No automaker remains immune from safety recalls, but Ford Motor Company has had a bad go if it, as the British would say. The latest recall, spanning four models, concerns roughly 117,000 vehicles with potentially faulty anchors for the seats, seatbacks and seatbelts — all things you’d want to work properly in the event of a crash.
The automaker, which recently saw a slew of recalls munch heartily on its corporate profits, claims improperly tempered attachment bolts could cause any of the components to give way during a crash, or even a sudden stop.
While no injuries have been reported from the defective bolts, Ford claims “the structural integrity of the seat or the seatbelt system’s performance may be compromised in a sudden stop or crash, increasing the risk of injury.” As such, it’s calling back four models built between May and June of 2014.
The models include the 2014 Ford F-150, 2014 E-Series van, 2014-2015 Escape, and 2015 Lincoln MKC. As expected, dealers will replace the vehicles’ bad bolts free of charge. Of the total number of North American vehicles flagged for this problem, 94,605 were sold in the U.S. and its territories, with 20,681 sent to Canada and another 1,510 to Mexico.
Ford hasn’t been able to shake a growing list of recalls, with faulty door latches, engine fires, and fragile suspension components exerting pressure on the company’s balance sheet. In the first quarter of 2017, sudden warranty costs stripped $467 million from the automaker’s profits, which sank 35 percent, spooking investors and giving head office more reason to boot former CEO Mark Fields.
The company’s second-quarter performance was a bit rosier. While pretax profit dropped by half a billion dollars, a lower tax rate meant net earnings stayed flat, at $2 billion. This prompted analysts to raise the company’s full-year earnings forecast to a range from $1.65 to $1.85 per share. After years of steady declines, Ford will likely rejoice over any upward direction. Its stock closed the day at $1.18.
[Source: CNBC]
What is TTAC’s current stance on recall reporting?
I remember it was previously only something that would happen if there was a unique overriding interest in the mechanism or scope of the recall.
If it happens to Ford, GM, or Chrysler then it’s fair game.
Who needs functioning seat belts when there are those 57 airbags coming at you from every angle. On the other hand, are those airbags from Takata?
With Takata airbags, you WANT non-functional seatbelts . . . to hasten your exit.
I sent this link over to my coworker, who has a 2014 Escape Titanium in that very same blue color…without realizing that I should actually read it, since I own a FoMoCo product myself. Fortunately I’m safe.
Yeah, but you know you had to double-check the trunk to verify the third letter, after the “MK”.
Nice to see safety is even lower on the Ford priority list than quality.
Looked at a Fiesta S, the least expensive Ford. Had automatic headlight option on the light switch, just like every other modern Ford I have been in.
So, tell me how its Ford’s fault that people drive at dusk with no headlights? And how NO other car has ever been driven in dusk without headlights, you know, like a 2002+ Altima, perhaps?
EcoBoost Flex strikes again. You and BigAlRyan should start a club, the We Trash Ford (for made-up reasons) club, or WTF for short.
Well, on the bright side, at least it seems that Ford followed up with quality testing to verify what batches of bolts could be affected.
At least, I will assume that they got the list right, until further information does or does not come to light.
“Well, on the bright side, at least it seems that Ford followed up with quality testing to verify what batches of bolts could be affected.”
this is part of what process control is all about. If you identify root cause, you can walk back through time and determine when things went out of spec.
I’m thinking I better buy up a bunch of Ford stocks. It’s a steal at $1.18!
Now there is a carbon monoxide probe for Explorers:
http://fortune.com/2017/07/28/nhtsa-ford-explorer-probe/