The 1996 Ford Econoline has 4 recalls, the most serious being a natural gas fuel fill valve that can leak and allow fuel to escape, and a parking brake that may not hold the vehicle on a steep grade.
On CNG-equipped models, the nickel plating inside the fuel fill valve can flake and cause the valve to leak natural gas into the atmosphere. Separately, the parking brake may not generate enough holding force to keep the vehicle stationary on a 20% incline, raising the risk of a rollaway. On certain cutaway incomplete vehicles, the brake system warning lamp may not illuminate due to a missing ground circuit, leaving the driver without a visual alert if a brake fault occurs. Van conversion models built as travel vans are also missing head restraints on both front seats, which increases the risk of neck injury in a rear-end collision.