Ford Motor Company has issued a warning that some of its cars and trucks may roll into people and cause accidents after being put in park, leading the company to drastically increase a recall effort.
Due to a potential issue in a part that connects the shifter cable to the transmission, Ford is recalling 2.9 million Escape, Fusion, C-Max, Edge, and Transit Connect vehicles from various years.
The car may not shift into the proper gear if that part, known as a bushing, is damaged or missing, with no notice to the driver that something is wrong, raising dangers when parked or driving, according to the company.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cited the potential of an “unintentional rollaway” in a letter to the firm on Tuesday, noting that the fault can also force the vehicle to “move in an unexpected direction.”
“The driver does not receive a warning message or audible chime,” Ford said in a regulatory filing submitted Friday. Leaving the vehicle without it actually being in park and without the parking brake on could allow it to keep moving, “increasing the risk of injury or crash,” the company said.
Outside of problems in park, “the driver may also notice the defect if they attempt to shift to an intended gear and the vehicle responds differently than intended,” Ford said.
Ford said it is aware of four reports of injuries that could be linked to the issue.
Ford said the possibly defective component had already been recalled in a more targeted manner, including in 192,000 Transit Connect vehicles last year.
Ford informed the agency that this is the company’s fifth recall related to the problem since 2018. In past shift cable part recalls, Ford recalled nearly 1.4 million vehicles worldwide.
Ford said it received additional documentation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in April about problems drivers had with the defect “that Ford was not previously aware of,” and that its analysis revealed “a change in the consumer complaint data” that prompted it to take action.
The business claimed the risk of failure remained low, but it opted to recall the remaining vulnerable vehicles in North America. According to Ford, the fault affects only 1% of the 2.9 million vehicles that have been recalled.
According to Ford, the part will be replaced and a protective cap will be added.
This affects some 2013-2019 Escapes, 2013-2018 C-Maxes, 2013-2016 Fusions, 2015-2018 Edge cars, and 2013-2021 Transit Connects, according to the NHTSA.
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