Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1981 Grand Marquis.
The 1981 Mercury Grand Marquis Overview shows just two owner complaints, with the Fuel/Propulsion System identified as the top area of concern and a single recall recorded. When placed alongside the model’s broader complaint history—covering 1990‑2011, where reports peaked at 487 in 2005 and fell to a low of nine in 2011—the 1981 year stands out as having a markedly low incidence of reported issues. This indicates that, according to the available data, the early‑model Grand Marquis exhibited relatively few reliability problems compared with later years.
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
The federal complaint record for the Mercury Grand Marquis begins in 1990 with 61 complaints and climbs to a peak of 383 in 1997 before falling to single digits by 2011. The 1981 model year precedes the first recorded data point, so no complaint or recall counts are documented for that specific year in the provided dataset. The only complaints recorded for 1981 pertain to Fuel/Propulsion System and Seat Belts, each with a count of one, and there were zero crash‑related or fire‑related complaints. Because the safety‑critical complaint metrics are absent and the overall complaint volume for earlier years is low, the 1981 Mercury Grand Marquis does not show documented safety defects in the available federal records. Consequently, from a regulatory‑complaint standpoint the 1981 Mercury Grand Marquis appears to be a low‑risk purchase relative to later years, though buyers should still consider mechanical condition and service history.
All 2 complaints on record, top 2 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
Showing 1 of 1 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.
Showing 4 of 4 bulletins on record with NHTSA.
| Bulletin | Date | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01157 | 2001-08-06 | Unknown Or Other | INFORMATION REGARDING TRANSMISSION FLUID USAGE CHARTS. *SLC |
| 002310 | 2000-11-13 | Power Train | SUBJECT REGARDING CONTAMINATION FROM PRIOR TRANSMISSION CONCERNS OR EXCESS WEAR MAY BE… |
| 9888 | 1998-04-27 | Power Train | INFORMATION ON A NEW TRANSMISSION FLUID USAGE CHART. *YC |
| 97511 | 1997-03-03 | Power Train | FLUID- TRANSMISSION FLUID USAGE CHARTS. *JD |
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 1 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.