Vehicle recall 81V042000 · April 1, 1981
1981 Ford Econoline
The gear position indicators on certain vehicles may be too short to be readily visible to some drivers.
Source: NHTSA data as of September 22, 2026. Last refreshed Sep 23, 2026, 2:43 AM UTC.
- Summary
- The gear position indicators on certain vehicles may be too short to be readily visible to some drivers. This is not in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 101, "controls and display", which states that the gear position display must be visible to driver.
- Remedy
- If pointer of gear position indicator is found to be too short, it will be replaced without charge to owner.
- Notes
- Vehicle description: vans equipped with non-tilt steering columns.system: power train; automatic transmission gear position indicator.consequences of defect: difficulty in viewing the gear shift indicator mayresult in incorrect shifting of gears, unexpected vehicle movement, accident,and personal injury.
Recall details
- NHTSA campaign
- 81V042000
- Reported to NHTSA
- April 1, 1981
- Filed by
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Owner notification
- April 24, 1981
- Vehicles potentially affected
- 1,650
- Initiated by
- the manufacturer
- Components
- Power train › Manual transmission › Shift pattern indicator
Vehicles covered
As listed by NHTSA. A recall usually covers only some vehicles of each model and year, often a production date range.
- Ford Econoline (1981): 1981
Has your Ford been repaired?
Recalls here come from NHTSA’s records for the model and year. Not every vehicle of a model is included in every recall, and this site can’t see whether a repair has been done. Only a VIN lookup can tell you that.
NHTSA’s VIN search doesn’t show recalls that were already repaired, recalls more than 15 years old, or some small manufacturers’ recalls. Recall repairs are free.