VehicleVerdict

1990 Ford Tempo engine problems

The 1990 Ford Tempo has 20 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 11% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

20

Engine complaints

11%

Share of year

2

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Tempo engine complaints by model year73 complaints1984: 2 complaints1985: 7 complaints1986: 2 complaints1987: 15 complaints1988: 34 complaints1989: 34 complaints1990: 20 complaints1991: 34 complaints1992: 56 complaints1993: 73 complaints1994: 48 complaints2000: 1 complaints
Tempo engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

WHILE DRIVING 40MPH AND WITHOUT WARNING, ENGINE STALLED, CONSUMER APPLIED BRAKES AND VEHICLE DID NOT STOP RESULTING IN A COLLISION, WHICH TOTALED VEHICLE. PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT VEHICLE SHUT OFF 4 TIMES, DEALER REPLACED BATTERY, ALTERNATOR, PLUGS/WIRES, AND STARTER BUT THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · December 21, 2001 · crash

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1990 Ford Tempo have?

NHTSA has 20 complaints about the 1990 Ford Tempo engine — 11% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.