U.S. to Study Ford Trucks for Wheel Safety

Federal officials announced Tuesday that they are starting an investigation of nearly a half-million 1975 through 1984 model Ford Motor Co. light trucks whose rear wheels allegedly can fall off.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that its investigation covers 456,500 Ford E-350 and F-350 one-ton light trucks, vans and cab chassis models whose dual rear wheels “can separate from a vehicle because of wheel-stud failure.”

Ford said that the safety of its truck wheels are “equal to that of other manufacturers.”

NHTSA said that it has received reports of 1,446 alleged problems with the dual rear wheels on 430,000 standard-production Ford trucks, including 173 property damage accidents, 48 injuries and one fatality.

In addition, NHTSA said that it has received 490 reports of alleged problems with 26,500 special-order models of the trucks, including 59 property damage accidents and 58 injuries.