Vehicle report
1989 FORD THUNDERBIRD
This model year
What the record shows
The 1989 Ford Thunderbird is a midsize car, and the 30th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1960 to 2005.
The EPA rated three configurations: a single 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive only, two transmissions and running on premium gasoline and regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 17 to 20 mpg depending on which one you have.
The federal record holds 124 owner complaints, 2 investigations and 27 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.