Total Complaints
6 filings
FORD FAIRMONT · model year
6 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1983FORDFAIRMONT carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1983 FAIRMONT is engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline with 3 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (1) and electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 177 investigation files overlapping the 1983 FAIRMONT, and 8 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
6 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 3 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | 1 |
VEHICLE STALLS INTERMITTENTLY.
VEHICLE STALLS IN TRAFFIC WHEN CROSSING A INTERSECTION AFTER A STOP.
VEHICLE STALL WHEN CROSSING A INTERSECTION AFTER A STOP.
MODULATOR VALVE FAILED, CAUSING GEAR SHIFT TO STICK.
REPLACEMENT ALTERNATOR FAILED.
RADIATOR FAN FAILED.
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
Timing Belt Failure
Underbody shields detachment
B-Pillar Trim Detachment
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.