U.S.

Ford Announces Another Recall

September 12, 2000 / 4:48 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Troubles with new models -- including the third production problem with the Ford Escape sport utility vehicle -- has forced Ford Motor Co. to recall about 23,500 vehicles.

Ford said Tuesday it was recalling 1,582 Escapes built without four-wheel drive or antilock brakes. An inspection of some vehicles before they were sold found that two had been built with wheel hubs used on the four-wheel-drive version. That mistake could cause the wheel to come loose.

Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said only a handful of Escapes with the problem were sold to customers. Ford notified customers with the vehicles last month.

The Escape, which went into production a few months ago, already has had two other production problems. Ford had to call back some Escapes to fix steering wheels that could come off, and another problem with the cruise control that could cause the throttle to stick.

Those problems were caught before any of the affected vehicles reached customers, Vaughn said.

"When you launch a new product or new system sometimes product issues develop," Vaughn said. "We do our best to work out the kinks, but sometimes issues arise. The main thing is to fix them quickly and keep the numbers that reach customers low."

Ford also is recalling about 22,000 of the 2001 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car sedans and Ford Windstar minivans for a flaw that could cause air bags to deploy without a crash.

Vaughn said a faulty air bag diagnostic module could malfunction, causing the air bag to deploy or affecting the seat belts. Only 1,994 of the vehicles have been sold to customers, and no injuries have been reported. The problem was found in a factory test of the vehicles.

Ford will notify customers later this week, Vaughn said. It has enough parts to fix all customer-owned cars, but will not have enough to fix all the vehicles under recall.

The recall comes at a time when Ford execs are before Congress explaining how faults with its Explorer model were ignored for years. Some have also questioned whether the flaws found are part of a pattern of Ford cover-ups and evasions even from federal safety inspectors.

General Motors Corp. said Monday that it was recalling vehicles to fix faulty air bags, but would need a number of weeks to find replacement parts. It warned owners of 290,000 Buick and Oldsmobile sedans that driver-side air bags could deploy unexpectedly, and advised them to sit back from the steering wheel.