Audited US model-year file

1988 FORD Thunderbird

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

2 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1988 FORD Thunderbird. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1996-04-25

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

Campaign 96V071000
Summary

THE IGNITION SWITCH COULD EXPERIENCE AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT.

Consequence

THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1988-03-15

POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT

Campaign 88V033000
Summary

A DESIGN CHANGE TO FACILITATE CHANGEOVER IN REAR AXLE SHAFT FLANGES INADVERTENTLY PRODUCED THE POSSIBILITY FOR INTERFERENCE BETWEEN THE FLANGE AND DISC BRAKE ROTOR.

Consequence

THE INTERFERENCE COULD PREVENT PROPER SEATING OF THEROTOR. ALSO AN IMPROPERLY SEATED ROTOR COULD IN TIME RESULT IN A REDUCTION INTHE CLAMPING FORCES OF THE WHEEL STUDS, POSSIBLY LEADING TO FRACTURED STUDSAND REAR WHEEL SEPARATION.

Remedy

INSPECTION OF VEHICLES AND WHERE NECESSARY REPLACE REAR AXLE SHAFTS AND REAR BRAKE ROTORS.

02 · Owner allegations

101 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
5
Fire mentions
18
Injuries reported
8
Most-reported component labels
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM31
SEAT BELTS18
EXTERIOR LIGHTING11
HYDRAULIC9
SERVICE BRAKES9
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL9
Complaints across nearby Ford Thunderbird model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 231986
  2. 611987
  3. 1011988
  4. 1241989
  5. 1401990
  6. 1121991

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Thunderbird years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

7 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

EA95021
Closed 1997-09-30 · opened 1995-07-31

FAULTY SEAT BELT BUCKLES

NHTSA source ↗

SEAT BELTS · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE95019
Closed 1995-07-31 · opened 1995-03-27

FAULTY SEATBELT BUCKLES

NHTSA source ↗

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

EA90009
Closed 1991-02-28 · opened 1990-02-08

THROTTLE STICKING

NHTSA source ↗

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

EA90005
Closed 1991-03-12 · opened 1989-10-31

POWER SEAT MALFUNC/FIRE

NHTSA source ↗

SEATS · Associated recall campaign 91V036000.

PE90001
Closed 1990-02-02 · opened 1989-10-04

THROTTLE STICKING

NHTSA source ↗

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE89125
Closed 1989-10-31 · opened 1989-06-01

PWR SEAT MALFUNC - FIRE

NHTSA source ↗

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE88097
Closed 1988-12-02 · opened 1988-08-31

FLOORMAT/ACCEL PEDAL INTRF

NHTSA source ↗

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
17–21 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
15–18 / 21–25 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
2.3–5 L
Cylinders
4–8
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
Rear-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Compact Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$3100–3800

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

2 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

101 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

7 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/1988/ford/thunderbird
NHTSA make ID
460
NHTSA model ID
2345
Match key
1988 · FORD · Thunderbird · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.