Ford Issues Five Recalls Over Fuel, Brakes, Sensors and Other Problems

Ford Motor Company intends to recall over 200,000 vehicles in five separate actions initiated in North America alone, citing a number of different problems, including leaking fuel lines, defective fuel filters, improperly installed steering shafts, brake pedal switches, and potentially faulty air bag sensors.  

The five Ford recalls were announced on November 4, after consumer complaints identified a number of potentially serious safety risks. However, the auto maker indicates that it is aware of only one accident that may be linked to the defects.

Among the recalled vehicles are 134,947 Ford Flex and Ford F-150 vehicles from the 2014 model year, which may have issues where the front passenger seat air bag sensing control module will fail, potentially resulting in the non-deployment of the air bags in certain frontal collisions. This may increase the risk of injury to passengers.

Ford believes an estimated 113,418 impacted vehicles are located in the U.S., with another 19,975 in Canada, and 1,554 in Mexico. The automaker is preparing notice for dealers to repair the issue by widening the gap between the manual seat frame and seat track assembly and re-calibrate the seat occupant classification system free of charge.

The second largest recall involves 38,645 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town cars, due to a risk that the vehicles may have been improperly repaired during a prior recall involving an issue with the lower intermediate steering shaft. These problems could could cause drivers to lose steering ability, leading to an accident.

Ford became aware of the steering problems with the cars after receiving at least one accident report where a driver indicated that all steering ability was lost while the vehicle was in motion, resulting in a crash. However, the automaker indicates there were no injuries suffered in the accident.

An estimated 35,888 of the vehicles are believed to be in the United States, with another 1,757 in Canada. Dealers will inspect and replace the upper intermediate steering shaft if necessary as well as inspect the steering column lower bearing and install a bearing retainer kit if needed.

Ford Motor Corp is also recalling 27,597 Ford Transit Connect vehicles from the 2014 model year, due to a potentially incorrect fuel and vapor line routing, which could cause the lines to rub together and cause a leak in the fuel lines over time. This could result in a vehicle fire in the presence of an ignition source. Ford dealers will inspect the fuel line routes and reroute and replace the fuel line if necessary.

Also being recalled are 950 Ford F-150 trucks that may experience problems with a brake pedal position switch, which may have been incorrectly adjusted. This could result in a delay or a non-illumination of the brake lights when engaging the brake pedal, increasing the risk of rear-end collisions. Ford has prepared notice for dealers to remove and reinstall the brake pedal position switch free of charge.

The last recall of the five includes 92 Ford Transit vehicles from the 2015 model year, which may have weak brackets holding the fuel filter to the frame. Over time the brackets may become detached causing the engine to stall due to lack of fuel filtration, posing a crash hazard to drivers who may not be able to restart the engine while idling. Ford plans to inspect the vehicles and reinforce the underbody structure if required free of charge.