1989 FORD PROBE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 77 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (25 complaints · 32.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1988 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 25 of 77 owner complaints (32.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 25 complaints, 32.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 25 · 32.5% ENGINE: 11 complaints, 14.3% of reports ENGINE 11 · 14.3% · 3 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 9.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 · 9.1% · 2 fire reports VISIBILITY: 7 complaints, 9.1% of reports VISIBILITY 7 · 9.1% POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 7.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 7.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 5.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 5.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 3 complaints, 3.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 2 complaints, 2.6% of reports STEERING 2 · 2.6% SUSPENSION: 2 complaints, 2.6% of reports SUSPENSION 2 · 2.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 55 complaints, 71.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 55 · 71.4% · 2 crash reports 5 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 25 32.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 11 14.3% 0 crashes · 3 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 9.1% 0 crashes · 2 fires
VISIBILITY 7 9.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 7.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 3 3.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 2 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 55 71.4% 2 crashes · 5 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1993. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1989 Oct 2019 Recall campaign 93E035000 ◆ Recall campaign 93E035000 Investigation PE89166 ● Investigation PE89166 Investigation PE91124 ● Investigation PE91124 Investigation PE96027 ● Investigation PE96027 Investigation DP07001 ● Investigation DP07001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q2 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 6
1995-Q4 Owner reports 7
1996-Q1 Owner reports 3
1996-Q2 Owner reports 3
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 4
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 3
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 93E035000
Defect investigation 1 PE89166
Defect investigation 1 PE91124
Defect investigation 1 PE96027
Defect investigation 1 DP07001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 93E035000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    IF THE RETAINING RING DOES NOT SIT CORRECTLY IN THEGROOVE, THE AXLE LUG NUTS WILL BREAK, CAUSING THE BRAKE DRUM, WHEEL, AND TIREASSEMBLY TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE.
    Remedy:
    MIDAS SHOPS WILL REPLACE THE BRAKE DRUMS WITH OTHER BRAKE DRUMS FROM ANOTHER SUPPLIER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 77 complaints · page 1 of 4

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources