Ford to recall F-150s for air bag issues
Under pressure from the government, Ford is recalling 150,000 F-150 pickups from model years 2005 and 2006. (Undated) Credit: AP
WASHINGTON - Under government pressure, Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will recall nearly 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to fix air bags that could deploy without warning.
The recall covers trucks from the 2005-06 model years in the United States and Canada for what the automaker calls a "relatively low risk" of the air bag deploying inadvertently.
The F-150 is the flagship of Ford's popular F-Series pickup trucks and is the bestselling vehicle in America.
The recall, however, is much smaller in scope than what the government had requested. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, citing 77 injuries, told the company in a November 2010 memo the recall should cover 1.3 million F-150 trucks from the 2004-06 model years.
A Transportation Department spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing Ford's response to see whether the recall was adequate. If the government determines that the recall is too limited, it could lead to a rare public hearing to decide whether Ford should expand its safety action.
NHTSA said in a Nov. 24 memo it knew of 238 cases in which the air bags improperly deployed and noted that Ford made production changes to the trucks in 2006 and 2007 to fix the air bag wiring and other issues.
Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said in a statement Wednesday that the recall covered trucks built at the Norfolk, Va., assembly plant from November 2004 through June 2005.
The automaker said an air bag wire located in the steering wheel could have been improperly positioned so it would chafe, expose bare copper and create the possibility of a short circuit that would light up the air bag warning lamp.
The recall is expected to begin in early March.
