THE IGNITION SWITCH COULD EXPERIENCE AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT.
THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
The 1990 Ford Tempo has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 7,900,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 174 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THE IGNITION SWITCH COULD EXPERIENCE AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT.
THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Car has repeatable problem of not starting...have had it towed, due to this, numerous times, spent thousands of dollars trying to get it fixed, etc. Only to discover that it has two ignition defects...potentially... Since the car was not new when I bought it 3 years ago, I have no recourse but to…”
“Just after pulling into the driveway, the consumer smelled smoke . He opened the hood and noticed the top of the alternator plug was burning followed by wiring burning across to the battery. The terminal block on the left fender began burning and melting. *jb *nm”
“Driver's side seat belt malfunctioned. Dealer refused to repair seat belt without payment. *ak”
“The tread on all four tires separated while driving 60 mph (kelly metric radial size 18570r14). Please provide the dot number. *nlm”
“Brake adjusters failed 3 times causing brake failure”
“While driving 40mph and without warning, engine stalled, consumer applied brakes and vehicle did not stop resulting in a collision, which totaled vehicle. Prior to the accident vehicle shut off 4 times, dealer replaced battery, alternator, plugs/wires, and starter but this did not correct the…”
“While driving 40mph and without warning, engine stalled, consumer applied brakes and vehicle did not stop resulting in a collision, which totaled vehicle. Prior to the accident vehicle shut off 4 times, dealer replaced battery, alternator, plugs/wires, and starter but this did not correct the…”
“1.) rough idle, and oil light intermittently comes on when idling and only goes off when accelerating, but often stalls out, and doesn't want to re-start. (had oil changed twice to get excess gas out of it from trying to start it.) had to tow car three times. Paid $1,000 to try to get it fixed,…”
There is no summary currently available
WE HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS REPORTS WHICH ALLEGE A MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM.ADDITIONAL REPORTS ALLEGE THAT THE PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILED TO RESTRAIN/ADEQUATELY PROTECT THE OCCUPANT DURING AN ACCIDENT
1984 - 1991 FORD TEMPO/MERCURY TOPAZ
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Ford Tempo as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.