Ford has issued a recall for 1.4 million cars and SUVs in North America in order to fix power steering, rust, and floor mat issues. These recalled vehicles include more than 134,000 in Canada.
915,000 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs from 2008 to 2011 are being recalled by Ford in order to repair a problem with a torque sensor within the steering column. Ford says that this issue could cause a loss of power-assisted steering, which would make the SUVs more difficult to control, increasing the possibility of crashes. Ford is telling their costumers to either replace the sensor, update software, or replace the steering column.
Additionally, close to 196,000 Ford Explorer SUVs from the 2011 through 2013 are also being recalled. because of an electrical problem in a steering gear, which could shut down power steering. Ford dealerships will either replace the steering gear or update software for customers.
Ford also issued a recall for more than 196,600 2010 to 2014 Taurus sedans and around 82,500 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr, and Lincoln MKZ cars from 2006 to 2011. The issue with the Taurus sedans is that they can rust around the licence plate light, possibly causing a short circuit and fire. The problem with other vehicles is that their floor mats could come in contact with the gas pedal if improperly installed. Dealerships will replace the mats.
Congress, the Justice Department, and the National Highway Traffic are closely monitoring auto safety, as the investigation into General Motors’ delayed recall of cars for ignition switch problems continues. Toyota recently had to pay over $1 billion in penalties because they hid information from government safety regulators. In light of these recent events, it appears that Ford is attempting to enact the most pro-active approach possible.
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