PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM · model year

1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM

70 NHTSA complaints, 12 crash reports for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1990PLYMOUTHACCLAIM carries 70 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 12 crashes, 10 fires, 15 injuries, and 1 fatality. 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 1990 ACCLAIM is air bags:frontal with 9 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (7) and air bags (5). 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 5 investigation files overlapping the 1990 ACCLAIM. 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.

70
Complaints
12
Crashes
10
Fires
15
Injuries
1
Deaths

Total Complaints

70 filings

Crashes Reported

12 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL9
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE7
AIR BAGS5
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE5
SUSPENSION:REAR4
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER4
SEAT BELTS3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM2
STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR2
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS2
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH1

Recent Complaints

20231031AIR BAGS

July 2017 I was hit by a drunk driver of which I was a passenger in my vehicle upon impact my seatbelts automatically released and my airbags did not deploy causing my driver to be ejected from the vehicle and for me to hit my head on my dash and then be smashed into my windshield then finally when the car stopped rolling I was in the back seat no longer in the front passenger seat to end up in the backseat when I was sitting originally in the front passenger. I was injured severely due to the lack of my seatbelts working correctly and it caused me to have a broken back and eight places a broken pelvis that pierced my liver and gallbladder and broke my collarbone legs and arms I had to be given full blood transfusion and I maxed out the other cars insurance and my uninsured motorist ins while my injuries pain and medical was over $150000 I only received a few thousand and now have chronic pain and related health issues due to the damage to my liver

20231031SEAT BELTS

July 2017 I was hit by a drunk driver of which I was a passenger in my vehicle upon impact my seatbelts automatically released and my airbags did not deploy causing my driver to be ejected from the vehicle and for me to hit my head on my dash and then be smashed into my windshield then finally when the car stopped rolling I was in the back seat no longer in the front passenger seat to end up in the backseat when I was sitting originally in the front passenger. I was injured severely due to the lack of my seatbelts working correctly and it caused me to have a broken back and eight places a broken pelvis that pierced my liver and gallbladder and broke my collarbone legs and arms I had to be given full blood transfusion and I maxed out the other cars insurance and my uninsured motorist ins while my injuries pain and medical was over $150000 I only received a few thousand and now have chronic pain and related health issues due to the damage to my liver

20210907CrashSEAT BELTS

both the drivers and the passengers front seat belts did not work correctly, If i repeadely inserted the clasp in and out, eventually they would click, but then later they would release, when i was in a very bad car accident july 13 2017, both the driver of my vehicle and i both had our seatbelts on and clasped, and upon impact the belts released and the driver was ejected from the vehicle and i hit my head and was banged and tossed around the vehicle as it spun and rolled, and when it was over i was no longer in teh front of the car, i was in the back seat, and i had injuries to my organs, i almost died, and i broke my back, my collar bone, legs and arms, because my seat belt released upon impact immediatly.

20210312CrashSEAT BELTS

JULY 2017 I WAS A PASSENGER IN MY OWN VEHICLE AND ME AND MY DRIVER WERE BOTH WEARING THE SEATBELTS, THAT AT IMPACT RELEASED AND HE WAS EJECTED OUT OF THE DOOR THAT HAD OPENED ON IMPACT AND IN THE SPIN IN THE AIR WAS EJECTED OUT OF THE CAR, I HIT MY HEAD ON THE DASH, BOTH SEATBELTS WERE FAULTY, IT WAS DIFFICULT WHEN PUTTING THEM ON TO GET THEM TO GRASP, YOU WOULD HAVE TO REPEATEDLY AND WITH ALOT OF FORCE OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL IT WOULD GRAB, WE BOTH HAD GOTTEN THE SEAT BELTS TO ENGAGE BUT ON IMPACT THEY INSTANTLY RELEASED

Mileage: 150,000

20060606VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

CONSUMER COMPLAINT CONCERNING THE POWER DOOR LOCKS AND THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR WINDOW PROBLEMS. *TS THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE MOTOR HAD FAILED. *JB

