Ford is recalling nearly 1.4m vehicles in North America in four separate campaigns, including 1.1m Escapes, Mercury Mariners and Explorers for power steering problems.
Three of the four recalls came following calls from US and Canadian safety regulators demanding repairs to the vehicles — a sign that government agencies are taking a harder line in the aftermath of the General Motors ignition switch recall issue.
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The company said it was calling back 915,000 2008-11 Escapes and Mariners in North America after reports of five US crashes and six injuries related to the issue. Ford said because of signal-to-noise problems in the torque sensor, the vehicle’s power steering system may shut off and default to manual which could make it harder to steer.
Ford is also recalling 195,500 2011-13 Explorers in North America for a potential electrical problem in the steering gear that may result in the loss of electric power steering assistance while driving. The recall covers 177,500 Explorers in the US.
Under government pressure, Ford also is recalling 82,500 driver’s side all weather floor mats that may be in 2006-11 Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ cars. If not properly installed, the mats may come in contact with the accelerator pedal.
A further 196,000 2010-14 Taurus models are being brought back to check for rust in the licence plate lamp which could cause a fire. Ford said it has reports of 18 fires and one injury. The company got the first report of a fire in 2011 and introduced a revised lamp in February this year.
There has been increased scrutiny in the US of automakers with GM facing major recall problems that began with its ignition switch issue in older model cars.
