Ford recalls 1.4 million Escapes, Explorers, Tauruses and other cars

Ford Motor Co. has issued safety recalls on 1.4 million vehicles being operated in North America, for a variety of issues related to steering, wiring and floor mats.

The company said 915,216 Ford Escapes and Mercury Mariners might have defects in a steering column sensor that could cause the vehicles to shift from power steering to manual steering -- which could result in an “increased risk of crash.”

The affected vehicles were model year 2008-2011 Escapes and Mariners.

The company also said 195,527 of its 2011 to 2013 Explorers had an “intermittent electrical connection” in their steering gears, which could result in a similar loss of power steering and similar risk of crash. In this case, however, drivers will be alerted by a chime and a message in the instrument cluster.

Ford said 196,639 of its 2010 to 2014 Taurus cars might have corrosion issues in their license plate lamps, which could result in a short circuit, excessive heat and a fire.

Finally, as many as 82,576 Ford Fusions, Mercury Milans, Lincoln Zephyrs and MKZ vehicles, model years 2006 to 2011, were sold with floor mats that “might come in contact with the accelerator pedal.”

To date, 2014 has been a big year for automobile recalls, which in the first five months of the year have already surpassed all of 2013. Last year 22 million car safety recalls were issued. This year the number is already more than 24 million -- on a pace to catch the all-time record, set in 2004, of 30 million recalls.

While General Motors has led the industry with more than 15 million recalls this year, including fatal ignition switch problems, Ford’s total for the year is 11 separate recall notices, affecting a total of 2.8 million vehicles.