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Car Safety DB

NHTSA Campaign Number

97V171000

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

Reported to NHTSA: October 7, 1997

Key Takeaways

  • Recall 97V171000 currently maps to 6 tracked vehicle-year pages across 1 make.
  • This page summarizes the official defect description, safety consequence, and remedy text published by NHTSA for this campaign.
  • This is a campaign-level lookup, not a VIN-level clearance result. Use a VIN lookup before assuming your specific vehicle is still open.

Defect Description

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS AND MULTI-PURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLES. IF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFT CABLE ASSEMBLY WAS NOT FULLY ATTACHED TO THE STEERING COLUMN BRACKET, THE SHIFT CABLE ASSEMBLY CAN COME OUT OF THE BRACKET. THE VEHICLE OPERATOR WOULD THEN NOT BE ABLE TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION FROM ONE OF THE DRIVE GEAR POSITIONS INTO THE PARK POSITION EVEN THOUGH THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR WOULD INDICATE "PARK."

Safety Consequence

THE CONDITION WOULD NOT ALLOW A DISENGAGEMENT OF THE TRANSMISSION FROM THE PARK POSITION OR AFFECT PROPER NEUTRAL START SWITCH OPERATION. UNINTENDED VEHICLE MOVEMENT COULD OCCUR IF THE PARKING BRAKE WAS NOT SET.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL MAKE THE PROPER ATTACHMENT OF THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CONTROL CABLE TO THE STEERING COLUMN BRACKET AND ADD A TIE STRAP TO THAT CONNECTION.

What This Recall Page Shows

This page summarizes a single NHTSA recall campaign, including the defect description, safety consequence, and manufacturer's remedy. The affected vehicles listed below are the make/model/year combinations tracked in our database — this is not a VIN-specific result. To check whether your individual vehicle is covered by this recall, enter your 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Click any vehicle below to view its full safety profile.

Affected Vehicles (6)

YearMakeModel
1997FordExpedition
1998FordExpedition
1997FordF-150
1998FordF-150
1997FordF-250
1998FordF-250

Browse Affected Vehicles

Affected Models

Affected Make + Year Views

Affected Years

Related Powertrain & Transmission Campaigns

These campaigns share the same broad recall component family, so they are useful if you want to compare how similar issue types appeared across other vehicles and time periods.

This recall information is from NHTSA campaign 97V171000. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA. Contact your dealer or call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026