The defect
THESE VEHICLES ARE ORIGINALLY SOLD OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE FOLLOWING STATES: ALASKA, IOWA, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTH DAKOTA. THE VEHICLES INVOLVED ARE 1992-1994 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES WITH 3.0L ENGINES; 1994 TEMPO/TOPAZ WITH 2.3L ENGINES; 1992-1995 TAURUS/SABLE WITH 3.8L ENGINES; 1994-1995 TAURUS/SABLE WITH 3.0L ENGINES AND 1992-1994 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL VEHICLES WITH 3.8L ENGINES. DURING HIGH WINDS, HEAVY, BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW, AND LOW TEMPERATURES, THE ENGINE COOLING FAN CAN BECOME BLOCKED OR FROZEN WITH SNOW. THE FAN MOTOR MAY NOT ROTATE AND COULD OVERHEAT.
The risk
THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE SMOKE OR FLAMES FROM THE FAN AND/OR SHROUD, THE FAN ELECTRICAL WIRING, OR THE FAN MOTOR RESULTING IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN ELECTRICAL JUMPER HARNESS CONTAINING AN AUTOMATIC RESETTING CIRCUIT BREAKER TO PROTECT THE FAN MOTOR LOW SPEED CIRCUITRY FROM OVERHEATING.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Taurus | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 |
| Ford Tempo | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Lincoln Continental | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Mercury Sable | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 |
| Mercury Topaz | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Taurus | 1992 | 681 | 5 |
| Ford Taurus | 1993 | 1,557 | 6 |
| Ford Taurus | 1994 | 923 | 4 |
| Ford Taurus | 1995 | 1,205 | 5 |
| Ford Tempo | 1992 | 176 | 2 |
| Ford Tempo | 1993 | 227 | 2 |
| Ford Tempo | 1994 | 161 | 1 |
| Lincoln Continental | 1992 | 126 | 3 |
| Lincoln Continental | 1993 | 121 | 4 |
| Lincoln Continental | 1994 | 190 | 5 |
| Mercury Sable | 1992 | 364 | 4 |
| Mercury Sable | 1993 | 674 | 6 |
| Mercury Sable | 1994 | 387 | 4 |
| Mercury Sable | 1995 | 350 | 5 |
| Mercury Topaz | 1992 | 62 | 2 |
| Mercury Topaz | 1993 | 71 | 2 |
| Mercury Topaz | 1994 | 63 | 1 |
Other engine and engine cooling recalls in 1997
4 of the 268 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 1997 concerned the engine and engine cooling; FORD MOTOR COMPANY filed 963 campaigns in all.
| 97V226000 9 Dec 1997 | CHRYSLER CORPORATION |
| 97V209000 13 Nov 1997 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 97V173000 8 Oct 1997 | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 1997