NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA86-005: POWER BRAKE BOOSTER
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA86-005 on November 25, 1985 and closed it on July 23, 1987. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA86-005 (also written EA86005)
- Investigation type
- Engineering Analysis A more detailed stage of a defect investigation, opened when NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation decides an issue merits further review, often after a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query; it can include vehicle testing, surveys and further information requests.
- Status
- Closed July 23, 1987
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic
- Vehicles and equipment
- Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Engineering Analysis EA86-005.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:FORD INITIATED SERVICE ACTIONSTO CHECK FOR ENGINE IDLE SPEED, TO DECREASE BOOSTER RUNOUT, AND TO FURTHERREDUCE THE INITIAL BRAKE PEDAL TRAVEL.ANALYSIS:THE MAJORITY OF THE REPORTS ARE DATED IN THE 1979-1981 ERA.MOST ACCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF OPERATION.STATUS:A SURVEY OF ABOUT 2,000 SUBJECT CAR OWNERS CONCERNING THE BOOSTERPROBLEM HAS BEEN COMPLETED.THE ACSC REPORT WAS RECEIVED 6/10/87.
CLOSED 7/23/87.===
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA86-005. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
Ford Thunderbird
Mercury
Mercury Cougar
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA86-005
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.