Ford W Series Recalls & Complaints by Model Year

NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls and 0 owner complaints across 7 model years of the Ford W Series (1969–1979).

Pick your Ford W Series model year

• 1969
• 1970
• 1975
• 1976
• 1977
• 1978
• 1979

All Ford W Series recalls (2)

Every NHTSA safety campaign that lists a Ford W Series, most recent first, with the model years each one covers.

1. Service brakes, air: control unit/module

   NHTSA 79V077000 Reported March 29, 1979 65,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Certain air brake anti-lock modulators could malfunction during operation of the anti-lock system. A nylon piston within the modulator air valve system can swell from exposure to system contaminants. Continued exposure may cause the piston to swell to the extent that interference with the cylinder wall will result, causing momentary…

   Remedy: The pistons in the valve portion of the modulators will be replaced with pistons that do not swell when exposed to air brake system contaminants.

   Model years: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

2. Steering wheel/handle bar (steering)

   NHTSA 69V182000 Reported December 30, 1969 1,283 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Model years: 1969, 1970

Other Ford models

• F-15037,961 complaints
• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Taurus18,159 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.