Ford said on Friday that it will recall 343,250 Ford Windstar minivans worldwide after a US government compliance test showed that a rear seat could become dislodged in a crash, Reuters reported.
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The recall, which includes 257,000 of the model year 2001 to 2003 minivans sold in the United States, comes after the rear seat came loose during tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford spokesman Glenn Ray told the news agency.
Ray told Reuters that Ford disagrees with the procedure for the NHTSA test, which used straps to pull on seats in a parked vehicle to simulate forces in a crash.
The third-row bench seat failed in the NHTSA tests, but Ford will replace both the third- and second-row seat latches, Reuters said, noting that Ford conducts a different test to measure stresses in a crash, and is unaware of any incidents of seats becoming dislodged in a real crash, according to Ray.
“We had some issue with the mechanics of the test,” Ray reportedly said, adding: “When we conducted (Ford’s own) test, which we believe is more real world representation, we never had a problem with that latch.”
However, Ford will recall the vehicles, and will send notifications to Windstar owners later this month, telling them to take their vehicles to a dealer to have the seat latches replaced at no cost, Ray told Reuters.
Related report: “Automotive fasteners: trends and market forecasts to 2007“
This report
reviews the key market drivers for vehicle fastener systems. It
will provide you with analysis on a number of key areas, including:
The market for automotive fasteners, determining the trends and
topical issues. The main manufacturers serving the sector. Trends
in key product and process technologies, both current and future;
Market forecasts for mechanical and adhesive fastener volume demand
through 2007; and OEM trends and rationale in adopting different
types of fastening techniques. It also includes profiles of the
following key manufacturers/suppliers: Emhart, Finnveden, ITW, LISI,
Nedschroef, Nifco, Raymond, SPS Technologies, Textron Fastening
Systems, TRW Engineered Fasteners and 3M. Find out more here.
