on my son's ford probe's vin number. my son purchased the car used in febuary 2003. The problem started in may 2003. I am concerned that if my son in a accident that he will not be properly protected. I want to file a formal complaint agienst the ford moter co. And phil long ford of colorado springs, colorado. contacts made at phil long on friday the 13TH of june 2003. Assistant service manager: mike cope. I left a voice message for the service director, mark marshall on sunday the 15TH with my return phone number but he never called. I call the ford safety recall number 1-800-392-3673 and spoke to jessy on monday the 16TH. He said he would check on the problem and get back to me the next day. I did not hear back from jessy until late on wednesday the 18TH. And all he said was that he was still checking on the safety recall for the 1990 ford probe and would get back to me. I have not heard from him since. I am very disgusted with ford and their lack of willingness to fix this safety problem. In the mean while my son IS at risk every time he drives his car.
- Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Recall 96v172001, while parking/driving, passenger side passive restraint seat belt will not retract back into locking position creating a real safety hazard for the passenger. the dealership (doherty ford, forest grove, or) was notified, but refused to address this safety issue because, allegedly, the vin of the subject vehicle "was not included" in the recall. *Jb
- Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Recall 96v172001, while parking or driving, the seat belt would not retract back into the locking position. *ak the part had been previously repaired. the driver's side seat belt shoulder restraint would be compromised when the failure occurred. *sc *jb
- Seat belts › Front
Passenger side automatic seat belt came off the track. The seat belt was inoperative, and the consumer was unable to use it. *Ak
- Seat belts
Ford dealer will not honor or repair safety recall on shoulder belt safety issue. local ford dealer: phil long ford, colorado springs colorado 1565 auto mall loop, colorado springs colorado 80920 719-572-2300. Contacts assistance service manager mike cope 719-572-2245. Service director merk…
Ford dealer will not honor or repair safety recall on shoulder belt safety issue. local ford dealer: phil long ford, colorado springs colorado 1565 auto mall loop, colorado springs colorado 80920 719-572-2300. Contacts assistance service manager mike cope 719-572-2245. Service director merk marshall 719-572-2385. this IS my sons car and I am concerned for his safety , I found the ford recall # on the internet # tbs 96s48 and 96v172. I took a printed copy to the local dealer and they said there was on recall for the vin # on my sons car. I also found a paper # nas-11paw that IS addressed to l.w. Camp director of aout safety at for and it states that this recall IS fords responsibility regardless of the age, the owner the, mileage of the car. The paper was dated august 22, 1996. It's like ford decided to just forget about it and not care about the safety of it's consumers. I hope you can help me to get this issue resolved asap... thanks, anthony mascarenas. *nlm
- Seat belts › Front
The front seat belt locked up, which caused it not to retract. *jb
- Seat belts › Front › Webbing
The recall remedy which was performed regarding the shoulder belt 96 v 172 001 failed. *jb
- Seat belts
The vehicles automatic seat belt track failed. Dealer notified. *nlm the driver side seat belt was replaced. on another occasion the passenger side failed. the dealer would not replace. scc
- Seat belts
The motor inside of the seatbelt will come on but the seatbelt will not retractor at all. the dealer IS aware of the problem. please provide any additional information. *nlm
- Seat belts
Dealer, auburn motors in auburn, in. Phone# 260/925-3100 refused to honor recall 96v172002 concerning automatic seat belts because consumer was not the original owner. Feel free to provide any further information.*ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
While going through an intersection at 25 mph, the consumer applied the brakes, and the pedal went to the floor, without any braking action. Consumer used park brake to slow down vehicle.*ak consumer added that the dealer who sold him the vehicle, had gotten the brake line fixed, but not the grease cap for the enigne. *scc
- Seat belts
After recall96v172002 repairs were done problem reoccurred. *Ak
- Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Seat belt failure. *Ak
- Electrical system › Ignition
While driving vehicle stalled out without any warning. Dealership sad it was due to a faulty ignition module. *Ak
- Seat belts
The right side seatbelt gets stuck and doesn't lock into place. Ford motor co. Said car was not under warranty so they would not fix this recalled part. *ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline · Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Drivers side 3 point automatic seatbelt quit working, motor runs but belt will not move forward or back on track, replace or fixed problem three times. ignition switch was turned off and the key removed but the engine did not shut off, by the time it was discovered the fan blades, fan shroud, moter had melted from the heat.
