Selling an old Mazda Navajo

A Navajo today is 32 years old or more. If yours sits with locked brakes, a slipping transmission or a rotten liftgate, you can sell the whole car as it sits. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

A Ford under the Mazda badge

Wikipedia treats the Navajo inside its Ford Explorer article. The first-generation model it describes was built by Ford from February 15, 1990, to November 1994, at plants in Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis, Missouri. It used a 4.0-liter OHV Cologne V6 and came with rear-wheel or four-wheel drive; EPA lists both a Navajo and a Navajo 4x4. The three-door version rides on a 102.1-inch wheelbase. Wikipedia adds that the Navajo ended after three years and was replaced by the Ford Escape-based Mazda Tribute.

1991: five recalls in the first year

The 1991 has 39 complaints, led by tires with 8, brakes with 6 and power train with 5. Its recalls cover a lot of ground:

• 91V020000: a front heat shield extension can touch the plastic fuel tank and puncture it. Dealers moved the shield and replaced damaged tanks. 6,424 vehicles.
• 91V028000: the rear bumper can crack from fatigue after long towing with a bumper-mounted hitch. Dealers added brackets and a bar. 10,000 vehicles.
• 91V189001: with the automatic in Park, the park pawl may not engage the park gear. Dealers fitted a new pawl. 33,540 vehicles.

Brakes, every year

Recall 96V024002 covers all four years. After years of use in Southern California, stress corrosion can crack the studs that mount the brake master cylinder to the vacuum booster. Dealers replaced the booster assembly. That campaign is 2,500 vehicles.

Liftgate and sunroof

Two recalls deal with the liftgate: welds on the brackets for its lift cylinders can fracture. Recall 95V164002 covers 1992-1993 and 99V310002 covers 1993-1994; dealers added reinforcement brackets. Recall 97V235002 covers 1991-1993 trucks with the factory sunroof, whose glass panel can come loose while driving because the hinge was not engaged correctly. Owners received an instruction booklet on removing and storing the panel.

1993-1994: parking brake and the busiest year

Recall 94V169002 covers a parking brake self-adjust pawl that can slip over teeth in its ratchet; dealers installed a wedge to lock it. The 1993 has 2 parking brake complaints. No year tops the 1994 at 49 complaints. Brakes lead (8), then speed control (5) and power train (5), and it holds all 3 fire reports.

The vehicle counts above are whole-campaign totals and can include models besides the Navajo.

Navajo complaints and recalls, by model year

Source: NHTSA complaint records, October 10, 2026. The last Navajos have had a shorter time for owners to file. A Navajo recall is listed in each year it covers. NHTSA also files one complaint under a 1990 model year, which EPA data does not list.

No deaths are recorded.

Fix it or sell it

1. Check the VIN at NHTSA's recall page. Eight campaigns means good odds one was missed along the way.
2. Brakes gone or seized? Read bad or seized brakes before trying to move it.
3. Automatic slipping or stuck in gear? See bad transmission.
4. Rust in the frame or liftgate? Rotted frame explains when rust ends the repair talk.

Selling the Navajo whole

1. Have the VIN ready, and say whether it's the 4x4.
2. Get an offer online or by calling (877) 421-6008.
3. Tell us where it sits. If the brakes are locked or the tires are flat, say so; the truck may need to winch it.
4. Leave it in one piece. Pulling the V6 or the transfer case first changes the offer.
5. When the driver shows up, give over the keys and the title. After you sell covers plates by state.

More on selling a junk truck or SUV. Also see the Tribute, the MPV and every Mazda we cover.