IllustrationPE87028 · Stalling
Opened May 1, 1987 · Closed Jan 21, 1988
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System
NO SAFETY DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN DETECTED.===
1985 Ford Exp
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Exp years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
No component reports in this snapshot.
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 0 of 0 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
0 reportsNo matching complaints in this snapshot.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
4EA87005 · Fires
Opened Dec 1, 1986 · Closed Oct 31, 1989
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:THE ALLEGED FIRES RESULT FROMA VARIETY OF CAUSES.FIRE RATE REMAINS ABOUT THE SAME DESPITE MAJORCHANGES WITH 85-1/2 MODELS.IT BELIEVES THAT THE FIRE RATE IS LESS THANINDUSTRY AVERAGE.MFGR REQUEST COPIES OF SPECIFIC FIRE REPORTS FOR TRENDANALYSIS.ANALYSIS:SEVERAL AREAS OF FIRE ORIGIN ARE MENTIONED.ENGINE FIRESALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY LEAKAGE OF FLAMMABLE FLUIDS (OIL, GAS, TRANS FLUID).CATALYTIC CONVERTERS FREQUENTLY CITED AS OVERHEATING.CERTAIN MODELSARE REPORTED AT A GREATER FREQUENCY.EXP TURBO REPORTED MOST OFTEN ON APER UNIT BASIS.STATUS: IR SENT 2/19/88. AWAITING RESPONSE.===
PE86048 · Fires
Opened Apr 23, 1986 · Closed Dec 1, 1986
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:THE ALLEGED FIRES RESULT FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF CAUSES, WITH THE REPORTEDRATES OF FIRES FOR 1984-85 MODELS VERSUS THE 85 1/2 MODELS REMAININGAPPROXIMATELY THE SAME.THESE RATES ARE SIGNIFIGANTLY LESS THAN THEINDUSTRY AVERAGE FOR NON-COLLISION VEHICLE FIRES AS REPORTED IN THE SAEPAPER MOTOR VEHICLE NON-CRASH FIRES BY PETER COOLEY OF THE HSRI.THE HEAD GASKET WAS REVISED ON THE 1.9L 2V OR EFI ENGINES TO SERVICE OILLEAKS ON THE INTAKE MANIFOLD SIDE OF THE ENGINE.ANALYSIS:A REVIEW OF THE REPORTED INCIDENTS SHOWED 8 GROUPS OF PROBABLE CAUSATION:A)APPEARS TO BE CATALYTIC CONVERTER RELATED:~30%B)WIRING BENEATH REAR SEAT:~5%C)OIL LEAKS FROM CRACKED CYLINDER HEADS OR BLOCKS}:~5-10%D)OIL LEAKS FROM POORLY FITTED VALVE COVERS: ~5%E)ELECTRICAL FIRES IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT: ~5%F)ELECTRICAL FIRES IN INTERIOR OR UNDER DASH: ~5%G)FUEL RELATED FIRES: ~9%IN COMPARISON TO THE OTHER CLASSIFIED PROBABLE CAUSES, THE EXHAUST SYSTEMRELATED FIRES APPEAR TO BE OVERLY REPRESENTED.A CATALYTIC CONVERTERMALFUNCTION OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL UNSUITABILITY OF ADJACENT MATERIALS AREPOTENTIAL CAUSES.HOWEVER, BOTH THIS AND OTHER HYPOTHESES REQUIREFURTHER STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER A SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS. ALL APPEARTO NEED LAB OR FIELD TESTING.PROPOSED ACTION:UPGRADE THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS.===
EA86010 · Seatback Failure
Opened Mar 26, 1986 · Closed Jul 28, 1989
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seats
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:FORD BELIEVES THAT THE AL-LEGED DEFECT ONLY OCCURS IN A SMALL NUMBER OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ANDRECALLED ABOUT 195,732 1984 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES IN JUNE 1986.ANALYSIS: VEHICLES POTENTIALLY INVOLVED INCLUDE TEMPO/TOPAZ, ESCORT/LYNX/EXP, MUSTANG/CAPRI, LTD/MARQUIS, AND THUNDERBIRD/COUGAR.FORD SOLD ABOUT 110,000 REPLACEMENT MIO BOLTS, MAINLY FOR 1983 AND 1984MODELS. LOW CLAMPING FORCE APPEARS TO BE A LARGE PART OF THE PROBLEM.FORD INCREASED THE TORQUE REQUIREMENTS AND REQUIRED THE USE OF A MANUALTORQUE TOOL IN MARCH AND SEPTEMBER 1985 PRODUCTION CHANGES. 1987 MODELSWILL BE PRODUCED WITH A LONGER M10 BOLT AND A NUT TO INCREASE AND MAIN-TAIN CLAMPING FORCE. BOLTS WERE FORMERLY SELF TAPPING. REPORTS LISTEDABOVE SPECIFICALLY STATE THAT THE BOLT BROKE. NONE REFER SIMPLY TOSEAT BACK COLLAPSE ALONE.STATUS:FORD REPLY TO ODI IR DATED 2/2/87.FORD RECALLED 195,7321984 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES IN JUNE 1986 (86V-082). ANALYZING REPONSE,MONITORING CANADIAN PROGRESS. RESPONSE TO 4/6/87 LETTER TO FORDRECEIVED 7/15/87. WILL PROBABLY CLOSE AFTER CANADA COMPLETES THEIRACTIONS.===