1987 Ford Thunderbird
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Ford › Thunderbird › 1987
These records cover every 1987 Ford Thunderbird. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 1987 Ford Thunderbird. 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.
Owner complaints
61 complaints4 involved a crash18 involved a fire9 injuries1 deaths
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Vehicle speed control › Cruise control
Dt: this vehicle caught on fire three times. It was caused by the cruise control switch. Contacted ford, they did not offer any assistance. the consumer put two of the fires out, and fire department put one of the fires out. All fires started from under the hood. This happened on june 1, 1996.…
Dt: this vehicle caught on fire three times. It was caused by the cruise control switch. Contacted ford, they did not offer any assistance. the consumer put two of the fires out, and fire department put one of the fires out. All fires started from under the hood. This happened on june 1, 1996. The vehicle was turned off all three times and parked and that was when the vehicle caught on fire. The repair shop rebuilt the wiring all three times. *Ak
- Electrical system › Wiring
The electric wires on the vehicle melted and burned. *bf *tc
- Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
While pullling seat belt out to lock in place seat belt would not become latched. Please provide further information. *ak
- Electrical system › Alternator/generator/regulator · Electrical system › Ignition · Electrical system › Wiring › Front underhood
All of the incidents that I have reported in this form are related! Our car kept wanting to die at stoplights and we took it to our mechanic several times to get it fixed, but, they never could quite get it right. At 3:30 am. On 07/06/2000, I smelled smoke in the house and it awoke me from a sound…
All of the incidents that I have reported in this form are related! Our car kept wanting to die at stoplights and we took it to our mechanic several times to get it fixed, but, they never could quite get it right. At 3:30 am. On 07/06/2000, I smelled smoke in the house and it awoke me from a sound sleep! I got up to see were the smoke was coming from and it was coming from our attached garage! My 1987 ford thunderbird was on fire! I had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation and my wife and step-son were treated at the scene for the same. We had extensive damage to our garage and extensive smoke damage to our house. We had to leave our house for 4 and one-half weeks while our house was being repaired. The car was totalled and my 1984 chevy van, which was right next to the car, had &5,000.00 dollars worth of damage. The contents of the garage were distroyed! We are still trying to recover from this disaster! Itook excellent care of my car and there IS no reason, besides defective equipment, that this terrible thing could have happened. Jesse storey, the state fire inspector, checked the car out and the cause of the fire was definitely electrical in nature, according to him and also our mechanic. I sent an e-mail to the ford motor company telling them of my incident and supplying them with the v.i.n. And other information and they said that they had no recall items on that car. From what I read in the paper recently, they out-right lied to me! A judge in california has ordered ford to recall 1.7 million vehicles with similar problems. The list of recalls includes our car(thunderbird, 1983-88). I feel that they should have been truthful with me when I questioned them by way of e-mail! I also feel that they should be held accountable for our loses and all of the misery that this incident has put us through. I would settle for $100,000.00. I feel that if they would have fixed this problem, which appears to be their fault, we would not of had to go through this to.*a
- Electrical system › Ignition
Our car kept wanting to die at stoplights and we took it to our mechanic several times to get it fixed, but, they never could quit get it right. At 3:30am on 07/06/2000 I smelled smoke in the house and it woke me up from a sound sleep. I got up to see were the smoke was coming from and it was…
Our car kept wanting to die at stoplights and we took it to our mechanic several times to get it fixed, but, they never could quit get it right. At 3:30am on 07/06/2000 I smelled smoke in the house and it woke me up from a sound sleep. I got up to see were the smoke was coming from and it was coming from the garage. My 1987 thunderbird was on fire! I had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation and mu wife and step-son were treated at the scene. We had extensive damage to our garage and extensive smoke damage to our house. We had to leave our house for 4 and one-half weeks while our house was being repaired. We are still trying to recover from this disaster. I took excellent care of my car and there IS no reason besides, defective equipment, that this terrible thing could have happened. Jesse storey, the state fire inspector checked the car out and the that the cause of the fire was definitely electrical in nature. I sent an e-mail to ford motor company telling them of my incident and supplying them with the v.i.n. And other information and they said that they had no recall items on this car. From what I read in the paper recently, they out-right lied to me . A judge in california has ordered ford to recall 1.7 million vehicles with similar problems. The list of recalls includes our car(thunderbird,1983-88). I feel that they should have been truthful with me when I questioned them by way of e-mail. I also feel that they should be held accountable for our loses and all of the misery that this incident has put us through. I feel that if they would have fixed this problem, which appears to be their fault, we would not of had to go through this torture mentally and financially! Please respond to this plea for help so that we can have some closure on this incident. Thank you, sincerely, stephen schnur
