Ford Motor Company issued two new recalls Wednesday covering nearly 445,000 vehicles after receiving numerous complaint and incident reports, including at least four accidents related to loss of power steering and high underbody temperatures.
Ford announced today that it will recall 422,814 model year 2011 to 2013 Fusion, Flex and Lincoln MKS and MKT, model year 2011 to 2012 Lincoln MKZ and 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles for a possible electrical issue that can lead to steering difficulties.
The manufacturer says the issue – an intermittent electrical connection in the steering gear – can result in loss of electric power steering assist while driving.
If the loss of power steering occurs, the system defaults to manual steering mode making it difficult to steer and increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford says it is aware of four minor accidents, but no injuries as a result of the issue.
In a complaint posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, the owner of a 2011 Ford Fusion says the power steering assist in their car has failed at least five times.
“Once while I was driving, which caused me to crash into a curb and get a flat tire,” the owner recalls. “It seems to resist itself after I turn the car off and turn it back on.”
Another owner of a 2011 Ford Fusion tells NHTSA that the vehicle’s power steering failed while driving 60 miles-per-hour on the highway.
“When this happened I was at an off ramp exit and had almost zero steering,” the complaint states. “I panicked and tried to get off the exit which has a sharp radius turn. I could not keep the vehicle on the road and traveled off into grass until I could skid to a stop.”
Dealers will perform one of two service fixes, depending upon whether certain diagnostic trouble codes are present in the vehicle. They will either update software for the power steering control module or replace the steering gear.
The second recall covers 19,500 model year 2015 Ford Mustang vehicles with a 2.3 liter engine that may experience elevated underbody temperatures.
According to Ford, prolonged exposure to elevated underbody temperatures might cause degradation of the fuel tank and fuel vapor lines, as well as parking brake cable seal deterioration.
As a result, the vehicle could suffer a fuel leak – increasing the risk of a fire – or impaired brake function – leading the vehicle to suffer unexpected movement.
Ford says it is unaware of any accidents, injuries or fires related to the issue.
Dealers will replace the current fuel tank shield with a shield with better insulating capability, install thermal patches on the fuel tank and parking brake cable, and install thermal wraps on the fuel vapor lines.
Ford Issues Two Safety Recalls In North America [Ford]
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