The 1979 Ford Thunderbird has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 106,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA, most often about the fuel system, gasoline. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WERE PRODUCED WITH BRAKE PUSH-ROD TO BRAKE PEDAL RETAINING PINS WHICH WERE NOT HEAT-TREATED AS SPECIFIED. THIS COULD ALLOW THE BRAKE PEDAL TO BECOME DISENGAGED FROM THE PUSH-ROD.
DEALER WILL REPLACE THE SUSPECT BRAKE RETAINING PIN.
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH INCORRECT WELD NUTS THAT ATTACH THE REAR PORTION OF THE FRONT OUTBOARD SEAT TRACK TO THE FLOOR PAN. THE INCORRECT NUTS HAVE AN OVERSIZE DIAMETER AND THREAD, AND UPON FRONT SEAT TRACK ANCHOR BOLT INSTALLATION, THE THREADS MAY HAVE BEEN STRIPPED.
THE DEALER WILL INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, REPAIR ANY STRIPPED WELD NUTS AND INSTALL LARGER SIZE BOLTS TO ANCHOR THE SEAT TRACK TO THE FLOOR AT NO COST TO OWNER.
THE STEERING GEARS ON THE INVOLVED VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED SECTOR SHAFTS FROM WHICH THE THREADED PORTIONS OF THE SHAFTS MAY FRACTURE AND SEPARATE. SHOULD THE SECTOR SHAFT FRACTURE, THE PITMAN ARM MAY DISENGAGE FROM THE SPLINED PORTION OF THE SECTOR SHAFT.
THE DEALER WILL INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY OR INSTALL A NEW SECTOR SHAFT IN THE STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Fuel line bursed causing the vehicel to catich fire. Please provide further information.”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1979 Ford Thunderbird as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.