Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 650,000 vehicles because of a defective power break assist hose. According to Ford, the hoses on some of its F-150 and Mark LT trucks has a defect that may making braking difficult. There have been reports of 11 minor accidents caused by the brake hose issue, but no injuries.
The Ford recall covers 2005 and 2006 F-150 and Mark LT trucks equipped with the 5.4-liter three-valve engine, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. The brake hose may swell over time causing the hose to become detached from the intake manifold, NHTSA reported. As a result the agency warned, applying the brakes could require increased pressure on the brake pedal. More than 600,000 of the recalled trucks are in the U.S. and roughly 50,000 are in Canada. Another 1,500 pickups are in other countries.
Ford plans to begin notifying F-150 and Mark LT owners of the recall in early July. At that point, dealers will replace the hose at no charge to customers. The official start of the recall is being delayed because parts are currently not available to complete the required repairs.
Meanwhile, Ford is trying to declare an end to a much larger recall involving faulty cruise control switches. Over the past ten years, Ford has issued six recalls of cars and trucks with control switches that can develop a short circuit and spark a raging fire, usually when the car is parked and unattended. About 12 million Ford vehicles have been recalled since 1999, including 1993-2004 Ford F150 trucks, 1994-2002 F250 through F550 Super Duty trucks with gasoline engines, and 1998-2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, all of which were among the best-selling vehicles in the nation during those years. A complete list is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.
A variety of problems have plagued and delayed the Ford cruise control switch recalls. In February, Ford recalled about 225,000 vehicles that had already been repaired because some wiring harnesses appeared to be defective. A shortage of parts also delayed repairs of the defective switches.
Ford is now preparing to send “final repair notices” to 3.5 million Ford vehicle owners next month. According to Consumer Affairs.com, the final repair notice is theoretically the last time the automaker will attempt to warn owners of the affected models. The automaker says it will send multiple final notices to customers who do not take their vehicles in for the repair.
Ford reported to the NHTSA earlier this year that just more than 4 million of the recalled vehicles have been repaired to date. Ford also reported 834,000 of the recalled vehicles were not delivered, exported, stolen or scrapped. That leaves more than 7 million Ford cars and trucks in the U.S. that could potentially catch fire – significantly more vehicles than the company plans to include in its final repair notices.
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