- Seat belts
The retracting motors stopped working. Dealer shows no recall authorization for no charge repairs. This IS a design flaw that does not allow for an alternative method of restraint.*ak
- Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Received recall 96v172001 and contacted dealer. Took vehicle for repairs. Shoulder belt was repaired, but 4 years later, shoulder belt had failed again. Cannot use shoulder belt when driving. *ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Seatback recline mechanism failure
On june 29, 2007, nhtsa received a petition from mr. Richard h. Mcswain of mcswain engineering inc., requesting that the agency investigate seatback recliner failure in the subject vehicles. The petitioner identified a failure mode involving bypass of the seatback stop pin which could result in a false or partial…
On june 29, 2007, nhtsa received a petition from mr. Richard h. Mcswain of mcswain engineering inc., requesting that the agency investigate seatback recliner failure in the subject vehicles. The petitioner identified a failure mode involving bypass of the seatback stop pin which could result in a false or partial engagement of the sector and pawl teeth, allowing the seatback to recline in a vehicular collision.odi believes that the alleged failure mode may be the result of progressive wear and tear of the seatback stop pin, the seatback stop, and other seat components in vehicles that are, on average, 17 years old.available data do not suggest that this has occurred with a notable frequency. Odi reviewed its consumer complaint data received over the last nineteen years and found no complaints of seatback collapse (with or without a vehicle collision) in the subject vehicles.considering the advanced age of the subject vehicles, it IS unlikely that nhtsa would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect as defined by the petitioner at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.the statutory requirement that the manufacturer provide a free remedy does not apply if the vehicle was bought by the first purchaser more than 10 calendar years before an order IS issued. Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize nhtsa's limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition IS denied.
- Automatic shoulder belt
There is no summary currently available
- Mazda RX7 automatic seat belt failure
Malfunction of the automatic seat belt system
- Passive restraint failures
There is no summary currently available
- Pass.restraint malfunction
There is no summary currently available
- Engine compartment 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.
- 3013200Unknown
- 623988Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *Slc
- 622665On some vehicles, engine oil may continue to leak from the engine oil pan gasket area after an engine oil pan gasket repair has been performed.
- 612706Information regarding the recall 96s48 & 96s99 (motorized seat belt rail and motor assembly). *Mjs
- 612203Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip. *Mjs
- 606460Experiencing a whine / buzz type noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio on vehicles with an in-tank electric fuel pump.
- 606451Information on "whining" / "buzzing" noise coming through entertainment or two-way radio speaker caused by the fuel pump.
- 606420Ford motor company now recommends sae 5W-30 viscosity grade for servicing any ford gasoline-powered vehicle regardless of model year.
- 604059Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( F8AZ - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals.
- 601343A new silicone gasket and sealant.
- 601341Experiencing a whining / buzzing noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio.
- 601312Information on a buzzing or rattle noise from the exhaust system.
- 601290Information on tire company telephone numbers for customer assistance.
- 601269Announcing the ford oem air conditioning retrofit kit availability.
- 601238Information on a new transmission fluid usage chart.
- 601012The use of petroleum-based grease as a lubricant in servicing disc brakes IS no longer acceptable.
- 601010Recommended guidelines for towing behind recreational vehicles.
- 51987Fuel economy- customer expectations versus vehicle usage.
- 51945Fluid- transmission fluid usage charts.
- 51769Recalls 96s48 & 96s99: 90-92 probe motorized seat belt rail & motor assy for recalls 96s48 & 96s99 are in extremely short supply- the rail & motor assembly are currently on back order with a very long lead time required to restock- it IS imperative that the instructions in the recall are followed completely and that the rail & motor assembly IS only replaced when instructed by the technical instructions- the majority of vehicles serviced under the recalls will require replacement of the rail (no motor) only, not a full assembly- rail (no motor) part number f72z-61610d45-a (lh) and f72z-61610d44-a (rh) are available and can be ordered by calling 1-800-325-5621- all rail & motor assembly replacements must be returned and are subject to charge back if replaced needlessly.
- 51719Recalls 96s48 and 96s99 - parts shortage - probe motorized seat belt rail and motor assembly are in extremely short supply.
- 50997Transaxle - torque converter replacement guidelines and torque converter/transaxle cooling system cleaning procedures - service tip.
- 50972Axke leaks - fluid leaks from front of vehicle at axle shafts - new design replacement cv joint boots.
- 50940Windshield and interior glass - fog/film.
- 50908Torque converter - leak test procedure - service tip.
- 50905Wiring - electrical diode identification and service replacements.
- 46478The use of petroleum-based grease as a lubricant in servicing disc brakes IS no longer acceptable because it may be incompatible with the rubber material used in the disc brake system. If petroleum-based grease IS used to lubricate any part of the disc brake system, it could cause rubber parts to swell if lubricant contacts the rubber material.
- 41025A revised service windshield wiper motor IS now available.
- 39900Roughness concern during brake application.
- 39717Wiper motor replacement - upgraded service kits.
- 39267Vehicles may be releasing exhaust emissions that exceed federal and canadaian standards.
- 39218Malfunction indicator light may illuminate intermittently due to carbon deposits on the egr valve.
- 39119Erratic distance-to-empty and fuel gauge readings.
Every Ford Probe model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.