The 1986 Plymouth Reliant has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 32,149 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
BATTERY CAP VENTS MAY BE PARTIALLY OR COMPLETELY BLOCKED WITH PLASTIC FLASHING. CONSEQUENCE OF DEFECT: A BUILD UP OF INTERNAL GAS PRESSURE COULD OCCUR WHICH COULD RESULT IN…
Remedy
REWORK BATTERIES BY PROBING BOTH VENT ORIFICES TO ELIMINATE ANY VENT OBSTRUCTION.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
1
1fires
POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY
1
STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR
1
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
Total complaints9
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“While pumping fuel into the tank the vehicle was off,with the key to ignition position to view the gas gauge, went back to check gas pump, and noticed that there was a fire in the tank. Fire went out on its own, and no one was injured. The dealer has not been contacted. *ak”
“While attempting to brake, car continues to accelerate. *ak”
“Timing belt replaced.”
“Water pump replaced.”
“Axle dropped, causing loss of steering/control. *skd”
“Rusted k-frame, causing axle to drop/loss of steering/control..”
“While driving, sometimes vehicle engine shuts down. *ak all power assist systems fail, sometimes vehicle will restart right away, more often in several hours, recently it would not start for days after it would stall, throttle position sensor, computer power module, and computer logic module have…”
“While driving, sometimes vehicle engine shuts down. *ak all power assist systems fail, sometimes vehicle will restart right away, more often in several hours, recently it would not start for days after it would stall, throttle position sensor, computer power module, and computer logic module have…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationC88001 Opened 1988-05-18 · closed 1989-10-30
SEAT ATTACHMENT FAILURE
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA88008 Opened 1987-11-17 · closed 1988-05-18
SEAT ATTACHMENT
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION: CHRYSLER HAS ISSUED ONE SERVICE BULLETIN, HON-ORED 4,028 WARRANTY CLAIMS, SOLD 2,700 SEATS, AND 2,491 ADJUSTMENT REIN-FORCEMENTS. THE SUBJECT DEFECT APPEARS TO BE SIMILAR TO THE GM J-BODY RE-CALL (87V-079) OF MAY 1987 IN WHICH 1,136,407 VEHICLES WERE RECALLED. INTHAT RECALL THERE WERE 159…
InvestigationEA91010 Opened 1990-12-10 · closed 1991-12-31
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1986 Plymouth Reliant as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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