Recall 81V102000
Seats › Front Assembly › Recliner — Ford, Mercury · reported 8 Sep 1981 · 6,500 vehicles potentially affected
What's wrong
THE HOUSING PLATES ON THE DRIVER SEAT BACK LATCH RECLINER ASSEMBLIES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH SUBSTANDARD MATERIAL PRODUCTS. THIS TAINTED STEEL WAS USED TO PRODUCE SEATBACK LATCHES FOR BOTH THE RIGHT AND LEFT SIDE SEAT ASSEMBLIES. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THE DEFECTIVE HOUSING PLATES MAY DISTORT, ALLOWING THE LOCKING TEETH TO DISENGAGE AND TEAR OFF. THIS PERMITS THE SEATBACK TO PIVOT BACKWARDS.
The fix
UPON INSPECTION, BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT LATCH/RECLINER ASSEMBLIES, ON VEHICLES EXHIBITING THE SUSPECT DATE CODES, WILL BE REPLACED.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES.SYSTEM: INTERIOR; SEAT BACK LATCH/RECLINER ASSEMBLY HOUSING PLATE.CONSEQUENCES OF DEFECT: A BACKWARD PIVOTING OF THE DRIVER"S SEATBACK WITHOUTPRIOR WARNING MAY CAUSE A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND, POSSIBLY, AN ACCIDENT.
Vehicles covered by this recall
Whether a particular car is affected and still unrepaired depends on its VIN — a model year being listed does not mean every car of that year is included. Check any VIN free on CarLogs, or at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is this car's recall fixed?
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer, for the life of the vehicle. A CarLogs report shows the recall status for a specific VIN as reported by the manufacturer — whether it's open or repaired, and whether the fix is available yet.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall database. Look up another campaign →