Ford now has expanded the F-Series recall to include more than 1.3 million trucks.
Under pressure from federal regulators who had expanded an investigation into a reported airbag problem, Ford Motor Co. now says it will recall another 1.2 million F-Series pickups, increasing more than tenfold a recall first announced in February.
The maker initially planned to recall just 144,000 F-Series trucks produced at its plant in Norfolk. An apparent assembly line problem was blamed for occasional wiring damage that could cause the vehicle’s airbags to fire inadvertently. But government regulators argued that the recall should cover a far broader range of the full-size trucks.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, meanwhile, has expanded a probe of 1.5 million Ford sport-utility vehicles linked to a defect that could cause them to roll away even though the driver believed the vehicle had been shifted into Park.
“We’re recalling the complete population of (F-Series) trucks built between 2003 – which marked the start of production of the all-new 2004 truck – and 2006, 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S.” explained Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood, following the makers decision to expand the original safety action.
The 5 millionth Explorer - one of 1.5 million Ford SUVs targeted by a new NHTSA investigation.
Sherwood noted that the recall will also impact another 10,000 F-Series pickups sold outside North America. The maker will begin sending out letters to owners in May explaining how to get repairs completed. Owners will not be charged for the work.
The automaker contends there is a “relatively low risk” of any motorist actually experiencing an inadvertent airbag deployment. But safety advocates contend that if an incident occurred while a motorist were driving it could result in an accident – made all the worst because there’d no longer be an airbag ready to deploy.
Ford previously blamed the problem on a wire that could have been improperly installed, resulting in its chafing, creating the possibility of a short circuit that could lead to an airbag misfire. Ford made wiring changes in 2006 to prevent the potential problem.
The F-Series is the nation’s best-selling full-size pickup, as well as the top-selling vehicle overall. It was involved in another recall, announced in February, 350,000 trucks recalled due to a problem with door handles that could come open in a collision.
The separate NHTSA probe involves 1.5 million SUVs, including the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, sold during the 2002 through 2005 model-years, and the 2003 through 2005 Lincoln Aviator.
The agency says it has identified 200 incidents in which the affected vehicles began to roll after drivers believed they had shifted into park. At least 85 crashes and 32 injuries have occurred, though no fatalities.
Federal investigators say they have also received over 800 owner complaints alleging the vehicles covered by the investigation couldn’t be shifted into Park.
“We have expanded the scope of the investigation to include components other than the brake shift interlock system,” said Frank Borris, NHTSA’s director of defects investigation, in a March 30 letter to Ford.
The automaker says it is cooperating in the investigation.