NHTSA Goes To The Mat With Ford

by Cammy Corrigan

Published: June 2nd, 2010

Everyone loves an underdog story and none are greater than Ford’s. Their stock price went from $1 per share to nearly $12, they’re churning out good cars. their quality & reliability are increasing by the award. Yes, Ford is currently the golden boy of the car world. But what comes after pride?

The NHTSA. Reuters reports that Ford is being probed by the NHTSA for floormat entrapment. NHTSA says there is the possibility that the accelerator pedals could be trapped by floormats on the Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan. The NHTSA has verified 3 complaints that accelerator pedals were caught by the unsecured floormats in the current production Fusion.

Floormats? Didn’t floormats start the Toyota disaster that veered out of control faster than a … ? Are they sure it’s not tin whiskers? At least, so far, Ray LaHood didn’t say “Stop driving your Fords!”

Anyway, the problem could affect up to 249,301 Fusions and Milans. Ford spokesperson, Said Deep (I checked, that really is his name, poor man) said that the instructions on the all weather floormats state that owners should not place them on top of existing floormats. “We do not recommend stacking floormats in any vehicle” Deep said. “We will co-operated fully with NHTSA as we always do.”

The Reuters article also mentions that Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing at Edmunds.com, described a incident like the one described above, in mid-April in a 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid. The accelerator pedal got stuck on some stacked floormats. He reported the incident to the NHTSA. I hope he included the VIN, after all, any yahoo can file a complaint on the NHTSA database. If fact, maybe Ford might want to point that out to the NHTSA?

Though the real question I have is this: do people REALLY have to be told NOT to stack floormats around the pedals? I guess, they do. WARNING: Objects in your mirror may be larger than they appear!

#CammyCorrigan #Floormats #Ford

Cammy Corrigan

More by Cammy Corrigan

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 29 comments

Sinistermisterman on Jun 02, 2010

Anyone dumb enough to stack their floormats deserves to unintentionally accelerate into a tree. It'll help clean up the gene pool.

Like Reply
73hal2001 on Jun 02, 2010

Floor Mats recalled as Windstar Axles breaking ignored. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Alleged_Minivan_Axle_Problem_Leads_to_Class-Action_Lawsuit_Philadelphia.html

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Amy I owned this exact car from 16 until 19 (1990 to 1993) I miss this car immensely and am on the search to own it again, although it looks like my search may be in vane. It was affectionatly dubbed, " The Dragon Wagon," and hauled many a teenager around the city of Charlotte, NC. For me, it was dependable and trustworthy. I was able to do much of the maintenance myself until I was struck by lightning and a month later the battery exploded. My parents did have the entire electrical system redone and he was back to new. I hope to find one in the near future and make it my every day driver. I'm a dreamer.
Jeff Overall I prefer the 59 GM cars to the 58s because of less chrome but I have a new appreciation of the 58 Cadillac Eldorados after reading this series. I use to not like the 58 Eldorados but I now don't mind them. Overall I prefer the 55-57s GMs over most of the 58-60s GMs. For the most part I like the 61 GMs. Chryslers I like the 57 and 58s. Fords I liked the 55 thru 57s but the 58s and 59s not as much with the exception of Mercury which I for the most part like all those. As the 60s progressed the tail fins started to go away and the amount of chrome was reduced. More understated.
Theflyersfan Nissan could have the best auto lineup of any carmaker (they don't), but until they improve one major issue, the best cars out there won't matter. That is the dealership experience. Year after year in multiple customer service surveys from groups like JD Power and CR, Nissan frequency scrapes the bottom. Personally, I really like the never seen new Z, but after having several truly awful Nissan dealer experiences, my shadow will never darken a Nissan showroom. I'm painting with broad strokes here, but maybe it is so ingrained in their culture to try to take advantage of people who might not be savvy enough in the buying experience that they by default treat everyone like idiots and saps. All of this has to be frustrating to Nissan HQ as they are improving their lineup but their dealers drag them down.
SPPPP I am actually a pretty big Alfa fan ... and that is why I hate this car.
SCE to AUX They're spending billions on this venture, so I hope so.Investing during a lull in the EV market seems like a smart move - "buy low, sell high" and all that.Key for Honda will be achieving high efficiency in its EVs, something not everybody can do.