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline · Vehicle speed control
While driving vehicle stalled. consumer states vehicle accelerates by itself and that the gas pedal goes up and down on its own, consumer states this has happened numerous times. *slc
- Electrical system › Ignition
On going / intermittent problem with engine stalling while driving; vehicle been in dealer shop on several occasions for repairs and problem still occurring. Feel free to provide any further details. *Ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc
Consumer drove car and brakes were not good. When driving at about 50 miles car would shimmy badly. *ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Exhaust system › Emission control › Catalytic convertor · Power train › Automatic transmission › Cooling unit and lines
Connecters for transmission cooling lines are leaking due to the heat coming from the catalytic converter. Dealer has seen vehicle. *Ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Caliper · Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Pads · Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Rotor
At 10,000 miles the brake pads glazed / rotors warped / the rear calipers locked-up causing failure. *yc
- Electrical system › Wiring › Front underhood
While driving at 35 mph the plug that goes to the altenator began to melt and caused an underhood fire. Dealer has been contacted. *ak
- Electrical system › Wiring › Front underhood
While parked in parking lot next to restaurant, vehicle caught fire; electrical fire; whole front end burned up; all wires burned. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
Seat belt buckle failed two times, unable to get replacement due to back order.
- Electrical system › Wiring
After driving headlights were suppose to turn themselves off. But they did not. Then when consumer began to drive vehicle began to smoke. Afterwards, drove vehicle again, it then stopped and was engulfed in flames. *ak
- Vehicle speed control
While driving at a speed of 45 mph, the cruise control shorted, causing the steering wheel to fall off, causing the driver to crash into a barn, injuring three passengers and killing one cow.
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
When putting the adjustable steering wheel in the down position, the electrical power IS disconnected in the vehicle. The ignition key also gets warm, and the power will go off and on if wiggling the key when the vehicle IS in the on position. *Ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Caliper
While driving vehicle the rear brakes remain engaged. Dealer can't fix problem. Dealer noted possible cause brake calipers. *ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
Ignition switch failed.
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
The defective ignition switch plastic connector to the power system melted, causing loss of braking ability. heat control. problem occurred 3 times. recall on ignition switch for 88 thunderbird for the same ignition part as this vehicle. *ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch · Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Whenever the ignition switch IS turned on, it would cause the ABS brakes to fail. There IS no power in ABS brakes. *ak
- Steering
Steering wheel locked up. (New jersey accident report)
- Vehicle speed control
Vehicle has experienced sudden acceleration on several occasions.
- Vehicle speed control
T.p.s. Switch failure which there IS a technical service bulletin out on (no.87-25-7 date :8712). This failure caused vehicle to suddenly accelerate and cause accident.
- Vehicle speed control
Owner put vehicle in reverse and the vehicle sudden accelerated, causing vehicle to be involved in a collision. Vehicle sudden accelerated without any warning. There was a investigation pe-88097, but that investigation IS closed. *ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Engine: driving approximately 25mph when body mounts broke and engine collapsed. Lost control of vehicle and ran into a field. has not taken vehicle in for repair. *ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Faulty seat belt buckles
There is no summary currently available
- Faulty seatbelt buckles
There is no summary currently available
- Power seat malfunc/fire
There is no summary currently available
- Pwr seat malfunc - fire
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- Floormat/accel pedal intrf
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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.
- 3010700Unknown
- 623988Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *Slc
- 623944Some vehicles may exhibit heater core leaks. *Slc
- 616522Subject regarding contamination from prior transmission concerns or excess wear may be trapped in the transmission fluid cooling system.
- 612203Information regarding the new transmission cooler flusher- service tip. *Mjs
- 608431Information on the new flush and fill tool available through rotunda.
- 605573Subject regarding a new service center support that uses a thrust bearing (#3 and #4) in place of thrust washers has been released.
- 601343A new silicone gasket and sealant.
- 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.
- 51945Fluid- transmission fluid usage charts.
- 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.
- 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.
Every Ford Thunderbird model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.