20060606LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

CONSUMER COMPLAINT CONCERNING THE POWER DOOR LOCKS AND THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR WINDOW PROBLEMS. *TS THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE MOTOR HAD FAILED. *JB

20040518CrashAIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ON MARCH 16, 2004, WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH ON ICY PAVEMENT, THE CONSUMER TRIED TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER RAN INTO A TREE INSTEAD. UPON IMPACT, NO AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *JB

20031120FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

VEHICLE ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE.*MR THE CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING IN THE LEFT LANE WHEN A BIG BANG WAS HEARD. SMOKE STARTED COMING THROUGH THE DASH BOARD. SPARKS WERE COMING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE WHEN THE ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE. ONCE ON THE SHOULDER, THE VEHICLE BURNED. THE ENTIRE FRONT END BURNED THROUGH, THE ONLY THING LEFT WAS THE REAR TIRES AND TAIL LIGHTS. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. VEHICLE NEVER HAD ENGINE PROBLEMS AND NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. *PH *JB

20030709ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED HEAD GASKET BLEWOUT. DEALER NOTIFIED. CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE WAS WITHOUT WARRANTY. *AK

20030117CrashSEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

CONSUMER STATES, VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION AND THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT DID NOT RETRACT CAUSING PASSENGER TO GO THROUGH WINDSHIELD. DEALER NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TS

20021115SUSPENSION:FRONT:STABILIZER BAR

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITHOUT WARNING THE STABILIZER BAR SNAP CAUSING A LOUD NOISE. DEALER NOTIFIED TS

20020916TIRES

WE WERE TRAVELING NORTH ON I-95. WE HEARD AN UNIDENTIFYABLE NOISE. I STOPPED THE CAR AND DID NOT FIND ANYTHING OBVIOUS. WE CONTINUED TRAVELING AT THE RATE OF APPROX. 55MPH WHEN THE CAR WENT OUT OF CONTROL. AFTER SOME DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY GAINING CONTROL OF THE CAR, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. FORTUNATELY, WE WERE IN THE SLOW LANE WITH NO OTHER CARS NEAR US (OTHERWISE WE WOULD HAVE COLLIDED DURING THE TIME THE CAR WAS SWERVING AND OUT OF CONTROL). UPON INSPECTION, THE TREAD WAS RIPPED AWAY FROM THE TIRE. WE HAVE SAVED THE TIRE AND THE TREAD.*AK

20001120ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

20001120POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

20001120VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

20001107CrashAIR BAGS

NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG DURING A FRONTAL COLLISON CAUSED THE DRIVER TO SUFFER FRACTURED FEMUR, FRACTURED RIGHT ORBIT, FRACTURED CHEEK BONE AND NOSE, THE FACIAL FRACTURES WERE FROM HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL. *ET

20000717FireSTEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

THE VEHICLE'S STEERING COLUMN CAUGHT FIRE AND MELTED, BUT THE MANUFACTURER DECLINED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE INCIDENT. YH

20000713FireSTEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

THE VEHICLE'S STEERING COLUMN CAUGHT FIRE AND MELTED, BUT THE MANUFACTURER DECLINED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE INCIDENT. YH

20000318ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

CAR WILL NOT START WITH THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, BUT IT WILL START WHEN USING THE REMOTE STARTER. *AK

20000302FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

CONSUMER EXPERIENCED PROBLEM WITH ENGINE VALVE COVER GASKET SIMILAR TO THE ONE DESCRIBED IN RECALL 89V237000, WHERE VEHICLE GOT ON FIRE AND WAS TOTALED.*AK *ML

Compare 1990PLYMOUTHACCLAIM to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM have?
The 1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM has 70 NHTSA complaints, 12 crashes, 10 fires, 15 injuries, and 1 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM?
The most-complained component for the 1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL with 9 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE and AIR BAGS.
Is the 1990 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.