Dearborn, MI — May 30, 2016 — Ford finished the month of April with a joint statement addressing several recalls impacting its vehicles in the United States. While the largest of these involved speed sensor issues, another one included Ford Police Interceptor and Explorer vehicles with the 2014 and 2015 model years. Altogether, the recall concerns suspension problems in 81,036 total autos, with 75,364 in the United States.

The affected Interceptors have a different manufacturing history than the Explorers also involved in this recall. Though both sets of vehicles were built at the company’s Chicago Assembly Plant in 2014, the Interceptors were produced between January 17 and May 31 last year.

According to this release, the vehicles are possibly subject to a weak rear suspension toe link, which could leave drivers vulnerable to a loss of control or possibly a crash. This defect has led to one confirmed accident and injury, and the manufacturer attributes the danger to “poor weld quality” in the affected links. Both the left and right links can be affected, requiring dealers to replace each of them for a full remedy. The fix also requires dealers to align the rear suspension.

The Ford recalls aren’t the only recent example of a police vehicle action. In March, Chevrolet recalled 6,280 Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicles for a corrosion problem that could cancel out the vehicle’s power steering.

If this happened suddenly, drivers could be in danger of losing control over the vehicle. A press release on this case from March 18 said that the company had not as of yet planned an official repair date. Chevrolet had, however, developed a basic remedy plan, which involved dealers replacing the entire steering gear assembly in affected units. No injuries were reported as of the statement’s release.

Dearborn, MI — May 28, 2016 — Some Ford drivers could experience a jarring gear change, according to a press release from the manufacturer’s official site. That source announced a new recall meant to fix a software issue that may cause unwanted transmission shifts. This was one of a series of five Ford recalls (three for safety and two for safety compliance) that will affect cars across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The shifting issue represents the largest of these recalls, with 201,900 vehicles potentially affected and total model years ranging between 2011 and 2012. The four models in question (the Ford F-150, Expedition and Mustang as well as the Lincoln Navigator) will have a 6R80 transmission.

Because of problems with an included sensor, the press release stated, vehicles could suddenly change speed and possibly lose control. Though there are no injuries or fatalities attributed to this fault, there have been three reports of accidents.

The remedy described in this statement varies slightly depending on whether or not the dealer finds diagnostic trouble codes in the vehicle’s affected control modules. Both cases involve updating the control software as necessary.

This is similar to another major recall related to shifting issues from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In that case, the automaker recalled a total of 811,586 vehicles to address shifting systems that were confusing users.

While the models themselves did not suffer any equipment failure, a statement from that company did mention 41 injuries that may come from the difficult transmission lever. Drivers were at a possible risk if they exited these vehicles before fully parking them.

After the latest FCA enhancements, affected vehicles in this recall will reportedly automatically halt a vehicle to prevent any unintended movements. These vehicles already contain some warning systems, including chimes, to alert the driver when the car is not in park while the doors are open.

Dearborn, MI — April 13, 2016 — A trio of auto recalls signaled the end of March for Ford Motor Company. In a single press release from the manufacturer, Ford described three different recalls that affect various vehicles with the 2015 and 2016 model years.

In total, the new Ford recalls concern approximately 48,205 vehicles across the United States and Canada, and no accidents have been connected to any of these problems. Potentially affected units include vehicles from various company assembly plants, including locations in Chicago, Louisville and Kansas City.

The first recall includes 37,066 Ford Transits in the United States. These low-roof models could have lackluster airbags that threaten occupy safety. In addition, 5,536 Lincoln MKC and Ford Explorers are recalled for block heater updates. Of the three recalls, this one seems to have led to the most notable reports of related incidents, with two underhood fires occurring in Canada.

“The engine block design, coupled with the particular block heater installed in these vehicles, causes the unit to be susceptible to overheating when the vehicle is parked and the block heater is plugged in – increasing the risk of an underhood fire,” the source said. The final recall listed 4,764 F-650 and F-750 models that could feature weak parking brake connector clips.

In all instances, Ford dealers will replace the offending parts or adjust them as necessary. Previously, the manufacturer issued another press release addressing multiple recalls at once on February 26. That statement concerned issues with seat belt buckles and occupant classification systems.

All of the vehicles included in this February release fell under the 2015 or 2016 model years, much like those in the March recall. Both announcements also addressed issues across North America, although the previous one also encompassed some potential defect in Mexico.

