Ford Motor Company: Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Brake Fluid Low Warning › Lamp
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Jan 25, 1996 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 76,500. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
THE BRAKE SYSTEM FLUID LEVEL INDICATOR LAMP SWITCH CAN MALFUNCTION. THIS DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS NO. 105, "HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEMS."
The risk
CONSEQUENCE OF NON-COMPLIANCE: IF THE SWITCH MALFUNTIONS, THE BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LAMP WILL EITHER REMAIN ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY OR FAIL TO LIGHT AS INTENDED WHEN THE FLUID LEVEL FALLS TO A CERTAIN LEVEL. IN EITHER CASE, THE VEHICLE OPERATOR WOULD NOT BE WARNED OF A LOW BRAKE FLUID LEVEL CONDITION.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE BRAKE SYSTEM FLUID LEVEL INDICATOR LAMP SWITCHES.
2 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Ford Taurus | 825 | 8 | 12 | 69 |
| 1996 Mercury Sable | 304 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 96V016000.
Full record for the 1996 Ford Taurus → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →