The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Monday that it has opened two new investigations into Ford's recalls, the regulator's latest probe into the nation's second-largest automaker.
Last week, Ford agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after an NHTSA investigation found it failed to timely recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras.
Auto safety regulators on Monday launched an investigation into whether Ford should recall 112,000 Ford Expedition SUVs over seatbelt problems and 450,000 Ford Expedition SUVs due to power loss and electrical failure. It has also launched a separate investigation into whether it is appropriate to recall 6,000 SUVs.
The agency received three complaints alleging seatbelt retractor pretensioners were activated inadvertently. The complaint stated that after a loud noise, the seat belt tightened rapidly and remained in the locked position. The investigation comes after Ford recalled 77,000 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs in February due to the problem.
NHTSA will investigate whether Ford's recall of approximately 456,000 Bronco Sport and Ford Maverick vehicles in April due to loss of power due to sudden deterioration of 12-volt batteries is sufficient to address the issue. I am doing it.
The recall fix is a series of software updates designed to improve detection of the state of charge of 12-volt batteries, but NHTSA has identified 15 reports describing power loss incidents in Ford Bronco Sport vehicles that received the software update. I received it.
The company said it is working with NHTSA to assist with both investigations.
Under the terms of the settlement NHTSA reached with Ford last week, Ford must thoroughly investigate all recalls filed in the past three years and file new recalls if necessary.
NHTSA said Ford provided inaccurate or incomplete information, did not submit timely quarterly reports for other recalls, and was not fully compliant in disclosing vehicle recall information. Ford said it disagrees with NHTSA's assessment.
