Defect
REAR SUPENSION CONTROL ARM-TO-SPINDLE ATTACHMENT BOLTS MAY BE SUBJECT TO FRACTURE CAUSING THE REAR SPINDLE TO SEPARATE DURING USE OF CAR. CONSEQUENCE OF…
Remedy
REPLACE REAR SUSPENSION BOLTS AS NECESSARY.
1985 Mercury Topaz Recalls
Recalls on record Updated July 2026
The 1985 Mercury Topaz has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 457,744 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 5 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
Defect
THE UNEXPECTED OPEN THROTTLE CAUSES AN INCREASE IN ENGINE SPEED WHICH COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE CAR AND A POTENTIAL CRASH. CONSEQUENCE OF…
Remedy
REPLACE ELECTRONIC ENGINE CONTROL PROCESSOR, IF NECESSARY.
Defect
REAR SUSPENSION CONTROL ARM-TO-SPINDLE ATTACHMENT BOLTS MAY BE SUBJECT TO FRACTURE DURING USE OF CAR. CONSEQUENCE OF DEFECT: IF BOLTS FRACTURE, REAR SPINDLE COULD DISENGAGE FROM CONTROL ARM AND…
Remedy
REPLACE REAR SUSPENSION BOLTS AS NECESSARY.
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DRUM
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE
1crashes
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Total complaints5
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Rear brake adjuster, continue to fail, every 6 months take the drums off to adjust pe96-005 active. *ak”
“Rear brakes failed. *sd”
“Pe96-005, rear brake adjusting pin failure, causing the brake not to adjust properly. *ak consumer states rear brakes do not automatically adjust, brakes have to be manually adjusted every couple of months.*jb”
“Intermittent sudden acceleration. Tt”
“Vehicle dies when stopped at traffic light. Eec processor is bad. Recall that relates, but not included. Tt”
Defect investigations
Investigation DP96002 Opened 1996-01-11 · closed 1996-01-19
REAR BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE
There is no summary currently available
Investigation EA86010 Opened 1986-03-26 · closed 1989-07-28
SEATBACK FAILURE
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…
Investigation PE87028 Opened 1987-05-01 · closed 1988-01-21
STALLING
NO SAFETY DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN DETECTED.===
Investigation PE88034 Opened 1988-03-18 · closed 1988-09-19
HALFSHAFT FAILURE
SUMMARY:THE SUBJECT VEHICLES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH EITHER A 2.3 LITER4 CYLINDER ENGINE OR A 2.0 LITER DIESEL ENGINE.THE TRANSAXLE MAY BEEITHER A 5 SPEED MANUAL OR A 3 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION.THEHALFSHAFT ASSEMBLIES ARE IDENTICAL FOR AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL USE, BUT THERIGHT INTERCONNECTING SHAFT ON A DIESEL EQUIPPED…
Investigation PE89118 Opened 1989-04-19 · closed 1989-09-06
SPEED CONTROL MALFUNCTION
===
Investigation PE96005 Opened 1996-01-19 · closed 1996-05-28
REAR BRK ADJUSTER FAILURE
1984 - 1991 FORD TEMPO/MERCURY TOPAZ
Sources & methodology
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1985 Mercury Topaz as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.