Dearborn, MI — March 30, 2016 — On March 8, Equipment World reported on a government investigation that could lead to a new series of Ford recalls in the future. According to the source, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 420,000 Ford F-150s.

A document from this agency denoted four collisions traced back to a brake failure issue, with 33 complaints registered in total, 20 of which occurred within seven months. The main issue concerns brake fluid leaks within the master cylinders of these vehicles.

As of February 29, the Office of Defects Investigation had opened a preliminary evaluation. The loss of brake fluid means the drivers could find it more difficult to stop successfully during an emergency. According to this report, the complaints included a “complete loss of brake effectiveness” as well as low levels of brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir. The vehicles included in this investigation make up 36 percent of the 2013 and 2014 model year F-150s sold, all of which may possibly signal the brake issue with a warning light indicator.

The Kansas City Business Journal received an email from Safety and Sustainability Communications Manager John Cangany. He affirmed the manufacturer’s commitment to working with the government as the matter develops.

“We take the safety of our customers very seriously, and we will cooperate with NHTSA on this investigation, as we always do,” he said.

The source also stated that Ford has until April 20 to respond to the Administration’s requests for vehicle and warranty information, or risk a multimillion dollar fine. Furthermore, the NHTSA is interested in mechanical design data that could inform their investigation, since this might give them greater insight into the way the brake systems in these vehicles worked.

Dearborn, MI — March 3, 2016 — As part of a pair of recent recalls, Ford Motor Company recently announced possible safety risks connected to Transit vehicles produced between 2014 and 2016, with the 2015 and 2016 model years.

Across the entire North American continent, approximately 51,470 of these vehicles may contain vulnerable seat belt buckles. The vehicles were manufactured at the same assembly plant in Kansas City. In a press release on the new Ford recalls, the manufacturer stated that dealers will inspect and repair the faulty buckles, replacing them if needed.

While no injuries have been connected to this issue, the press release did explain the possible danger to occupants posed by this defect.

“The rear seat belt buckles are being damaged when heavy objects are placed on top of them, which could cause the buckle not to latch completely, increasing the risk of injury in a crash,” the release said. The same statement also referenced a recall for 3,700 Ford F-150 trucks, most of which are in the United States as well. A seat massage function could disable the airbag system in the passenger seat. Dealers will address this issue by updating the module software to fix the vehicle’s classification systems.

These recent Ford recalls come after a previous action targeting 2015 Transits for a seat belt assembly issue. The belts required a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard violation because they didn’t bear the correct labels, which normally list the belt model and model year.

This represented a risk to owner safety because it made it potentially difficult for users to read crucial model information on the belt itself. The manufacturer officially launched this earlier recall on June 12, 2015 for fewer than 50 units.

Dearborn, MI — February 04, 2016 — In a continuation of the Takata airbag recalls, Ford is recalling 361,692 vehicles equipped with the potentially dangerous airbags. The recall includes 2004-2006 Ford Rangers.

Recall summary

As a chronology document from Ford notes, a tenth death was recently connected to the inflator issue after a 52-year-old man from South Carolina was struck by shrapnel from the exploding airbag inflator canister. While the root cause of the possible defects in these vehicles is not known, the source says that driver-side airbag inflators could rupture in a crash after “excessive internal pressure.” Owners are instructed to take their vehicles to the nearest dealer to have the inflator replaced. The vehicles included in this recall were manufactured as far back as March 24, 2003.

“On January 22, 2016, Ford participated in a vehicle inspection coordinated by NHTSA’s Special Crash Investigation team and observed an inflator anomaly in this vehicle,” this statement reads. “NHTSA requested that Ford file a defect notification based on a defect notification filed by Takata.”

The document notes that Takata had previously tested more than 1,940 airbag inflators “without incident” for vehicles in the 2004 and 2005 model year ranges.

The repair

Ford will notify owners included in this recall beginning March 7. The dealer notification date was scheduled for January 26. The recalled vehicles will receive an “interim repair”⏤essentially the same Takata airbag, but not as old, so less of a risk⏤and will eventually be replaced with an entirely different airbag altogether.

Is your vehicle part of the recall?

Over 360,000 Ford Rangers were originally part of this recall. As of July 28, 2017, only 528 cars had gotten an “interim” airbag installed. On December 11, 2017, the final repair became available. As of April 9, 2021 – the last date information was available – 193,653 airbags had been replaced. To see if your car still needs to be repaired, use MotorSafety’s free lookup tool.