Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1979 E-100 Econoline.
The 1979 Ford E-100 Econoline is the E-100 model-year entry in the Econoline line, a vehicle whose gasoline fuel system generated the top complaint area even as the model year accumulated only two total owner complaints and nine separate recalls. That combination of minimal reported failures with a comparatively high recall count highlights a wide gap between owner-reported issues and factory-issued corrections. Within the Econoline's broader reliability history, that gap positions the 1979 E-100 as an outlier defined more by manufacturer-initiated remedies than by chronic operational defects. Researchers examining this period should treat that profile as indicative of a model year subject to significant factory oversight rather than widespread user-end deterioration.
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
Owner complaints about the 1979 Ford E-100 Econoline dominate in one area — the fuel system, gasoline, 1 of 2 reports (50%), well ahead of the next concern. That matters, because the fuel system, gasoline are also the target of recall 07E-064 on this vehicle — so the single most useful check before buying or servicing one is confirming it was actually performed. 0 of the reports describe a crash and 1 a fire — a small share of the total, but worth weighing against the fuel system, gasoline pattern above. These are tallies of what owners actually reported to the federal government, not an editorial score — and higher-selling models naturally rack up more reports.
All 2 complaints on record, top 2 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
Showing 2 of 9 campaigns on record for this vehicle.
CERTAIN FEDERAL-MOGUL AFTERMARKET FUEL PUMPS SOLD UNDER THE BRAND NAMES OF CARTER, ACCUFLOW, NAPA, TRUFLOW, PARTS DEPO, AND PARTS MASTER, SHIPPED BETWEEN AUGUST 2006 AND JULY 2007 FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE… Remedy: FEDERAL-MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 15, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL-MOGUL AT 248-354-7700.
THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS IN WHICH THE PARKING PAWL WAS NOT HEAT-TREATED. DURING NORMAL VEHICLE OPERATION, A PARKING PAWL THAT HAS NOT BEEN HEAT-TREATED COULD BECOME DEFORMED OR… Remedy: DEALER WILL INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE PARKING PAWL WITH ONE THAT HAS BEEN HEAT-TREATED.
The most common OBD-II codes for this vehicle's emissions system. These are standardized SAE J2012 definitions, not vehicle-specific fault reports.
Decode factory build data for a specific vehicle by VIN.
Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.
NHTSA lists 9 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.