NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ99-016: LIFTGATE SUPPORT BRACKET FAILURE
- No closing date on file
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ99-016 on July 29, 1999; NHTSA's investigations file gives no closing date for it. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 1991–1995 Ford Explorer for it and links recalls 99V310001 and 99V310002 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ99-016 (also written RQ99016)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Opened July 29, 1999; no closing date on file
- Opened
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Structure
- Recalls linked by NHTSA
- 99V310001: FORD/HYDRAULIC LIFT CYLINDERS, reported
- 99V310002 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- 1991–1995 Ford Explorer
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ99-016.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
SUMMARY:ON AUGUST 22, 1995, FORD CONDUCTED SAFETY RECALL, 95V-164, ON 1992 AND 1993 MODEL YEAR EXPLORER DUE TO LIFTGATE FAILURES.THE REAR LIFTGATE HYDRAULIC CYLINDER BRACKET CAN BECOME UNATTACHED ALLOWING THE LIFTGATE TO SUDDENLY DROP.THE RECALL REMEDY WAS TO INSTALL REINFORCEMENTS ON THE BRACKETS.FORD ALSO INITIATED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN IN OCTOBER 1995, FOR 1991-1995 MODEL YEAR EXPLORER VEHICLES WHICH WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, TO INSTALL REINFORCEMENTS ON THOSE BRACKET THAT WERE FOUND TO BE LOOSE OR DETACHED.THIS CAMPAIGN ENDED IN OCTOBER 1996. SINCE NOVEMBER 1996, ODI HAS RECEIVED 51 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING LIFTGATE FAILURES CAUSED BY THE BRACKET SEPARATION, OF WHICH 19 REPORTED THE LIFTGATE STRUCK THE OCCUPANT CAUSING 12 INJURIES.ONE COMPLAINT WAS ON 1992 MODEL YEAR VEHICLE, THREE COMPLAINTS WERE ON 1993 MODEL YEAR VEHICLES, AND 47 COMPLAINTS WERE ON 1994 MODEL YEAR VEHICLES. THIS RQ IS TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCE AND THE SCOPE OF SAFETY RECALL 95V-164.
FORD AND MAZDA ARE CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN UNDER RECALL NUMBER 99V-310.001/.002.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ99-016. 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.
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.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RQ99-016
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.