Ford calls back more than 202,000 vehicles in five North American recalls

According to statements launched by the Ford Motor company on Tuesday, the automobile manufacturer has called back 202,241 vehicles in five North American recalls which address various issues including some incorrect repairs in the previous recall. The improperly repaired vehicles have led to one accident so far and the company is fully aware of it. However no injuries have been reported related to the incident.

The recall involves 38,645 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car vehicles from model years 2005 through 2011 as it is being said that they not properly repaired in a previous recall which involved issues with the lower intermediate steering shaft that could result in loss of steering. Back in 2013, the company had recalled 370,000 of the cars in the United States and Canada which involved complaints related to corrosion of the steering shaft could result in loss of steering. Ford has now announced that this new recall will ensure that the dealers inspect and replace the steering shaft as needed.

For this purpose, Ford has recalled 134,947 Flex and F-150 vehicles from model year 2014 involving an issue with passenger seat sensing and this is one serious issue where the passenger air bag would not deploy in the air in certain front crashes and this ultimately increases the risk of injury. The dealers will ensure that the gap between the manual seat frame and the seat track assembly is widened and then the seat occupant classification system will be recalibrated. The recall also involves 960 F-150 pickup trucks from model year 2014 because of issues relating to incorrectly adjusted brake pedal position switch which can lead to a delay or non-illumination of the brake lights when the brake pedal is depressed.

The company has advised its customers to stop using the cruise control until the trucks have been repaired because additional brake pressure is needed to disengage that system. However, the cruise control off switch on the steering wheel will continue to disengage the system. Ford has said in a statement that the dealers are going to remove and reinstall the brake pedal position switch.

Two remaining recalls are related to the Ford Transit Connect vehicles. 25,597 of the 2014 models are being recalled since they have issues relating to the fuel and vapor lines which /4/be incorrectly routed and this can cause a fuel leak and lead to a fire. The second recall affects 92 of the 2015 models because there could be a problem with the bracket that holds the fuel filter to the vehicle frame. This can become detached over time and can result in knocking sounds or an engine stall, which could increase the risk of a crash. The Transit Connect recall is going to involve dealers inspecting the lines and rerouting and replacing them as needed.

source: reuters