The 1983 Mercury Zephyr has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 38,089 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THE SHIFT INDICATOR MAY NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE SHIFT SELECTOR POSITION. SOME VEHICLES WERE PRODUCED WITH TRANSMISSION CONTROL SELECTOR TUBE RETAINING CLIPS THAT MAY NOT BE HARD ENOUGH. THE CLIP MAY LOOSEN OR FALL OFF, AND THE SELECTOR TUBE MAY BECOME DISPLACED.
THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL SELECTOR TUBE RETAINING CLIP AT NO CHARGE TO OWNER.
THE PARK LEVER ON THE INVOLVED VEHICLES CONTAINS A DEFECTIVE SPRING WHICH COULD PREVENT AUTOMATIC ENGAGEMENT OF THE PARKING GEAR.
THE PARK ACTUATING LEVER ROD SPRING WILL BE REPLACED WITH AN UPGRADED SPRING WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNER.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“[REDACTED](h): backed out of driveway, stopped, went into house, vehicle not running;returned 5 minutes later, flames come out from steering wheel/dash. *ak”
“[REDACTED](h): backed out of driveway, stopped, went into house, vehicle not running;returned 5 minutes later, flames come out from steering wheel/dash. *ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1983 Mercury Zephyr as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.