Hi - I recently bought a 'new to me' 1988 F-150. Whenever I buy a new (used) car I try to lookup what recalls there may be and determine whether they were fixed and resolve as needed (am especially concerned with SAFETY related items).

From my searching there was/is at least one safety recall related to this vehicle. Upon contacting Ford I am told that this vehilce is:

1) Past 10 years old and no longer eligible for any recall work

AND, what is particularily frustrating, they also said:

2) Because it is past 10 years, they have deleted all records and can not (or will not) tell me if any recall/warranty work was completed on this vehicle.

Seems strange that their obligation for a safety recall would 'expire', but it seems outrageous that they will not even share the info as to wheter the problem was ever fixed/covered in the past.

Any comments or can anyone tell me if this is accurate (legal) info that I've been told???

 

Dunno, but my '93 just got two recalls in the mail last week. Cruise control and fuel check valves(or somethin' like that).
So, sounds fishey!!!! My guess is the recalls went to the orig. registered owner!! 'Mo

 

Thanks for the reply. Servicing a recall is definitely not limited to orig owner (although subsequent owners may not get notices in the mail).

I can understand if there is a time limit on free servicing of a recall item. However, I find it pretty ridiculous that they are essentially saying:

"Hey we built an ignition/steering column that may start on fire and burn your house down. We may or may not have fixed yours under our warranty campaign already, but we won't tell you if we did or not. We'd recommend that you come in (and pay our sky high rates) and we'll take a look at it for you."

 

PS, very interesting about you 93 (over 10 years) just getting a recall notice.

 

Contact the NTSHA and ask them.

 

1) They actually don't have many electronic records on vehicles that old, so I'm not surprised they don't wanna pay some bookworm to dig thru 8 tons of dusty paperwork to look up your truck's history.

2) Yes, some safety recalls DO expire. Not many, but there are a few. And if there's a statute of limitations on murder, there's certainly a limit on a mfr's responsibility for an out-of-warranty repair. Even a safety recall. But if it hasn't caught fire by now, either the recall WAS done, or it doesn't need the recall. If the switch fails on you, it's DUE. If you don't want to risk it, buy one & replace it now. It's a 20-year-old truck, and you bought it knowing that.

3) For most recalls on older trucks, read this thread. The one for the ig.sw. is in there, so you can read it for yourself, and you can check your switch without paying anyone anything.

 

Steve,

I don't have a problem if they will no longer fix recall issues for free (after a certain timeframe). My gripe is that they can't (won't) provide the info about it. I find it very hard to believe that Ford Motor company was not using computerized files to track warranty/recall claims in 1988 +. But if you say so... you seem to know a lot more than I do about the system. Please note though, that they said the DELETE this history from their computers after 10 years. However, even if that is the case - their answer still appears to be bogus (or at least not universally applied). Specifically, they told me no records are available on 10+ year old vehicles (and that nothing is covered on those that are that old too).... above poster stated he recently received two recall notices on his 93 (15 year old) truck.

In summary - yes I can understand that an auto mfg's liablility to repair certain recalls may expire after a certain number of years. But no, I don't think it is reasonable/acceptable that they do not share info about history of warranty/recall repairs (or lack thereof).