Owners have filed 24 complaints on the Ford LTD, covering 1983–1986. The system named most often is Electrical System (13 reports). Worst years by volume: 1985, 1984, 1986; cleanest: 1983, 1986, 1984. 2 reports describe a crash, 10 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 11.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford LTD
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 24 LTD complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 13 Read
Electrical fire. (rice lake fire department)
After parking, moments later found underneath dash in flames, no prior warning
After starting the vehicle, an electrical short in the wiring harness, caused the wiring under the hood to caught fire
Engine And Engine Cooling 3 Read
Tube running from the catalytic converter had 1/2 sparks coming from underneath floorboard on driver's side. Consumer will contact the dealer. Add more information
Control module failed
Burning oil smell inside of vehicle, also oil leaking/smoke emitting from tailpipe
Vehicle Speed Control 3 Read
Failure on the throttle, consumer was placing the vehicle in reverse with his foot on the brake and the vehicle accelerated in reverse, causing the consumer to have an accident. *ak
Intermittent sudden acceleration, causing loss of control, also excessive pressure applied to brakes during sudden acceleration caused brakes to burn out
While at a stop light gas pedal would go to the floorboard causing unwanted acceleration.please provide further information
Structure 2 Read
Vehicle was struck by another and occupant was killed
While driving at highway speeds the canvas top of the vehicle flew off. Please describe
Visibility 1 Read
Heater core failed, causing anti-freeze to leak onto hot catalytic converter, resulting in smoke/fire
Seat Belts 1 Read
Seat belt failure, difficulty latching the seat belt latch. Tt
Tires 1 Read
While driving on highway, tread on right rear firestone tire separated. *ak DOT # ejr1dek116, tire size p215 75 r15
LTD years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | 1 | 5 | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | 1 | 3 | |
| 1983 | Electrical System | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 24 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 1 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 11.8 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 1. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the LTD?
By complaint volume, 1985, 1984, 1986 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which LTD years are the cleanest?
1983, 1986, 1984 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford LTD have?
24 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1983–1986. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 10 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.