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US regulators open 2 investigations into
Ford recalls just days after penalizing the company
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[November 19, 2024]
Just days after
announcing a civil fine against Ford for moving too slowly on a recall,
the U.S. government unveiled two investigations into recalls that may
not have worked or covered enough vehicles. |
The Ford logo is seen on the grill of a Ford Explorer on display at the
Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh, on Feb. 15, 2024. (AP
Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) |
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The
largest of the probes covers about 457,000 Ford Bronco Sport
SUVs and Maverick small pickups. In April Ford recalled certain
2021 through 2024 Bronco Sports and 2022 through 2023 Mavericks
were recalled because they can suddenly lose power.
There have been five complaints from owners whose vehicles lost
power after getting the recall fix, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration said in a document posted Monday. The
agency will investigate whether the recall was effective. The
power loss has been blamed on degraded 12-volt batteries.
The other probe covers about 113,000 Ford Expeditions from 2019
through 2020. Ford recalled about 78,000 of the SUVs in February
because the driver and front passenger seat belts can tighten up
and hold people with no crash apparent.
The agency says it has complaints about the problem occurring
from three owners whose vehicles were not part of the recall.
Investigators will check to see if the recall should be
expanded.
Ford said it's cooperating in both investigations.
On Thursday NHTSA announced that Ford Motor Co. will pay a
penalty of up to $165 million for moving too slowly on a recall
and failing to give the agency accurate recall information.
The agency said the civil penalty is the second-largest in its
54-year history. Only the fine Takata paid for faulty air bag
inflators was higher.
NHTSA said Ford was too slow to recall vehicles with faulty
rearview cameras, and it failed to give the agency complete
information, which is required by the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Act.
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