Ford Recalls 1.4 Million ’01 Vehicles
Ford Motor Co. will recall 1.4 million 2001-model vehicles, including its best-selling F-Series pickup trucks and Expedition sport-utilities, because seat belts made by TRW Inc. may not buckle properly.
The voluntary recall includes Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car large sedans; F-Series, Ranger and Mazda Motor Corp. B-Series pickups; and Expedition, Excursion and Lincoln Navigator full-size sport-utilities, the company said in a statement. Cleveland-based TRW said it will take an undisclosed second-quarter charge because of the recall cost.
Ford hasn’t had any reports of accidents or deaths resulting from the problem, though the company is aware of two reports of minor injuries, spokesman Mike Vaughn said.
The auto maker already is facing inquiries by congressional leaders and regulators into the safety of tires on its popular Ford Explorer sport-utilities, which weren’t included in the latest recall. Ford also fell into last place among the seven biggest U.S. auto makers for initial quality in 2000, according to a J.D. Power & Associates survey.
Notices will be sent to the owners of the vehicles being recalled to go to dealerships for inspection of buckles on the driver and front passenger seat belts, Ford said. The belts will be replaced if needed, and the inspections and repairs will be free of charge, the company said.
Vaughn declined to comment on the recall cost.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn’t have an investigation pending involving the Ford seat belts and hasn’t received any information on accidents or injuries resulting from the problem, agency spokesman Tim Hurd said.
“We take seat-belt questions very seriously,” he said. “They are the most important piece of safety equipment in a car. We sometimes open investigations based on as little as one or two complaints.”
The agency has three investigations pending into possible seat-belt failures, Hurd said. Those include checking Ford’s Explorer XLS for the 2000 model year, as well as DaimlerChrysler’s Dodge Dakota pickups for the 2000 and 2001 model years and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s Eclipse sedan.
On the New York Stock Exchange, Ford shares rose 34 cents to close at $25.60 and TRW added 8 cents to close at $42.45. The recall announcement came after the close of regular New York trading.
