Ford recalls 130,000 cars and SUVs

Ford, now the fifth-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, has issued three recalls affecting roughly 131,000 vehicles worldwide, with most registered in the U.S. While two of the recalls are for 2016 model-year vehicles, the largest number of recall affects SUVs from 2009 and 2010.

The first recall is for select 2009-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, of which 110,636 vehicles registered in the U.S. and 18,187 registered in Canada are affected. This recall stems from concerns that the brackets holding the SUV's fuel tank in place may suffer from corrosion. If that's the case, the fuel tank may not be properly restrained, resulting in a fuel odor, the triggering of a "check engine" light, or in some cases, a fuel leak, and potentially, a cause for fire. 

The recall is limited to vehicles that were manufactured at Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant between September 11, 2008 and July 1, 2010.

The second recall affects the Ford Mustang, one of America’s most iconic muscle or pony cars, of which 1,900 cars registered in the U.S., one registered in Canada, and five registered in Mexico are affected. In this case, Ford believes that passenger restraints may have been damaged in shipping from the supplier to Ford's assembly plant. The parts in question include the front and rear seatbelt assemblies, rear seat buckle assemblies, and child tethers. 

If those items were damaged, Ford says that they may not perform as intended during an accident, increasing the likelihood of injuries and fatalities. However, Ford says that it knows of no accidents or injuries linked to the issue.

The last recall is a relatively smaller issue, affecting just seventy-two 2016 Ford E-Series cutaway and chassis cab vehicles in the US and Canada. Here, Ford has detected a software problem that could prevent the trailer brake controller from working properly. According to Ford: "In these vehicles, the trailer brakes do not engage when the driver presses the brake pedal".

Although drivers can manually apply the trailer brakes, doing so may lengthen the distance required to bring the vehicle and trailer to a full stop. Again, Ford says that it has no reports of accidents or injuries associated with the problem.

If you own any of the models listed above, manufactured in the years also listed above, Ford should be contacting you soon. Failing that, we’d suggest you get in touch with your local Ford dealership or representative soon.