NHTSA Safety Recalls
Ford Thunderbird Recalls by Year
NHTSA's files hold 4 recall campaigns for the Ford Thunderbird, across 3 model years from 2002 to 2005. The 2002 has the most (2); the fewest among years with a recall is 2005 (1).
- Model years
- 3
- Recall campaigns
- 4
- Most recalls
- 2002
- Owner complaints
- 187
2002–2005, with a recall
2 recalls
all model years, NHTSA
Owners have filed 187 complaints with NHTSA about the Ford Thunderbird across 4 model years; the most, 93, concern the 2002.
Owners marked a crash on 11 of the Ford Thunderbird complaints (6%) and a fire on 0.
Across all Ford Thunderbird model years, owners name the electrical system most often (at least 34 complaints), then the engine and engine cooling (32).
NHTSA received the most complaints about the Ford Thunderbird in 2003: 18, across all model years.
The component recalled most often on the Ford Thunderbird is fuel system, gasoline, in 1 model-year listing.
The newest Ford Thunderbird recall, 05V113000, was reported on March 18, 2005 and concerns the fuel system, gasoline: storage.
NHTSA's recall file lists no recall for the 2003 Ford Thunderbird, model year owners have filed complaints about.
Ford Thunderbird years to avoid
Too few Ford Thunderbird model years have a complete complaint window to rank them: 3 of the 5 needed.
The ranking uses owner complaints in each model year's first years on the road, adjusted for NHTSA's complaint volume for that model year. It is not adjusted for sales and is not a reliability rating. Method
Recalls and complaints by model year
First years: complaints received from the year before the model year to three years after it.Ford Thunderbird years without a link have no recall page on this site.
What gets recalled most on the Ford Thunderbird
- FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE1
- FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE1
- SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING1
- SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:POWER ADJUST1
Ford Thunderbird model-year listings per recall component; one campaign can cover several years.
Every Ford Thunderbird recall campaign (4)
| Campaign | Component | Years | Risk named | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05V113000March 18, 2005 | fuel system, gasoline: storage | 2005 | fire | 56 |
| 04V330000July 8, 2004 | seats: front assembly: power adjust | 2004 | crash and injury | 24,277 |
| 02V169000June 14, 2002 | seat belts: front: webbing | 2002 | crash and injury | 15,355 |
| 06E056000 | fuel system, gasoline | 2002 | fire | — |
Vehicles: NHTSA's count of potentially affected vehicles in the whole campaign, not only the Ford Thunderbird. Each campaign page has the defect, risk and fix in NHTSA's words.
Newest record on this page: June 28, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted