1988 FORD TEMPO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 125 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (49 complaints · 39.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 35
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1987 →
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 49 of 125 owner complaints (39.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 49 complaints, 39.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 49 · 39.2% · 24 fire reports ENGINE: 22 complaints, 17.6% of reports ENGINE 22 · 17.6% · 5 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 15 complaints, 12.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 15 · 12.0% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 7.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 9 · 7.2% · 5 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 6 complaints, 4.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 · 4.8% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 4.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 4.8% POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 3.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 3.2% PARKING BRAKE: 2 complaints, 1.6% of reports PARKING BRAKE 2 · 1.6% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 1.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 1.6% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 101 complaints, 80.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 101 · 80.8% · 2 crash reports 30 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 49 39.2% 0 crashes · 24 fires
ENGINE 22 17.6% 0 crashes · 5 fires
SEAT BELTS 15 12.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 9 7.2% 0 crashes · 5 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 4.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 4 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 2 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 1.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 101 80.8% 2 crashes · 30 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 Mar 1988. 1995-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 1996-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 1996-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1988 Jul 2015 Recall campaign 88V024000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V024000 Recall campaign 96V071000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V071000 Investigation EA90008 ● Investigation EA90008 Investigation EA90042 ● Investigation EA90042 Investigation EA91052 ● Investigation EA91052 Investigation DP96002 ● Investigation DP96002 Investigation PE96005 ● Investigation PE96005
  • Campaign 96V071000 was reported 451 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 6
1995-Q2 Owner reports 4
1995-Q3 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 6
1996-Q1 Owner reports 2
1996-Q2 Owner reports 15
1996-Q3 Owner reports 21
1996-Q4 Owner reports 6
1997-Q1 Owner reports 4
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 3
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 6
1999-Q4 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 5
2001-Q1 Owner reports 3
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 88V024000
Recall campaign 1 96V071000
Defect investigation 1 EA90008
Defect investigation 1 EA90042
Defect investigation 1 EA91052
Defect investigation 1 DP96002
Defect investigation 1 PE96005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V024000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF BOTH SCREWS COME OUT, SENSORS COULD DISENGAGE FROMTHE THROTTLE SHAFT, PREVENTING RETURN OF THE THROTTLE FROM MID POSITION.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE ATTACHMENT SCREWS WITH SCREWS WITH PRE APPLIED ADHESIVE THAT WILL BE TIGHTENED TO A HIGHER TORQUE SPECIFICATION.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V071000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
    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 125 complaints · page 1 of 5

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