Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) has issued two recalls related to safety and safety compliance in North America. The safety recall is for certain 2014 Ford Transit Connect vehicles to reinstall their panoramic roofs, while the safety compliance recall is for certain 2013−2017 Ford Focus hatchback and Ford Focus RS vehicles with manual transmissions which require updates to the hatchback interior release software.
The safety recall has been issued for roughly 900 cars in North America. The bond between the panoramic roof and the body of these vehicles may be improper, which will be rectified by the company. The improper fitting can lead to wind noise, water leaks and in some cases, detachment of the roof from the vehicle. The separation of the roof from a moving vehicle increases the possibility of a crash or injury. However, the company has not been notified of any injury or accident related to the issue.
The affected vehicles were built at the Valencia Assembly Plant between Oct 4, 2013 and Jul 14, 2014. Roughly 2,592 cars stand affected, inclusive of 887 in the U.S. and 28 in Canada. The panoramic roof on the affected vehicles will be removed, cleaned and reinstalled by dealers, at no expense to the customer.
The safety compliance recall has been issued for roughly 74,000 vehicles to update the interior latch release software for the hatchback. Per FMVSS 206 Section 4.3.2, a vehicle is required to have two separate actions to unlock the door and operate the interior latch release control mechanism. However, the door in the affected cars can be unlocked and unlatched with a single press of the interior latch release, if the vehicle is traveling at a speed under 7 kph (4 mph). The company is not aware of any injuries or accidents associated with this issue.
The affected Ford Focus hatchback vehicles were built at the Michigan Assembly Plant between Feb 12, 2012 and Aug 26, 2016, while the affected Ford Focus RS vehicles were built at the Saarlouis Assembly Plant between Aug 3, 2015 and Aug 26, 2016. Roughly 73,915 vehicles are affected, including 64,038 in the U.S. and federalized territories, and 9,877 in Canada. The body control module of these vehicles will be reprogrammed with the updated software by the dealers at no cost to customers.
Ford, which operates in the domestic auto industry, along with General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) , has lately faced a lot of headwinds due to recalls. Earlier this month, the company lowered its pre-tax guidance for 2016 to roughly $10.2 billion from the previous projection of about $10.8 billion on increased recalls for a door latch-related issue in North America.
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