The 1981 Plymouth Reliant has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 760,032 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the equipment. Last updated July 5, 2026.
FRONT SUSPENSION CROSSMEMBER MAY CORRODE AND FAIL AT LOWER CONTROL ARM REAR PIVOT MOUNTS IF OPERATED WHERE SALT IS USED TO AID IN SNOW REMOVAL.
CONTROL ARM COULD DETACH FROM THE CROSSMEMBER, ADVERSELYAFFECTING DIRECTIONAL STABILITY, WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
INSTALL ATTACHMENT REINFORCEMENT BRACKETS TO PREVENT CONTROL ARM DETACHMENT AS A RESULT OF CORROSION WEAKENING.
THE AUTOMATIC SPEED CONTROL SWITCH MAY STICK IN THE "RESUME" POSITION RESTRICTING RETURN MOVEMENT. THIS WILL NOT ALLOW THE NORMAL BRAKE PEDAL OPERATION TO DEACTIVATE THE SYSTEM.
THE SHIELD PORTION OF THE "RESUME" SLIDE LEVER IN THE SPEED CONTROL UNIT WILL BE REPLACED WITHOUT CHARGE.
THE STOP LAMP SWITCHES INSTALLED ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES MAY HAVE INADEQUATE INTERNAL SWITCH CONTACT PRESSURE DUE TO AN INCORRECT FORMATION OF THE SWITCH CONTACT TERMINALS. THIS LACK OF SWITCH CONTACT CONTINUITY MAY RENDER THE (STOP) BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS INOPERATIVE.
THE STOP LAMP SWITCHES ON ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES WILL BE REPLACED AND PROPERLY FORMED TERMINALS WILL BE INSTALLED AT NO COST TO OWNER.
BRAKE FLUID MAY CONTAIN AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF WATER. THIS CAN CAUSE DEGRADATION OF BRAKING PERFORMANCE OR BRAKE FAILURE UNDER A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
EXISTING BRAKE FLUID WILL BE REMOVED FROM BRAKE SYSTEM AND BRAKE SYSTEM WILL BE REFILLED WITH FRESH BRAKE FLUID.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Death resulted from side impact, attorney for client. *aw”
“1981 plymouth reliant k-car. Consumer states accelerator problems. *tgw the consumer stated his parents purchased the above mentioned vehicle. But, since he did most of the driving, he asked them if he could install cruise control. He then purchased it and installed it himself. The unit received…”
“1981 plymouth reliant k-car. Consumer states accelerator problems. *tgw the consumer stated his parents purchased the above mentioned vehicle. But, since he did most of the driving, he asked them if he could install cruise control. He then purchased it and installed it himself. The unit received…”
FRAME AND CHASSIS COMPONENTS
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
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Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1981 Plymouth Reliant as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.