Federal regulators have targeted older Ford Escape models -. such as this 2001 -- and the Mazda Tribute in a new safety investigation.
Just days after the all-new 2013 Ford Escape became the target of a recall federal safety regulators revealed they have begun an investigation into older versions of the compact sport-utility vehicle – as well as the similar Mazda Tribute – due to a potential problem with sticky accelerators.
In all, 730,000 of the two vehicles – produced during the 2001 through 2004 model-years – are targeted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe. Only models using V-6 engines are covered.
Ironically, the problem may have been caused by repairs made during an earlier recall due to an accelerator cable defect. More than 80% of the vehicles covered by the new investigation, about 590,000 in all, had been involved in that earlier safety-related action.
According to the safety agency, it has so far received 99 complaints – 68 of them involving the Ford Escape – and NHTSA says that it so far knows of 13 crashes, nine injuries and one death related to the problem.
The new 2013 Ford Escape was recalled this month for "carpet entrapment" problems.
A spokesman for Ford said the company plans to “fully cooperate” with the investigation.
The Ford Escape has been one of the maker’s most popular models, competing in one of the fastest-growing segments in the U.S. market. Introduced in 2000, it was the biggest seller in the compact SUV segment in three of the four years covered by the federal probe. It remains today one of the segment’s top models, though lags behind the Honda CR-V.
The reported problem with the sticky accelerator led the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Auto Safety to urge action by NHTSA last week. The government agency denied a request for a hearing but instead has opened the new investigation.
The probe covers two vehicles from two different manufacturers but the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute are virtually identical mechanically, Ford providing the compact SUV to its long-time Japanese ally to flesh out the brand’s line-up. Ford began selling off most of its controlling stake in Mazda in 2008 and now retains just a 3.5% share. Mazda no longer markets the Tribute.
News of the new investigation could prove embarrassing for Ford. The maker had built a reputation for having the highest quality of the Detroit automakers during the past decade but recently suffered some setbacks in studies such as the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey. Most of those issues have been related to problems with its high-tech telematics systems, however.
The launch of the investigation into the older Escape and Tribute models comes just days after Ford announced it would recall the first 10,000 of the new 2013 Escape models it has built due to so-called carpet entrapment. That could lead to a problem using the pedals on the latest Escape – which this year migrated from a traditional, truck-like chassis to a more car-like crossover “architecture.”
Carpet entrapment has proven to be an issue for several makers, including Toyota which issued a recall for a similar problem with its Lexus RX crossovers in recent weeks. The Japanese giant recalled millions of other vehicles due to carpet entrapment – along with potentially sticky accelerators in 2009 and 2010.
An investigation is not the same as a recall, though the problems with the Escape and Tribute could eventually lead to that step. The 2001 and 2002 models of the Escape were recalled earlier this year due to brake problems that could lead to fires.
Industry-watchers have noted a significant ramp-up in the number of safety-related investigations and recalls over the last several years. That appears to be a response to the big Toyota recalls of 2009 and 2010 – and the fact that NHTSA was embarrassed when the maker released internal documents showing it had saved millions of dollars when the U.S. government went easy on a previous problem that should have led to a recall.
Among other investigations now underway, NHTSA is looking into a possible problem caused by potentially defective window motors in 1.4 million Toyota vehicles that could lead to fires in the driver’s door. And 5.1 million Jeep vehicles are under investigation because of a reported gas tank fire hazard.
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