The Ford Motor Company is recalling over 100,000 vehicles to address a variety of suspected safety defects.
The bulk of the recall pertains to 92,000 sedans and crossovers with potential driveshaft defects; specifically, the right, front half shaft, which is part of the axle to the right front wheel. The half shaft is part of a system that provides power to that wheel in a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicle.
Due to improper installation, the half shaft could shift out of place, leading to loss of vehicle control.
This part of the recall affects 2013-2014 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT cars and the 2012-2014 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX SUV models. Ford has determined that 83,000 of these vehicles are located in the U.S., another 8,200 in Canada and 600 in Mexico.
Also part of the series of recalls in the Ford announcement are over 5,200 2011-2014 Ford F59 Commercial Stripped Chassis vehicles that may experience electrical system short-circuiting that could lead to a fire. To date, no fires have been reported according to Ford.
Another recall includes about 2,100 2014 Ford Escape models that have panoramic glass roofs that may leak or become dislodged from the vehicle, as a result of inadequate gluing during installation. The company is also recalling about 200 2014 Ford Fiesta models for a possible leaky fuel tank.
Other recalls included 368 2014 Ford Transit Connect vehicles made in Puerto Rico with a fluid reservoir cap problem, and 600 Ford F52 Motorhome Stripped Chassis and F59 Commercial Stripped Chassis vehicles with potential brake issues.
Ford has not reported any injuries or accidents pertaining to all of these recalls.
The automobile industry is currently in the midst of recall-mania. Only six months into 2014, and automakers have already broken the record for most recalls in a twelve-month period, with about 40 million vehicles recalled already this year. The previous record was 33 million for an entire year, set in 2004. And we're only six months into 2014.
Putting the industry over the top was the latest General Motors recall of a whopping 8.5 million vehicles worldwide. The GM recall action includes six new campaigns, bringing their total to over 40 for this year. GM's share of the 40 million industry total stands at 26 million, almost as many as the 28 million called back by the entire industry last year.
Rather than a sign that the industry faces serious manufacturing and engineering issues with their vehicles, industry observers feel that the surge in recalls is indicative of higher standards and "a higher level of scrutiny across the industry," according to Joe Hinrichs, President of the Americas for Ford.
