US safety regulator opens recall query on some Ford E-series vehicles

[February 29, 2024]  (Reuters) -A U.S. safety regulator said on Thursday that it was opening a recall query into about 44,219 Ford E-series vehicles over the loss of power brakes and steering assist.

A Ford Electric E-Transit is displayed on a Ford dealership forecourt, Stoke-on-Trent, Britain, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it received some consumer complaints in 2023 alleging power steering line detachments in the vehicles that had passed Ford's inspection after they were recalled two years ago.

The remedy had involved Ford updating parts in the vehicles and inspecting them to check the connection between the power steering pressure line and the hydraulic brake booster unit to prevent a sudden loss of power steering fluid, the NHSTA said.

The regulator said its query covers certain E-350 and E-450 vehicles, built between 2021 and 2022, that are equipped with dual rear wheels.

The Detroit automaker told the safety regulator in January that it would file a new recall to update the power steering pressure line components on vehicles that had not been inspected as well as the ones that had passed inspection within the last twelve months.

A recall query is an investigation opened by safety regulators when a remedy to solve an issue appears inadequate.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Shinjini Ganguli and Shweta Agarwal)

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