Ford recalls 1.2 million vehicles in US over suspension fault

Ford recalls 1.2 million vehicles in US over suspension fault

Ford Issues Multiple Recalls for 1.3 Million Vehicles

Ford is recalling 1.2 million sport utility vehicles in the US over suspension issues that the car giant said could affect steering.

The recall, which is expected to cost $180m (£140m), affects Ford Explorers made in the US firm's Chicago plant between 2010 and 2017.

Ford said one customer had reported hitting a kerb when part of the the rear suspension fractured.

The company said it was not aware of any injuries caused by the problem.

Ford said vehicles that were exposed to "frequent full rear suspension articulation" might "experience a fractured rear suspension toe link".

"A fracture of a rear toe link significantly diminishes steering control, increasing the risk of a crash," it added and when one customer's toe link broke they reported hitting the kerb.

In addition to the 1.2 million vehicles in the US, about 28,000 vehicles in Canada were affected and one in Mexico.

Ford dealers will remove and replace left and right and rear suspension toe links and align the rear suspension.

Separately Ford said it was recalling about 123,000 F-150 vehicles because of a transmission calibration issue. However, it said it was not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to the issue.

In addition, in Canada it has recalled 12,000 2010-17 Ford Taurus, 2009-17 Ford Flex, 2009-15 Lincoln MKS and 2010-17 Lincoln MKT vehicles, because of a a rear suspension toe link fracture.

The company said it was aware of one report of a "crash with minor injuries related to this condition".

In 2014 Ford recalled 1.1 million Explorers in North America because they could suffer a loss of power steering.

Ford, on Wednesday, issued four recalls for its vehicles, including more than 1.2 Ford Explorer SUVs, which have an flaw that could result in drivers losing steering control of the vehicles.

The automaker will alert owners of all Explorers made between May 17, 2010, through Jan. 26, 2017 (2011-2017 models) of the issue. The defect could result in a fractured rear suspension, which affects steering.

The company says it is not aware of any injuries related to the defect.

While the Explorer recall was certainly the largest issued Wednesday by Ford, it wasn’t the only one. The company also expanded the recall of certain F-150 pick-ups by another 123,000. The company has already recalled 1.5 million of the trucks due to a transmission flaw that could cause the vehicles to downshift to first gear with no warning.

The new action, says Ford, is for F-150s equipped with 5-liter and 6.2-liter gas engines. Those vehicles were not sufficiently repaired in a previous recall.

Also recalled were 4,300 Ford Econoline vans, made between 2009-2016, which could have a welding flaw and 12,000 vehicles in Canada, which also risk losing steering control. The Canadian recalls are limited to the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and include select 2010-2017 Ford Taurus, 2009-2017 Ford Flex, 2009-2015 Lincoln MKS and 2010-2017 Lincoln MKT vehicles.